January 14, 2025 • 26 mins
Katy Higgins, a pioneering force in the HVAC world, joins us to share her remarkable journey from telemarketer to a powerhouse owner of a $5 million enterprise. Katy's narrative is one of grit and perseverance as she overcame industry stereotypes to emerge as one of the first female comfort advisors in Northern Utah. Her dedication to continuous learning has not only driven her success but has also opened doors for countless other women in the HVAC field.
Our conversation with Katy unveils the secrets behind building a successful HVAC business, emphasizing the strength of team collaboration and operational efficiency. By likening a company to a wheel where every member plays a vital role, Katy shares insights on the challenges of scaling a business and the importance of trust and leadership within a team. She candidly discusses the unique obstacles of negotiating contracts and earning respect in a male-dominated industry, offering inspiration for those ready to challenge the status quo.
Mentorship and community stand as pillars in Katy’s entrepreneurial journey, as exemplified by her transformative engagement with Service Nation. Katy reflects on the invaluable mentorship and support network she found within this alliance, highlighting the core value of "excellence in every detail" that drives her business forward. Her recognition as "Woman of the Year" underscores the significance of finding a community that fosters growth and innovation. Join us as we celebrate Katy's achievements and explore the vital role of supportive allies in her continued success.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, lemonheads ?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I'm Crystal and today I'msitting down with a powerhouse
female owner of True Pros inUtah.
She's no stranger to the tradeworld.
With over 25 years of industryexperience, she's built a
thriving HVAC business fromgarage to $5 million to great
(00:22):
success story in literally oneyear.
Not only is she a leader, she'sa trailblazer.
She's one of the first femalecomfort advisors in Utah.
Guys, this is going to be such agreat session.
Grab your lemonade, settle down.
Let's definitely get inspiredabout this next generation of
professionals and women in thetrades.
I can't wait to talk.
Let's sip some lemonade.
All right, guys, welcome to ournext episode.
(00:57):
Listen, I am so excited to getto talk with Katie Higgins, the
owner of True Pros in Utah.
Katie, your journey fromstarting in a garage to $5
million I love it.
You know I'm a trade baby, so Icame from the trades.
My family owns and operatesseveral businesses in the trade,
so I can't wait to hear like,take us back to the beginning.
(01:18):
Like, where did you get started?
You mentioned, while it goes,we were prepping.
Like ladies I've been crawlingunder houses.
Like I love it.
I think our people are going tolove to hear from you as well,
so tell me how you got starteddoing all this.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Okay, I appreciate that, as I mentioned, I don't
think anybody in the beginningof their high school or you're
thinking, oh, I would like towork in heating and air or even
the trades.
I became a single mom at a veryyoung age and I was putting
myself back through school.
But I was working as atelemarketer at a heating and
(01:51):
air company and I was sellingfurnace tune-ups.
And I asked my boss.
I said what the heck is afurnace tune-up?
And he said, well, katie, doyou tune up your car?
And I'm like no.
He said, well, what about anoil change?
I'm like, yeah, everybody doesthat.
So like understanding the what afurnace tune up or an air
conditioner tune up is is reallywhere my career started is
(02:12):
telemarketing.
So from there I finishedschooling and very quickly my
boss said hey, you're very smart, maybe you could help us out.
So I went from telemarketing todispatching, to lead generator,
marketing director, officemanager and then out into the
field, and that that first partof my career took about five
years and all along the way Iwas getting my certifications to
(02:35):
become a licensed technician orget the local requirements.
Like here in Utah, we'rerequired to have something
called the RMGA, which is RockyMountain Gas Association
certification Just reallyunderstanding how heating and
air works and trying to makecustomers safe.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Awesome.
So you know, I say all the timelike why should anyone
listening to this podcast carewhat Katie has to say?
Well, it sounds like you'vebeen there and done that.
So you know a lot of especiallyI see this happen.
You know a lot of people wantto take advice from people that
have actually lived the lifethat they're having to walk
through.
And so I know that when youstart a business from your
(03:14):
garage and you take this bigleap to kind of go out on your
own, you know it takes a lot ofcourage, it takes a lot of
determination, maybe eveninnovation and a vision.
And so tell me, like what kindof kickstarted you I know you
were like a comfort advisor andthings like that what just kind
of spurred you to go out on yourown?
I mean, it's such a maledominated space.
(03:36):
You know what made you thinkyou could do it.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Sure, you know what.
Honestly, I think if we wouldturn back time, just not even
understanding the opportunitythat was in front of me, I think
if you would have told me theopportunity that was in front of
me, I would have been tooscared to take that leap of
faith as a comfort advisor.
So I was working in the officeand I placed an air quality
(04:00):
monitor in a customer's home andthis was 20 something years ago
and we're in Utah, which isvery rare to see a woman in the
trades and we're a prettyconservative state, to say the
least.
So imagine, 20 years ago,placing an air monitor and then
working as a comfort advisor.
(04:20):
I believe I was one of thefirst, if not the first, female
to do like in-homes estimatingin Northern Utah and I used to
call customers on my way and say, hey, this is Katie with
so-and-so, I'm on my way foryour free estimate, and
sometimes I'd hear honey, it's awoman.
