I want to sincerely thank Mike Murphy, Kyle Gargaro, and the staff of The NEWS for selecting me as one of three “Legends of the HVAC Industry” presented Sept. 7 at Service World Expo in Las Vegas. I couldn’t be prouder to have been selected for this award. As I looked back on the information provided in my entry form, I noticed a number of things that I felt would be pertinent and worthwhile to share with you.

While any fly-by-night company with a marketing budget can purchase call-to-action advertising on any advertising medium they like, it’s a company’s ongoing effort to branding itself that remains long after call-to-action promotions come and go.

Not being focused on actively retaining staff takes an awful toll on the company because it costs a lot of time, money, and energy to always be replacing people, especially really good people.

Boiling it down to its most basic, success in a small contracting business requires a mindset change: Understand that doing the work of your trade is only a part of what needs to be done. Business success is a long-term investment.

As users shift to mobile devices and social media at staggering rates, it’s not enough just to be online. You have to create the best user experience that is device- and medium-agnostic. Your strategy has to be so strong that it doesn’t rely on one trick or tactic, because that one old-faithful strategy could be gone tomorrow.

I know most contracting business qualify as small, and I speak from experience when I say that small contractors can easily differentiate themselves by empowering their people to perform random acts of kindness to benefit their customers or potential customers.

In our effort to protect our resources, my question is this: Are we just pretending to be green? Because, truth be told, if being green affected the average American’s bank account on a large scale, I believe fewer people would participate.

As the home service industry continues to grow, HVAC companies have to find ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors. One way they can do so is by adding new trade lines, such as plumbing, to their services.

A good maintenance agreement program is a must for any HVACR contractor looking to grow. And now is as good a time as ever to start your maintenance agreement program.