We recently connected with CHRIS CRAWFORD and have shared our conversation below.

CHRIS, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

First, I think the word “Successful” should be defined by each individual. For some, Owner of a large $50MM a year company with all of the perks is the definition of successful. For others, a smaller company that pays the bills, has little overhead, very little stress to run and manage, allows for vacations and family time is the only way they would have it.

For me, I have had the opportunity to see both ends of the spectrum. I have ran $60MM a year organizations as the General Manager and I now own a $2MM a year company. I feel like the real sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. Not so crazy that I can’t keep track of what is actually happening, but not too small that if we run into lean times, that we would be in trouble. Taking care of your employees financially, paying them well, getting them time off to be with family, actually having a personal relationship with them is also very important.

What does it take to be “Successful”? Time, patience, a lot of work, not being afraid to shift gears and change the game plan if need be. Too many people these days think they will start a business and be successful in the first 2-3 years, and that’s just not reality. Over 90% of all businesses fail within the first 5 years. Here’s what my Grandfather told me was the key to being successful. 1. Temper your expectations with reality 2. Work twice as hard as everybody else and expect half of what you see other getting. 3. Don’t spend money on stupid stuff, if it’s doesn’t make you more money, then don’t buy it.

CHRIS, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Grew up in Killeen Texas. Worked in my family’s businesses growing up in residential construction and HVAC. After graduating high school, I enlisted in the United States Air Force. I started in aircraft maintenance, and eventually rose to the ranks of leadership positions. After 20 years, I retired and took over my family’s HVAC business back in Killeen Texas. It was failing, and it took me four years to get it back to being highly profitable. As it is with most family owned ventures, there was a differing in opinions as to how to manage the growth. I left the company and moved to Houston. I spent two years growing the fledgling HVAC division of Abacus Plumbing & Air Conditioning from a $3M dollar division to a $15M dollar division. I then was offered the opportunity to take over as General Manager at Integrity Comfort Solutions. Our first year was tough…But then aren’t all the first years tough?…But somehow we managed to transform the company completely and even double the revenue generation. All of this while changing from a commercial service company to a residential service company, and creating a culture of opportunity, education, and family values. After two years of managing Integrity, I then took over as General Manager at Vanderford Air. It took two years, but we grew the company from $3M to $8M a year in revenue and maintained a high net margin. In 2019, I finally made the leap and purchased an existing HVAC company, Spring Branch A/C, located in West Houston. Our first year in, and we raised revenue by over 30% and maintained a 21% Net Margin. We are now 3 years in and have hit the $2M a year revenue mark and still sustaining over 20% net margins. We have NO SALESPEOPLE….Only Technicians, and our ethics of pride in our work and honesty with our clients is what drives us every day. We are excited to continue to build our business and provide the highest quality services available in the Houston area!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

When I took over my family’s business in 2009, they were still paying to advertise in the Yellow Pages and had no idea what a website looked like! Having a website is a must for any business, but spending tons of money to “Optimize” it with SEO and all the other things the Techy guys will try to sell you on is just not necessary anymore. Get a nice looking website that is easy to navigate and use it as a destination. Let’s be honest, unless you are selling lots of products directly from your website, the only thing the prospective customer is looking for at this point is a way to contact you, so make sure that path is super easy to find and user friendly!

SOCIAL MEDIA!!!! This is the current state of the internet. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok are your very best friends! I know, it’s intimidating. but do it anyway! Video content is King, so make short videos about everything you do. Tell them who you are so they can get to know you a little bit on the personal side (people want to be invested in you). Make it funny, make it sad, be brutally honest with people and have fun with it! Make real sure you link your website so they can find you. You will bring in more business this way “FOR FREE” thank you ever will paying for leads and traffic.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I purchased Spring Branch A/C in 2019. It was scary. Take some time and do your homework on the business. Demand to see at least 5 years worth of all financials, as well as the owners personal income tax returns. Go over all of that data yourself, and then send it to a VERY GOOD CPA to have them tear it apart. This is the nuts and bolts of the business, and you want to ensure there is nothing hidden in the details.

Once you have decided that you are ready to make an offer, you need to make a business plan for the bank. Be specific! Tell them everything about who you are, your previous experience, and why you would be amazing as the new owner of this company. Then lay out the past financial history, the expectations moving forward and how you plan to achieve those expectations. If you can, work with a local bank or credit union. These people live in your community, and want you to succeed. The big banks don’t care who you are and really only want to make money from the transaction.

After financing is in place, make your offer. Make it low….Way lower than the seller is expecting. This gives you room to negotiate. Talk about existing assets, talk about the employees and retaining them, talk about a non compete agreement with the seller. All of these things can give you leverage in negotiating. After the back and forth is done, don’t sign ANYTHING without an attorney looking it over first.

Introduce yourself to the employees in a very laid back atmosphere. We did a BBQ at the office that day. I spent a couple minutes introducing myself and letting everyone know that their positions were safe with the company, and then spent hours talking to individuals as we ate BBQ and some cold drinks.

Lastly, introduce yourself to your client base. Phone calls, mailers, emails, whatever it takes, but they need to know that the place is under new leadership and that they can expect at least the same level of care and support, if not something 10 times better!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SpringBranchAC.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpringBranchHomeServices
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-crawford-98077012/