Implementation BlueprintExecution layer

Howie Client Scheduling Retainer Build (5-7 days)

Stand up a per-client Howie scheduling retainer: one dedicated email account and calendar per client, tuned rules for buffers and focus time, and a monitored first month of email, iMessage, and SMS handling. The agency sells the outcome (fewer scheduling threads, protected focus blocks) while Howie does the back-and-forth. Time: 5-7 days.

By InnovaAI ResearchPublished

Personal Assistants

How do you implement it?

Blueprint

Howie Client Scheduling Retainer Build (5-7 days)

Stand up a per-client Howie scheduling retainer: one dedicated email account and calendar per client, tuned rules for buffers and focus time, and a monitored first month of email, iMessage, and SMS handling. The agency sells the outcome (fewer scheduling threads, protected focus blocks) while Howie does the back-and-forth.

Prerequisites
  • Client signs off on a dedicated scheduling email address and grants calendar access for Howie to check availability
  • Written inventory of the client's meeting types, buffer rules, and focus-time windows so Howie's assistant settings can be configured on day one
  • Named client-side owner who approves Howie's proposed times and handles overrides during the first 30 days
  • Agency account on the Howie Team plan at $25 monthly, with seats allocated per client workspace
  • Agreed escalation path for reschedules and group threads that Howie cannot close on its own
Execution Timeline
  • 1.Provision the client's dedicated email account and connect the calendar inside Howie
  • 2.Confirm Howie reads a live scheduling thread end to end before configuring anything else
  • 1.Set scheduling rules in Howie: meeting lengths, buffers between calls, and focus-time blocks
  • 2.Define which hours Howie may propose and which stay closed to booking
  • 1.Connect Granola, Linear, Notion, and Todoist where the client already uses them so scheduling links to tasks and notes
  • 2.Map which client projects need meeting follow-ups pushed into the task tool
  • 1.Enable the iMessage agent and SMS channel for clients who schedule by text
  • 2.Test a reschedule and a three-person thread through each channel and log how Howie responds
  • 1.Turn on proactive calendar audits, daily briefings, and reminder follow-ups
  • 2.Write the client's override protocol: when staff step in, how they reclaim a thread from Howie
  • 1.Run a live day with Howie handling all inbound scheduling while the agency watches the queue
  • 2.Tune response templates against the first real reschedules and no-shows
  • 1.Hand over the workspace with a one-page runbook and start the 30-day monitoring window
  • 2.Schedule the monthly review where the agency reports threads handled and focus hours protected
$25 per month for the Howie Team plan per client workspace, plus agency labor of roughly 8 hours setup and 2 hours per month per client; the $299 per month starter retainer covers that labor at a workable margin. Enterprise terms are quoted on contact and are only worth pursuing once a client needs invoicing, a DPA, or an SLA.5-7 days
ROI Logic

A client workspace costs $25 monthly on the Team plan, and the agency bills $299 per month for setup, tuning, and monitoring, so the tool line stays a small fraction of the retainer. The 8-hour build is recovered in the first billing cycle, and the 2 hours per month of oversight is what the retainer actually pays for. Margin holds as long as the agency caps each workspace at one client calendar rather than stacking several clients into a single Howie account.

Deliverables
  • Configured Howie workspace per client with dedicated email, calendar, iMessage, and SMS channels live
  • Scheduling rules sheet covering buffers, focus-time blocks, and permitted booking windows
  • Integration map showing how Granola, Linear, Notion, and Todoist connect to the client's scheduling flow
  • Staff override and handoff protocol for reclaiming threads from Howie
  • 30-day monitoring report on threads handled, reschedules absorbed, and focus hours protected
Definition of Done

Howie has closed a full week of the client's inbound scheduling across email, iMessage, and SMS without agency intervention beyond the agreed override protocol.

Open the Howie courseHowie decision recordBrowse the Academy

More on Howie

More for Personal Assistants