I'm like I'm still on the phone.
I can hear you, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So I get to the door and be like I just had to learn
to roll with it.
Ta-da, I'm a woman, but I justreally overeducated myself and
by the time that I left thecustomer's house I really wanted
them to remember me for myknowledge, not because I was the
female, but because I knew morethan anybody else that they'd
have at their home and I reallyfeel like I looked at things
(05:04):
just a little bit differently.
Some of the things as a comfortconsultant or advisor that I
think about are do I want my airconditioner here for my whole
life or is this a time to goahead and relocate it Because we
can go ahead and do it with thesales process now?
So I really think that gave mea competitive edge and is
(05:25):
looking at things just a littledifferently and having these
amazing opportunities, sopioneering the field in Northern
Utah Along the way.
There's been several companiesnow have female comfort
consultants or comfort advisorshere in Northern Utah and so I
really became pretty visible.
I was really good at what I didand I think other companies
(05:49):
they had tried to hire me.
I stayed with the same companyfor about 15 years and just
really seeing other companiesadd female comfort advisors and
female technicians was prettyawesome and I'd love to think I
had a little hand in that.
In 2015, Lennox started anational competition called the
(06:10):
Ultimate Comfort Advisor and itwas a four part contest, for
there were four winners in theUnited States.
So imagine this contest and theparameters were Western
Conference, northern, southern,eastern and Utah was competing
against California, seattle,nevada, salt Lake City is not a
(06:32):
very big area and that veryfirst year I won the national
ultimate comfort advisor forLenox International.
Go ahead, girl, that's great,thank you.
So this was 2015 and there wereabout three or four hundred
comfort advisors competing andon those first like three pages
there were no female comfortadvisors.
(06:52):
Year two in this competition onthat page, number one, there
were a few female comfortadvisors.
Year two in this competition onthat page, number one, there
were a few female comfortadvisors.
I did win years one, two andthree and then kind of went out
on my own.
So I really felt like after Iturned 40, crawling under houses
was not going to work for meforever, and through addicts um,
(07:15):
it's kind of how true prosbegan is needing to pull myself
out of the field yeah, yeah,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And then so you started true pros in your garage
, like just from home, and youstarted hustling.
So tell me about your marketingstrategies.
What were some of the thingsthat maybe you tried and failed
or even did were reallysuccessful?
Like, where was your brain atwhen you started this strategy
of like building this businessfrom the ground up?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, I really wish I could say that there was
a plan for True Pros.
There really wasn't, and sothat's why it was out of the
garage.
The garage, it, it.
There's a really it's anamazing story of perseverance, I
want to say, throughout myentire career.
So last last July, a companyname was formed.
(08:07):
We didn't have a website, wehad nothing.
One van and three weeks intobuying this one van, the
transmission goes out andinstead of just throwing in the
towel, it's hey, we got tofigure out how to buy another
van.
So we went from having nowebsite, no company name last
last July, and then our firstrolling 12, completing 5 million
(08:30):
.
We have 12 vehicles on the road, we have a wonderful shop, 20
employees, um, but it's been awild year.
So, um, as far as marketingeverything, we tried everything.
Like, how do you go and get awebsite?
How do you?
Uh, I would say tryingeverything, social media, print,
(08:50):
advertising.
I really had to rely on my, mycustomer relations from selling
furnaces and air conditionersfor the past 20 years, letting
people know I'd gone out on myown and how to get ahold of me.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah, okay, yeah.
And so you know a lot of timeswhen we we build our businesses
on referral, you know causewe're good people, you know we
are we try to do right by people.
We've, we've learned the tradeand we're good at it.
And so you know you're on track, I guess, to, if I read this
right, to do several milliondollars this year.
And so tell me what it was likescaling a business.
(09:27):
I know a lot of contractors.
You know you go from zero to 60, like what were maybe some
struggles you had scaling, somelessons learned on a few of
those things that just kind ofreally impacted your growth as a
leader and as a as a businessas a whole.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Oh my gosh, that's such a great question.
I was actually.
We have a team meeting once aweek and we all meet together
and every in this meeting I talkabout our company being a wheel
and spokes on the wheel, andthere is no one job that's more
important than the other job.
If we don't make the phone ring, nothing happens.
If we don't answer the phone,nothing happens.
If we don't book the job,nothing happens.
If we don't sell the estimate,nothing happens.
If we don't get the install,nothing happens.
(10:10):
If we don't mess it up, theservice techs don't have a job.
So every single job is the mostimportant job here and we
really work as a team.
So when you talk about scalingand failures, the list is
incredible.
(10:31):
Changing, making too manychanges right out the gate and
trying to implement processesand procedures without having
any has been exceptionallydifficult.
But it really speaks to thecharacters of the, the people
that came to work with me.
A lot of us came from groupsthat had been purchased from by
private equity here in NorthernUtah and so learning to trust
one another.
But something I say in everysingle interview is I tell
(10:53):
people working for a startup isextremely difficult.
You probably will have 10 hatstoday and in two months from now
you might have eight hats.
