Hey Guys, My name is Brett Ehlert,

I did a similar AMA on r/sweatystartup and it got good feedback, so thought I the ProHVACR community could benefit from it as well.

I've been doing SEO for local service businesses for over 5 years, mainly in the pest control and HVAC industries. There's a lot of SEO companies that have shady business practices, which puts a bad name on my profession.

I'm here to provide insight, and answer any questions and hopefully provide some benefit to the community.

I urge all comments to be made publicly so that other members can benefit from the questions/answers as well.

Thanks!

Does anyone here hire CSRs specifically for outbound for commercial jobs? We're a small team so trying to figure out if this makes sense

For those experienced in working with new construction how do you bid them? Looking to bid for a new development 40 ish homes for over the next few years. We have been in business about 5 years in Oregon.

Hey everyone. I’ve pretty much come to the final decision that I’ll be starting my own company. I’m still probably close to a year out to actually “going live” due to current family situations but I have started the most basic parts, or at least what I think are the basics, of getting a business off the ground.

What I’ve done so far is come up with a name and logo, have a website approximately 80-90% finished and I’ve filed the application with my state for an LLC - still haven’t heard back on that and it’s nearing the end of the window they stated I’d hear back.

Since I do have an extended time frame until I go out 100% on my own I have time to do some research and pick peoples brains. So, I’m wondering what were some of the more difficult parts of getting things up and running for you all, what were some things you hadn’t thought of initially that turned out to be important and what were some of the easier things to get sorted out.

I’m open to pretty much any sort of advice even things not related to my questions because as we all know, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Thanks in advance!

year 1 2man company here, wanting to get financing for our customers. one of our advertising agents mentioned Wisetack and Hearth, but i looked at some of their reviews and a lot of people have said they are scammy/predatory with their rates and 'promises'. i get that every lender would likely have some angry customers. which companies do you guys use/recommend? we are based out of Illinois, USA.

Hi guys I’m a technician who is planning on opening my company in the near future but am having difficulty learning the business side of things. I have worked on chillers which have $500000 maintenance contracts for multi year agreements and am puzzled on how to sell labor contracts and maintenance agreements. Any suggestions?

I have an opportunity to buy an underperforming company with approximately 500 maintenance contracts. This is significantly more than we have, and many of these customers have been with this company for far longer than we have been in business. I am in the early stages of discussions, but they have maybe two techs and an installer I would want to keep.

Looking to roll this company into our company, under our name, despite this company having been around for much longer. We do more revenue and have been growing 50% YoY. This would more than double our existing customer list, and maintenance customers.

Stubbornly (and frugally), we are on HCP and the company under consideration is on Service Titan. I don't want to transition to ST.

I have some concerns with the way that this business is being run. They pay way too much for equipment, slightly too much for direct labor. We will definitely have some turnover due to reconfiguring their very unconventional and unsustainable pay structure.

Has anyone had experience with this? What percentage of the maintenance contracts could we expect to maintain?

How tough Is rolling a customer database and active maintenance agreements from one business platform to another? I'm afraid this may just end up creating a full-time data entry role for the foreseeable future. I'm afraid that we may lose a significant number of maintenance customers.

With all the private equity groups buying up contracting companies left and right (Colorado), would it be a bad time to start an instal company?

Last company sold off to a big company and think it's my time to get out on my own. As far as skills I have all I need on the hvac side. Bussiness I'm not sure. I'm not even sure what type to open (llc .. etc) and what todo about insurance. So looking for a little guidance there. License wise, im in an area where we do not need it. Have 15 years in. 7 as install lead and 7 as service.

I've owned my company for the last 5 years and word of mouth has kept me busy. Recently things have started to slow down. What are some ways you've grown your company ? Did you seek any outside help ? I'm also toying with the idea of hiring a business developer to help with my online, is this a good strategy ? Any insite from a developed company owner i would greatly appreciate it .

Like the title says! Just got my license in CA earlier this month. I'm getting nonstop calls from insurance agencies - 2 to 3 a day trying to sell me insurance policies. It's a pain because I have to answer every call in case it's a customer but almost every single call I get is from an insurance company. Has anyone else dealt with this? Any way to stop these calls?

Curious how many of you do the electrical work in house vs subcontract? And if you are subcontracting is it a go-to person or do you pick someone with best price? Bonus points if you can tell me what % you take before subcontracting

Seems to be more electrical jobs with heat pump nowadays.

HVAC Business Owners & Pros: If you’re installing Daikin, Amana, or Goodman furnaces, be aware! We’ve found C-width 100k BTU AMVC/AM9C & B-width 80k units with outer jacket temps running dangerously hot—160°+ to 190°+.

