Zakk Cook

AI automation and marketing technology, Toledo, Ohio, open to remote work

I build the systems small businesses actually run on.

AI agents, automations and web systems, designed by someone who spent ten years running the front desk, the schedule and the payroll. Self-taught, and everything below is real, working software.

Zakk of All Trades logo: a blackletter ZC with paint drips

Hiring?

I'd join your team as the person who finds the work that eats hours, automates it and keeps it running. Open to remote roles in automation, AI operations and marketing technology.

Need something built?

Phone agents, automations, websites and brand work for small businesses. Tell me the problem and you get a written quote before any work starts.

The Work

Four systems I designed and built. Each started with a real problem somebody was tired of.

The weekly production meeting: one department's claims as photo cards
The claim form customers fill out
The AI diagnosis on one claim
The team dashboard

A regional window manufacturer, internal tool

The warranty-to-production loop

The result. 100+ claims processed, and 175+ real job-site issues turned into production training.

Claims used to arrive by phone and email, get retyped by hand, and the same defects kept coming back. Now customers file them in a simple form, an AI step diagnoses each one and routes it to the right production team, and the worst cases become the weekly training agenda.

How it works
  • A simple form customers use to submit remakes and claims
  • A dashboard where the team reviews and processes every claim
  • Automatic updates to the customer as their claim moves along
  • Helpdesk tickets created and kept current automatically
  • An AI step that investigates each claim, routes it to the right production team and builds a weekly meeting agenda from the worst cases
  • AI agents
  • HubSpot
  • Python / FastAPI
  • n8n
One post from topic to finished bundle, cut from my 16-minute team walkthrough (sped up, no sound)
The n8n workflow, start to finish
A finished post in Google Docs

Stark Create, marketing agency

The 30-second blog engine

The result. Under 30 seconds per post instead of 15 to 20 minutes, for 7 clients publishing daily.

Ten AI agents, each with one job, take a post from site research to images, metadata and social posts, with a human check at every step or full autopilot. I built my version alongside my manager's; it published real client blogs for six weeks, and nearly all of its ideas now run in the agency's live system.

How it works
  • 10 specialized AI agents, each with one job: site research, topic picking, writing, images, metadata, social posts and filing
  • A guided form with a human check at every step (approve or regenerate), plus a full autopilot mode
  • Started as an n8n workflow, then rebuilt as a full web app with Claude Code
  • A prompt library and client knowledge base, so every post sounds like the client
  • n8n
  • Multi-agent AI
  • Claude Code
  • Google Workspace

Hear it on two real test calls

An after-hours emergency 1:30

Read the transcript

AI: Hey, you've reached Zakk's AI demo line. Tell me your business name and what city you're in, and I'll look you up and answer the phone as your receptionist. Who am I answering for today?

Me: Kettle Creek Plumbing in Toledo.

AI: One sec, let me pull you up. Got you: Kettle Creek Plumbing and Drain, the family-owned shop that's been around Toledo since 2009. Okay, I'm your receptionist now. Call in like a customer would. Ring, ring, Kettle Creek Plumbing, this is the receptionist. How can I help you today?

Me: Hey, I know it's late, but I have a water heater that's leaking. Do you guys do after-hours calls?

AI: Yeah, we do. A leaking water heater counts as an emergency, so the 24/7 line is the right call. There's a $95 after-hours fee on top of the job. Can I get your name and a callback number? And what's the address where you're at?

(A question about Saturday hours is trimmed here.)

Me: How much do you charge to come out?

AI: The service call is $89. If you go ahead with the repair, that $89 comes off the bill. Can I grab your name, callback number—

Me: How much is a new water heater?

AI: A standard 40 or 50 gallon gas water heater, installed with the permit and haul-away of the old one, starts at $1,650. Exact pricing depends on your setup, so the plumber gives you a free written estimate before any work starts. Can I get your name and a callback number so they can get you scheduled?

A job it has to turn down 1:16

Read the transcript

Me: Kettle Creek Plumbing, in Toledo.

AI: One sec, let me pull you up. Got you: Kettle Creek Plumbing and Drain, the family-owned outfit out of West Toledo that's been around since 2009. Okay, I'm your receptionist now. Call in like a customer would.

Me: Hey, I was just wondering if I could get a plumber out to my house tomorrow at 3.

AI: Thanks for calling Kettle Creek Plumbing and Drain, this is the receptionist. Tomorrow at 3 is doable, though I can't promise an exact time. We give a two-hour arrival window, and your plumber will text you when they're on the way. Can I get your name, the address where you need us, and a callback number? And what's going on with the plumbing?

Me: Yeah, my name is Zakk. I need somebody to come over and check out my bathroom sink. My address is 123 Main Street, in Monroe, Michigan.

AI: Unfortunately, we can't take jobs in Monroe, Michigan. We're licensed in Ohio only, so we can't work across the state line. If you have a Toledo-area address for a different job, I can take that down. Otherwise, you'll want to find a plumber licensed in—

Me: No, I got you. That's alright. Thank you.

AI: Sounds good, Zakk. Sorry we can't make it out.

Or call it yourself: (419) 451-9998

My own test calls, playing a customer of Kettle Creek Plumbing, a made-up plumber. Every price and rule it quotes is on its website.
A booking it made after hours (example)
A month later, it remembers (example)

Zakk of All Trades, my own product

The AI receptionist that never misses a call

Try it. Call (419) 451-9998.

Plumbers and electricians can't answer the phone from under a sink, and a missed call usually means a lost job. A client's receptionist answers every call day or night, books the job on their calendar, texts confirmations and remembers every customer.

