Full Transcript for What HVAC Owners Get Wrong About the Labor Shortage

touristy area of Napa of Maine. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:45.519 Okay. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:47.120 Like coast on the coast. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:48.239 Sort of on the coast, yes. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:48.799 Southern Maine. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:49.040 Yeah. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:49.439 Okay. 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:49.920 Got it. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:53.280 Um and then I'm more on the lakes coast rather than the ocean coast, but yes. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:53.920 Okay. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:56.079 Um, so I own a company there. 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:59.280 And I also am the founder of HVHX Coalition. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.159 We are a coalition of roughly 8,300 people right now. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:02.719 That's great. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:08.639 Um techs, owners, um, you know, people who want to help each other and who want to get help. 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:09.599 So that's what we do. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:16.479 We offer free training to technicians who can't afford training or aren't offered training in their business, their their company. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:18.879 Um, and then we also train whole companies. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:20.000 So it's pretty great. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:21.360 Yeah, that is cool. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.879 Uh 8,300 people, just like walk me through that really quick. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.680 Is it like a Facebook group or is it like an internal community? 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.000 Like how, where and how does this community work? 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:30.479 Yeah. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:34.000 So it is essentially an internal community, but it's everywhere. 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:36.000 So we use a Facebook group as our base. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.240 So, like that's kind of you know, home plate. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:39.759 That's our our office, if you will. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.000 So we have 8,300 people who have chosen to and been accepted as members. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:45.520 There's it's free membership. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:48.400 You just have to want to be there and not be a bot. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:52.080 Um, because of that, we're able to keep a very clean Facebook group for like five years. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:53.439 People make jokes about it all the time. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.159 How it's like the only group you can go into and post your work, right? 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:57.439 Um, but it's really great. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:58.159 Everybody works together. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:00.240 Plus your work, like, hey, I just did this install. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:03.039 Not get absolutely torn apart, you know, online. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:04.159 Um, it's really great. 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:05.680 Every single person is there for the same reason. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.560 It's 82, 8,300 um like-minded people that all care about our industry very much. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:12.080 Yeah, that is interesting. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:20.960 I think um obviously the content that we create on this show is like owner operator uh content. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:30.879 Um but it so like usually like that's where my head goes for and like that's the Facebook groups and stuff I think about, but it's always like Reddit as an example. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:34.879 Like the plumbing subreddit has like a million freaking plumbers in there. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:43.599 It's absolutely crazy um how just big that or or uh Roger Wakefield even as an example, like his YouTube channel is humongous. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:44.400 Just as following. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:46.159 Oh my god, it's crazy. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:46.879 Absolutely. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:48.159 Um, it's crazy. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:49.919 Yeah, Roger's actually really great. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.560 He's one of my always been one of my mentors and idols. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:53.120 He's amazing. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:53.759 I love his channel. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.280 If you don't follow it, go do it for sure. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:56.000 Yeah, I agree. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.840 All right, so yeah, uh, so we own an HVAC company in Naples. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.199 And Maine, I've never been to Maine. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:04.240 Most people haven't. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:08.240 But like I'm assuming it's like, I would imagine like it's beautiful, like beautiful and cold. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.080 It's beautiful and cold most of the time. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:11.759 In the summer, it's very muggy and hot. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:12.639 It's like Florida. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:13.280 Oh, wow. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:13.680 Yeah. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.520 But um, now we're in heating season. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:17.360 Heating season starts overnight in Maine. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:21.199 It's very much like it goes from a hundred degrees to you wake up the next morning and need a hoodie. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:23.439 So um, yeah, it's beautiful. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:27.759 We can't have billboards, we can't have anything that's taller than a pine tree because it'll obstruct the view. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:30.879 So anywhere you go in Maine is a gorgeous view. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.000 It doesn't matter where you're going. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.439 As you think about um, could you explain the seasonality of Maine? 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:37.680 I think that the seasonality is kind of interesting. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:46.079 We uh like as an example, I actually think Ohio is like one of the worst states to own an HVAC business in. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:49.680 As you're thinking about like maximizing like business. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:53.839 Because like if you're in Phoenix, right, you know, it's like job security. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:56.959 Like, you know, 11 months out of the year. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.360 Yeah, it's the mildness of the temperature that

you can. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:00.879 Yeah, it's a little too mild here. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:05.040 And like we're uh we get a lot of snow because we're we get lake effect. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:09.040 Yes, which I'm it sounds like you're yeah, sounds like you guys do two. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:14.160 But um but yeah, it's like it's not that it's not cold enough to be crazy. 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:17.120 And I'm assuming like you're far more north than we are. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:22.319 So I'm assuming that like my heating season is maybe like four or five months, and yours is six or seven. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:22.560 Yeah. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:29.199 Mine is, I would say my I always say that my heating season is nine months, and that is because of maintenance season. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:30.639 Maintenance is a huge part of that. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:39.519 So people can't we have to be very, very um extreme in a very cold climate like ours with maintenance, because that's the number one reason for a breakdown. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:40.879 So we have to be very on top of that. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:47.199 So we have, I would say, probably three months of just maintenance for boilers, for furnaces, for heating. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:48.879 Uh when does that start? 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:50.480 That would start this year. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:52.879 It started a little bit later because we had such a hot summer. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.639 People just weren't ready to have their heating, you know, tested even in their houses. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.519 Um, I think this year it started probably end of August, and normally it would start like beginning of August. 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:02.399 That's interesting. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:04.000 Yeah, we're doing it already. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:05.040 So Okay. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:05.439 All right. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.199 And then it goes through what, April, May? 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:07.759 Yeah. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:18.079 So we have four seasons technically, but from an HVAC perspective or an owner's perspective, we have two busy seasons and a very small slow season. 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:24.800 So we have, I would say the month of November is slow, probably because of expense more so than need. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:26.639 Um, it's because Christmas is coming. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.680 It's a lot of families, our area is very, very old. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:34.480 Um, and then we have another slow season in like March, April, where it's just so mild. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:38.160 Like you said, nobody is thinking about air conditioning and nobody needs their heat on anymore. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.600 So, or if they do, they've already had their service calls, you know, for the winter. 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:42.720 So yeah. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:47.759 As your business grows, the financial decisions get a lot more expensive. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.399 Things like hiring techs, buying trucks, raising pricing, and marketing. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:57.759 If you're making those decisions without really understanding your numbers, you're probably leaving a pile of money on the table. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:59.600 And that's where profit and grit comes in. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:04.480 Tyler has built, scaled, and sold a$25 million service business. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.519 So his advice comes from real operating experience. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:17.120 You'll work with him directly to improve your cash flow, understand your margins, and build better forecasts to make you more confident as you make decisions as you grow. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:23.600 One client increased bottom line profit by 11% after fixing pricing, improving job mix, and stabilizing their cash flow. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:31.680 If you're doing between three and five million a year and you want more clarity around your finances, book a free 20-minute strategy call at the link below. 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:33.199 Yeah, that is really interesting. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:36.240 I think that um yeah, Ohio's a funny one. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:46.399 And I and as I think about Ohio, so I I was in a I was on a trip and we were looking at a business uh and they were in like the heartlets of like uh America. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:46.720 Yeah. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.800 And it was a two-hour flight, which to me is not very long. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:51.519 Not very short. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:53.120 Uh so two-hour flight. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:58.639 And when I went there, I wore a sweater leaving Ohio, and this was like August. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.040 Yeah, okay. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.639 So I was wearing a sweater, and it was 105 degrees there. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:02.879 Yeah. 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:04.079 And I'm like, what the fuck? 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:06.000 Also, this is why I'm explicit. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:06.959 I actually just got a text. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:10.160 I'm so glad because this is why I'm explicit on Apple. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:12.000 But like, that's crazy. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:17.680 So this so then it really got me like kind of obsessed with like where should you be thinking about an HVAC company? 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:19.680 I feel like North Dakota or like Minnesota. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.279 Like, how close to Canada can you get? 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:21.519 Yeah. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.160 And how close to the right in the south can you get? 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:24.560 Yeah. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:25.680 And like uh, yeah. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:26.800 That's very true. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.360 I would say I've always thought of Ohio as similar to Maine as far as seasonality goes. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.120 Um I think we have all four cities. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.759 I think we're a lot closer than like, you know, Ohio to Phoenix.