It takes a really specialperson to understand that.
That doesn't mean that youcan't still do those 10 jobs.
It means that we've just grownand it might not make sense to
(11:15):
keep doing those 10 jobs.
Maybe eight or six, but kind oflike my biggest mistake is
getting out of my own way,allowing other people to help me
along the way and reallyfinding people that are smarter
and better than I am, and alldepartments to teach me and
guide me, all departments toteach me and guide me.
(11:40):
That, yeah, I would say that'sbeen.
The biggest learning is Ididn't have I say I went to the
school of hard knocks.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, Well, you know, a lot of good testimonies, a
lot of good stories come fromlike true grit and determination
as you make your way through acompany.
And you know one thing that yousaid, like I am a marketer, so
what I'm about to say, you know,marketing is just a piece of an
operational plan.
You know, operations are trulywhat move needles with
businesses.
(12:06):
So a lot of times when I lookat the most successful
businesses, yes, there probablyis a good marketing strategy
somewhere in that mix, butreally what has driven that
company forward and moved themmoved the needle is an
operational efficiency that isis is that's what owners tend to
hone in on.
So at Limitsy was born fromthis, like we were born from
(12:28):
having owners and operators thatwere driven operationally, that
wanted the creativity and themarketing strategy but didn't
want to allocate their timespecifically to that.
And so it definitely like as anowner, you can't take your eye
off of the marketing ball per se, but it really operations are
really where you see the most.
To me, the most drastic changesin companies come from very
(12:50):
strong operators that arecognizant of the things that
they have to change and do toscale and to hold people
accountable, and so, for sure,well, I know, another thing that
you and I were talking aboutkind of before we got live here
on the podcast was breakingbarriers as a woman in the
industry.
So, you know, I lived this life.
I wasn't a technician, but whenI came on my family's company
(13:13):
in 2014, you know, um, but whenI came on my family's company in
2014, you know, I just had tolike jump in the mix and learn
and be like you know, and Ialways said I earned my spot at
the table because I was a goodmarketer.
I didn't, I didn't want to seatbecause I was a woman.
I wanted to see because I was agood marketer.
And so that's where my dream is.
Is that no longer do people go?
Oh well, here, let's let thelittle girl technician talk.
(13:34):
Longer do people go?
Oh well, here, let's let thelittle girl technician talk.
It's more like she is so good,like she is technically sound,
she has a cleaner job site, shespeaks better with clients, like
I want to highlight all of thethings that make them, as
individuals, powerful rock stars.
And so I was just curious,maybe some of the experiences of
being, you know, kind of 20years ago.
For sure you know, stepping outinto that industry, like you
(13:56):
know how, do you think thatreally helped shape and mold you
as a owner and things like that, maybe even some unique
challenges?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Oh my gosh.
Well, when you, when I decidedto open a company, like having
the vision and having the plan,it's it's evolved over this past
12 months significantly becauseI like, I told the people this
this morning we are in yearthree or four in year one, and
so I didn't realize how visibleI would be as a female owned and
(14:27):
operated heating and aircompany and there are some
people really rooting for us.
And then there's some peoplethat are not necessarily behind
us and that's OK, justunderstanding that they may not
be our customer.
But some of my biggestchallenges have been negotiating
contracts and being takenseriously, because you walk into
a room of your even yourdistributors, whom I've worked
(14:51):
with for 20 years, that say, hey, 90% of companies are going to
fail.
What's going to make youdifferent?
Getting them to trust me,getting even accounts with
credit limits, like what makesus different, what makes us
special, and then finding theconfidence and getting people to
(15:11):
stand behind me.
That's probably been thebiggest challenge.
But I will tell you this thepeople that stood behind me.
It has paid them back tenfold,as we purchased over a million
dollars in equipment in ourfirst year with this
manufacturer.
So I'm hoping they feelvalidated in their choice to
stand behind me.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Oh yeah, these manufacturers start figuring out
like, hey, they've got somehustle in their step over there,
well, and you know there's alot to be said for this.
So I think we have to work alittle harder, right, like I
think we have to take a littlebit harder for people to realize
that we know what the heckwe're talking about.
But specifically those of youthat are going in and diagnosing
an issue or installing a system, and so you know, kudos to the
(15:53):
hundreds, if not thousands, ofwomen now making a difference in
the industry and shout out toyou because I feel like you were
definitely on the pioneeringside of that, thank you.
And so, yeah, so, as you'vebuilt a true pros, tell me a
little bit like what do youthink you've built this on?
Like, what are your core values?
And maybe even what advicewould you give other business
(16:15):
owners?
Like, hey, how did you get hereso fast?
Like, what were the core piecesthat helped you scale to where
you did as quickly as you did?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
I'm so glad you asked .
So, like putting together aleadership team coming up with
core values.
We now have them hanging in ourhallway.
But honestly, chat GPT has beensuper helpful and has really
gotten to know me over this pastyear.
It's hilarious.
I say no, rewrite that how Iwould write it.
Has really gotten to know meover this past year.
It's hilarious.
I say no, rewrite that how Iwould write it.