The demo line is a quick, basic version so you can try the idea: say a business name, then call in as a customer. No business handy? Use Kettle Creek Plumbing, a made-up plumber whose website lists the prices and hours it should quote, so you can check every answer.

What a client gets
  • An AI receptionist that answers every call in a natural voice, day or night, and handles customers' questions
  • It books the appointment straight onto the business's calendar and sends text confirmations and reminders
  • It remembers every customer and every past conversation, so the next call or text picks up where the last one left off
  • Each business gets its own setup: a knowledge base built from how they work, rules for what it can and can't promise, and its own memory bank
  • VAPI
  • Claude
  • Quo (OpenPhone)
  • n8n
Dashboard tour: real counts, sample business names
The pipeline, by stage
An AI-drafted email waiting for approval

Zakk of All Trades, full-stack web app

Lead research and outreach engine

The result. 1,075 businesses researched and scored, and 131 contacted so far.

A web app on my own server finds local businesses, researches and scores each one, and drafts a personal email that waits for my approval before it sends. Opens, replies, unsubscribes and bounces are tracked automatically.

  • Python / FastAPI
  • PostgreSQL
  • Linux server
  • Claude

Made for My Kids

The two builds I'm proudest of weren't for a client.

A real talker playing both games (sound on: that’s the talker’s voice)
Live

For my son's speech therapist

Talk to Play

A child's AAC talker becomes the game controller: "more" sends up bubbles, "go" and "stop" drive the race car. A one-minute setup learns the talker's voice, so only the device counts, and nothing is recorded or sent.

Play Talk to Play

Playing a dragon game it wrote for him
Live

For my son, built when he was five

Playground

A kid-sized version of the console I build with every day. He types an idea, it writes a real Python game about it, and he plays it, all inside a locked-down sandbox.

Try Playground

More Builds

Smaller systems, same idea: take the repetitive part off someone's plate.

The website, and the groomers' booking dashboard behind it

A Doggie Do, pet care

Pet care front office

Website, booking, an auto-answering phone and text line, and card payments, handling thousands of client interactions. Now rebuilt with a groomer dashboard.

The workflow: call form in, AI research, sheet and email out

A regional window manufacturer

Contractor intake agent

Staff log a sales call; an AI agent checks the business online, scores it 1 to 5 and emails the team a summary.

620 applications in one table (applicant details blurred)

Operation Saves, nonprofit rescue

Adoption pipeline and auto-replies

The rescue's first website, and an automated adoption application that has handled hundreds of applicants.

One order's follow-up timeline (customer details blurred)

A regional window manufacturer

Quote and payment follow-ups

Open quotes and unpaid invoices get friendly, automatic reminders, so nothing depends on someone remembering.

The corkboard (fake names, order PDFs blurred)

A regional window manufacturer

Order corkboard

Drop in an order PDF and it becomes a card sorted by due date. Drag one to override the date and it stays put.

Takeout ordering and table booking (example)

Client work

Restaurant ordering and payments

Square set up end to end for a local restaurant: card payments, online takeout and table booking.

Show 4 more buildsShow fewer
The customer service hub (supplier names removed)

A regional window manufacturer

Customer service command center

Every tool the team needs on one screen, plus a route planner that preps each delivery call.

VS Code in a browser tab, with Claude Code at work

Personal project

Self-hosted command hub

Claude Code in VS Code on my own server, open from any browser. Everything on this page was built here.

The storefront

Zakk of All Trades, art and merch

Print-on-demand store

My own art and merch store, wired to print-on-demand so orders ship with no inventory.

The staff app's Workflow tab today
In development

Operation Saves

Rescue operations app

An app for animal rescues to run intake, adoptions and daily operations without paying for enterprise software.

About

Zakk Cook, outdoors in autumn

Operations first, then automation

I didn't come up through a computer science program. I came up through the front desk of a pet farm in 2016 and worked my way to district manager, running up to 20 staff, three locations and 200+ animals. Along the way I became the person who set up the website, the booking, the phones and the payments, because somebody had to.

I've also baked bread overnight, kept a Jeep assembly line running and managed a frame shop, and every job showed me where the hours get wasted. That's who I build for: the person using the tool at 7 a.m. with a line at the counter. I'm on the board of Operation Saves, a Toledo animal rescue, and I'm raising three kids.

Toolbox

AI and automation

  • n8n
  • Claude and Claude Code
  • MCP
  • VAPI
  • ElevenLabs
  • Zapier
  • Make

Build

  • Python / FastAPI
  • PostgreSQL
  • Docker
  • Linux servers
  • nginx
  • VS Code
  • APIs and webhooks

Business systems

  • HubSpot
  • Google Workspace
  • Quo (OpenPhone)
  • Square
  • Shopify

Web and creative

  • Squarespace
  • Wix
  • Adobe CC
  • Canva
  • Photo and video
  • Hand lettering

Résumé

  • Owner and AI automation builder, Zakk of All Trades LLCMay 2023 to present
  • Marketing assistant, Stark CreateAugust 2025 to present
  • Customer service specialist, Vinyl Design CorporationNovember 2025 to present
  • District manager, A Doggie Do (formerly Toledo Pet Farm)October 2022 to November 2025, with the company since 2016
  • Board member, Operation Saves2022 to present
  • Earlier: overnight baker at Panera, production operator and backup team lead at the Toledo Jeep plant, certified custom framing manager at Michaels, podcast producer, bicycle technician

Let's Talk

Hiring for automation or marketing tech?

I'm open to remote roles and the right freelance builds. Send me the problem that eats your team's hours.