Product Development
Built in the Field, Not Sold From a Shelf
Richard builds modern contractor software, AI tools, CRM, and marketing systems for his own businesses. That hands-on work informs every advisory engagement — this is not a product storefront.
The Modern Trades Mentor is an advisory practice, not a software company. RichardFritzke develops and operates technology for his own contractor and field-service businesses — which means he understands implementation from both sides: the vendor pitch and the daily reality of running a trades operation.
That experience shapes how we evaluate tools for clients. We can tell when a feature is genuinely useful, when it is marketing noise, and when a contractor would be better served fixing a workflow before adding another platform.
What Richard builds
Categories of work — not a product catalog
Product development interest spans practical categories that support contractor operations. These are areas of active learning and experimentation, not named products for sale:
- Contractor CRM and customer communication workflows
- Field-service scheduling and dispatch integrations
- AI-assisted documentation, follow-up, and knowledge search
- Marketing automation and lead-handling systems
- Internal operations dashboards and reporting
- Custom workflow tools tied to specific business processes
We do not list proprietary product names or promise future releases. When custom development is relevant to a client engagement, scope, ownership, and maintenance are discussed openly as part of the advisory relationship.
How this informs advisory
- Firsthand understanding of what it takes to build, deploy, and maintain contractor software
- Honest assessment of when off-the-shelf tools are sufficient versus when custom work makes sense
- Practical guidance on integration, data ownership, and long-term maintenance costs
- No incentive to oversell a platform — we do not sell licenses or receive vendor commissions
- Operator perspective on adoption, training, and what field and office staff will actually use
What we are honest about
Building software is hard. Maintaining it is harder. Most contractors do not need custom development — they need better use of existing tools, cleaner workflows, and staff training.
When we recommend a platform or approach, it is because it fits the business — not because we have something to sell. We do not sell software licenses and do not receive vendor commissions or referral compensation.
Need help choosing the right approach?
Whether you need vendor-neutral software guidance or want to discuss whether custom work makes sense for your operation, start with a conversation.