And one of the core valuesthat's most interesting to me is
(16:45):
excellence in every detail,which is not it doesn't have
everything to do with thecustomer experience, but a lot
to do with the customerexperience, but also the work
environment, from how we answerthe phone, how we treat one
another.
So I think we've got someamazing core values, but the
excellence in every detailreally sticks out to me.
(17:07):
But really getting like thepeople that work with me to buy
not even buy into it, but reallyfeel like it's their own core
values, like they came up withthem, them because we've worked
together and at the end of the12 months, like this is what
we've produced is a place thatwe're proud of.
Um, growth and opportunities isone of our core values.
(17:29):
Um but just just really teamwork.
Um, part of our logo has thishex background.
Um, you can see a little bit onthis banner behind me.
It really has to do with um,kind of a beehive, if you will
like.
We work together.
There is no part that is moreimportant than the other part,
and without each other we'renothing.
(17:51):
So really working together hasbeen been the most important
aspect of this past 12 monthsand really learning to trust
each other, because it is nosmall feat to scale like we have
.
And honestly, I recently had anopportunity.
I was nominated as woman of theyear in Service Nation, which
(18:13):
was awesome.
I had no idea what that was.
I got invited to go down.
I'd never been to a conferencelike that, but I didn't know how
special it was to go from zeroto five million until I was
surrounded with other ownersthat had been in business for
years and they said, hey, thisis, this is not normal.
I just had nothing to compareit to, so I didn't realize how
special it was, but really likefeeling validated by other
(18:38):
owners and understanding whatwe've just been through gave me
a little bit of grace for myself.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, so when did you decide to join Service Nation?
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We'd always been a member of just the roundtable.
I had no idea what it was, andwe just signed up for the
alliance program like a monthand a half ago, and I'm so
thankful that we did.
They are not paying me for thisbut I'm so glad that we did Me
neither, me, neither.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
But that's where I got my start too with my
family's company was partneringwith the best person group of
service station.
We joined our advisory boardand we met at meetings and and
we all listen, there's andthere's other great ones, but
service station I'm very, I justlove, I love where it brought
my family's company and honestly, like when I see companies that
(19:26):
invest really in Service Nationand then they take advantage of
the coaching and they havenewer programs than when I was
in as a contractor.
But you know, they have thecoaching program and those
advisory groups.
Yes, your AB calls every singleweek, and so tell me about that
.
So have you joined an AB callyet?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And I love it so much .
So when I was down at ServiceNation I was super excited
because they had somethingcalled this AB80 or this women's
group, and I'm like there'sother women in heating and air.
So that was a pretty interestinggroup and super exciting just
to walk in the room and see thatthere were a whole bunch of
women.
That didn't end up being myprimary group my AB group I'm
(20:07):
with other similar revenue hasbeen incredible because I didn't
really know what I was lookingat as far as, like, our growth
and KPIs and just in the pastfew weeks alone, just getting
the validation from my mentor,the moderator in that group and
(20:27):
the members in that group, likeI feel like pinch me a little
bit because I don't know why I'mplaced in this group.
Because there's such amazinglike Shannon's in this group.
Steve Miles is the mentor,corey Hickman and they are Eric
nine like they're awesome,awesome individuals and I'm like
I can't believe this gets to bemy group.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Oh for sure.
So Steve Miles, love him.
He is a, he's a character andI'll tell you there's power in
in these groups and so,regardless if it's service
nature and whomever you're apart of, what I love about this
is the power of mentorship andcommunity.
And so a lot of times when youhear Crystal, when you hear me
talk about community, I'mtalking about your local
community.
But for contractors that arelistening to this, you need a
(21:12):
community of other contractorsthat you do not feel threatened
by, that you feel you can trust,that you can share open and
honestly and like kind of becomean open book, because that is
how you make, like, changing bigchanges and swings in your
operational efficiency and yourmarketing guides, all of these
things.
And, um, I love that for youbecause it's such a it honestly
(21:35):
is almost a relief to know, likeyou know what, let me, I have
this trusted group of friendsthat I can ask questions to a
hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So, like I, it was everything that I'd been looking
for locally.
Um, going and knocking on mycompetitors doors locally and
I'm like, hey guys, hey, what doyou do for this?
And no one wanted to talk to me.
And when I walked in the doorat service nation, understanding
that you get placed in a groupand you get to ask whatever you
want and people share theirforms and they share their
(22:02):
information, there's nothing tobe threatened by.
I mean, there's so much work tobe had here, locally and
everywhere.
But really having a group ofmentors or people that you can
trust and talk to and we're allkind of going through the same
stuff, yeah, really feelingvalidated and having that
support has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, well, and I'm just glad to hear that
contractors have it, because itwas game changer for my family's
company and so I'm so excitedfor you.
Well, katie, so tell me what'sup.
So tell me what's up for 2025.
What do you think?
So, at the time we arerecording this, it's towards the
middle of December.
This is going to come outtowards the end of January, and
so that's when this will publish.
So I'm curious, like, do youhave any big thoughts or plans
(22:46):
for 2025?
Like, maybe tell me two thingsthat you're hyper-focused on as
an owner for 2025 to build TruePros even more.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
That's a great question.
