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Let’s end November with a bang as we bring in Steve Akian for the first time in the podcast! Steve is the CEO (or as he calls it, the Chief Vision Officer, or CVO) of Akian Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning based in Watertown, MA. He is also a master plumber and a certified plumbing designer and has been in the trades for 14 years. You can credit his grandparents’ neighbor as the one who inspired Steve to pursue a plumbing career. He started as a plumbing apprentice and the rest is history!

Akian Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning is composed of a team of professionals with a broad background in the plumbing, heating, and home service industries. They aim to provide excellent home services paired with an exceptional customer experience. With Steve’s wealth of experience working with high-profile clients such as Harvard University, Boston University, and Novartis, to name a few, he was motivated to bring these standards of excellence to the home services industry. Basically, Akian Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning provided a higher level of knowledge, service, and expertise needed in the residential market. 
 

How was your biggest setback your greatest gift?

Who do you look to solve your problems?

What was your mindset around getting out of massive debt with the IRS? 

What is the impact of paying attention to what you’re feeding your mind?

How can you actually make a New Years' Resolution work, ie make new habits stick?

What is the impact of a healthy morning and night routine and how can it change your life?

What is your mindset when it comes to technology and the impact it has on productivity?

How do you prevent the dangers of comparison from impacting your life?

Find Steve :

On The Web: https://www.akianplumbing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Akianplumbing/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/akian-plumbing-home-services/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662
Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed

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Did you miss us? 🤔🤔 Yeah, we know you do! 😉🤣

We are back to our regular programming! This week, we are excited to welcome Ryan Fenn for the first time to the podcast! For those of you who do not know Ryan, he is the CEO of Chiirp. He is a 12-year veteran in the business automation industry. His passion for automation and entrepreneurship lead him to create Chiirp, a complete communication and marketing automation platform that helps businesses communicate with clients instantly. With Chiirp, businesses can communicate more effectively with their customers, create automation that will nurture their prospects, and help them connect with more people more efficiently. It’s like having an ace on your sleeve! With how technology quickly influences the way we live and most especially, the way we run our businesses, business automation platforms are like oxygen, they are vital to the growth and success of your business! 

How do you bridge the gap between software/backend processes and sales? 

What are some pitfalls of people trying to automate too much? 

How can we be more authentic so we can start building relationships through automations? 

In terms of using a software like Sera, how can someone best integrate Chiirp’s automation knowing their CRM has so many automations already built in? 

How can Chiirp help your HVAC business be weather assisted, not weather dependent?

How can Chiirp convert more customers into members of your maintenance programs?

What is the importance of rehashing so your technicians don’t have to?

Find Ryan :

On The Web: https://chiirp.com/

On The Web: https://chiirp.com/demo/

Via Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chiirp/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ES3c_5wU1l2-iCxxWbXNA

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-fenn-76568b165/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chiirp/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662
Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed

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We welcome Erica Leonor for the first time on the show! If you don’t know Erica, she is the director of business development at GoodLeap and she is also one of the board of directors of Women in HVACR. She is an experienced instructor with a demonstrated history of working in the professional training & coaching industry and she is also skilled in customer service, coaching, motivational speaking, teaching, and leadership.

If you don’t know GoodLeap, it is a sustainable home solutions marketplace. They provide simple, fast, and frictionless point-of-sale technology for countless mission-driven professionals serving millions of people who want to upgrade their homes and save money. Their platform offers flexible ways for consumers to pay for a wide range of sustainable products, including solar panels, battery storage, smart home devices, modern HVAC systems, energy-efficient windows, upgraded roofing, water-saving turf, and more.

In this episode, we talk about her role in GoodLeap, GoodLeap’s training for contractors, the benefits of the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund, and why she agrees with the idea that customer experience is the new battlefront in the trades. Enjoy this episode!

