Business Spotlight: Heating Up

Last edited 1:33 p.m., May 23, 2024 [Editor's note: Information on Air Services Heating & Cooling/All Service Professional Plumbing has been corrected.]

Brett Callahan knew the power of good customer service as a differentiator long before he had a successful business to prove it. He had his father as an example: Rich Callahan, former general manager of Air Services Heating & Cooling/All Service Professional Plumbing, served as an inspiration to Brett for years before he became a business owner himself.

After working 10 years working with his dad, the business sold to a national firm and the younger Callahan started his own heating and cooling company with just $2,000 and a vote of confidence from his friends and loved ones.

“I told my wife if I couldn’t do it with 2K, it wasn’t meant for me,” he says.

He launched Callahan Heating and Cooling LLC in 2022, initially operating alone with just an old van.

He created a Google business listing complete with a Google Guarantee, a digital badge and promise of quality for customers that businesses can acquire by going through a screening and verification process. Callahan says that was the only marketing initiative he secured for Callahan Heating and Cooling starting out, and almost immediately he was booked out for a week.

At that time, Callahan ran everything. He answered service calls for both residential and commercial clients, working both in the office and in the field to deliver services. The first week was an 80-hour week, and during peak HVAC season.

“Two-thousand dollars turned into a couple hundred thousand within the first year,” Callahan recalls. “I never expected it to go so fast: I expected to be out in the truck by myself.”

Two years later, he’s grown to a team of seven and in 2023 recorded $700,000 in sales.

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the HVAC industry is growing faster than other industries, projected at 6% over the next decade. Though it is growing, it’s still considered a highly competitive industry, with a mix of local and national providers vying for the same customers.

Callahan’s focus is on residential services, which comprises 80% of his business. The remainder is divided into commercial (15%) and plumbing and water heater repair (5%). Overhead costs like trucks, fuel, insurance and office space amounts to roughly $20,000 per month, and materials run around $500,000 per year. 

With no turnover since the company’s inception, Callahan says the team is growing strong under his leadership, which he describes as laissez-faire.

“I don’t like to micromanage. I like to say, ‘Here’s what the goal is,’ and let it happen,” he says. “We’ve only had a few instances of the team needing more guidance.”

Callahan attributes his fast success to his attentiveness to his customers. One example is Clay Bowler, a customer who hired Callahan’s business for ongoing residential HVAC maintenance in 2023.

Bowler touts the company’s friendliness and professionalism, stating how happy he is that they take the time to listen to his needs. Callahan’s team designed and installed a custom water softener for his home, and Bowler was impressed with how efficiently the team worked while keeping his house clean.

“Callahan does business the old-school way,” says Bowler. “They are very good at what they do, but they also establish relationships with you.”

What’s in store for Callahan Heating and Cooling in the future? Callahan has his eyes on a $1.2 million revenue goal in 2024, but without compromising the company’s personal touch. He is focusing primarily on a preventive maintenance membership model that provides consistent revenue and gives his company the opportunity to maintain ongoing relationships with customers.

Callahan currently has 400 members under this model and is looking to increase it to 600 through the summer to keep them healthy through the fall.

While his day-to-day work is now focused more on marketing, advertising and assisting in office operations, there are occasional days where call volume still merits his presence in the field – something he doesn’t mind one bit.

“What I always tell my customers is if I wasn’t proud of the work we’re doing, I wouldn’t put my last name on the side of the truck,” he said. “Always buy from a company that has the owner’s name on the truck.”