Articles by Matt Michel

Without mechanical refrigeration and air conditioning, the nation is fundamentally different.

If the right business model is deployed, a connected home division can be extremely lucrative. It offers the equivalent of mailbox money or insurance residual income for HVAC contractors. Even better, the revenue will only grow over time and is unrelated to seasonal demand.

The HVAC industry faces a shortage of skilled labor. There is no question about it. However, the industry’s problem does not need to be your problem.

The new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are, at best, unsettling for the HVAC industry, nation, and world economy. Here is how the tariffs can be expected to impact the HVAC industry.

A shortage of skilled labor is an industry problem, a specialty trade problem, and a national problem. It does not need to be your problem if you effectively utilize the manpower mix.

It seems obvious that profit is desirable, maybe even virtuous. If society at large fails to understand the essential goodness of profit, certainly a capitalistic HVAC industry should acknowledge it.

Even contractors who are diligent about training their teams often overlook their own personal training needs. Make sure you look for personal training opportunities to become a better business person, manager, and leader. Shore up your areas of weakness, whether it’s marketing or finance.

If we’re going to make America great again; if we’re going to keep jobs here, we have got to teach people trades again. And we will. We will. Send your kids to trade school. Teach them a trade. If they want to go on to get a four-year degree, they can. They can pay for it with the money they earned in their trade.

The riskiest move in business is ceding control to a third party. Sometimes it works out in the short term, but never without a sword of Damocles hanging over the company and its owner. Yet, many HVAC contractors sacrifice control to pursue short-term gains.