Frequently Asked Questions
ClearOak & Co. is an operations partner for commercial contractors and trades companies with $3M to $50M in revenue, based in San Francisco. We work the operational side of the business and stay with you through it all. Below are direct answers to the questions we hear most.
What does ClearOak & Co. do?
- ClearOak & Co. is an operations partner for commercial contractors and trades companies. We work on the operational side of the business: we diagnose how a contractor’s whole operation runs and help owners get clear on exactly where they stand, rebuild the highest-impact workflows as AI automations on the client’s real business data, then train and apprentice the client’s own team to run those workflows without us in the room. We stay with our clients through it all, and we are here to help first.
Who does ClearOak work with?
- We work with commercial contractors and trades companies generating $3M to $50M in annual revenue, including painters, general contractors, and HVAC, electrical, and plumbing businesses, along with private equity firms that own commercial-trades portfolio companies. The trades are our specialty, but we are operators first, so we also work with other businesses when the model is one we understand and have run ourselves. If that is you, we still want to hear from you.
Where is ClearOak & Co. based?
- ClearOak & Co. is based in San Francisco, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley where much of the AI revolution is being built. We are business operators first, and our whole team is equipped to both train and build, because we have lived and run the work we advise on, backed by a deep bench of technical builders and partners for anything that needs to go further. That combination lets us automate almost anything, strategically and practically. We work with commercial contractors across the United States, both remotely and on site.
How do I contact ClearOak or book a call?
- You can email founder John Baker directly at john@clearoakconsulting.com, call (415) 831-7892, connect on LinkedIn, or book a free discovery call through the scheduling link on the website. John personally leads every engagement.
How much does ClearOak cost?
- ClearOak prices around measurable outcomes rather than fixed packages. Every engagement is scoped to the specific problem, and we show the projected return before a client commits, so the investment is always set against the value it is expected to create. The clearest way to get a number for your situation is a short call, where John can walk through what an engagement would look like for your business.
What is ClearOak’s AI enablement and how does it work?
- AI enablement is a three-stage apprenticeship: see it work, build with us, take it over. Before the first session we build a working AI asset on your real data. Across three sessions your operator moves from watching it run, to taking the keyboard, to owning it solo, followed by 30 days of on-call support. The goal is a team that is fluent in AI on its own data, not a one-time software install.
How is ClearOak different from a software vendor or AI tool?
- A software vendor sells a tool and leaves you to adopt it. ClearOak builds AI workflows on your actual business data and then apprentices your own operators until they can build and run the next one themselves. We are technology-agnostic and work across platforms including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, n8n, Zapier, HubSpot, and Notion, choosing tools to fit the operation rather than selling a single product.
How quickly will I see results from working with ClearOak?
- ClearOak prioritizes quick wins that deliver measurable impact within the first 60 to 90 days. In one documented engagement, a weekly controller task that took 1 hour 45 minutes was reduced to 30 minutes, recovering about $8,125 in labor per year on a single workflow.
What does a ClearOak training engagement look like, and how long does it take?
- A ClearOak training engagement runs four to six weeks around one real workflow. Before Session 1 we map where time is leaking in discovery, pick the problem costing the most, and build a working automation on your real data and tools. Then three working sessions of 60 to 90 minutes: you watch it run on your live work, you run it with us beside you, and you take it over and teach it back. Within five business days of the final session you receive the complete asset package, the workflow itself, session recordings, a step-by-step reference guide, and a written next-workflow recommendation, followed by 30 days of on-call support. The engagement is bought by an owner or manager and delivered to the person who actually runs the workflow, one-to-one or as a team.
Does ClearOak work with trade associations?
- Yes. ClearOak runs a workflow automation program for trade associations: two short surveys distributed through the association’s channels find the department and workflow members struggle with most, we build a working automation modeled on how members actually run it, and we demonstrate it live in a 90 to 120 minute interactive session at the association’s event. Members leave with frameworks they can use immediately, the full session recording, access to us for questions afterward, and a discounted path to custom workflows for their own businesses.
Does ClearOak work with private equity firms?
- Yes. ClearOak helps private equity firms and their commercial-trades portfolio companies turn operational improvements into measurable EBITDA growth and enterprise value, through revenue growth from capacity unlock, margin expansion, and multiple expansion from reduced key-person risk.
Do you only work with contractors?
- No. Commercial contractors and the trades are our specialty and where we go deepest, but we are business operators and entrepreneurs first. When another kind of business runs on a model we understand and have operated ourselves, we are glad to help, and we want to hear from you. The through line is practical operations and AI, not the industry label.
Is there a fast way to get answers about my situation?
- Yes. The assistant in the corner of this site can answer detailed questions about your operation, walk through how we have helped businesses like yours, and email you a summary or a relevant framework. It is also a live example of the kind of AI we build for clients: trained on a business and put to work where its customers already are.