STEVE HOWARD WILL BE INDUCTED into the Contracting Business HVAC Hall of Fame on October 16, 2024, during the Service World Expo in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. See serviceworldexpo.com for event information.   Read Full Article by Terry McIver   “Steve Howard was born in 1948 in Flagstaff Arizona. He signed on to the US Air Force while still in high school, using the early enlistment option. While in VietNam, he trained and served as an aircraft mechanic, and volunteered for missions distributing psychological warfare leaflets and other operations. Back home, he continued his aviation mechanic’s training, and earned an…

  Gold was discovered in Big Bug Creek in 1863. The biggest nugget weighed 32 ounces. When word got out, people of all walks of life braved the Central Arizona wilderness to pan for gold on Big Bug Creek.   To make money feeding hungry miners a man named Dionysius Mueller built a bakery, smokehouse and small cabin into the side of a mountain. As the population grow, a two-story addition enclosed the bakery and cabin. Over the last 150 years the downstairs was an assay office, store, stagecoach stop and saloon. The upstairs was as a hotel,…

  Every year almost 500,000 small businesses close their doors forever. During the same period in the same economy, over 100,000 small business owners become millionaires. The contracting industry experiences a similar imbalance. The number of contractors struggling to survive far outweighs those who’ve reached financial freedom. After 35 years of observing thousands of contractors, I believe the wealthiest ones have identified and are constantly working to eliminate 10 factors that lead to business failure.   Failure to Move From Technician to Manager Most business owners are great technicians. Many feel no one can troubleshoot and repair…

Business value is determined by profits. Here are five things you can do to grow your company’s value by boosting your profits, starting today. RAISE PRICES The price your customers are willing to pay is determined by the benefits you provide. Logical benefits, such as increased reliability, even temperature, and energy savings, open the sale; emotional benefits like trust and peace of mind close it. The more you differentiate your company with benefits your competition can’t offer, the more you’re allowed to raise your price. The two most important ingredients in the profit improvement formula are your people and their…

The biggest problem facing HVAC/R contractors, manufacturers and distributors is the growing shortage of service technicians. Service techs are the point of the spear; the men and women who deal directly with business managers and homeowners. The people everyone expects to quickly find and repair all types of comfort related problems. Because service techs usually run several trouble calls every day they have a huge influence on client satisfaction, social media referrals and on-line reputation of both contractors and manufacturers. According to the latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 332,900 HVAC/R (mechanics) service technicians and…

Don’t just sell great equipment and parts, sell increased cash flow, profit improvement, and personal relationships When it comes to buying HVAC parts and supplies, your customers have a growing list of options. On-line retailers like Wal-Mart, Amazon and E-Bay are trying hard to take your parts business. The key to eliminating on-line competition is helping your customers see the dollars-and-cents benefits of being loyal to you. Higher profits It usually takes an hour or more for a technician to leave the job and chase a needed part. If your customized truck stocking program…