So I would like to repeat lastyear, but do it more profitably.
Now that I'm understanding myown financials and having
processes in place and corevalues and an AB group, I really
feel strong about moving into2025.
Like, currently I'm working ona it's called transparent
pricing for our service pricebook, and it's something that
(23:17):
I've struggled with for severalyears.
Where I was before, I wastrying to help build a company
and could never quite wrap ourhead around the service price
book and pricing and I just gotthat dialed in and so now I'm
moving on to our price book forinstallation.
So I would like to do just alittle bit more as far as volume
(23:40):
next year, but much moreprofitably and with more
organization behind it.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
So I love it and I think everybody on my team would
be very happy for somestructure and some stability,
because it's crazy around here,it feels like the Wild West Well
, it is constantly Well, and itis when you are growing at the
pace that you're growing at andyou're pushing them more and you
know it should feel maybe notchaos, but it should feel.
I call that energy right.
So there's lots of energy inyour brand and energy in your
business, and so I'm just soexcited for you and proud for
(24:17):
you to step out and have takenthat.
And so, katie, if anybody islistening to this, this podcast
right now, like I want to reachout to Katie, I want to know how
she did what she did.
How would you like for peoplelisteners to reach out to you.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Oh, I love that.
You know my name is spelledK-A-T-Y, so just email me at
katieattrueproscom, or ourwebsite is trueproscom there's a
connect here or contact us.
I'm super easy to get a hold of.
I'll respond right away.
I'd like to give a huge shoutout to my couple of female
technicians that trained fromthe ground up, that are, in
(24:52):
their own vehicles, a leadinstaller and a lead maintenance
technician.
Just, I'm proud of the workthat we're doing and I want to
be more visible for otherfemales if they're interested in
the trades.
So if you've got questionsabout how to get your training
and your certification, I'd loveto help.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Katie, that is amazing.
I encourage all of you that arelistening to consider joining
Women in HVACR, which is anorganization that's a nonprofit
that we really promote allwomen's in the trade.
So, no matter where you sit, ifyou are for a manufacturer, a
distributor, if you're atechnician, an installer, csr, a
dispatcher, we encourage all ofus to come together.
We built this and it is apretty broad community, but
(25:31):
we're all here to celebratesuccesses, and so I'd love to
have all of you guys join us inWomen in HVACR.
So well, katie, thank you somuch.
Like I just want to take amoment and tell you like, girl,
you are killing it and be.
You have done amazing things.
Like your growth in one year isphenomenal and I'm just so
proud for you of the barriersthat you're breaking and doing
(25:52):
great things there in Utah,northern Utah so Well we
couldn't do it without peoplelike yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So thank you, thank you so much for allowing me to
tell part of my story, and andjust thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, absolutely, it's been a joy.
Well, guys, thank you forlistening to another episode of
from the yellow chair.
If you love this, we would lovefor you to promote this episode
.
Give us a review, give us alike, tell us what you think and
we will definitely be sippingsome.
What's up, lemonheads ?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I'm Crystal and today I'msitting down with a powerhouse
female owner of True Pros inUtah.
She's no stranger to the tradeworld.
With over 25 years of industryexperience, she's built a
thriving HVAC business fromgarage to $5 million to great
(00:22):
success story in literally oneyear.
Not only is she a leader, she'sa trailblazer.
She's one of the first femalecomfort advisors in Utah.
Guys, this is going to be such agreat session.
Grab your lemonade, settle down.
Let's definitely get inspiredabout this next generation of
professionals and women in thetrades.
I can't wait to talk.
Let's sip some lemonade.
All right, guys, welcome to ournext episode.
(00:57):
Listen, I am so excited to getto talk with Katie Higgins, the
owner of True Pros in Utah.
Katie, your journey fromstarting in a garage to $5
million I love it.
You know I'm a trade baby, so Icame from the trades.
My family owns and operatesseveral businesses in the trade,
so I can't wait to hear like,take us back to the beginning.
(01:18):
Like, where did you get started?
You mentioned, while it goes,we were prepping.
Like ladies I've been crawlingunder houses.
Like I love it.
I think our people are going tolove to hear from you as well,
so tell me how you got starteddoing all this.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Okay, I appreciate that, as I mentioned, I don't
think anybody in the beginningof their high school or you're
thinking, oh, I would like towork in heating and air or even
the trades.
I became a single mom at a veryyoung age and I was putting
myself back through school.
But I was working as atelemarketer at a heating and
(01:51):
air company and I was sellingfurnace tune-ups.
And I asked my boss.
I said what the heck is afurnace tune-up?
And he said, well, katie, doyou tune up your car?
And I'm like no.
He said, well, what about anoil change?
I'm like, yeah, everybody doesthat.
So like understanding the what afurnace tune up or an air
conditioner tune up is is reallywhere my career started is
(02:12):
telemarketing.
So from there I finishedschooling and very quickly my
boss said hey, you're very smart, maybe you could help us out.
So I went from telemarketing todispatching, to lead generator,
marketing director, officemanager and then out into the
field, and that that first partof my career took about five
years and all along the way Iwas getting my certifications to
(02:35):
become a licensed technician orget the local requirements.
