The long-term odds for a family-owned business are not good. Even if the founder builds it into a prosperous enterprise, that success likely won't last. What is a distributor to do?

"We were green before it was cool," Riley said. "Then it became cool, and then people worried about the 'green' in their pockets. It's tough in this industry when you want to preach sustainability but your contractors are worried about viability and being in business."

From refrigerant regulations to regional equipment standards, the members who attended HARDI's June 4 Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., had a lot to discuss.

Bartos Industries had a problem. Despite being in a highly-technical and specialized field such as the plan-and-specifications HVACR market, the Dallas-based company spent too much time on pencil-and-paper work for its projects and bids. How did the company solve its problem?

With a national unemployment rate of 8 percent, you might think finding good workers wouldn't be a problem for HVACR wholesalers. But you'd be wrong. Just ask Rhonda Wight, vice president of Valley View, Ohio-based Refrigeration Sales Corp. What is she experiencing?

If last season's mild winter didn't ding HVAC wholesalers' profits, this summer's fuel prices could do it. After steadily climbing for the past six months, gasoline is expected to stay above $4 a gallon through September in much of the country.

What are the overall opinions of a number of major HVAC manufacturers Distribution Center contacted for their predictions on business conditions for 2012?

If Facebook users made up a country, it would be the world's third largest. An estimated 80 percent of companies use social media websites as a recruitment tool. More than 100 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every four minutes.

Still think social media is a fad?

Moving from the world of HVAC wholesaling into the plans and specification market - plan and spec for short - is not always an easy transition. “It’s so different than a traditional wholesaling model,” said Spencer Shaw, president of Bartos Industries, a Dallas-based plan-and-spec firm. Bill Shaw, his father and the chief executive officer at Bartos, agreed.