Case Study · James Butler Electric
Jim Butler runs James Butler Electric, a one-man electrical shop. He hung up on us when we first called. Today Bizzen writes his estimates from a walkthrough video, prices the job inside the range he'd have landed on himself, keeps his van stocked, and gets him paid.
Before Bizzen
“It's a whole game changer. You don't understand how much time I save. It just makes my life so much easier.”
Jim Butler is a great electrician. Customers call him because his work is clean and he shows up. Every hour he spends on something other than the trade is an hour that isn't making him better at it or paying him.
What he needed help with, running a one-man shop, was everything that isn't electrical work. Writing up estimates. Landing on a price he could stand behind without wondering what the other guy was charging. Remembering the six items he was low on when he finally got to the supply house. Getting paid and getting the money into his bank.
The first time we called him, he hung up. Jim gets a lot of sales calls and a company that says it'll write your estimates, price your jobs, and move your money sounded too good to be true.
We called again and he agreed to try it, but not all the way. He kept doing estimates his own way and used Bizzen on the side to see if it held up. When it did, he let it do more. Then a little more. There wasn't a moment where he decided to switch over. It just kept being easier to use it than not, and at some point he noticed he'd stopped doing things the old way.
After Bizzen
“I never would have thought I would be taking a cell phone, shooting a video, and this thing spitting out on a template what I wanted to do.”
Jim walks the job, shoots a video on his phone, and Bizzen turns it into a written estimate on his template. He reviews it and sends it. The part of the job that used to eat into his evenings is now done before he leaves the driveway.
“It gives me the price and I can adjust it. Now I'm not like, well, what's the competition at? It knows kinda where it needs to be.”
When you're the only one in the company, nobody checks your numbers. You land on a price, you send it, and you find out later whether you left money on the table or lost the job over it. Jim asks Bizzen for a price and gets one back in the same range he'd have quoted. If he wants to adjust it, he does.
“I used to write it down on paper and then I'm shuffling through the front seat going, what did I need? Now I just talk into the app.”
No more paper. Jim tells the app what he needs and when he wants to hear about it, and the app notifies him at that time.
Then he asked for something we hadn't thought of: a running resupply list he can add to over a few days as things come up, then ask “I'm heading to the supply house, what do I need” and get the whole list back. He mentioned it on a call. It was in the app the next day.
“The customer service is amazing and Ed always answers his phone. I have a question, he answers it. Or if he can't answer, he calls [Bizzen's CEO], who calls me. That's huge.”
Software platforms tend to come with a help center and a ticket queue. Bizzen comes with a phone number that reaches our team any time you call, and they know the product and the trade. Every screen in the app has a button that calls Bizzen support, and a person picks up.
The result
Jim didn't start a business to write estimates at the kitchen table. He started it because he's good at the work and people call him for it. Bizzen handles the estimate, the price, the resupply list, and the invoice so he can stay focused on the job.
Do the work. We'll handle the paperwork.
Walk the job, shoot a video, and send the estimate before you leave the driveway. See it on a quick call.