0:00 - Intro 

2:49 - Finding Your Tribe

4:45 - The Women in HVACR Endowment Fund for Women in the Trades

8:45 - Erica's Role in GoodLeap 

10:15 - GoodLeap Training for Contractors

12:10 - What are some customer service successes you see with GoodLeap's easy-to-use approvals for financing?

16:03 - Combatting the Dark Side of Financing (Interest Rates & Dealer Rates)

17:48 - Customer Experience is the New Battlefront 

21:40 - What is one question you wish people would ask you more but don't?

23:05 - Outro 

Find Erica:
On The Web: https://goodleap.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneGoodLeap
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GoodLeapLLC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onegoodleap/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/onegoodleap
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-leonor-life/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goodleap/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662
Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund!
https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

We are still live in Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference. Time to welcome another first-time guest to our show! 🎉🎉

We are excited to have Kelly Presgrave in the podcast! If you don’t know Kelly, she is the owner and CEO of Work With Your Handz, a recruiting company that is focused on the residential and commercial services industry.

They have been partnering with top companies throughout the country to ensure they hire the right person for the job using our top-notch recruiting services. As a result, their success within the industry is unparalleled. Their team of recruiting experts has extensive experience in recruiting for skilled trades, allowing them to provide unique industry insight and deliver the highest quality direct-hire talent to help your business grow. This experience has allowed Work With Your Handz to form relationships with industry-leading companies that rely on them to fill every position from apprentice to the C-suite.

In this episode, we talked about her favorite and worst interview questions, some of her crazy stories from recruitment, what “stay interview” is all about, and the one question she would like others to ask her but don’t! If you’re a fan of gaining nuggets about recruiting, then this episode is the one for you! Enjoy the episode! Cheers! 🥂

0:00 - Intro of Kelly 

5:09 - What are you seeing between businesses that can't find techs to recruit and those that can? 

7:15 - If you recognize that someone doesn't have a strong culture, what is your approach? 

11:15 - What is your favorite interview question?

12:15 - And what's the worst question?

13:43 - What are some crazy stories you have from recruitment? 

15:59 - What is a "stay interview"? 

18:07- What is one question you wish people would ask you more but don't?

Find Kelly:

On The Web: https://www.workwithyourhandz.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WORKWITHYOURHANDZ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workwithyourhandz/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyrowlettpresgrave/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/work-with-your-handz/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662
Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund! https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

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In case you are living under a rock, we are in lovely Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference! 😅

We welcome Leslie Harpole for the first time in the show! If you don’t know Leslie, she is the co-owner of Champion Plumbing, a plumbing service company based in Edmond, OK which was established in 2015 by Leslie and her husband. They provide top-notch plumbing services in the OKC metro and other surrounding areas. Aside from having a passion to serve the community, she is also a proud #GirlMom, which she says it’s the best!

In this episode, we tackled how she balances her duties as a mom, wife, and business owner, the biggest challenges that she and her husband face as co-owners, how she manages “mom guilt” as a business owner, and the importance of finding her tribe in the industry! Whether you’re a parent or not, you will definitely enjoy this one as you will get a ton of nuggets from this episode so grab your favorite drink and tune in to this episode! Cheers! 🥂

0:00 - Intro 

1:36 - How to Manage Being a Mom and Wife & Giving 100% to Your Business 

4:51 - Decompression Time Hacks

9:49 - As a husband and wife co-owners, what are some of the biggest challenges you face together? 

14:40 - Social Media & Finding Your Tribe

17:26 - Being Realistic in Your Business 

19:08 - Managing Mom Guilt as a Business Owner 

22:45 - What is the one question that you wish people would ask you more but don't?

25:39 - Outro 

Find Leslie:

On The Web: https://callthechamps.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callthechamps
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-harpole-149991bb/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662

Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund! https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

We are still here in beautiful Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference. Joining us for the 2nd time in the podcast is the Service Nation’s Woman of the Year, Lori Tschohl! For those of you who don’t know Lori, she is the owner of Eagle Pipe Heating & Air, based in Poulsbo, WA, she is part of the LadyTitans, and a board member of Women in HVACR.

