The Owner's Week: Caliche Roofing
The gap. Ray is at 58 hours a week now. The goal is 40 hours a week within three years. That is 18 hours to close, over 36 months.
Where the hours go now
| Bucket | Hours a week | Only the owner can do it? | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance supplement writing and negotiation | 10 | Not forever, but yes today | Keep short-term, train out |
| Reviewing and approving estimates: insurance jobs | 6 | Yes, for now | Batch into one window, train out |
| Reviewing and approving estimates: retail jobs | 4 | No | Delegate to Marco now |
| Marketing: ads, content, vendor calls | 5 | No | Delegate or batch |
| Hiring: posting, screening, first interviews | 4 | No | Delegate screening to Dana |
| Production issues escalated past Luis | 4 | No | Stop, return to Luis |
| Customer escalations and callbacks | 4 | No | Delegate to Marco or Dana |
| Admin: email, approvals, paperwork | 5 | No | Batch or delegate to Dana |
| Crew and materials spot-checks | 3 | No | Luis owns this |
| Strategic thinking, planning, owner work | 2 | Yes | Protect and grow |
| Miscellaneous reactive (fires, calls, drive-bys) | 8 | No | Stop or batch |
| Total | 55 tracked, of 58 |
Insurance supplement writing and negotiation
Hours a week: 10
Only the owner can do it?: Not forever, but yes today
Verdict: Keep short-term, train out
Reviewing and approving estimates: insurance jobs
Hours a week: 6
Only the owner can do it?: Yes, for now
Verdict: Batch into one window, train out
Reviewing and approving estimates: retail jobs
Hours a week: 4
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Delegate to Marco now
Marketing: ads, content, vendor calls
Hours a week: 5
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Delegate or batch
Hiring: posting, screening, first interviews
Hours a week: 4
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Delegate screening to Dana
Production issues escalated past Luis
Hours a week: 4
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Stop, return to Luis
Customer escalations and callbacks
Hours a week: 4
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Delegate to Marco or Dana
Admin: email, approvals, paperwork
Hours a week: 5
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Batch or delegate to Dana
Crew and materials spot-checks
Hours a week: 3
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Luis owns this
Strategic thinking, planning, owner work
Hours a week: 2
Only the owner can do it?: Yes
Verdict: Protect and grow
Miscellaneous reactive (fires, calls, drive-bys)
Hours a week: 8
Only the owner can do it?: No
Verdict: Stop or batch
Total
Hours a week: 55 tracked, of 58
The leaks. First: insurance estimate review and supplement writing together consume roughly 16 hours a week, and both are sitting with Ray because no one else is trained yet. That is the single biggest block on the 40-hour goal. Second: production escalations that should stop at Luis are reaching Ray daily, which means Luis does not yet have a clear line on what he decides. Third: reactive admin and miscellaneous fires are consuming roughly eight hours a week with no filter, no batch window, and no gatekeeper.