00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:38.559 Oh, yeah, for sure. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:41.039 Like we would never get an 82-degree day right now, though. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.960 And you guys are like, I I couldn't believe it this morning when I saw that. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:46.720 I'm also surprised. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:48.000 I'm also surprised. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:48.559 Very cool. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:49.360 Um okay, all right. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:50.879 So your heating season a little bit longer. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:52.720 Your AC season is probably much shorter. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:53.519 Do you ever get a little bit more? 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:55.440 It's shorter than our heating season, yes. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:03.039 Um, I will say, because of the extremes, so we have such a humid and muggy climate in the summer. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.320 People don't, the customers don't know how to handle that. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:11.279 So we have a lot more minor service calls, probably than most people would in a hotter climate. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:18.080 Um, you know, if something seems to be wrong, it's much more noticeable where we are rather than, you know, maybe in Florida, they wouldn't even notice it. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:19.919 They'd just be like, oh, wait, it's hot in here. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:24.240 Um, but where we're at, people notice immediately when their HVAC isn't working correctly. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:33.679 So I would I would say that we have a much, a much shorter AC season, but the revenue-wise, it's really not much different as far as service goes. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.759 So it's just wham bam, thank you, ma'am. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:37.360 Like you are running all the time. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:37.840 Yeah. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:38.159 Yeah. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:40.320 And how many days above a hundred? 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:41.679 Um, not many. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:43.919 I I think it's probably 10. 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:45.279 I think on design it's 10. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.639 I think you're the only voyeur you've ever had on the show from like Maine. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:50.879 So that's why I'm like, I'm just curious. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:51.039 Yeah. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:51.679 Most people. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.639 It's funny though what you say about Ohio, because it's like the HVAC capital of the world. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.320 Akron is like pretty much. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:58.000 They've got, well, you're out here. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.519 And then um True Tech Tools and Measure Quick both have their base in Akron. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.879 So there's lots of lots of great companies that chose Ohio. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:10.559 Yeah, Ohio became um like a sleeper for really big businesses, like service providers. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:19.679 There's a lot of humongous service providers that um but you know what's kind of interesting, like at like Eco is an example. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:19.840 Yeah. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.840 Just thinking purely of the service providers. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:22.240 Exactly. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.039 Like uh, yeah, Eco's an example, Apex Pro is your example. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:29.840 Yeah, but uh Ohio's huge for service providers. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.039 It's a huge population. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:33.759 There's like 12 million people in Ohio. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:42.879 And um a ton of really big companies, and where oh, but a ton of them have plumbing as their base because of the seasonality of HVAC. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:47.840 It's just a little bit a little bit of a different uh flavor versus like, yeah, if I was in Vegas, yeah. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:48.480 Right. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:52.879 And I think that's where a lot of owners get it wrong, too, is not adding those things to their company. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:58.639 Like just me adding refrigeration alone added a whole new company worth of revenue to my, you know, to my roster. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:03.919 Even if it's you know mild, there's still breakdowns in the refrigeration world, whereas same with plumbing in Ohio. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:04.320 Yeah. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:04.879 Yeah. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.279 Um, okay, so how'd you get into HVAC? 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.159 So my husband Val, everybody that knows me knows this story, um, but I'll tell it again. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:17.200 So my husband Val is a technician of 30 years. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:23.600 And so he worked for the same company from the time we got together when I was 18 until I went out on my own with him. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.440 Um, so very, very long time. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:28.000 I got in uh just before COVID. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.679 I was looking for, I knew I was gonna have to pull all of my kids to homeschool. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:33.440 It was nothing to do with COVID at the time. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:37.440 I ended up doing it because of COVID because it was like you can't wait any longer, right? 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:45.840 So I pulled all my kids to homeschool and I actually opened a community homeschool that was for free at the time of COVID because there were so many people who had to work who were essential, but their kids couldn't go to school. 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:47.440 So I taught a lot of them. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:49.600 And at the time I was a stay-home teacher. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:50.720 That's what I was doing. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:56.559 Um, so I was looking for vocational um ways that they could do it virtually, learn a vocation. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.840 And so for my high school students, I've stumbled upon an online trade school that was free at the time. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:03.840 I still work with them every single day. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.039 I work for them and with them now, all these

10 years later almost. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:09.360 Um, but they're a great, great resource. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:10.480 So I started going through. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:11.440 I'm like, this can't be real. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.039 You can't get your EPA for free, right? 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:13.919 That's impossible. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:14.799 No, I did it. 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.679 I did it on my own on my computer, and I just walked away with my EPA. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:18.159 I looked at Val. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:20.320 I'm like, hey, I I uh have my EPA license. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:21.200 He's like, what? 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.039 So uh yeah, we kind of did the COVID thing, right? 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:29.039 And then like throughout COVID, I was just learning and learning and learning, going on calls with Val. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:31.279 He was teaching me about install and all these things. 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.120 He's a great teacher, very, very quiet man. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:34.799 You have to be to be with someone like me. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.480 Um, but he's a great teacher. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:37.600 He knows how to teach me. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:39.200 So I learned a whole lot. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.519 And then I realized that there was just no community for people like me when we went out on our own together. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.960 Um, so that's where HBHIx was born shortly after. 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:53.360 No community like you, uh I'm grabbing onto the name, like female entrepreneurs or female technician. 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:55.039 Female technicians at the time. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:56.159 Yeah, I wasn't okay. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:12:58.799 Do you know what the percentage is? 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:00.399 Um, so we're two percent of the industry. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:00.879 2%. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:01.279 Yeah. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:02.159 And that's new. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.080 We were 1% of the industry until last year. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.000 So it's we've had a major, major, major growth as far as women in the industry. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:15.039 Um, but that's also including dispatchers, owners, um, marketing people, people that aren't technicians. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.799 So technicians are even smaller than that. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:17.679 They're like 0.5%. 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:25.279 So um, but yeah, at the time it was just there are women's groups out there for women that are in HVACR, but they're not for technicians. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.480 And we all tried to join them. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.799 We had a bunch of girls that were all trying to join them and find a community, and it just was not working out for us. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:38.080 We don't we have one of our our big, our big priorities is that we don't create division in the industry between genders. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:41.840 And it's really,

really hard to do that when a a group doesn't allow men in, right? 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:43.919 So um we kind of just started our own. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:44.879 I I started our own. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.000 I started HVHX Coalition, but I was the only one in it at that time. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:52.240 And I just kind of opened it up and just said, you know, um, I don't know what to offer. 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:55.840 I don't know what you need, but I know that I'm alone and you're probably alone. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:57.360 So if you are, message me. 00:13:57.440 --> 00:13:59.360 You know, we didn't even have a Facebook group at that time. 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:03.519 I got my first two members, and those we call them the OG three. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.320 We're all still together today with 8,300 members. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:06.799 So yeah. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:07.840 Yeah, that's a lot of fun. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:08.240 It's great. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.480 Uh what like what does the the community like? 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.399 Uh how does it get involved or there's lots of ways. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:15.440 Yeah. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.080 So we have um programs, is what we call them. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:19.759 They're really not, they're just resources. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.399 So essentially, um my jobs are all kind of split apart. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.080 So I'm an influencer for manufacturing companies like Field Bulls. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.879 Um, and then also I am a teacher, so I train technicians. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.519 I also am an owner, so I coach owners. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.600 And then on top of that, we have things like, I mean, book club, weekly book club. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:49.600 We have we have a weekly tech hangout on Saturday mornings just in Discord, where new techs or techs who maybe you had a you've never joined before, but last week you had a really rough call and you didn't call the tech sport line. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:50.320 It's driving you crazy. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:51.279 You need to talk to somebody about it. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.720 You pop in, there's 20 of us in Discord talking, you know, shooting the shit. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:08.960 Um, so we have just little things like that, all the way up to things like we have housed newly homeless female technicians off of the street with our kids before with DV situations, or we have 22 lawyers, lawyers in 22 states who will work with our people. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:10.960 Domestic violence. 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:11.600 Oh, yeah. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:12.000 Okay. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:17.360 Um, the other thing, unfortunately, recently we're dealing with is job site violence against women. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:21.840 So we're kind of um opening up new resources right now, which we don't normally do. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:23.919 We're we've been very set in our ways. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:35.679 Um, but now we're kind of gathering new resources as female service technicians in other industries, um, namely welding, um, become abused on a job site or murdered in that case. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.159 So now we're bringing in more lawyers for other things. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.039 But yeah, we offer things like that on the on the female side. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:50.080 But then also things like, you know, wage problems, you know, if if a tech, you know, had been, you know, abused wagely, we would take care of that as well. 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:51.519 We have lawyers that will take care of that. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.360 Um, so we offer just about everything. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.720 There's literally nothing that a technician could need that we don't offer. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.320 And then also because I run it and own it myself, we're not even a nonprofit. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.039 We're not for-profit, we're not nonprofit, we're all volunteers. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:06.879 So because of that, we're able to add constantly. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.360 If somebody comes to me and says, hey, we should have this, it happens. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.559 The next day it started. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.000 Okay, you're running that program now. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:13.519 So it works out really, really well. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:16.320 But there is even more than I could name in this amount of time. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:16.559 Yeah. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.720 So I urge everybody to check it out if they're interested. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.720 Owners too, especially owners. 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:21.200 Yeah. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:27.519 Is the is the job site uh violence thing, is that like co-workers or like people on the same job? 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:33.360 Or is I would imagine that female technicians going into homes is a potential risk. 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:33.840 It is. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:34.080 Yeah. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:34.480 It is. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.960 And I I personally, I've talked about it on other podcasts. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:41.279 If you guys go and watch um the HVHX radio show at all, you'll you'll see some hints. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.360 I maybe deal with it with humor more than I should. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:44.799 Um, but yeah, it is a risk. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:47.679 It's it's a um hard thing. 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.799 And I I'll tell a little story just because it's the best way to describe it. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:54.000 I had, when I first started out, Val and I both worked for the same boss. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:17:00.320 And that boss was not ready to own a company by far, but he didn't know absolutely how to have a female tech. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:02.080 That was just beyond his, you know. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.880 But he was really great about supporting me. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:06.000 That

