No longer satisfied with consumption of traditional media alone, the sight and sound consumer is now looking to simultaneously be educated and entertained, with an emphasis on entertainment. Thus, video marketing has emerged. As an HVACR contractor, you should be working on a video strategy right now.

The votes are in and it’s decided; a majority of the nation is not too happy with the changes made by the White House thus far and they are hoping the large number of Republicans recently voted in will make them happier.

Halloween has passed, Thanksgiving is on the horizon, and midterm elections have shaken up the political playing field. What is an HVACR contractor to do? Have a sale. Admittedly, the HVACR industry does not operate in the retail realm, but this year of economic ups and downs could warrant a change in marketing tactics.

Jobs are still hard to find in many regions of the nation, but according to CNNMoney.com, “enrollment at for-profit schools - a category that includes most trade schools - has jumped dramatically during the recession, to nearly 1.8 million students from about 365,000 in the last several years.”

Overall confidence in the recovery seems to wax and wane with each evening news report. In a Modern Distribution Management webinar hosted by Dr. Adam Fein, Ph.D., president of Pembroke Consulting Inc., Fein told attendees that many of them could plan for growth in 2010, 2011, and beyond, but to keep expectations in check because growth talk is growth from a much lower base.

It’s agreed. Women should work in the HVACR industry. That was an easy question. So simple in fact, many of the contractors The NEWS posed that question to were seemingly surprised we even asked. It was the qualifying question as to where women fit in the HVACR industry that produced some differing opinions.

There are quite a few crazy ideas in the HVACR industry’s history, but it’s the future that contractors, manufacturers, and distributors are trying to understand. For the HVACR industry, social and digital media aren’t the future though; they are the crazy ideas of today.

Direct Energy has completed its acquisition of Clockwork Home Services Inc. Following approval by Clockwork’s shareholders and U.S. regulatory approval, the combined Direct Energy Services and Clockwork Inc.® business is now considered to be North America’s largest provider of heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical services.

Economic hard times have changed the overall landscape of business in America. With companies learning to operate leaner, leaving many workers without a place to go, there is a growing trend of displaced workers starting their own businesses. Knowing this, The NEWS began asking contractors what it took to start, maintain, and grow a successful HVACR business.

I confess … before working for The NEWS I would never have suggested that someone enter the trades as a profession. My job as a former high school teacher was to prepare a white collar workforce and trade schools and community colleges weren’t where we were aiming students. In retrospect, I was ignorant.