With over 40 years of experience, Eagle Pipe Heating & Air is a trusted source for commercial and residential gas piping and HVAC services. One of their specialties is weatherization and helping our clients reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency! 

In this episode, we talked about what it meant for Lori to win the Woman of the Year award, the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund, her journey to the trades, and the recurring issues she has seen in the trades for women. Sit back, relax, and tune in to this episode now! Enjoy!

0:00 - Intro of Lori

1:57 - What did it mean to you to win the Woman of the Year Award? 

3:50 - The Women in HVACR Endowment Fund

8:00 - What are some common, recurring issues you've seen in the trades for women? 

11:03 - Lori's journey to HVAC

15:25 - How do you communicate your "why" to your employees?

18:42 - Empowering your employees with conferences & ongoing training

20:04 - What is one question you wish people would ask you more but don't?

21:35 - Outro

Find Lori:

On The Web: https://www.eaglepipemechanical.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eaglepipemechanical/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-tschohl-322bb2ab/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662

Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund!
https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

We are still here in lovely Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference! Today, we are joined by Ben Poole. If you do not know Ben, he is the founder of HVAC Tactical and Trusted Heating and Cooling. 

His beginnings in the HVAC industry were cleaning in his father’s shop and helping his grandfather fabricate sheet metal ductwork. He spent several years mastering residential and commercial installation before entering the service side of the trades. After his father’s business closed, he worked for several HVAC companies before opening Trusted Heating and Cooling in Tucson, AZ. He opened another branch in Austin, TX, sold his original branch a year later, and finally moved to Austin with his father. 

In 2018, he launched HVAC Tactical, a clothing brand dedicated to the HVAC industry. His life has revolved around the trades and he considers it a blessing as it has allowed him to learn how to run a business, master the game of sales, better communicate, manage teams, manage client expectations, and ultimately allowed him to learn how to be a better leader.

In this episode, we talked about what HVAC Tactical Awards is, how to become a social media influencer, the importance of having time with your families and loved ones, and of course, the one question he wishes people would ask him more often but don’t! We kept it real in this episode so sit back, relax, and enjoy this one! Cheers! 🍻

Find Ben:

On The Web: https://hvactactical.com/
On The Web: https://trustedacaustin.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hvactactical
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrustedACAustin/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hvactactical/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustedacaustin/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hvactactical
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-poole-2b96911b/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hvac-tactical/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662

Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund!
https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

It’s another live episode of our podcast here in lovely Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference! ☀️ 💯

We welcome Stephanie Postell for the first time in the show! For those of you who don’t know Stephanie, she is the co-owner and COO of Anchor Heating and Air LLC. She is a seasoned veteran in the trades with experiences in various roles, from being an operations manager to a contractor success coach! She is skilled in customer service, coaching, sales, strategic planning, and business development. 

Anchor Heating and Air LLC were founded by Stephanie and his husband in 2021 and they bring over 30 years of experience in the heating & air conditioning industry to the table for our neighbors and customers in the Charleston, SC area. They pride themselves in treating their clients like family. Not only do they treat their client's homes as if they were their own, but they also provide recommendations and customized solutions that are unique to them!

In this episode, we tackled her experiences, the challenges, and struggles of working with business partners, the things to look out for so that you can avoid what she went through, and of course, the one question that she wishes that people would ask her often but don’t! Tons of valuable nuggets in this episode so make sure you watch this one! Enjoy!

0:00 - Intro with Stephanie 

5:20 - Challenges & Struggles of Business Partners

14:13 - Looking at your experience, what are some tips, and things to look out for so people can avoid the situation you went through? 

18:35 - It Was Too Good to be True

20:30 - Building a Village 

25:11 - At what point did your mindset shift from loss to running a company?

28:19 - What is one question that you wish people would ask you more but don't?