he could do. 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:07.200 He knew he wanted me there. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.599 And so I once um, I was learning still. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:10.880 Val and I knocked on a door. 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:11.359 We went in. 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:13.440 The homeowner did not look pleased that I was there. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.519 I had to change his gas valve on his boiler. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:18.079 Um, I was in training, so I had to physically do it. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.400 It wasn't something Val could just do and be done with it. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.279 I had to learn. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:26.960 Um, and that that customer called my boss and said, I'm not paying you to emasculate me. 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.519 And so that kind of the way he described that is really yeah, eye-opening. 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:36.000 I wouldn't think of anybody feeling that way, but some men do feel that way. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.839 That it's, you know, they have something broken on their boiler, they don't know how to fix it. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.880 And then a woman comes and fixes it in their own home. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:45.519 So for us, it's like, yeah, you know, that's badass. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.480 But for this guy, he was angry and he refused to pay. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:49.680 I mean, he was it was awful. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.920 I had to actually vow to like drag me out of the house because the guy like didn't want to let me out of the basement. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:55.279 It was, it was terrifying. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.359 Um, but yeah, so that happens all the time. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.799 But also, coworkers is another really big risk. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:01.119 Yeah. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.000 Not, I mean, we have men and women in the coalition. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:09.680 We have 8,300 people that all live in harmony as different genders, and we would think everybody can, but that's not the case. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:12.720 There are a lot of um coworker violence problems. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.200 Also, another big one that we see, probably the most common, honestly, is other trades. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:26.799 So you have like a job site with multiple trades, and one of the other trades sees a female tech, and that's where the violence comes in or the harassment or whatever it might be. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.160 Uh, stalking is a big one. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:32.480 We get a lot of female techs that get stalked, um, especially by other trades. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:33.200 They're curious. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.559 And I think that's how it starts out. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:39.680 Like, oh, I'm just gonna kind of watch and see what this girl's all about, and then it leads to something really unhealthy. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:40.400 So yeah. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:41.119 Yeah. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:42.480 Yeah, that is scary. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:44.480 I was imagining like a sexual assault thing. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:45.039 Absolutely. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.079 Um happens a lot. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.160 Yeah, that is that is awful. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.279 We we have had uh not enough. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:19:01.279 Like, because I feel like the thing with female technicians, like as an owner, is it feels like they would make so much fucking money. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:01.599 Yeah. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:10.799 It it it it's just it's a totally yeah, it it's like they it is a it is likely a better salesperson. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.480 So like from my perspective, it's like, yeah, goddamn, the more the better. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.319 They will make more money. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.079 But it is it is hard to it is hard to like bring in. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.720 Your whole company has to change to bring in a female technician. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:23.119 That's it. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.240 No, not even not even that. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:26.720 It's just like it's hard to bring in just because there's not that many. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:30.400 Yes, yes, yeah, and not even like um whether or not you can hire them. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:35.440 Like, I agree with you, but there are a lot of companies that will say like we're an equal opportunity employer, right? 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:39.680 But they will never, you'll see 20 applications on their desk from females and they haven't even given them an interview. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:41.680 And that's because there's a lot that goes into it. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:50.400 And it's not, I mean, no female technician will tell you, like, oh, we want, you know, some on our like we don't we want to be treated like everybody else is treated. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:50.960 That's all we want. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:52.400 What we want is to be safe while doing that. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.960 And so it's really, really hard for a company, especially a large one, to be like, how do I keep her safe? 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.920 How do I, you know, I can't just put and it's not fair to her if I just ride, you know, have her ride with a man all the time. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.640 That's not, you know, culpable to her career, right? 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:08.559 So it's there's a lot that goes into hiring a female tech, and a lot of companies don't want to do it. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:11.440 So and I think that that's why there aren't many female techs. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.319 There's a whole there's a whole trickle-down effect when it comes to that. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:22.960 But yeah, we've had a number over the years, uh, but they tend oh, I wonder if there's a trade that's more represented, like auto mechanics, I would assume, like probably has a lot of people. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.759 Welding, believe it or not, is like really big. 00:20:26.160 -->

00:20:32.480 Because I think to me, like the the trades that have like HVAC is almost the perfect example. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:37.839 So like HVAC, I think it's easy for everyone to say, like, hey, there's a labor shortage in HVC. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:38.960 Yeah, sure, totally. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.640 There's labor shortage in fucking everywhere. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:41.119 Everywhere. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:52.559 Uh but like HVAC specifically to me is not the labor shortage because it has the most investment, more than almost any trade I can think of, of education in every freaking trade school from here to wherever. 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:52.880 Yeah. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:21:01.039 Whereas like plumbing and electric plumbing electrical, that is like a there's no plumbing school outside of like a union. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:06.880 Uh in the world, and I think they treat those two trades as if they're like roofing or construction or building trades. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.480 In a roofing or construction or building trade, you teach on the job. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:15.119 There's very little um intellectual work that has to be done. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:21.440 With HVAC, we know about that electrical work or intellectual work, and we have to address it. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:22.160 And we do. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:22.480 Yeah. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:24.400 In electrical and plumbing, they're in the middle. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:25.839 They're they're thrown to the wayside. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.160 People don't think about how intricate those two jobs are. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:28.480 Oh, yeah. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.519 And they should have just as as much training as we have. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.480 But yeah, I think HVAC is one of the things. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:40.079 But my point I have with welding is I think there's a lot of welding classes or programs out there. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:41.440 And for younger people, too. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:41.759 Yes. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:41.920 Yeah. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:42.240 Yeah. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:45.359 Because it it's sort of like HVAC welding auto mechanic. 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:45.759 Uh-huh. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.359 Um, I'm sure there's construction. 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.920 Or um carpentry is a big one too that they do in like vocational schools for high school. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:52.319 Yes. 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:56.799 If you're targeting them and giving them the opportunity and representing them in high school, they're gonna join. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:57.119 Yeah. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759 Whereas once they get out, you know, they're looking at like something. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:01.440 Plumbing? 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:03.279 We don't talk about it enough. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:04.000 That's for sure. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:05.839 I will say there's a foundation. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:16.160 Um, Brian Orr and Ty Brandeman and Skillcat, one of the other companies I work for, um, are all have all partnered to do Grit Foundation and it's targeting little children to bring them into trades. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:23.599 So I think that's kind of where we have to go next is not necessarily, you know, people who are already in the trades, but people who someday maybe. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:24.400 Yeah. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:24.880 Yeah. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.799 Well what I've we've had this discussion on this uh show before. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:41.680 But what I think is kind of interesting about the I'm gonna use error quotes, labor labor shortage, yeah, is um from inside the trade, it doesn't feel like the headlines. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:47.279 Okay, because there's there's no shortage of amount of young people that want to be in the trades. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:47.680 Yeah. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:54.799 Um and like when I can when I compare this to like 10 years ago or 15 years ago, when I first got into the trades, it is different. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:57.920 We're like now we're like freaking drowning in Gen Z kids. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:00.559 That like I think our And they all have their EPAs. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:01.759 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:05.680 But our our average employee age is uh like Gen Z. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:15.519 Like Gen Z is our most like it's like uh Gen Z is 49% of our business and millennials like 35, and then non from there, it's it's really pretty interesting. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:24.640 I have and I say this all the time, but I have um I have Gen Zers who are I even have like 18 and 19 year old kids that are part of our coalition. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:30.559 And these guys are working circles around people who have been here for 20 years because we have new technology now. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.480 The the equipment isn't the same. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:45.359 It's actually harder for the advanced techs like me to learn inverters or, you know, the things that are coming out now into this industry than it is for somebody who's grown up with YouTube on in their tablet, you know, their whole life. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:46.720 It's very easy for them to pick it up. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:50.240 They understand how transmission works, they understand controls very, very well. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:55.200 So I would say they're not only not only are they here, but they should be here. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:59.119 And we need to like really target them next because we could use their help for sure. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:23:59.920 Yeah, yeah. 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:00.559 Yeah. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:03.440 Uh what do you think techs are struggling most with today? 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:07.200 Sounds like females, like job site safety is a really big one, which that makes total sense to me. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:07.440 Yeah. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.200 Maybe like access sounds like

