Meet April Hines. She is a sales and customer assurance manager for Bay Area Air Conditioning Inc. in Crystal River-New Port Richey, Florida. She is also a first-time attender of the 15th Annual Women in HVACR (WHVACR) Conference that took place at the historic Brown Palace Hotel in Denver last month.
Last summer my family went up in the beautiful Utah mountains to spend a day with my parents and siblings who were camping. On our ride up, my 8 year old daughter needed a bathroom break. I noticed some outhouses and pulled off the side of the road.
As my daughter entered the outhouse, I noticed there was a sliding latch to lock the door, and I heard her lock it after she shut the door.
Holy Cow! It’s Time to Get Your AC Tuned Up!
I thought it was a great headline. Smeared across the front of 20,000 postcards with a huge picture of a cow’s face, we sent them out in a last-ditch effort to get the phone to ring. We had been having an extremely slow spring in 2011 with very little work coming in the door.
My husband, Ryan, who is the co-owner of our company, had invested what was left of our checking account into this mailing, with the hope that this postcard would produce thousands.
It didn’t. It flopped.
Today was a big day for us...
We are now the official owners of a new building for our HVAC business!
A year ago, my husband printed a photo of a building and taped it on his vision board. Below it were the words,“I am the proud owner of a new building for Western Heating.” Here we are, a year later, and we signed the papers for our new building today!
When selecting a partner for your HVACR business, it’s important to find someone who is not only business savvy, but someone you can trust and has your complete confidence. Many potential business owners turn to the people they are closest to — friends, family or even their spouse.
Eleven years ago, my husband popped the magic question that changed our lives forever, “Will you buy an HVACR business with me?” I love my husband and I love a good challenge, so of course I said yes!
Originally published on Distribution Center Magazine
If you focus on quantities, you will find that women are a minority in the HVACR industry, but when you focus on qualities, like skills, ambition, passion, and drive, you will find that their presence in the industry puts them right on par with the male-dominated majority.
Throughout the years, more and more women have found their place in the industry; the legacies they have built and left behind have inspired others to band together in an effort to promote education, leadership, and
