Brandy Kozon-Hatfield
What caused you to/when did you enter the HVACR industry?
I have worked at Kozon Plumbing & Heating through various stages of my life. I was 6 years old when my parents started the company in our home back in 1981. During my senior year of high school, I was in the work co-op program and was able to be in the office more, make deliveries, work our Parade of Homes booth, and assist in any way that I could. I loved new construction.
During college, I wanted to try my hand at some different things and left the family business. Through college and several years after college I was sowing some ‘work’ oats. In 2003, I came back to the company when it was determined that there was some assistance needed in marketing. That was right up my alley, and I was thrilled to return to the family business. Shortly after I returned, the office manager at the time decided to take another position, and I took on the office manager role. In July 2007, my business partners and I decided to purchase the family company.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of working in HVACR?
The most rewarding part of working in the industry and of my career is the help that we have been able to provide others through the success of the company. Since purchasing the company, we have had two team members whose young daughters have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. It was an honor for us to be able to take care of those team members and some of their basic needs while they focused on their family and their ill children. Not only did the company and its team members step up to help, but our wonderful clients, supply houses, vendors, rep agencies, friends, and family did as well. It was such a humbling experience and such a blessing to be able to use the company and our connections to take care of them.
Describe the proudest moment in your career.
My proudest moments come when I see the growth of our team members. When I see something finally click for them in their eyes, or they are excited to tell me something that they did or accomplished that day, when they get awesome grades in their apprenticeship classes, when they overcome a fear, when they achieve their own personal growth — those are my proudest moments. But top of the list has been watching the growth of my sister, Jess, who works with me here at Kozon Plumbing & Heating. From a youngster who could not talk on the phone to taking care of 90% of all the calls that come in, being our service coordinator, doing all our marketing and advertising, and being my right hand and sometimes my left in the office, her growth at my gentle nudging (forceful pushing) will be my proudest legacy.
What challenges do women face in this profession?
With anyone in the industry, man or woman, you have to prove that you deserve to be in the position that you are in. You have to earn the respect of the people around you. It takes time and a lot of lessons of hard knocks. Our mother and our grandmother instilled in us courage and strength. It does always provide a good chuckle when people call in and want to speak to the owner — when I answer and they are a little taken aback by a female voice and think they got transferred to the wrong person. The hardest challenges that I have had to overcome were not because of being a woman. We purchased a 98% new construction company in 2007 and then there was the housing crash of 2008. We had to reconstruct the entire company to be a good blend of service, retro work, and new construction. We went from five business partners/owners to two in the last 16 years. We, along with the rest of the world, struggled through COVID, being essential, keeping our team and clients safe, and through the shortages on material and equipment. All of those things have been very challenging through our time as owners and, I would say, to business owners in general.
How can we increase the number of women in HVACR?
I think that the various industry organizations are doing a wonderful job encouraging more women to be in the industry. I also think that the younger generations, both male and female, are more interested in going into and supporting the trades. College is not for everyone. Trade schooling is just as lucrative, and you get to earn money as well as hands-on experience while you are going through your apprenticeship training. This is a very exciting industry to be in with all the technology and efficiency enhancements.
What does your day-to-day job entail?
Wow, this is a tough one. I wear many hats here at Kozon Plumbing & Heating. When you are a small company, the entire team wears many hats. I spend a great deal of time working in the company, as opposed to working on the company. In the coming years, that is something that I would like to have the ability to change. At this point, I manage operations: purchase orders, inventories and warehouse, estimating, proposals, sales, accounts payable, scheduling, job staging, payroll, vendor relations, professional relations, hiring/firing, financial reports, and company policy and procedures. I also counsel team members as needed, and serve as the face of the organization.
What remains on your HVACR bucket list — what do you aspire to do that you haven’t accomplished yet?
I would like to develop and grow the team to free up some of my time so I can work on the company opposed to in it. I would like to be more involved in the community, volunteering on behalf of Kozon Plumbing & Heating. My ultimate bucket list goal is to build a company that will be around for many, many years to come and after I am long gone.
What words of advice do you have for females who are considering entering the HVACR field?
Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with great people. Every time you hear that this is not the industry for you or you will never make anything of yourself, use that as motivation to succeed. It is very rewarding to prove the naysayers wrong. It is even more rewarding to fulfill your dreams and help others achieve theirs.