another uh, but would aside from that. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.240 Yeah, I would say it's training, and I'll always say it's training. 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:23.039 Um the if you look at one company and put it right next to another one next door, the training is incomparably different. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:33.279 You can't even compare them because this company may have really amazing training or really amazing training in one thing, and this company has no training whatsoever for their students, uh, for their employees. 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:38.799 Um it's something that isn't uniform across the industry. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:43.599 So there is nobody telling owners that say that they have to invest in training. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:44.400 Nobody. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:50.319 And so just as we look at like a one-man show who maybe isn't licensed, doesn't have business insurance, right? 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:56.960 We look at him as a chuck in a truck and he's just going in and messing things up and leaving, and the rest of us got to go clean it up and the customer has to pay twice, right? 00:24:57.119 --> 00:25:08.720 We need to look at um even large companies that don't offer technical training to their technicians the same way, in my opinion, because you can't sell a service and then not complete that service. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:21.359 So if not completing that service means taking your money and running on an install, it should mean the same if it's a service tech showing up and not being able to diagnose properly a fan motor, something that's typically easy in the industry, right? 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:25.519 Um, but we're seeing that as we have growth, we have growing pains. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:33.599 And one of those growing pains is lack of access to training or lack of accountability to absorb that training. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.160 So um we have to find new ways. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:40.559 There aren't a lot of technical trainers in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or even less. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:45.599 Um what I've done with HVHX Coalition, we're trying to figure out how to fix this. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:46.720 And we don't have the answers. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:47.680 We absolutely don't. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:51.359 What I will say is that we started the HVHX in-house training program. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:58.000 Um, I'm the only trainer right now on that program, but we also do our free Saturday class that anybody, any of our instructors can teach. 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:00.640 Doesn't matter if Saturday to Saturday, you might see 10 faces. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:06.079 Um, but in our in-house training program, I take care of it myself because I build the curriculum from the ground up. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.599 I build it as an owner, as a tech, and as a coalition trainer. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:17.359 So 50 people may be in on, you know, I may have talked to 50 people on the tech support line about one topic. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:23.039 And now this company, you know, I had one call from one of my companies and they need help on this topic as well. 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:25.279 Like the thermostat parameters pops out. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:26.640 I'll just use it as an example. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:33.359 When we change a piece of machinery, we aren't changing that, the technicians, the manufacturers changing that. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:37.839 And then they're expecting us to be able to figure out how to fix it and how to diagnose it. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.000 They don't give us the training to be able to do that. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:49.200 So we need people in the middle who say, okay, this is a Honeywell T10 that has, you know, 20 heats, 20 cools, and this is how you do it because Honeywell isn't going to do that. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:50.799 So that's where the gap is. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:57.279 Um, but what we've done is we train the whole company with that, with our recurring training every week or every two weeks. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:59.920 Um, they also get our 24-hour free tech support line. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.440 And then on top of that, they have um take-home like materials. 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:10.319 So in their CRM, they might have field pulse and they might have a whole list of checklists or they might have a whole list of processes or flow charts. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:22.160 Like we even have one for beginning to end the perfect service call, where it's like a whole class about how to run the perfect service call goes from talking to the customer to diagnosing the unit to cleaning up after yourself after. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.440 It's literally the perfect service call. 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:25.039 And we give that to all of our companies. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:29.200 And some of the things that they see on that list are just things they've never heard of, never thought about. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.920 And this is, you know, a multi-million dollar company. 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:40.240 Um, so one of them would be um, it sounds so silly, but even things like wearing booties in a house. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:47.279 Um, we have lots of data in in the coalition that shows the difference between whether somebody gets a sale with or without booties on. 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:48.079 We have that data. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:49.519 We have compiled it. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:51.119 Um, and so that's on our list. 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:53.680 It's just a stupid little thing that makes such a big difference. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.200 Another thing is talking to the customer, but also how you talk to the customer. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:03.359 So, like we can't, most people, lots of people join HVAC because they think they're antisocial, but that is not why you join HVAC. 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:05.920 You don't want to do that because we have to talk to the customer. 00:28:06.079 -->

00:28:07.839 We have to get every bit of symptomology. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:11.279 We have to know at that point where does that symptomology lead. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:18.000 So hearing somebody say it's making a funny noise and it hasn't been cooling right, and then walking to the unit isn't enough. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:18.960 That's bad practice. 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:21.599 You have to get the details, you have to know what the sound is. 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.720 You have to know what do you mean it hasn't been cooling right? 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:25.759 What is not cooling right? 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:32.960 Because she could mean that there's water dripping from her ceilings, or she could mean that, you know, it's one degree off on the thermostat when she sets it. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:37.519 So um, little things like that that people just have never had access to learning. 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:38.960 Nobody's ever told them. 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:41.599 And it's not because they didn't want to, it's because they didn't know. 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:48.880 You know, their owners don't know, then their managers don't know, then their techs don't know, and then their customers don't know, which is even the worst part. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:55.119 You know, a customer might think that they've got this perfect unit that they just spent$30,000 on and the duckwork's too small. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:57.039 And now we have, or the unit's too big, right? 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:58.319 Put a five ton in everything. 00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:04.720 Unit is, you know, the house is brand new, it's tight, it's got spray foam insulation and, you know, R19, that. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.440 And so you can't put a five-ton unit in that house anymore. 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:09.680 Gotta be able to do things like run design. 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:11.200 Um, we have a lot of companies. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:20.880 One of probably the biggest things that we address the most quickly when we start with a company is their process for sales, because sales training is ever prevalent uh present. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:24.079 You can get it wherever you want, and none of it's good for the most part. 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:25.200 None of it's good. 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:37.359 Um we start with when you should sell, and when you should sell is not until after you have sized, after you have, you know, inspected what's existing and all of these steps that come before making a sale. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:38.960 So that's a big one that they get. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:46.000 We actually, the company that we just started from New Jersey, uh, we started them three months ago, and they've already cut their callbacks by 52%. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:47.599 So it's pretty massive. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:47.759 Yeah. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:48.400 Yeah, that's cool. 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:49.359 How big is it? 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:53.599 Um, their company is,

I believe, 10 trucks, but not a huge company. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:30:01.359 We have a huge company in New York that's been with us for four years, and they've got multiple branches, and they're a fleet company, is how how we address them. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.720 Um they're fully commercial. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:03.440 What does that mean? 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:03.759 Fleet? 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:06.319 So a fleet company would be when you have more than a few trucks. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:08.880 That's how the coalition examples them anyway. 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:11.119 So if you've got three trucks, you're a company. 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:14.799 If you've got 10 trucks, you might be, or 20 trucks, you might be a fleet company. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:16.880 You're a fleet company, for instance. 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:18.000 I think we have 200. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.759 Yeah, you're a beyond a fleet company. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:26.960 Um, but so when you're dealing when I'm when you're teaching one of those companies versus teaching a company like mine, you cannot teach them the same way. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:33.839 So we've got to get into offering not only training, but custom training, not organic training that's just, you know, thrown out to everybody. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.799 Um, and then we've got to keep working with the techs as you go. 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:40.880 So every member of our coalition, they don't even have to be one of our in-house training program. 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:42.400 They can call our tech support line. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.359 I'll walk them through. 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:49.599 They're not, I'm not saying, you know, here's the flow chart for the unit in front of me, give me this, this, and this, and oh, I can't help you. 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:54.799 I'm staying our our close rate for the tech support line over five years is a hundred percent. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:59.119 We've never lost a diagnosis, a diagnosis because we're better diagnosticians. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:04.400 I mean, we probably are because we do it all the time, but because we don't hang up the phone until we have an answer. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:12.480 So if there's something that we've gone through every single thing we can do and it's something weird that's manufacturer specific, we also have the manufacturer. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:17.039 So I can call York and say, hey, you know, I've gone through everything you can do as a technician. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:18.720 Can you talk to them about the factory side? 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:25.039 If York thinks it's a factory side thing, they're one of our sponsors, they'll work with that tech to get it replaced as quickly as possible. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:29.519 So it's bringing all the pieces of the community together needs to also happen. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:30.640 That's another part of that. 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:32.400 Other than training. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:38.400 One of the best things that you can do as a home service operator is get in the right room with other great entrepreneurs. 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:40.880 And that's what we are building with Catalyst. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:47.920 Over the past few years, we've hosted six awesome events where we bring home service entrepreneurs from all over the country to our shop in Akron, Ohio. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.400 We're taking everything that we've learned from those six events and we are putting it into something awesome. 00:31:52.559 --> 00:32:06.160 From May 3rd to the 5th, 100 plus home service entrepreneurs are coming to our shop in Akron, Ohio for three days where we're gonna be having tactical sessions, breakout conversations, and learning from some of the greatest operators in the industry. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:11.839 You're also just gonna be building relationships with people facing the exact same problems that you are every single day. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.559 This is going to be our strongest room of operators yet. 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:16.880 Grab your seat for Catalyst below. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:20.000 I I think our industry is uh interesting. 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:30.240 Um, there's like we we were talking about this um maybe a couple weeks ago with um one of my co-hosts Jack. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:34.400 So we were talking about the development of an industry. 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:38.799 Because I'm I'm I'm back, I'm I'm back like four minutes ago to like the booties concept. 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:41.920 And I think the booties are like the four savers, wherever you want to call them. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:45.440 It's like that's a funny one because it's like it's easy, it's straightforward. 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:55.759 And I'm like, I'm sitting here like how uh how d had they not uh done that because it feels like a 10, 15 year ago sort of solution. 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:56.319 Yeah. 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:58.960 Um and it's a not even yet solution. 00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:03.759 That's the that's that's that widespread just disconnect from company to company. 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:05.599 We don't have a process here, you know. 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:14.799 Yeah, I well, I I think the thing that's interesting about our industry is uh, and this is where I was going with the like there's there's this stage of professionalization. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:16.799 Uh it's like kind of a J curve. 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:18.720 So J. 00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:33.839 Uh we're like, hey, the beginning of professionalization of an industry is uh groups like yours that are training the industry how to run a better business, like um like the even floor savers companies, like that type of thing, or like how to make a sale. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:41.200 So like you see you start to see the emergence of uh uh training groups that teach you to run a better business. 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:51.920 And then you

