Arrowrock Dam · c. 1915–25 · Library of Congress
Operations, automation & AI · Treasure Valley, Idaho
Your business is leaking hours. Let’s get them back.
Missed calls. Quotes that go out late. Invoices that wait for Friday. I find the leaks in your business and fix them with better processes, automation, and practical AI.
On-site anywhere in the Treasure Valley, or remote.
01 The leaks
Sound familiar?
Leaks don’t look like disasters. They look like Tuesday. A little time here, a lost job there — every week, for years.
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Leaking
The call you missed at 4:55.
You were on a ladder. They didn’t leave a voicemail. They called the next name on Google.
→ lost job
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Leaking
Quotes that go out Thursday.
The visit was Monday. By the time your quote lands, they’ve already said yes to someone faster.
→ lost job
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Leaking
Invoices that wait for Friday.
The work is done and the money is earned, but nobody has sent the bill. You’re floating your customers.
→ slow cash
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Leaking
It all lives in one person’s head.
When she’s on vacation, the office runs on guesswork. If she ever leaves, the playbook leaves with her.
→ one sick day from chaos
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Leaking
Copy. Paste. Repeat.
The same customer gets typed into three different apps. Every typo turns into a callback.
→ hours, every week
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Leaking
Follow-ups that run on memory.
Nobody forgot on purpose. There’s just no system that remembers for you.
→ money left on the table
02 Leak calculator
What’s it costing you?
Plug in your own numbers. This is your math, not a sales pitch.
Leaking out of your business
$22,300/ year
500 hours, or about 12.5 full work weeks.
- Time
- 5 hrs × 2 people × 50 weeks × $35/hr = $17,500
- Lost work
- 1 job × 12 months × $400 = $4,800
Not every leak is worth plugging. The leak check tells you which ones are.
Find out where it’s going03 Before & after
Anatomy of a leak.
A six-person HVAC shop. Two trucks, a whiteboard, QuickBooks, and a lot of hustle. Plumbing, roofing, electrical, and landscaping shops look almost exactly the same.
Example: a composite of how shops like this run, not a real client.
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01
A call comes in
It rings while the crew is on a roof. No voicemail, no callback.
A missed call gets an instant text back with a booking link.
Leak: lost leadPlugged
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02
The lead gets written down
On a sticky note. Sometimes.
Every lead lands in one list: who they are, what they need, and how they found you.
Leak: lost leadPlugged
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03
The quote goes out
It’s typed up in Word at night and lands two or three days later.
It’s built from a template and sent the same day.
Leak: beaten by a faster shopPlugged
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04
Someone follows up
It depends on someone remembering, and usually nobody does.
Reminders go out automatically on day 2 and day 5, and stop as soon as the customer replies.
Leak: quotes go coldPlugged
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05
The job gets billed
Paperwork piles up until Friday, then gets retyped into QuickBooks.
When the job is closed in the field, a draft invoice appears in QuickBooks, ready for a quick review.
Leak: hours + typosPlugged
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06
The money comes in
Late payers get an awkward phone call. Eventually.
Polite reminders go out on schedule. You see who’s late at a glance.
Leak: slow cashPlugged
6 handoffs. 6 run on memory. Each one is a place where work can fall through the cracks. 6 handoffs. 0 run on memory. Same phones, same QuickBooks. The owner only reviews what matters.
Not HVAC? Same leaks, different names.
Law & accounting offices
Chasing the same documents from the same clients by email, every season.
Clinics & dental offices
Unconfirmed appointments that turn into no-shows, and intake forms retyped at the front desk.
Property managers
Maintenance requests lost in text threads, and vendors dispatched by phone tag.
04 How it works
Find it. Fix it.
Lock it down. Keep it running.
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01 · Inspect
Leak check
I sit down with you, at your shop or on a call, and walk through how work actually gets done. You get a written plan: what’s leaking, what it’s costing, what to fix first, and what to leave alone.
