Episode Details

How long does it take your business to get a quote back to a client? Melbourne builder Mitch Harris went from four to six weeks on a $300,000 tender to having it done in one week, using AI.

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In this episode, Antoine, the Applied AI Specialist at UpScale, sits down with Mitch from Kelmar Projects, a builder who left school in year 10 and went on the tools at 15. Since joining UpScale, Mitch has grown from $5K to $10K months working solo to 3 full time carpenters, 30 to 40 subcontractors and a best month of $167K. Over the last four months he has brought AI into the business, and he still runs it without an admin or an estimator.

Mitch explains how he uses Claude Code, his AI agent he named Donna after the character from Suits, to read plans, write clear scopes of work, send them to the right trades and pull the quotes into one professional proposal. Before he even reaches his car after a client meeting, the scopes of work for 50 trades are ready. He also talks about why faster quotes win more jobs, how one client got her loan sorted before the next interest rate rise, and why small trade businesses have the advantage over big companies right now.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The real difference between ChatGPT and a coding agent like Claude Code
• How Mitch cut a six week tender down to one week
• Why trades now quote faster than suppliers when the scope of works is clear
• How fast, professional proposals put you in stage two talks while other builders are still quoting
• The QA checklist that lets the boys check their work without Mitch on site
• Pete Griffiths’ QR code quotes that take deposits on the spot [link to Episode 347]
• How to get started with Claude Code and why plan mode matters
• The first “Claude Commandment”: if you’re unsure, just ask

If you run a building, electrical, plumbing or any other trade business and you’re still writing quotes at night after a full day on the tools, this episode is for you.

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