start seeing franchises, and then you and it's sort of like uh and then at the tail end of it, like the top of that J curve, you see companies going public, which like we're prepping for, right? 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:53.920 With like Apex and other large consolidators. 00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:05.519 But like you start with like people get trained, they start building better businesses, more businesses get built around serving them, like the service titans of the world and the everything else. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:07.839 It's sort of like this technological adaptation. 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:11.679 You start consolidating, and then there's a public company at the end. 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:23.840 But what is really interesting about our industry specifically is along that J curve, which we're pretty far along, there is uh it's like always fresh supply. 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:36.000 So I'm I'm back on the booties thing because I just think it's almost the perfect example of like there is an endless amount of H VAC companies, yes, which I think is just fascinating. 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:58.719 Uh like I just think it's the craziest thing because I you know I don't know, I'll I'll randomly hear I I feel like everyone thinks they know who all of the hundred million dollar businesses are in uh America, and then I'll hear of a I heard of a random one last week, and they're in Ohio, and I'm like, I've never fucking heard of these guys. 00:34:58.960 --> 00:34:59.440 Absolutely. 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:09.199 Uh and like even just like that's sort of elusive and impossible to know, there's also an endless amount of people starting their companies and figuring out that booties are like the right decisions. 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:09.440 Yeah. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:10.079 Uh I don't know. 00:35:10.159 --> 00:35:16.639 I just think it's I just think it's fascinating. 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:20.000 Uh just like CRM is a great example of that as well. 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:22.559 Having a CRM software and not doing things on paper. 00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:22.800 Yeah. 00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:26.320 You would think if you use one, you're like, what do you mean there's people who don't? 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:27.440 Like, what that's crazy. 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:32.320 But really, the majority of companies don't even have a CRM and don't know why they need one. 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:32.719 Yeah. 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:39.119 But as an example, I don't know how many customers uh Field Pulse has, but as an example, Service Titan, I think, has like 12 to 15,000 customers. 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:39.599 Oh yeah. 00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:44.159 And if we think about 12 to 15,000, yeah, there's millions. 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:44.719 Right. 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:46.800 And like tens of millions of companies. 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:50.000 You probably have that in in Akron, you know, 12,000. 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:51.760 Like it's not a big number. 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:55.199 Yeah, it's it's uh it really, really, really, really interesting. 00:35:55.440 --> 00:36:02.000 But yeah, I think the like the always fresh supply of companies is just fascinating to me. 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:03.920 And like where they are on their journey. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:04.239 Yeah. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:06.159 Um, and I think you're providing a valuable thing. 00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:08.159 Like, and I think it's I think it's stages. 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:14.960 I think like people are gonna come in and they're gonna like, hey, here's like this step, and then they utilize it, and then whatever the next step is. 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:17.440 Maybe it's the next star or the whatever. 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:21.440 Um, but yeah, I think it's everything doesn't have to be implementation right now. 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:24.400 We've got to move away from that and start good implementation. 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:25.519 That's the way that I see it. 00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:31.360 And like you talk about that J curve, and I love that example because there's also all these little like snowflakes around it, right? 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:37.280 So, like you have the the companies that are on that J curve somewhere, but you also have companies who haven't even found that J curve yet. 00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:39.440 They've not even out the door yet, you know? 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:46.559 So that's that's a really good way of describing that is it's just a journey that we have got to get more people on at the very least. 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:49.519 I think a lot I think about it a lot with uh barbershops. 00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:50.159 Yeah. 00:36:50.400 --> 00:37:01.360 Um, I think that like haircutting is kind of interesting because um it's not a direct I'm drawing a parallel here that I don't think like the average listener is gonna like follow me along on. 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:03.039 But like it's an essential service. 00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:03.679 It's a trade. 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:05.119 Like I'm due for a haircut right now. 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:06.880 Like yeah, it's a trade. 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:15.519 Um uh and I think that like we are so used to the consolidated end, which like there are public companies. 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:19.599 Uh Regis, as an example, has 3,000 branches of fucking sports clips. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.360 Um uh so there's there's public examples of this. 00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:25.760 There's I don't know, 50 to 100 franchises. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:28.000 So like it's at the tail end of its J curve. 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:28.159 Right. 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:37.280 But what's really interesting is only five or 10% of like total like haircutting is done via at the end of that. 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:38.480 At the end of the curve. 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:39.679 Uh I don't know. 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:44.079 I yeah, it's like how do you group all of these together and make them do the same

thing? 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:45.440 That's that's the struggle. 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:46.800 That is the struggle for sure. 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:47.760 That's funny. 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:48.800 All right, technology. 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:51.280 How are we thinking about technology inside the trades? 00:37:51.440 --> 00:38:08.719 Because as I think about like technical training, which is like I think what you're trying to bring here, there is technology out there that like I I don't want to name any names and give them like un un uh unpaid press, but like there is technology out there that help sort of help support that. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:11.760 So, like, how are you thinking about that or just any technology in the trades right now? 00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:20.159 So um, as an influencer, I'm partnered with tool companies that offer the tools we need now in a tech age, right? 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:27.119 Um, and I'm also partnered with manufacturers that are manufacturing units that are the future and they're gonna be the future. 00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:34.800 Um, inverters is a great example, but again, we get these great units, these great resources that we can sell. 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:38.480 And the customers love them and they work great and they do all the things that they're supposed to do. 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:40.239 Um, but we don't get training. 00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:43.679 So when you have from the manufacturer to install. 00:38:44.079 --> 00:38:46.800 And I guess too, just systemically. 00:38:46.960 --> 00:38:50.320 So it's like not just the manufacturer, the manufacturer's job is to manufacture. 00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:51.760 So like it's not really their fault. 00:38:51.920 --> 00:39:00.719 It's more just as an industry when something is manufactured and then that thing becomes um the new thing, like the thing everybody needs. 00:39:01.119 --> 00:39:04.559 Because I think inversion don't we have to do that by 2030 or something? 00:39:04.719 --> 00:39:08.800 Uh it doesn't have to be inverters, but it does have to be um A12 refrigerants. 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:10.400 So, you know, so it's a whole thing. 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:14.400 So the AIMACT changed a lot when it comes to refrigerants. 00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:14.960 Yeah. 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.840 But it doesn't specify the units. 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:21.119 So um, but yeah, so A12s is a great example though. 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:22.239 So switching our refrigerants. 00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:38.800 So, like when R22 was was the the most widespread refrigerant and we switched to 410A, there was no training that changed them from a low, you know, the technicians from a low pressure refrigerant to a high pressure refrigerant from analog gauges, because that's all you needed, beer can cold was really a thing. 00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:42.000 If an R22 unit has a cold suction line, it is cooling. 00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:42.880 That is really a thing. 00:39:43.039 -->

