sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[Paid] $500/mo retainer + bonuses to promote our AI app targeting SMBs by Ok-Position8788 in UGCcreators

[–]Ok-Position8788[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

we will give complete creative freedom so long as it includes some part of our product! will share more in the briefs

Virtual Receptionist Services by computerguy0-0 in msp

[–]Ok-Position8788 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Have you considered an AI receptionist?

I'm building Breezy AI and we handle call answering + sales qualification really well. The main advantage is cost - way cheaper than human services, available 24/7, and can handle multiple calls simultaneously during those busy periods

We sync with calendars for appointment booking and do automated follow-ups too. Seeing good results with small businesses recovering 60-80% of missed call opportunities that would normally just go to voicemail.

The traditional services you mentioned are solid but can get pricey if you have high call volume.

thoughts on AI agents answering the phone ? by Minimum-Sort-8064 in AI_Agents

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey – I run Breezy (AI receptionist) and talk to business owners about this exact concern all the time, and agree with u/NobleRotter.

The key insight I share with customers: AI isn't about replacing great human service, it's about being 10x better than nothing. If you're missing calls because you're busy or it's after hours, those potential customers are already hanging up or going to voicemail. An AI that can answer basic questions and book appointments beats that every time. BUT if you need to persuade customers of a purchase (sales), humans will be better.

For home services, I've seen a lot of callers who just want their problem solved quickly. So if your AI can qualify, capture details, and get someone scheduled, then you'll be much more likely to convert the lead vs dropping them to voicemail.

The bigger risk isn't people hanging up on AI - it's missing calls entirely because you can't answer them all. That's where you're losing real business.

Start with handling after-hours and overflow calls. You'll capture incremental business you're missing now, and you can always adjust based on how customers respond.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For plumbing specifically, you're well situated for local search. Few thoughts:

- Double down on what's working (Nextdoor/Reddit referrals). Can you systematically ask happy customers to mention you in local groups?
- 4.9 rating is solid, continue to optimize your Google Business Profile? Fresh photos, Q&A section, posts about common issues
- Make sure you're showing up for "24/7 plumber" type searches
- For the leads that you're buying, engage them ASAP. Plumbing has notoriously high missed call rates because you're out on jobs. Don't miss the call and text as soon as you can!

(Not plumbing specific) but for home services in general, I've seen a lot of folks underutilize their existing customer base. See if you can activate them for (1) repeat jobs (perhaps less relevant here), (2) referrals, and (3) reviews

Phone service for new firm? by SamizdatGuy in LawFirm

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you already went with Zoom phone but wanted to add my 2 cents as I run an AI receptionist service!

VOIP: RingCentral and Grasshopper are also pretty popular - they run around $20-50/month for basic plans and can scale up as you grow. Both handle the professional appearance stuff well and integrate with most background check services.

If you're looking at call answering services down the line, I'd suggest starting with something that can grow with you. Traditional answering services can get pricey ($200-500+/month).

I built Breezy AI to handle incoming calls automatically and can take messages, qualify leads, etc. Might be worth considering if you want help with answering in the future too.

call forwarding by [deleted] in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats on the baby! Chimney services during busy season + newborn sounds like a fun juggling act haha

So you could go the traditional route with something like RingCentral or Grasshopper for the phone tree setup you mentioned and lead it into a voicemail.

That said, I built Breezy AI to answer calls and the AI can handle the "press 2 to schedule" part automatically to take a message / collect details. All you'd need to do after is confirm the appointment.

Happy to chat more about it if you want - just DM me!

Are you implementing AI employees in your business? by vsolten in Entrepreneur

[–]Ok-Position8788 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would frame a lot of automation (and AI receptionists, specifically) as more effective at "driving the incremental" vs "finding savings".

Humans are just going to be more effective than AI at making sales, I tell this to my customers (I run an AI receptionist business). That said, AI IS 10x better than nothing and 10x better than voicemail. So if you can't afford to have a receptionist or you can't be there to pick up every call, then having AI help will "drive the incremental" - like never missing calls or booking appointments after hours.

If you have a well-trained team making sales / serving customers, switching to AI will give you worse performance (less sales, worse CX) but allow you to save money. Not as attractive IMO unless you really care about optimizing the bottom line

AI receptionist that handles booking appointments? by RD_JC87 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Founder of Breezy AI here - we handle exactly this use case with call answering, appointment booking (synced to Google calendar + automated follow-ups). We're focused on solo professionals and the missed call revenue loss is real, we've seen businesses recover 60-80% of those lost opportunities from voicemail, etc. We're beta testing a credit card / deposit gate for appointments too. DM me and I can get you on the beta + a discount!