The ideal week
| Block | When | What it protects | How it is defended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected work: supplements and insurance estimates | Monday and Wednesday, 6:00 to 9:00 AM | The highest-value work only Ray can do today | Phone on Do Not Disturb, Dana holds all calls, no walk-ins, door closed or location off-site |
| Strategic owner work | Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:30 AM | Planning, hiring decisions, anything that moves the business toward its goal | Same rules as above; no one gets this time |
| Retail estimate review (transitional, not permanent) | Tuesday, 8:00 to 9:00 AM | Batches all retail sign-offs into one window while Marco's team builds confidence | Marco queues everything for this window; nothing reviewed outside it; window shrinks as Marco's team proves the standard |
| Marketing decisions and vendor calls | Thursday, 7:00 to 8:00 AM | Batches all marketing into one block | Dana schedules no external calls outside this window |
| Hiring: final interviews only | Friday, 7:00 to 8:00 AM | Ray sees only final candidates | Dana and Marco screen; Ray does not touch postings or first screens |
| Weekly team check-in | Monday, 9:00 to 9:30 AM | Keeps Luis, Marco and Dana on the same page without ad-hoc interruptions | Fixed, never moved; replaces scattered daily check-ins |
| Reactive window | Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00 to 3:00 PM | Contains fires so the morning blocks stay clean | All non-emergency issues held for this window; Dana triages what reaches Ray |
| Off: no owner work | Saturday and Sunday | Recovery so Monday and Wednesday mornings are sharp | Communicated to team as a hard rule; Luis is on-call for true crew emergencies only |
Protected work: supplements and insurance estimates
When: Monday and Wednesday, 6:00 to 9:00 AM
What it protects: The highest-value work only Ray can do today
How it is defended: Phone on Do Not Disturb, Dana holds all calls, no walk-ins, door closed or location off-site
Strategic owner work
When: Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:30 AM
What it protects: Planning, hiring decisions, anything that moves the business toward its goal
How it is defended: Same rules as above; no one gets this time
Retail estimate review (transitional, not permanent)
When: Tuesday, 8:00 to 9:00 AM
What it protects: Batches all retail sign-offs into one window while Marco's team builds confidence
How it is defended: Marco queues everything for this window; nothing reviewed outside it; window shrinks as Marco's team proves the standard
Marketing decisions and vendor calls
When: Thursday, 7:00 to 8:00 AM
What it protects: Batches all marketing into one block
How it is defended: Dana schedules no external calls outside this window
Hiring: final interviews only
When: Friday, 7:00 to 8:00 AM
What it protects: Ray sees only final candidates
How it is defended: Dana and Marco screen; Ray does not touch postings or first screens
Weekly team check-in
When: Monday, 9:00 to 9:30 AM
What it protects: Keeps Luis, Marco and Dana on the same page without ad-hoc interruptions
How it is defended: Fixed, never moved; replaces scattered daily check-ins
Reactive window
When: Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00 to 3:00 PM
What it protects: Contains fires so the morning blocks stay clean
How it is defended: All non-emergency issues held for this window; Dana triages what reaches Ray
Off: no owner work
When: Saturday and Sunday
What it protects: Recovery so Monday and Wednesday mornings are sharp
How it is defended: Communicated to team as a hard rule; Luis is on-call for true crew emergencies only
Delegation Map
| Work leaving the owner | To whom | The standard (what good looks like) | First check-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail estimate approval | Marco | Estimate is complete, margin is at or above the floor Ray sets, scope matches the inspection notes, no line items missing. Marco signs and sends without Ray. | Week 2: Ray reviews three completed retail estimates Marco sent solo and marks any gaps |
| Insurance estimate review (longer-term, as estimators are trained) | No role yet. Ray batches all insurance estimate review into the Monday and Wednesday morning windows for now. First change: one of Marco's estimators completes insurance supplement training and takes a defined file type solo, with Ray reviewing the first five before releasing fully. | ||
| Marketing execution: ads, content posting, vendor follow-up | Dana (or outside vendor if Dana's plate is full) | Ads run on the approved schedule, spend stays within the monthly budget Ray sets, no new vendor is added without Ray's sign-off | Week 3: Dana shows Ray a one-page weekly marketing summary |
| Hiring: job posting, screening, first interview | Dana | Candidate passes the written checklist Ray builds (experience, references, availability, pay range). Only candidates who clear all four reach Ray. | Week 2: Dana runs the first screen solo, Ray debriefs with her on what she caught and what she missed |
| Production escalations below crew-safety level | Luis | Luis resolves any scheduling, materials, or crew conflict without calling Ray. Escalate only: safety incident, customer threatening legal action, a job loss over the dollar limit Ray sets. | Week 1: Ray and Luis spend 30 minutes writing the escalation boundary together so Luis has it in writing |
| Customer callbacks and complaint resolution | Marco | Customer is contacted within 24 hours, issue is logged, resolution is offered within the company's standard warranty and callback policy. Ray sees a weekly log, not individual calls. | Week 2: Marco shows Ray the callback log; Ray checks response time and resolution quality |
Retail estimate approval
To whom: Marco
The standard (what good looks like): Estimate is complete, margin is at or above the floor Ray sets, scope matches the inspection notes, no line items missing. Marco signs and sends without Ray.