00:39:44.480 With 410A, not so much. 00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:46.159 With A2Ls, even less so. 00:39:46.320 --> 00:39:48.960 So we have to have tools that grow with our new refrigerants. 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:52.800 At the same time we're coming out with new refrigerants, we're coming out with new units. 00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:54.800 And then all of this becomes mandatory. 00:39:54.960 --> 00:40:02.719 So now, like, there's not a manufacturer in the world that for residential is, you know, putting a bunch of money into a single stage compressor fed unit. 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:03.840 It's all inverters. 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:04.719 And it should be. 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:14.079 You know, when you have the opportunity to modulate to save light bills, and we've got an energy grid that's about to die, you know, we've got to do what we can to drop that amount of consumption and make it better for our customers. 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:15.360 And that's what inverters do. 00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:27.519 The problem is if you're a technician and for 30 years you've been working on single stage on-off compressors with no modulation, and then you walk up to a mini split, you're gonna try to hook up your gauges. 00:40:27.599 --> 00:40:30.159 We can't even use gauges on mini splits because of that modulation. 00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:31.039 Nobody told him that. 00:40:31.199 --> 00:40:32.000 He has no idea. 00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:32.320 What? 00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:33.599 This thing only has one port? 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:34.960 Why does it only have one port? 00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:35.280 Why? 00:40:35.360 --> 00:40:37.440 Because it doesn't have a true liquid line, but he doesn't know that. 00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:39.360 He sees a tiny line and thinks it's liquid line. 00:40:39.519 --> 00:40:40.719 Takes his clamp, puts it on there. 00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:42.239 He's got 200 degree liquid line. 00:40:42.320 --> 00:40:44.079 Oh my gosh, something's crazy wrong. 00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:49.599 And now not only are we not diagnosing, but we're ruining, destroying the entire diagnostic process. 00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:53.840 Not because he's not a good technician, but because he was never taught about that new technology. 00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:58.800 So that is, we have to stall as an industry, essentially. 00:40:58.960 --> 00:41:03.519 We have to stall and teach what we have before coming out with the next thing. 00:41:03.599 --> 00:41:07.440 There are still people that are learning 410A refrigerant and 410A is phased out. 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:10.719 Now we have new refrigerants that they absolutely don't understand. 00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:16.400 So it's it's um, if we want an HVAC labor shortage, this is a great way to get one. 00:41:16.559 --> 00:41:17.039 That's what it is. 00:41:17.199 --> 00:41:19.519 They say 165,000 seats are empty right now. 00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:23.519 That's because we're not training the newcomers that are here ready, knocking at our doors, ready to go. 00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:24.960 They have no idea what they're doing. 00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:28.559 And because of that, every company now wants an experienced technician. 00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:30.800 What I'm here to tell them is that no, you don't. 00:41:31.039 --> 00:41:40.480 You want a technician fresh faced, knows about technology, understands how to piece together those that critical thinking for technology, those are the techs you want to hire. 00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:44.719 You don't want to hire, you know, necessarily a 15-year tech who's never seen an inverter before. 00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:50.000 Now you're trying to teach an old dog new tricks, but also um he's fighting back. 00:41:51.119 --> 00:41:55.760 So how I mean inverse technology is how many years into invert? 00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:59.280 Um, actually, in reality, 40. 00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:03.519 But in the US, in the residential world, four or five. 00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:03.920 Yeah. 00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:09.440 Um, and then also when we think of inverters, we think of mini splits, but there's a whole bunch of other inverters and those. 00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:12.960 Yeah, I mean, Daikon's got their like uh side discharge things. 00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:13.519 Yeah, yeah. 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:14.800 Bosch has a great one. 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:20.239 The Bosch IDS is like an awesome system, but it's an inverter and it it looks like a standard on off unit. 00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:24.880 So if you've got a conventional split, that maybe the tech doesn't even know it's an inverter, you know? 00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:27.519 So we're back to before the basics now. 00:42:27.679 --> 00:42:31.039 And these are guys who have learned the refrigeration cycle 30 years ago. 00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:36.320 So it's it's a really tough technology is our our um fault point right now. 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:39.199 It's it's not that we don't need it or that we shouldn't have it. 00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:40.000 We absolutely should. 00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:42.079 We have to get people caught up to use it now. 00:42:42.239 --> 00:42:55.760 So, like the tool companies that I work with, if I go to one of my tool companies and I say, look, they're just not getting it, they don't understand the tools, they don't know how to use them, they'll fly anywhere in the world to teach for us, or they'll join a meeting on a Saturday on their day off to help us out. 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:59.519 And that is that's what has to happen because the EPA is not gonna do it. 00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:04.880 The federal government is not gonna give us trainers out of nowhere, you know, sprinkle fairy dust trainers all over the world. 00:43:05.119 --> 00:43:13.199 It has to be techs, owners, and you have a podcast, people with a following have to start pushing this stuff out because the only way techs are gonna get it. 00:43:13.360 --> 00:43:19.039 And then we don't, I don't really like going behind

people who don't understand inverters as a company who does, you know? 00:43:19.199 --> 00:43:24.400 And it knowing how to diagnose an inverter should not be considered high performance HVAC today. 00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:25.199 It just shouldn't. 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:27.360 But in my market, it is. 00:43:27.519 --> 00:43:28.320 It absolutely is. 00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:31.679 You'll have guys that say, you know, you'll see one of those in a community post. 00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:33.039 Your company, high performance. 00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:34.800 No, it's Valeriani Air Conditioning. 00:43:35.039 --> 00:43:35.360 Got it. 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:36.320 It's it's our last name. 00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:36.559 Okay. 00:43:36.719 --> 00:43:37.840 Well, that was the last name. 00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:42.960 So we'll have guys who, you know, you'll see the community posts are that's great for marketing, right? 00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:45.199 The community um Facebook groups. 00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:47.599 So they'll go on and they'll be like, oh, I need a heat pump. 00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:50.320 And somebody's like, Oh, I can sell you a heat pump. 00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:55.920 But when they get there, they, you know, this company that they called for a quote gets there and they think a heat pump is a mini split. 00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:58.320 They don't realize there are other kinds of heat pumps. 00:43:58.480 --> 00:43:59.760 So now the customer's asking about. 00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:01.039 Hooking to their ducks. 00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:02.559 And now this guy's telling them you can't. 00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:03.599 That's not what a heat pump is. 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:04.400 It's not true. 00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:05.679 It's just what he thinks. 00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:07.280 So that's kind of the gap. 00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:08.480 I love technology. 00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:09.360 I love where we're going. 00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:10.239 I love these units. 00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:10.880 I love them. 00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:11.760 I just at the U.S. 00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:15.039 heat pump summit last week I taught um air-to-water heat pumps. 00:44:15.119 --> 00:44:17.039 So replacing boilers with heat pumps. 00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:19.920 I love it, but we've got to be able to teach first. 00:44:20.079 --> 00:44:21.519 So I'm hoping we stall a little bit. 00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:23.519 I wonder how much of that um. 00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:26.800 Well, I don't, I don't think the stall, I mean, hoping is good. 00:44:26.880 --> 00:44:28.239 I don't think the stalling's gonna happen. 00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:31.039 We were reading uh what was it? 00:44:31.199 --> 00:44:40.400 Well, the Dyken's like five-year strategic plan is to basically be exclusively side discharged by I think 2030. 00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:40.880 Yeah. 00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:41.920 Super, super fast. 00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:42.800 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:46.800 And most other companies have already done that other than in their commercial work. 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:52.000 So like York just released re-released under Bosch um and they put out a bunch of inverters. 00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:56.639 I mean, it's and they're an old, you know, traditional standard company. 00:44:56.800 --> 00:44:57.840 They're not known for that. 00:44:57.920 --> 00:44:59.280 And even they're doing it. 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:01.119 Everybody is going to be strictly inverters. 00:45:01.280 --> 00:45:03.519 I I would give it before 2030. 00:45:03.679 --> 00:45:03.920 Yeah. 00:45:04.159 --> 00:45:04.960 It's unfortunate. 00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:16.719 Yeah, I think the challenge, um I think the I aside from like the technology and the technical aspect of it, affordability is a real issue. 00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:17.119 Yeah. 00:45:17.440 --> 00:45:25.440 Um like the inverter size side discharge are like three times the equipment cost of like CR14. 00:45:25.519 --> 00:45:25.599 Yeah. 00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:26.239 By 10%. 00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:32.480 And I think um so I yeah, I mean, I'm I think it was the same issue we had with water heaters a while ago. 00:45:32.639 --> 00:45:32.800 Yeah. 00:45:33.119 --> 00:45:38.000 Where like, hey, they had to, you know, thicken the insulation walls. 00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:40.239 Um, and that made it like kind of hard. 00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:41.360 But yeah, I remember that. 00:45:41.519 --> 00:45:43.360 That that'll it'll be interesting to see. 00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:44.639 Uh it'll be interesting to see. 00:45:44.800 --> 00:45:52.800 Because when I saw that with Dykens like stri three year, five year, whatever the hell strategic plan, I was like, man, I don't that's gonna be hard. 00:45:53.119 --> 00:45:53.440 I mean, right. 00:45:53.760 --> 00:45:54.559 It's hard for them though. 00:45:54.639 --> 00:45:55.440 It's hard for us. 00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:56.159 That's the point. 00:45:56.400 --> 00:45:56.800 Yeah, yeah. 00:45:56.880 --> 00:46:09.760 Well, I think it'll will become hard for them because I think like right now, like you were in a two-year HVAC slump or whatever it is, and it's like, okay, like affordability is a real challenge, like more declines than ever. 00:46:10.880 --> 00:46:12.079 Like how you come up with the phone. 00:46:12.320 --> 00:46:13.360 How are you gonna pull off a triple? 00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:14.639 Yeah, how you gonna pull off a triple? 00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:15.440 I mean, yeah, good for you. 00:46:15.519 --> 00:46:17.679 Like, I'm I also wish I could triple. 00:46:17.760 --> 00:46:18.079 Yeah. 00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:20.639 Um, they will, and we won't. 00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:21.679 Yeah, yeah. 00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:24.000 Um, all right, you've got a field pulse shirt on. 00:46:24.159 --> 00:46:26.000 Can you walk me through like Field Pulse a little bit? 00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:26.639 Absolutely. 00:46:26.719 --> 00:46:26.880 Yeah. 00:46:27.039 --> 00:46:29.039 Um, so I started with

