Growing up in Columbia with a family of entrepreneurs, Luisa Vesga, the owner and president of VMech Mechanical, an air conditioning business, knew she wanted to follow in their footsteps. Despite the potential risks of opening a small woman-owned business, Luisa Vesga and her husband, Juan Vesga, started their company as a two-person team. With no staffing support, the two split responsibilities to conquer the tasks that come with owning a company. Luisa Vesga took ownership for the business side of the company, while Juan Vesga, a mechanical engineer by trade, worked on the technical side as lead project manager and superintendent. Based in Miami, Florida, the once small woman-owned air-conditioning business now employs a team of 11 and generates $1.5 million in annual sales.

But their path to success wasn’t easy.

“I’m a Hispanic,” said Luisa Vesga. “I came to the U.S.A. when I was 16, so I had every odd against me. I’m a woman, an immigrant, and a working mom. We started this company with zero. Nobody gave us anything, not one dime.”

The duo quickly realized that trying to stay on top of scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing was affecting the team’s productivity with residential repair, maintenance, and installation. In order to run a successful business that yields profit and growth while adding efficiency, the team needed to update its operations software for VMech to truly succeed.

So began Luisa Vesga’s search for a software specifically created for service businesses. In February 2017, she found such a solution in Jobber. Now, she could give her team access to new strategies that would enhance all of VMech’s services by simplifying and streamlining company operations. The software also gave their team the right solutions not only to grow and advance their business, but also to stand out as a modern company. 

Optimizing Efficiency

By implanting a home service software that employees can access from anywhere – in the office, heading to a job, on-site – teams could move away from the phone and consolidate notes remotely from a mobile device or desktop. Whether reviewing schedules, sending appointment reminders, following up with clients or invoicing, the scheduling software helped teams dispatch estimates, installs, and repairs, tracking everything in one place.

“Everything’s faster now,” Luisa Vesga added. “I don’t have to be on the phone as much as I was before or on top of people. You see everything right there and it’s clean and easy to use. I love that.”

Automation has also helped Luisa Vesga’s team maximize everyone’s time. Since VMech’s customers are equipped with scheduling, estimates, and work orders up front, the team can quickly coordinate all services directly through their mobile devices. The same is true for processing payments in real time.

“People pay us faster because they can do everything from their phones,” Luisa Vesga said. “They just do click, click, click, and that’s it. They love it. We love it.”

Elevating Customer Service

Customer service is a high priority for Luisa Vesga. She always puts herself in her client’s shoes and helps her teams deliver the type of professionalism she would look for in a home services business. Technology has allowed VMech to excel in this way with customers. Solutions that keep track of important job details, such as notifying customers a technician has left a job site clean and in good condition, go a long way toward delivering exceptional customer service.

What’s more, the ability to track technicians on their way to a jobsite helps VMech be respectful of customers’ time.

“It keeps people informed of what is going on because sometimes they have to rush to their home to receive one of the technicians,” said Luisa Vesga. “Some people need to ask for time away from their jobs to go and open the door for the technician, so I needed software that could tell customers we’re on the way.”

Standing Out Among Competition

When it comes to beating the competition, Luisa Vesga prides herself on being dependable and thorough.

“We’re here, we know who we are, we’re legit. Many times in the service industry you pay, they disappear and they don’t perform, etc. Many things can go wrong,” she said. “I believe that if you know what you are doing – if you can show them your differentials – they won’t ask for your price. We’re not going to be the cheapest, but we’re better.”

Finding a technology solution that caters directly to home services helped Luisa’s Viesga’s team enhance their business practices, future-proof their company as it adapts to the growing demands of the modern customer, and separate VMech Mechanical from other air conditioning businesses. A commitment to working hard is a big part of what helps entrepreneurs succeed but using the right technology solution can also add that extra layer of support to grow into a profitable business.

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