Like here in Utah, we'rerequired to have something
called the RMGA, which is RockyMountain Gas Association
certification Just reallyunderstanding how heating and
air works and trying to makecustomers safe.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Awesome.
So you know, I say all the timelike why should anyone
listening to this podcast carewhat Katie has to say?
Well, it sounds like you'vebeen there and done that.
So you know a lot of especiallyI see this happen.
You know a lot of people wantto take advice from people that
have actually lived the lifethat they're having to walk
through.
And so I know that when youstart a business from your
(03:14):
garage and you take this bigleap to kind of go out on your
own, you know it takes a lot ofcourage, it takes a lot of
determination, maybe eveninnovation and a vision.
And so tell me, like what kindof kickstarted you I know you
were like a comfort advisor andthings like that what just kind
of spurred you to go out on yourown?
I mean, it's such a maledominated space.
(03:36):
You know what made you thinkyou could do it.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Sure, you know what.
Honestly, I think if we wouldturn back time, just not even
understanding the opportunitythat was in front of me, I think
if you would have told me theopportunity that was in front of
me, I would have been tooscared to take that leap of
faith as a comfort advisor.
So I was working in the officeand I placed an air quality
(04:00):
monitor in a customer's home andthis was 20 something years ago
and we're in Utah, which isvery rare to see a woman in the
trades and we're a prettyconservative state, to say the
least.
So imagine, 20 years ago,placing an air monitor and then
working as a comfort advisor.
(04:20):
I believe I was one of thefirst, if not the first, female
to do like in-homes estimatingin Northern Utah and I used to
call customers on my way and say, hey, this is Katie with
so-and-so, I'm on my way foryour free estimate, and
sometimes I'd hear honey, it's awoman.
I'm like I'm still on the phone.
I can hear you, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So I get to the door and be like I just had to learn
to roll with it.
Ta-da, I'm a woman, but I justreally overeducated myself and
by the time that I left thecustomer's house I really wanted
them to remember me for myknowledge, not because I was the
female, but because I knew morethan anybody else that they'd
have at their home and I reallyfeel like I looked at things
(05:04):
just a little bit differently.
Some of the things as a comfortconsultant or advisor that I
think about are do I want my airconditioner here for my whole
life or is this a time to goahead and relocate it Because we
can go ahead and do it with thesales process now?
So I really think that gave mea competitive edge and is
(05:25):
looking at things just a littledifferently and having these
amazing opportunities, sopioneering the field in Northern
Utah Along the way.
There's been several companiesnow have female comfort
consultants or comfort advisorshere in Northern Utah and so I
really became pretty visible.
I was really good at what I didand I think other companies
(05:49):
they had tried to hire me.
I stayed with the same companyfor about 15 years and just
really seeing other companiesadd female comfort advisors and
female technicians was prettyawesome and I'd love to think I
had a little hand in that.
In 2015, Lennox started anational competition called the
(06:10):
Ultimate Comfort Advisor and itwas a four part contest, for
there were four winners in theUnited States.
So imagine this contest and theparameters were Western
Conference, northern, southern,eastern and Utah was competing
against California, seattle,nevada, salt Lake City is not a
(06:32):
very big area and that veryfirst year I won the national
ultimate comfort advisor forLenox International.
Go ahead, girl, that's great,thank you.
So this was 2015 and there wereabout three or four hundred
comfort advisors competing andon those first like three pages
there were no female comfortadvisors.
(06:52):
Year two in this competition onthat page, number one, there
were a few female comfortadvisors.
Year two in this competition onthat page, number one, there
were a few female comfortadvisors.
I did win years one, two andthree and then kind of went out
on my own.
So I really felt like after Iturned 40, crawling under houses
was not going to work for meforever, and through addicts um,
(07:15):
it's kind of how true prosbegan is needing to pull myself
out of the field yeah, yeah,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And then so you started true pros in your garage
, like just from home, and youstarted hustling.
So tell me about your marketingstrategies.
What were some of the thingsthat maybe you tried and failed
or even did were reallysuccessful?
Like, where was your brain atwhen you started this strategy
of like building this businessfrom the ground up?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, I really wish I could say that there was
a plan for True Pros.
There really wasn't, and sothat's why it was out of the
garage.
The garage, it, it.
There's a really it's anamazing story of perseverance, I
want to say, throughout myentire career.
So last last July, a companyname was formed.
(08:07):
We didn't have a website, wehad nothing.
One van and three weeks intobuying this one van, the
transmission goes out andinstead of just throwing in the
towel, it's hey, we got tofigure out how to buy another
van.
So we went from having nowebsite, no company name last
last July, and then our firstrolling 12, completing 5 million
(08:30):
.
We have 12 vehicles on the road, we have a wonderful shop, 20
employees, um, but it's been awild year.
So, um, as far as marketingeverything, we tried everything.
Like, how do you go and get awebsite?
How do you?
Uh, I would say tryingeverything, social media, print,
(08:50):
advertising.