Field Pulse. 00:46:29.199 --> 00:46:36.239 Uh one of the companies that I was running social media for in Pennsylvania, I didn't have a CRM and I was between CRMs. 00:46:36.480 --> 00:46:39.760 That's because I was mad at my previous CRM for doing really bad things. 00:46:39.920 --> 00:46:45.039 Um, and then a new CRM came to me and asked me to influence for them, and I said no. 00:46:45.119 --> 00:46:52.400 And they actually sent like an somebody to infiltrate my group as a female technician who actually worked for them to try to get me to change my mind. 00:46:52.480 --> 00:46:57.440 And they stayed for like three months before they told me they were actually a spy, which is a crazy story. 00:46:57.679 --> 00:46:59.840 But it led me to fieldful, so that's why I tell it. 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:07.519 So this person that was being completely dishonest, and that counted, so the original company I was with, I couldn't work with them anymore. 00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:11.840 And then this new company that tried to get me to work with them couldn't use them anymore. 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:13.920 They had been deceitful and done really bad things. 00:47:14.079 --> 00:47:19.679 And then one of the companies that I was running social media for showed me his just his dashboard. 00:47:19.760 --> 00:47:20.800 And I was like, I want that. 00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:22.239 He was like, it's Field Pulse. 00:47:22.480 --> 00:47:23.679 And I was like, okay, great. 00:47:23.840 --> 00:47:27.280 So I get with Field Pulse, I do my demo and I fall absolutely in love with it. 00:47:27.440 --> 00:47:34.800 It's so at the time, and this was we're talking, this is my, I just signed my second three-year contract with them as an influencer, and I was using it even before that. 00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:38.400 So, like four years probably, I've been using Field Pulse for my company. 00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:43.360 And I mean, in the coalition, I think we have 36 other companies using it just under my link. 00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:45.679 And that's not even ones that were already using it without us. 00:47:45.920 --> 00:47:48.159 So, I mean, we we love Field Pulse. 00:47:48.239 --> 00:47:51.679 It goes back to that same do you need a CRM or not? 00:47:51.760 --> 00:47:54.000 It's that basic right now in this industry. 00:47:54.480 --> 00:47:57.039 So when it comes to choosing, okay, which one? 00:47:57.199 --> 00:47:58.639 Well, I've heard of Service Titan. 00:47:58.800 --> 00:48:07.199 They've got commercials, they, you know, sponsor the championship and um they just bought conduit tech and all these this big public company, right? 00:48:07.360 --> 00:48:10.400 And then you have that's at the top of their J curve, if you will. 00:48:10.559 --> 00:48:14.320 And then you have really, really tiny ones that just kind of haven't mastered it yet. 00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:22.159 Field Pulse as a company is kind of right in the middle without being a conglomerate, but being big enough to handle

any size company. 00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:26.880 So if one of my companies is a fleet company, you know, they can be on Field Pulse. 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:30.800 Whereas also, if I've got a company with four people in it, they can also be on Field Pulse. 00:48:30.880 --> 00:48:32.400 So it's very dynamic that way. 00:48:32.639 --> 00:48:38.400 That's why I chose it for not only myself, because at first it was just for my company, and now it's the whole coalition. 00:48:38.480 --> 00:48:44.079 So there's not a single CRM talked about in with those 8,300 people other than Field Pulse. 00:48:44.159 --> 00:48:48.559 And everybody that owns a company in there that is big enough to have a CRM has Field Pulse. 00:48:48.719 --> 00:48:48.960 Yeah. 00:48:49.119 --> 00:48:55.360 I'm actually surprised it doesn't, um Field Pulse doesn't give like the get the like um recognition. 00:48:56.159 --> 00:48:56.320 Yeah. 00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:59.519 Because I, you know, we bought a business, we bought a few businesses on House Call Pro. 00:48:59.599 --> 00:48:59.679 Yeah. 00:48:59.840 --> 00:49:03.360 Which I've said this on the show before, but like I try not to call them out. 00:49:03.599 --> 00:49:07.440 I don't actually understand how you can run a business on House Call Pro. 00:49:07.599 --> 00:49:09.199 Like I legitimately don't get it. 00:49:09.280 --> 00:49:15.519 Um and I would I would love it if someone from House Call Pro would reach out and show me because it it is very confusing. 00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:19.519 Like you buy these, you buy this company and like you can't actually see anything. 00:49:19.599 --> 00:49:26.320 Like you can't um Yeah, so I wouldn't know because they were the company that sent a spy into my organization. 00:49:26.960 --> 00:49:29.519 So yeah, I mean it's that's kind of how I felt about it too. 00:49:29.599 --> 00:49:31.840 I had done a demo, but I was kind of really confused by it. 00:49:31.920 --> 00:49:32.559 I was also coming. 00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:38.960 You can't see like technician performance, you can't see like I don't even think you can see like daily revenue or sales. 00:49:39.119 --> 00:49:41.360 It was very things like yeah, like your daily reporting. 00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:43.119 I don't know where to find that on it's on there. 00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:50.559 Like you can't get average ticket, like there's no way to get information, which I don't understand how anyone's it's because they hold it back. 00:49:50.719 --> 00:49:55.920 So like the the previous company I was with before um before that whole thing happened, they were the same way. 00:49:56.079 --> 00:49:59.920 And so when I left, they actually held all of my business information hostage. 00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:02.559 I never got my client list, I never got my price book. 00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:06.480 It wasn't we didn't have price books back then, but you had, you know, your data that you put in. 00:50:06.639 --> 00:50:09.119 Um, they they took all of it

and they wouldn't give it to me. 00:50:09.199 --> 00:50:14.800 So when I left, I had to restart as as if my company was day one and I didn't have any of my customer info. 00:50:14.880 --> 00:50:17.199 I didn't have, I had to build it phone number by phone number. 00:50:17.360 --> 00:50:19.840 I mean, it was it's hard when they don't offer it. 00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:22.159 And that's the other thing you have to ask yourself as the owner. 00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:24.559 Why aren't they giving, why aren't they offering me my own data? 00:50:24.639 --> 00:50:25.840 Why can't I see my own data? 00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:29.039 The reason is they don't want you taking your own data and then leaving. 00:50:29.199 --> 00:50:30.320 So yeah, that's rough. 00:50:30.559 --> 00:50:31.360 Yeah, that's really interesting. 00:50:31.519 --> 00:50:34.880 Whereas field pulse, I can see way more than I want to see every day. 00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:35.760 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:38.159 I always say that it's too tech savvy for me. 00:50:38.239 --> 00:50:42.000 And so I don't use my field pulse the way every other company should, for sure. 00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:46.400 Um, but even as somebody who doesn't, I'm able to easily use it. 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:49.840 You know, I don't have, I don't know all the rules and I don't follow it to a T. 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:51.440 I've got two trucks, you know. 00:50:51.679 --> 00:50:55.840 So, but I can use it just the same as my company with 50 trucks can use it. 00:50:55.920 --> 00:50:56.639 So I love it. 00:50:57.039 --> 00:50:57.599 I think that's great. 00:50:57.679 --> 00:51:02.880 I think it's um, you know, they they've uh sponsored our show and they've come to some of our like bring five events. 00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:03.280 Yeah, yeah. 00:51:03.440 --> 00:51:05.039 And it has been uh it has been really good. 00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:06.159 It's been cool. 00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:15.440 And I feel like it's a good at a certain point at the moment, there is no alternative at scale to Service Titan. 00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:20.239 I think that like all the way up to like 20, 30, 40 million, I think that like Field Pulse is great. 00:51:20.480 --> 00:51:21.199 Absolutely, yeah. 00:51:21.360 --> 00:51:26.960 And I don't, I think um, in the beginning of CRMs when they first broke the industry, you had to put a number to that. 00:51:27.119 --> 00:51:31.199 So like each each CRM had to say, this is what we're capable of with our CRM. 00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:31.519 Yeah. 00:51:31.679 --> 00:51:33.119 Now I don't even think that's necessary. 00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:38.320 The way that it's like at least with Field Pulse, the way that Field Pulse operates, it could be scaled. 00:51:38.639 --> 00:51:39.760 Yeah, I think that's right in general. 00:51:39.920 --> 00:51:56.559 Because I think um as you pull what's becoming interesting is more and more people are um like pulling data out of their CRM and it's like enhancing it,