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02 · Fix
Fix it right
Some fixes are a clearer process: who owns what, a checklist, a template. Others need automation or AI. We start with the leak that costs you the most and build on the tools you already have.
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03 · Secure
Lock it down
Every automation gets only the access it needs, and your customer data stays where it belongs. You get a one-page map of what connects to what.
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04 · Monitor
Keep it running
I watch over everything I build and fix problems early. I also train your team, so they know how it works and when to step in.
05 Locked down
Automation that doesn’t leak the other way.
Most AI tools ask for the keys to everything. That’s how a time-saver turns into a breach. Before I build anything, I ask the boring questions: What does this need to see? What should it never touch? Who hears about it when something looks wrong?
- Need-to-know access. Each automation can reach only what its job requires.
- Your data stays put. Customer information never goes into tools that don’t need it.
- You stay in charge. Anything that moves money or speaks for your business waits for your approval.
- A map you can read. One page that shows what connects to what.
| Can it touch… | Access |
|---|---|
| Incoming call log | read |
| Text messages | templates only |
| Lead list | add new |
| Customer history | no |
| QuickBooks | no |
| Email inbox | no |
| Payment info | never |
If it doesn’t need it, it doesn’t get it.
06 The deal
What you can count on.
No jargon.
If I can’t explain it clearly, I won’t build it.
Straight answers.
Sometimes the right fix is a better process, not more software. I’ll tell you, even if it means there’s no project for me.
No surprise invoices.
You’ll know the cost before any work begins.
No black boxes.
You’ll know what everything does, what it can access, and how to turn it off.
Local.
I’m in Boise. I’ll come to your shop, your office, or your job site.
07 Who you’re working with
You work with me, not an agency.
I’m Erich Schmidt, an operations and automation consultant based in Boise. I help small businesses across the Treasure Valley run more smoothly.
Most small businesses don’t have an operations manager. The owner does that job, usually after dinner. That’s the gap I fill.
My background is in investigations: figuring out exactly what went wrong and why. That’s most of this job, too. I find where the work breaks down, fix it properly, and make sure it stays fixed.
No account managers, no offshore team, no handoffs. When you call, you get me.
About the name
Still working.
Arrowrock Dam sits just up the Boise River. When it was finished in 1915, it was the tallest dam in the world, and more than a century later it’s still doing its job. That’s the standard I hold my work to: do it right once, so you never pay to fix it twice.
- Completed
- 1915
- Height
- 350 ft
- Status
- Still in service
Arrowrock Dam, Oct. 1915 · Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection
FAQ
Fair questions.
Still deciding? Here are the questions owners usually ask first.
What does Arrowrock do?
I help small businesses in the Treasure Valley stop losing time and money to everyday problems like missed calls, slow quotes, late invoices, and work that lives in one person’s head. Sometimes the fix is a clearer process. Sometimes it’s automation or AI. Often it’s a mix.
Do I have to switch to new software?
Usually not. I build on the tools you already use, like your phone system, email, and QuickBooks. If something really needs replacing, I’ll explain why before anything changes.
What happens during a leak check?
We walk through how work actually gets done, at your place or on a call. Afterward, you get a written plan: what’s leaking, what it’s costing, what to fix first, and what to leave alone.
Do you only work with contractors?
No. The example on this page is an HVAC shop, but the same problems show up in law and accounting offices, clinics and dental offices, property management companies, and most other small businesses.
Is it safe to use AI with my customers’ information?
It can be, if it’s set up carefully. Each automation I build can reach only what its job requires, customer information stays out of tools that don’t need it, and anything that moves money or speaks for your business waits for your approval.
Which areas do you serve?
I’m based in Boise and work on-site across the Treasure Valley, including Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Kuna, Star, and Garden City. I also work with businesses remotely.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within one business day. I read every request myself, and you won’t get automated calls or sales emails.
Show me where
it leaks.
Book a leak check. We’ll walk through how work gets done, at your place or on a call, and you’ll leave with a written plan for what to fix first.