First check-in: Week 2: Ray reviews three completed retail estimates Marco sent solo and marks any gaps
Insurance estimate review (longer-term, as estimators are trained)
To whom: No role yet. Ray batches all insurance estimate review into the Monday and Wednesday morning windows for now. First change: one of Marco's estimators completes insurance supplement training and takes a defined file type solo, with Ray reviewing the first five before releasing fully.
Marketing execution: ads, content posting, vendor follow-up
To whom: Dana (or outside vendor if Dana's plate is full)
The standard (what good looks like): Ads run on the approved schedule, spend stays within the monthly budget Ray sets, no new vendor is added without Ray's sign-off
First check-in: Week 3: Dana shows Ray a one-page weekly marketing summary
Hiring: job posting, screening, first interview
To whom: Dana
The standard (what good looks like): Candidate passes the written checklist Ray builds (experience, references, availability, pay range). Only candidates who clear all four reach Ray.
First check-in: Week 2: Dana runs the first screen solo, Ray debriefs with her on what she caught and what she missed
Production escalations below crew-safety level
To whom: Luis
The standard (what good looks like): Luis resolves any scheduling, materials, or crew conflict without calling Ray. Escalate only: safety incident, customer threatening legal action, a job loss over the dollar limit Ray sets.
First check-in: Week 1: Ray and Luis spend 30 minutes writing the escalation boundary together so Luis has it in writing
Customer callbacks and complaint resolution
To whom: Marco
The standard (what good looks like): Customer is contacted within 24 hours, issue is logged, resolution is offered within the company's standard warranty and callback policy. Ray sees a weekly log, not individual calls.
First check-in: Week 2: Marco shows Ray the callback log; Ray checks response time and resolution quality
The Weekly Routine
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When Ray is sharpest. Ray is sharpest from 6:00 to 9:00 AM and fades after 4:00 PM. The rule: supplements, insurance estimates, strategic decisions, and anything requiring judgment go in the 6 to 9 AM blocks. Scheduling calls, reactive windows, and admin go after noon. Nothing that requires Ray's best thinking gets scheduled after 3:00 PM.
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Weekly. Every Monday at 9:00 AM, 25 minutes. Ray, Luis, Marco, and Dana. Three questions only: what got done last week, what is at risk this week, what needs a decision from Ray right now. Ray does not run this meeting after quarter two. See who runs it below.
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Quarterly. At the end of each quarter, Ray spends two hours alone before the next quarter starts. Score the quarter: did the priorities move, did the hours move toward 40, what did not get delegated that should have. Re-cut the top two priorities for the next quarter. Redesign the ideal week if the business has changed. This is the moment to raise Marco's retail threshold, check whether an estimator is ready to take an insurance file type solo, or adjust Luis's escalation boundary.
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Who runs it. Marco runs the Monday weekly check-in starting in quarter two. He prepares the three questions, keeps the meeting to 25 minutes, and sends a three-line summary to Ray after. Ray attends but does not facilitate. By quarter three, Ray's attendance is optional.
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Behavior changes this quarter.
- Stop: reviewing retail estimates outside the Tuesday 8 to 9 AM window. Every retail estimate that arrives outside that window waits. No exceptions for the first 30 days so the team learns the boundary is real.
- Start: writing the escalation boundary with Luis in week one, in writing, so production stops reaching Ray by default.
- Move: all first-round hiring screens to Dana, starting with the next open role. Ray does not see a candidate until Dana has cleared them against the written checklist.
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How Ray knows it worked. Ray can name the one thing that moves the business forward this quarter. The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning blocks are protected four weeks in a row. Marco is approving retail estimates without Ray. Luis is resolving production issues without calling Ray. Ray's weekly hours are trending from 58 toward 40, tracked month over month.
What to check first
- The hour counts in the audit table are estimates. Walk through a real week and correct any bucket that is significantly off, especially supplements and reactive fires, because those two drive the whole delegation sequence.
- Confirm the retail estimate margin threshold you want Marco to own. The delegation map leaves that number to Ray. Without that number, the work comes back to Ray.
- Check whether Dana has time to take on marketing execution and hiring screens, or whether her plate is already full with billing, collections, and payroll. If it is full, the marketing piece needs a different answer.