The best businesses to buy & automate with AI (Part 5)

This email is Part 5 of a short series covering the best businesses you can buy and scale by automating with AI.

You can read the previous parts here:

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Part 4

So far, we’ve covered 4 of the best business models ripe for automation:

• Accounting firms

• Digital marketing agencies

• Staffing agencies

• Property management companies

Now, let’s get into the 5th and final business type that you can transform with AI:

Home Service Businesses

Think HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and others in that vein - the “boring” businesses that keep our world running.

You would be amazed at how many of these businesses are running like it’s the 20th century…

And still succeeding!

Now… imagine how much better they could be with the right automation tools and processes.

Home service businesses can have incredible fundamentals:

Recession-resistant: When your toilet breaks or your AC dies in summer, you're calling someone regardless of the economy.

High margins: Most home service businesses run 20-40% profit margins.

Recurring revenue potential: Maintenance contracts can create predictable monthly income.

If you’re considering buying a “boring business” like this, you have an opportunity to dramatically increase efficiency.

Here’s how I’d do it 👇

The home service business AI playbook

1. Optimize scheduling and routing

AI can analyze technician locations, job requirements, and traffic patterns to create the most efficient routes and schedules.

This could allow you to complete 20-30% more jobs per day, reduce drive time by over 40%, and minimize overtime costs.

Instead of your techs spending half their day in traffic, they'll be able to work more jobs (and generate more revenue).

2. Automate customer communication

AI systems can handle appointment confirmations, follow-up calls, and satisfaction surveys automatically.

Once implemented, you can reduce no-shows by 50%, improve customer satisfaction through consistent communication, and get way more reviews and referrals.

Your customers will feel taken care of, and your team can focus on the actual work instead of playing phone tag.

3. Implement predictive maintenance

AI can analyze service history to identify when equipment is likely to need maintenance, creating additional revenue opportunities.

This could increase your average ticket size by 15-25%, help create recurring revenue streams, and reduce emergency calls by being proactive.

Home service businesses already have a near-perfect foundation:

• Recession-resistant demand

• High margins

• A “must-have” service

By adding AI automation on top of that foundation, you’ve got a perfect mix of stability and explosive growth potential in your industry.

We're almost done with this series!

On Thursday, I’ll wrap things up by covering how to actually implement these AI strategies (even if you’re not a tech genius).

Stay tuned!

Last thing I’ll share today:

I occasionally come across high-quality businesses for sale that I think my subscribers would be interested in…

And send out an email broadcast with the details.

If you’d like to opt in to those emails, just fill out this 2-minute survey:

👉 I want to buy (or invest as a silent partner into) a small business

Or if you want to sell a small business, tell me more about it below:

👉 I want to sell my small business (and I’m actively looking for buyers)

Onward,

— Ben Kelly