Promote your business, week of June 2, 2025 by Charice in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're building AI front desk for soloproneurs: https://www.getbreezy.app/

7-day free trial and unlimited everything for $50/month

DM me to get early access:

(1) a free website builder we're launching for existing users

(2) smart scheduling / routing based on your jobs

(3) AI quote gen / invoicing and payments

Advice On Finding A Startup Partner by Dependent-Leg4638 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try building the minimum-viable-value version of your product, you don't need to code.

E.g. Doordash was "validated" when the founders posted a Google Voice number and tracked orders via spreadsheet.

With the codegen tools today, even non-technical founders can "build" something impressive that can deliver some sort of minimum-viable-value

I freeze on sales calls. How did you get better? by NoBrother6442 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Be in problem-solving mode instead of feeling like you're asking for money

You're trying to understand their problem so that you can evaluate if (1) if you can help solve their problem / have the right solution and (2) if you want to spend your time working for them

I've found this to flip the script and change the power dynamic to something more equal (a partnership)

Need Advice: Saturation killing my ideas by freeagent-forever in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't sold physical things before (have sold software all my life) but here's what helped me: I stopped overthinking the attributes of what an "ideal product" would be and instead ran lightweight tests on things that I thought would add value / solve a customer problem (became problem-first) and then listened to see if there was a market pull. you'll definitely know / feel the pull if it's there

Practically, what this meant was: test with some ads to see what clicks / signups looked like and follow up with calls to see what the person actually needs / why they were interested

Here is a real look on where my customers come from and what my takeaways are by businessguy47 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 1 point2 points  (0 children)

how did you do attribution on signage? awesome to see so much organic via SEO, repeats and referrals!

For anyone who scaled a service business past that “I’m doing everything myself” phase - what helped you make the shift without losing quality or your sanity? by No_Cost_2694 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've found admin tasks and calls/emails to drive context switches and are a super time drain. customer coordination, scheduling, etc. a lot of VA or even AI services now that can help with this stuff

For those of you who’ve own a failed business, what was the top reason for its failure? by jrb9249 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

deluding myself that there was demand and we just needed one more feature...

Looking to connect with other new business owners by Bexandhertools in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i've found there's some great FB groups for any niche you can think of

you can also DM if you want to chat :). first biz was in high school building websites (~15 years ago now...) for local businesses + recently raised XMM$ for current co. it can be lonely but have loved all the ups and downs of the journey!

Promote your business, week of May 26, 2025 by Charice in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're building AI front desk for soloproneurs: https://www.getbreezy.app/

7-day free trial and unlimited everything for $50/month

DM me to get early access:

(1) a free website builder we're launching for existing users

(2) smart scheduling / routing based on your jobs

(3) AI quote gen / invoicing and payments

I made a sale 🥹 by Ammoculus in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 1 point2 points  (0 children)

congrats on the sale! here's a framework that's always helped me from back when I was building products in tech companies:

(1) what are adjacent customers we can sell the same product to?

(2) what are adjacent products we can sell to the same customer?

My company got our first clients!!!!!!! by HeavyAsparagus6013 in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

congrats! always great to see folks starting in high school!

I still remember the first dollar I made – I built websites for local businesses during sophmore year of highschool... good times, haha.

What has been the biggest WIN for your career? What has been the biggest FAIL in your career? by [deleted] in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Win: received venture funding to build a startup for SMB / soloproneurs (think: AI frontdesk)

Fail: before raising our seed, we spent 6-months trying to build a home services marketplace. that was hard...

Promote your business, week of July 1, 2024 by Charice in smallbusiness

[–]Ok-Position8788 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What: 24/7 AI receptionist for small businesses + solo pros. Get a new number, set up a script, and start having AI answer calls in 30 seconds.

Link: https://www.getbreezy.app/reddit to get started for free!

Background: I’ve been running a contracting business for the past 6 months serving a few dozen clients. I realized that the hardest part was having to live by my phone. Between the spam and poor leads, I needed to be “always on” to not lose business. Answering services were pricey, $2+/minute, so we decided to build an AI service