Mike Weil
Extending the Comfortech Brand
Whether the brand is a local contractor serving his or her individual marketplace, or a national seminar and tradeshow event that targets a specific part of the HVACR industry, branding is an important key to differentiating....
Out With The Old and In With The New
As the book closes on 2011, we all can once again sit back and sigh, perhaps with collective relief. You see, 2011 is the second or third year of the U.S. economic recovery, depending on who you read, and there looks to be no end soon to the stalemate we seem to be in....
We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us
There’s an interesting conversation I’ve been following on The Service Roundtable (www.serviceroundtable.com) that addresses how business owners deal with customer and employee issues. Many of the participants were taking somewhat of an adversarial tone, creating what appeared to be an “us or them” approach to problem solving....
Climate Change Revisited, Again
There's no doubt about it: over the past 30 years, a lot has been written about climate change. As a result, laws have been created, movements started, protests initiated — all with the idea of saving our planet from the detritus of commerce and prosperity. ...
Make the Most of the 'Recovery'
As the markets shift, those who stay on top of those shifts will find opportunities that can benefit their businesses and customers. ...
Funding Projects: Is There Public Money Available?
Contradiction or not, the fact is if you’re looking for grants and low-interest loans to fund projects, especially those in public sector institutional work, and subsequently grow your HVACR business, there is money out there....
We Need to Get Our Heads INTO the Clouds
We recently commissioned a study of readers of both Contracting Business.com and HPAC Engineering magazines to see how they use the Internet and Smart phone technology to operate and manage various aspects of their business. The survey went out to a total of 41,000 readers, and more than 1,300 responded....
Carrier Petitions EPA To Close R-22 Loophole
Contracting Business.com interviewed John Mandyke, vice president of Carrier Corp.'s Sustainability and Environmental Strategies, and Drusilla Hufford, director of the Stratospheric Protection Div., of the EPA on the latest wrinkle in the R-22 Phaseout story. ...
Comfort Is Not a Four-Letter Word
The HVAC industry is always cycling through what I'll call "Earth Altering Events," which impact the way contractors do business and change the landscape of the marketplaces you serve....
The "Social" Part of Social Media
T he technology we have available today to communicate, educate, commiserate, delegate, and even tailgate is simply magical. It’s cheap, it’s easy to use, it’s readily available and it’s known as Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, and all the many iterations of them. We’ve been singing the praises of Social Media for more than two years. ...
Climate Change: Politics 101
There's a big climate change in Washington D.C and it doesn't have anything to do with the ozone layer, or energy independence, or efficiency standards. It has to do with a new Congress, a split Congress, a Congress hell-bent on cutting costs and working down the national debt....
The Energy Conversation, Part 2
In the February 28th edition of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), another special report on energy appeared. This one caught me off guard. It was focused on innovations in energy and presented a case to not look for one overriding solution, but to combine many small solutions into one that could very much be the answer we’re all looking for....
Yes, Virginia, There Is An "App" for That
Dear Editor: I’m an ardent SmartPhone user who has managed to find so many cool apps to do so many cool things. When I share them with my HVACR Industry friends, they often laugh and tell me that the apps are cute, but there will never be one that is useful in their industry....
AHR Expo Sets the Stage for 2011
Ladies and gentlemen — the doors on 2010 are offically closed. Not a banner year by any shake of the stick, but it did end on an up-note, and the recovery is slowly churning into reality. So now, it’s time to spin the roulette wheel on 2011 and take our chances. Ok, not really. Success is never dependent on luck. But since the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) is in Las Vegas this year, the stage is being set for your success. ...
The Global Energy Conversation and the HVAC Contractor
For several years, the pages of our newspapers and magazines have espoused the concept of the need to save energy, to be better caretakers of our environment, and in the process, become more focused on recycling and reusing our resources. In a word — to be green. ...
How Are You Doing?
Last November, I wrote an editorial entitled, "Get Ready for the Perfect Storm". In it, I talked about the three key factors that impacted our economy, and how those "negative" events actually created a perfect storm of opportunity in the HVACR industry. ...
A Week in the Life
It was a week of networking, partying, and learning. It was "a Week in the Life."...
Home Star: Should It Stay or Go?
Who would’ve ever thought that the title of a British punk band's 1970s anthem could describe a hot topic fomenting in the HVAC Industry? When the Clash wrote, Should I Stay or Should I Go, their intent was to highlight a rocky personal relationship. Apparently, in the HVAC world, the Home Star legislation is rocking the industry with regard to its wording, implementation, and impact on the HVAC contractor ...
It's Hot and Crazy Out There
What a crazy summer. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted. Yeah, right — like I know what it's like to be working 18-hour days crawling aound in hot attics and dealing with irate customers who don't understand why their broken air conditioners aren't at the top of your repair list....
So What's a Symposium, Anyway?
It's a heady word, this word "symposium" is. Three syllables and as a good friend of mine is fond of saying, "high and mighty sounding." Well that may be, but the word has its basis in the darkest depths of antiquity. For those who know me, you know this is going to lead to a beer reference, and you're absolutely right. ...
Home Star: Welcome to Reality 101
Contractors can all contribute to making the Homestar Act into a real, work¬ing law that benefits all its stakeholders ...
Earth Day As An Every Day Event
It was 40 years ago that environmentalism actually got its own day dedicated to it. Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970, and is celebrated in 175 countries every year. ...
Lessons from History
When I was growing up, in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a lot of social upheaval and change contorting the American landscape. One of the cornerstones of this period was the manned space program — the crowning jewel was landing a man on the moon and bringing him back home safely. Yet, there was a huge backlash because of the billions of dollars spent by NASA. Many people thought this was wasteful and irresponsible because those dollars would be better spent on societal improvements....
Starting In the Plus Column
In January 2010, the HVACR Industry gathered in the sunny climes of Orlando, FL for this year's edition of the International Air-Conditioning, Heating,...
It's All About Jobs
Here we go again. More ink is spent on the topic of climate change than on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The initial spillage of copy was mostly in...
