How Do I Begin Growing My Company?

An HVAC Contractor in Ohio asked:

I am going to help my dad grow his business from where we are now, which is one van. Where do I start?

EGIA faculty member Gary Elekes began the conversation by explaining that, while common in the HVAC industry, family businesses can often be complicate relationships between family members by its very nature. He continued by saying that it is imperative to have open lines of communication and to establish a workflow and accountability measures to remove as much of the human element out of it as possible.

He continued by saying that both the father and the son in the situation have their own interests that are valid and it’s important that the other member of the business understands these interests fully.

Beginning to grow a business means making changes, and that also means both the father and son need to be on the same page when it comes to growth.

“One of the first areas that needs to change is typically price,” said Elekes. He went on to explain that often businesses start with extremely low prices so as to undercut their competitors, but in the interest of long term profitability, prices need to be raised as a business can differentiate in other ways, such as quality of service.

Gary Elekes is serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping others become more successful by sharing what he has learned over the past 3 decades working closely with all facets of the contracting industry. During his career, Gary has held senior management positions at Lennox and Service Experts.

Our faculty members have also answered questions on other topics related to company structure and growth, including How to Become a Company Everyone Wants to Work For and Identifying and Implementing New Revenue Streams.

Hear more from our “Ask The Experts” faculty members on “Cracking The Code,” our weekly web series.

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