30:20 - Outro

Find Stephanie:

On The Web: https://anchorheatingandair.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anchorheatingandairsc
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@anchorheatingandairllc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anchorheatingandairsc/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniepostell/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anchor-heating-and-air-llc/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662
Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund!
https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

As you can tell, we are still in Phoenix, AZ for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference. This time, we are honored to have on the show the Profitability Master herself, Ruth King, who is also one of the founders of Women in HVACR! 

Ruth is a serial entrepreneur having owned 8 businesses in the past 37+ years. She has a knack for helping business owners truly understand financials, and then apply their knowledge to fuel massive growth, income and profits! She began training on the internet in 1998 and has successfully started an Internet broadcast network including videocasting, private broadcasting, and two company-owned channels: www.profitabilityrevolution.com and hvacchannel.tv and she is a nationally recognized consultant and trainer in the heating and air conditioning industry. Her operations manuals give plumbing, HVAC, and other contracting companies the processes and procedures they need to grow and sustain a profitable business. She is also a bestselling author! Her books include Profit or Wealth?, The Courage to be Profitable, and The Ugly Truth about Cash among others.

In this episode, we talked about how Women in HVACR got started, her experiences on becoming a pioneer in internet training back in ‘98, the KPIs she prioritizes, and her strategy for bridging communication between the field and the office in order to increase productivity. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this wonderful episode!

0:00 - Intro for Ruth King

1:09 - How did Women in HVACR get started? 

3:13 - What is the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund? 

4:44 - What has your journey with creating Women in HVACR looked like?

8:41 - What was it like pioneering internet training in 1998?

12:41 - What are the KPIs you prioritize?

15:08 - How are you coaching people to measure productivity? 

16:27 - How do you bridge communication between the field and the office to increase productivity? 

19:00 - Collaboration Across Industries and Innovation 

22:58 - What is one question that you wish people would ask you more but don't? 

Find Ruth:

On The Web: https://ruthkinghvac.com/
On The Web: https://www.womeninhvacr.org/
On The Web: https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthKing
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662

Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund! https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment

Send us Fan Mail

Guess where we at? 🤔🤔 Yep, you guessed it! We are still in lovely Phoenix for the Women in HVACR 19th Annual Conference! 😍

We welcome Stephanie Allen and Jessica Smith for the first time in the podcast! They are both from AirWorks Solutions Heating & Cooling where Stephanie is the co-owner and Jessica is the process manager. AirWorks has been providing excellent HVAC services to its beloved customers in Camarillo, CA for over 10 years. They are proud to say that after more than 10 years in business, their team is committed to the same goals and the same great outcomes for their customers, including treating their customers like they would like to be treated: with honesty, respect, and great service!

In this episode, we talked about how they run their business with the support staff working remotely, how they are managing the lack of “water cooler talk,” the things that they’re transparent about with their team, and of course, the one question they wish people would ask them but they don’t. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this one!

0:00 - Intro of Stephanie & Jessica

7:08 - How does running a business with remote support staff work? 

9:47 - How have you been able to manage the lack of "water cooler talk"?

11:49 - How do you go about coming into an established business in a respectful way? 

13:59 - How do you overcome techs stuck in the "old ways"?

15:28 - What are you transparent about with your team? 

19:18 - What is one question you wish people would ask you more but don't? 

Find Stephanie:

On The Web: https://airworkssolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirWorksSolutions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airworks_solutions/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-allen-6a9b699/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airworks-solutions/

Find Jessica:

On The Web: https://airworkssolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaWSmith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirWorksSolutions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airworks_solutions/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-smith-14591799/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airworks-solutions/

Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealed
Presented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.ca
For HVAC Internet Marketing reach out to us at [email protected] or 888-428-0662

Sponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealed
Sponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/
Contribute NOW to the Women in HVACR Endowment Fund! https://www.womeninhvacr.org/endowment