Daikin/Amana has known about this for over a year—they won’t acknowledge it in writing, but they’ve been giving us replacements and credits. Yet, no safe operating temp guidelines, no official action, and the usual “you’re the only company with this issue” excuse. 🚨

After over 10 years of faithfully installing Amana, I’ve had enough. This week, I blew the whistle because public safety is at risk. If you’ve had similar experiences, share below. Let’s bring this issue to light and protect our clients. And if your company installs these products, make sure your team is checking the back of the unit with an infrared heat gun.Video uploaded to x.

Anyone here a one man shop and would like to share your expense ratio? I’m trying to get my finances straight?

Any one know how many times one can take the exam in Virginia?

So I live in New Jersey and you need to have a Master HVACR contractor's license to buy or start an HVAC business. How easy or how normal is it that you can partner with someone that already has a license? Is there a differantation between installation and servicing as far as that license is conserned? Is the license transferrable from owner to owner? How would you go about buying an HVAC business with no license? What am I missing or it it as simple as i'm just flat out barking up the wrong tree. I got my CFC recently for whatever thats worth.

Anyone know how far they go back on the motor vehicle report? When applying for a refrigeration technician job.

Hey! First post on reddit so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

Anyways I run a heating and air conditioning business in alabama. I've mostly been doing service, maintenance, repairs, etc. It's my first year in business with my own company and though my service work has kept me busy, I'm wanting to get in with a few builders to get some new construction work, both to help expand my business and develop more consistency in workflow rather than having to continue hustling for service calls as my main source of revenue. I've always worked for someone else up until this last spring, so although I've had the opportunity to work with builders and GC's, I'm not sure what the most effective way to get in with builders as a new business. So far my plan is to find some smaller ones and hand a portfolio + business cards to whoever I can. Any advice or more effective ways to achieve this?

Hey all! Starting up a new company, and wanted to get your advice on bookkeeping.

What software are you all using to manage your books? Ideally I'd like to work with something that's relatively easy for me to use and do 90% of the work, and hand off to a professional to close the books and prep taxes.

I assume a lot of you use quickbooks online, but I've also used one called Xero at a past company. I found one called Puzzle that seems interesting because it gives you live reports before the books are closed at the end of the month, but it seems more geared toward software companies and I'm worried it won't work well for HVAC.

Any suggestions? What has been working well for you all?

Hi everyone. I know this is something that gets asked here all the time, but I am currently a power plant operator (2 years after college) where I happen to deal with some HVAC systems + I also have an engineering degree. I’ve always wanted to create my own business, and since I moved to Florida, I’ve been thinking about starting an HVAC company. I’ve been practicing for the license test and feel pretty confident about it.

Can anyone here share their experience, offer any advice, or help with anything? Thank you all!

Feel like I mainly run into an older crowd that does things 'the old way'. How many owners here are under 30?

Under 35 welcome too :) I'll start I'm 28 and bought HVAC business off my uncle.

Lots of interest for a community, you can join a discord with us here: https://discord.gg/wdxczUgj

Wondering what people are doing at their own companies. Is it the technician, yourself or office? Bonus points if you can walk me through your process (ie. forms, online etc.)

Finding it annoying to adapt to each manufacturer's warranty process.

small 2man mainly-residential business here. we are doing okay off single family homes but are looking to find property groups/owners to offer maintenance/service contracts to. we have a customer with a few properties that has supplied good work and would like to find others like him. any advice appreciated, thanks!

Evening everyone and hope this is the right place to ask! I’ve been approached by a large custom home builder( 5-15 mil range) to consult on pre construction design on new homes and issue solver on older homes within there property management division. My question is how much should I charging per hour/job for my time? I’m currently project managing and have salary/Commision structure but no idea what to be asking for in this case. Any and all help would be appreciated!

Just took over a one man van HVAC business. I come from a tech background so thinking of creating some software for myself. With AI right now it feels even easier to do.

Pretty sure I can replicate the HouseCall Pro functionality that I need and make it even better.

Anyone thinking of doing this or create something in house?

I have a few questions. I have no experience in HVAC. I have 4 year degree in finance.

1. How long does it take to get licensed?
2. Does my degree help shorten process?
3. How long before business or contractors license?
4. What type of license do I need?
5. Where do I start? Just go work for someone?

Thanks. Anything else I should know is welcomed!

Hello! I am looking to start a commercial hvac company in Colorado. I have the knowledge, resources, and finances to do so. What are the next steps I need to take and what certifications/ licenses will help me?

We have a PM on our construction side that is currently hourly. We have had a good year and we want to consider a good way to share. Our construction revenue is not consistent so I feel like a semi-annual or annual defined bonus would be a good way. Anyone else doing something like this. Maybe a commission on gross or net profit?

I co-own an HVAC company and we did some work for a facilities maintenance company and they are refusing to pay us for the work we completed. I have all the proof of communication on what they were due to us for the diagnostic and repair. Has anyone ever been through this? Any advice would be appreciated, TIA