I really had to rely on my, mycustomer relations from selling
furnaces and air conditionersfor the past 20 years, letting
people know I'd gone out on myown and how to get ahold of me.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah, okay, yeah.
And so you know a lot of timeswhen we we build our businesses
on referral, you know causewe're good people, you know we
are we try to do right by people.
We've, we've learned the tradeand we're good at it.
And so you know you're on track, I guess, to, if I read this
right, to do several milliondollars this year.
And so tell me what it was likescaling a business.
(09:27):
I know a lot of contractors.
You know you go from zero to 60, like what were maybe some
struggles you had scaling, somelessons learned on a few of
those things that just kind ofreally impacted your growth as a
leader and as a as a businessas a whole.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Oh my gosh, that's such a great question.
I was actually.
We have a team meeting once aweek and we all meet together
and every in this meeting I talkabout our company being a wheel
and spokes on the wheel, andthere is no one job that's more
important than the other job.
If we don't make the phone ring, nothing happens.
If we don't answer the phone,nothing happens.
If we don't book the job,nothing happens.
If we don't sell the estimate,nothing happens.
If we don't get the install,nothing happens.
(10:10):
If we don't mess it up, theservice techs don't have a job.
So every single job is the mostimportant job here and we
really work as a team.
So when you talk about scalingand failures, the list is
incredible.
(10:31):
Changing, making too manychanges right out the gate and
trying to implement processesand procedures without having
any has been exceptionallydifficult.
But it really speaks to thecharacters of the, the people
that came to work with me.
A lot of us came from groupsthat had been purchased from by
private equity here in NorthernUtah and so learning to trust
one another.
But something I say in everysingle interview is I tell
(10:53):
people working for a startup isextremely difficult.
You probably will have 10 hatstoday and in two months from now
you might have eight hats.
It takes a really specialperson to understand that.
That doesn't mean that youcan't still do those 10 jobs.
It means that we've just grownand it might not make sense to
(11:15):
keep doing those 10 jobs.
Maybe eight or six, but kind oflike my biggest mistake is
getting out of my own way,allowing other people to help me
along the way and reallyfinding people that are smarter
and better than I am, and alldepartments to teach me and
guide me, all departments toteach me and guide me.
(11:40):
That, yeah, I would say that'sbeen.
The biggest learning is Ididn't have I say I went to the
school of hard knocks.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, Well, you know, a lot of good testimonies, a
lot of good stories come fromlike true grit and determination
as you make your way through acompany.
And you know one thing that yousaid, like I am a marketer, so
what I'm about to say, you know,marketing is just a piece of an
operational plan.
You know, operations are trulywhat move needles with
businesses.
(12:06):
So a lot of times when I lookat the most successful
businesses, yes, there probablyis a good marketing strategy
somewhere in that mix, butreally what has driven that
company forward and moved themmoved the needle is an
operational efficiency that isis is that's what owners tend to
hone in on.
So at Limitsy was born fromthis, like we were born from
(12:28):
having owners and operators thatwere driven operationally, that
wanted the creativity and themarketing strategy but didn't
want to allocate their timespecifically to that.
And so it definitely like as anowner, you can't take your eye
off of the marketing ball per se, but it really operations are
really where you see the most.
To me, the most drastic changesin companies come from very
(12:50):
strong operators that arecognizant of the things that
they have to change and do toscale and to hold people
accountable, and so, for sure,well, I know, another thing that
you and I were talking aboutkind of before we got live here
on the podcast was breakingbarriers as a woman in the
industry.
So, you know, I lived this life.
I wasn't a technician, but whenI came on my family's company
(13:13):
in 2014, you know, um, but whenI came on my family's company in
2014, you know, I just had tolike jump in the mix and learn
and be like you know, and Ialways said I earned my spot at
the table because I was a goodmarketer.
I didn't, I didn't want to seatbecause I was a woman.
I wanted to see because I was agood marketer.
And so that's where my dream is.
Is that no longer do people go?
Oh well, here, let's let thelittle girl technician talk.
(13:34):
Longer do people go?
Oh well, here, let's let thelittle girl technician talk.
It's more like she is so good,like she is technically sound,
she has a cleaner job site, shespeaks better with clients, like
I want to highlight all of thethings that make them, as
individuals, powerful rock stars.
And so I was just curious,maybe some of the experiences of
being, you know, kind of 20years ago.
For sure you know, stepping outinto that industry, like you
(13:56):
know how, do you think thatreally helped shape and mold you
as a owner and things like that, maybe even some unique
challenges?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Oh my gosh.
Well, when you, when I decidedto open a company, like having
the vision and having the plan,it's it's evolved over this past
12 months significantly becauseI like, I told the people this
this morning we are in yearthree or four in year one, and
so I didn't realize how visibleI would be as a female owned and
(14:27):
operated heating and aircompany and there are some
people really rooting for us.
And then there's some peoplethat are not necessarily behind
us and that's OK, justunderstanding that they may not
be our customer.
But some of my biggestchallenges have been negotiating
contracts and being takenseriously, because you walk into
a room of your even yourdistributors, whom I've worked
(14:51):
with for 20 years, that say, hey, 90% of companies are going to
fail.
