Here’s something nobody tells you about taking over a family business: you’ll undo half of what made it successful in the first place. My dad spent 25 years building this. My brother and I changed a lot of it, not because he got it wrong, but because our vision was different, and different visions need different ingredients. Protecting a legacy means knowing when it’s time to let some of it change.
@officialchadpetermanTranscript
My dad spent 25 years building Pedermen brothers. I've had to undo half of what made it work, but that's part of the job. Growing a business and taking it from one generation to the next, the important thing is casting that vision for the second generation. My brother and I's vision was different than dads. It didn't make it wrong. It just made ours different. And unfortunately, what made his vision, our vision takes different ingredients. Again, being in family business is continuing to protect the legacy, but understanding when the vision changes a little bit, things have to change. It doesn't make first generation wrong. It just makes second generation's vision a little bit different.
Download Transcript
Related Videos
Here’s the fastest way to know if you’re making money or just staying busy: know your three numbers. 50% gross profit. 35% overhead. 15% profit. If you can’t say where you stand on each right now, that’s the first problem to fix.
If I could only track five numbers in my HVAC sales department, it would be: revenue per lead, close rate, average install revenue, discount rate, and revenue to budget. Most owners track none of them daily and then wonder why the month got away from them. Measure every day and the numbers stop surprising you.
If your tech left for $2 more an hour, money wasn't the problem. The problem is there was nothing else keeping them. Techs spend most days working on their own. If the money's right, it's the one-on-ones, the organizational support, the daily encouragement that keeps them here. A small raise can't outbid a place people actually want to work and feel supported.
This is where we build technicians from scratch. Zero experience walks in, and electricians, plumbers, and HVAC pros walk out. Everything in this lab is functional. They can tear it apart, we can plant faults, and they can fail safely here instead of in a customer’s home.