but like enhancing it inside their own system. 00:51:56.719 --> 00:51:59.920 So like we've done that, but like most of my friends are working on a similar project. 00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:00.320 Yep. 00:52:00.559 --> 00:52:05.760 And it it almost becomes less relevant what you're using. 00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:07.280 The bigger you get. 00:52:07.599 --> 00:52:23.119 Yeah, like I actually um some somebody said this once, and they they uh if you if you pull enough information out and you create basically your own thing, then like whatever CRM you're using essentially kind of becomes just like a really big spreadsheet. 00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:23.840 Absolutely. 00:52:23.920 --> 00:52:24.880 It's exactly what it is, yeah. 00:52:25.119 --> 00:52:36.960 Yeah, so like that, I mean that's like not quite where we are yet, but like we most of our dashboarding reporting, everything is uh almost completely external to our CRM. 00:52:37.119 --> 00:52:40.079 And like the CRM is just like basically the thing that the techs use in the field. 00:52:40.320 --> 00:52:40.480 Right. 00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:42.639 You have like the dispatch side of that. 00:52:42.800 --> 00:52:44.400 That's that's the other thing about a CRM. 00:52:44.480 --> 00:52:46.000 Like, technically like rip out. 00:52:46.239 --> 00:52:47.119 Yeah, you could, right. 00:52:47.360 --> 00:52:49.760 Or you could build your own process for that easy enough. 00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:52.559 My thing is that I'm not that person. 00:52:52.880 --> 00:52:53.199 Right. 00:52:53.440 --> 00:53:03.119 And I think a lot of owners are not that person, or the team is not, doesn't work together well enough, processes aren't in place well enough, routines aren't in place well enough. 00:53:03.360 --> 00:53:06.800 I think a lot of them use it as a giant whiteboard, right? 00:53:06.960 --> 00:53:10.239 It's like, my tech needs to know where he is on Tuesday. 00:53:10.400 --> 00:53:12.159 So that's what that's the basic. 00:53:12.239 --> 00:53:14.960 Um, I will say I got a tour of your place, though. 00:53:15.039 --> 00:53:21.199 And the the processes you have in place, if every company had those in place, I don't even know that we would need a CRM somewhere. 00:53:21.519 --> 00:53:23.039 Well, you think you need to be organized. 00:53:23.119 --> 00:53:25.199 Um I mean, that is my favorite. 00:53:25.360 --> 00:53:26.239 Can I tell you my favorite part? 00:53:26.480 --> 00:53:28.079 It's while we're here because they don't probably know. 00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:28.320 Yeah. 00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:38.079 My favorite part is the screen out where the at the loading dock where they come and back up the trucks and they take their materials for the day. 00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:41.199 Just something so simple as that being ready for them. 00:53:41.440 --> 00:53:45.360 And, you know, each tech human error not being a possibility, right? 00:53:45.440 --> 00:53:48.320 The the warehouse has already made sure that all of their materials

are there. 00:53:48.480 --> 00:53:50.239 They come up, they say, This is my pile. 00:53:50.320 --> 00:53:50.880 I take it. 00:53:50.960 --> 00:53:52.079 I know everything is there. 00:53:52.159 --> 00:53:54.960 It takes one thing off the tech's head, one thing off the owner's head. 00:53:55.039 --> 00:53:57.840 I mean, just the processes in place here are chefs kicked. 00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:01.119 I mean, it's sort of like it's inevitable. 00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:01.519 Yeah. 00:54:01.679 --> 00:54:03.360 Like you get a business big enough. 00:54:03.519 --> 00:54:05.840 This this is our uh primary branch. 00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:07.440 So we have uh six branches. 00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:13.519 There's our primary and largest branch with um maybe a hundred uh trucks. 00:54:13.760 --> 00:54:17.440 And um all that to say, like it has to work that way. 00:54:17.519 --> 00:54:24.400 So like it's so people are like, oh my gosh, I can't believe like it's this or it's like, well, like if it wasn't, then this would be like we wouldn't be here. 00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:25.280 We wouldn't even mean it. 00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:25.599 Yeah. 00:54:25.840 --> 00:54:36.480 So like on one hand, like it's uh it's it's an inevitability on that curve of like wherever you are in like your professionalization, like um, you know, you have to make your new floor. 00:54:36.719 --> 00:54:37.599 But that's what I'm saying. 00:54:37.760 --> 00:54:39.920 I think that that's it's as basic as that. 00:54:40.079 --> 00:54:48.559 It's as basic as it is inevitable to succeed, but it's not inevitable that they will have good processes in place to be a big company, right? 00:54:48.639 --> 00:54:51.519 So then you send up with big companies with horrible processes. 00:54:51.679 --> 00:54:51.840 Yeah. 00:54:52.000 --> 00:54:53.119 So that's funny. 00:54:53.360 --> 00:54:54.400 They don't last long, that's for sure. 00:54:54.639 --> 00:54:54.960 Awesome. 00:54:55.119 --> 00:54:55.360 All right. 00:54:55.519 --> 00:55:00.320 If you could get every HVAC owner to change one thing about how they support and develop their techs, what would it be? 00:55:00.559 --> 00:55:01.760 The want to do so. 00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:03.280 That would that's what I would change. 00:55:03.360 --> 00:55:06.960 I would change um how owners look at their techs to begin with. 00:55:07.119 --> 00:55:13.119 I would start at the very beginning without I can't choose training without, you know, this, and I can't choose routines without this. 00:55:13.280 --> 00:55:15.440 So I would choose just the way that I want them. 00:55:15.599 --> 00:55:20.400 One thing Phillip said to me about your company, I asked him to give me the first- You really got like the royal tour. 00:55:20.559 --> 00:55:20.960 Oh, I did. 00:55:21.119 --> 00:55:21.840 Yeah, that's funny. 00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:25.920 And right off the top of his head, I said, do not think about this question, just answer it right now, right here. 00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:28.000 What's the first word you think about when you think about Wilson's? 00:55:28.079 --> 00:55:28.800 And he said, family. 00:55:29.119 --> 00:55:30.719 And do you have 200 trucks? 00:55:30.880 --> 00:55:31.119 Yeah. 00:55:31.280 --> 00:55:37.760 For a technician who's worked here as long as he has to feel that way with 200 trucks around him is pretty spectacular. 00:55:39.199 --> 00:55:41.280 Yeah, it's more of a it's culture, right? 00:55:41.360 --> 00:55:42.880 Though it's that's what I would change. 00:55:42.960 --> 00:55:45.199 I would change, I want them to be seen as people. 00:55:45.280 --> 00:55:52.559 And I think that people like you and I, who already treat people as people, don't seem to think about that as much because we just think that's a crazy thing to think about. 00:55:52.719 --> 00:55:58.719 But there are so many companies out there that I I mean, I had to drop one last year that I was training because it was so terrible. 00:55:58.960 --> 00:56:02.800 I mean, people just treat techs like they're absolutely the bottom of the barrel sometimes. 00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:03.840 So that's where I'd start. 00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:05.440 Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. 00:56:05.599 --> 00:56:05.760 Yeah. 00:56:05.920 --> 00:56:06.960 Well, thanks for coming on today. 00:56:07.119 --> 00:56:07.599 I appreciate it. 00:56:07.679 --> 00:56:09.599 If people want to learn more about you, where can they find you? 00:56:09.840 --> 00:56:20.960 Yeah, so LinkedIn, HVHX Jennifer, same with Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, um, HVAC Know It All, the uh new HVAC only uh Facebook ish thing, HVAC Know It All app. 00:56:21.039 --> 00:56:21.679 I'm on there. 00:56:21.760 --> 00:56:23.519 Um, and then YouTube everywhere. 00:56:23.760 --> 00:56:24.079 Awesome. 00:56:24.320 --> 00:56:24.639 Everywhere. 00:56:24.880 --> 00:56:27.679 If you want to hear more about Field Pulse, make sure you check out the link in the description.