On this episode of Born for the Trades, Mandeep chats with Lynn Wise, co-founder of Contractor In Charge, a revolutionary service designed to help home service businesses—plumbers, electricians, HVAC professionals, and more—streamline their operations. With a background in both the trades and tech, Lynn’s journey is a fascinating blend of hands-on experience and cutting-edge solutions.

Lynn’s path to entrepreneurship started when she saw a significant gap in the home services industry: contractors were drowning in administrative tasks that kept them from focusing on what really mattered—serving customers and growing their business. Having co-owned a plumbing business and worked at tech giants like IBM and Yellow Pages, Lynn realized that the right blend of technology and personal care could provide contractors with a solution that scaled. That’s when Contractor In Charge was born—an outsourced service designed to handle customer service, real-time bookkeeping, and more, all while maintaining that personal touch.

One of the key moments in Lynn’s career came when she recognized that many contractors made the mistake of neglecting customer service in favor of technical work. While great service is the backbone of any business, many contractors focus too much on their craft and not enough on building long-lasting customer relationships. Lynn emphasizes that leveraging technology to enhance customer service—like real-time booking, follow-ups, and tailored communication—can set a business apart in a competitive market.

However, she’s clear about one thing: tech should never replace the human connection. “It’s not about removing the contractor from the equation—it’s about giving them the tools to succeed while keeping that personal touch”. Contractor In Charge blends the best of both worlds: cutting-edge technology to streamline processes and personalized customer care that builds loyalty and trust.

Lynn also shares a success story about a small contractor who used her service to scale his business. By outsourcing administrative tasks like customer service and bookkeeping, he was able to focus more on his craft and take on more clients. Over time, this helped increase his revenue and reduce stress, ultimately transforming his business into a more efficient operation.

We also wanted to give a big shoutout to our sponsors—Rilla, an AI-powered sales tool that provides call-by-call feedback to help your team close more deals, and Grow Reviews, a platform that makes it easy to capture customer testimonials through text and video. These tools are designed to help you improve your customer experience and grow your business with ease.

If you're a contractor looking for practical insights or someone curious about how tech is changing the home services industry, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in for actionable advice and inspiration on how to grow your business without sacrificing what makes it special.

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