What's going to make youdifferent?
Getting them to trust me,getting even accounts with
credit limits, like what makesus different, what makes us
special, and then finding theconfidence and getting people to
(15:11):
stand behind me.
That's probably been thebiggest challenge.
But I will tell you this thepeople that stood behind me.
It has paid them back tenfold,as we purchased over a million
dollars in equipment in ourfirst year with this
manufacturer.
So I'm hoping they feelvalidated in their choice to
stand behind me.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Oh yeah, these manufacturers start figuring out
like, hey, they've got somehustle in their step over there,
well, and you know there's alot to be said for this.
So I think we have to work alittle harder, right, like I
think we have to take a littlebit harder for people to realize
that we know what the heckwe're talking about.
But specifically those of youthat are going in and diagnosing
an issue or installing a system, and so you know, kudos to the
(15:53):
hundreds, if not thousands, ofwomen now making a difference in
the industry and shout out toyou because I feel like you were
definitely on the pioneeringside of that, thank you.
And so, yeah, so, as you'vebuilt a true pros, tell me a
little bit like what do youthink you've built this on?
Like, what are your core values?
And maybe even what advicewould you give other business
(16:15):
owners?
Like, hey, how did you get hereso fast?
Like, what were the core piecesthat helped you scale to where
you did as quickly as you did?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
I'm so glad you asked .
So, like putting together aleadership team coming up with
core values.
We now have them hanging in ourhallway.
But honestly, chat GPT has beensuper helpful and has really
gotten to know me over this pastyear.
It's hilarious.
I say no, rewrite that how Iwould write it.
Has really gotten to know meover this past year.
It's hilarious.
I say no, rewrite that how Iwould write it.
And one of the core valuesthat's most interesting to me is
(16:45):
excellence in every detail,which is not it doesn't have
everything to do with thecustomer experience, but a lot
to do with the customerexperience, but also the work
environment, from how we answerthe phone, how we treat one
another.
So I think we've got someamazing core values, but the
excellence in every detailreally sticks out to me.
(17:07):
But really getting like thepeople that work with me to buy
not even buy into it, but reallyfeel like it's their own core
values, like they came up withthem, them because we've worked
together and at the end of the12 months, like this is what
we've produced is a place thatwe're proud of.
Um, growth and opportunities isone of our core values.
(17:29):
Um but just just really teamwork.
Um, part of our logo has thishex background.
Um, you can see a little bit onthis banner behind me.
It really has to do with um,kind of a beehive, if you will
like.
We work together.
There is no part that is moreimportant than the other part,
and without each other we'renothing.
(17:51):
So really working together hasbeen been the most important
aspect of this past 12 monthsand really learning to trust
each other, because it is nosmall feat to scale like we have
.
And honestly, I recently had anopportunity.
I was nominated as woman of theyear in Service Nation, which
(18:13):
was awesome.
I had no idea what that was.
I got invited to go down.
I'd never been to a conferencelike that, but I didn't know how
special it was to go from zeroto five million until I was
surrounded with other ownersthat had been in business for
years and they said, hey, thisis, this is not normal.
I just had nothing to compareit to, so I didn't realize how
special it was, but really likefeeling validated by other
(18:38):
owners and understanding whatwe've just been through gave me
a little bit of grace for myself.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, so when did you decide to join Service Nation?
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We'd always been a member of just the roundtable.
I had no idea what it was, andwe just signed up for the
alliance program like a monthand a half ago, and I'm so
thankful that we did.
They are not paying me for thisbut I'm so glad that we did Me
neither, me, neither.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
But that's where I got my start too with my
family's company was partneringwith the best person group of
service station.
We joined our advisory boardand we met at meetings and and
we all listen, there's andthere's other great ones, but
service station I'm very, I justlove, I love where it brought
my family's company and honestly, like when I see companies that
(19:26):
invest really in Service Nationand then they take advantage of
the coaching and they havenewer programs than when I was
in as a contractor.
But you know, they have thecoaching program and those
advisory groups.
Yes, your AB calls every singleweek, and so tell me about that
.
So have you joined an AB callyet?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And I love it so much .
So when I was down at ServiceNation I was super excited
because they had somethingcalled this AB80 or this women's
group, and I'm like there'sother women in heating and air.
So that was a pretty interestinggroup and super exciting just
to walk in the room and see thatthere were a whole bunch of
women.
That didn't end up being myprimary group my AB group I'm
(20:07):
with other similar revenue hasbeen incredible because I didn't
really know what I was lookingat as far as, like, our growth
and KPIs and just in the pastfew weeks alone, just getting
the validation from my mentor,the moderator in that group and
(20:27):
the members in that group, likeI feel like pinch me a little
bit because I don't know why I'mplaced in this group.
Because there's such amazinglike Shannon's in this group.
Steve Miles is the mentor,corey Hickman and they are Eric
nine like they're awesome,awesome individuals and I'm like
I can't believe this gets to bemy group.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Oh for sure.
So Steve Miles, love him.
He is a, he's a character andI'll tell you there's power in
in these groups and so,regardless if it's service
nature and whomever you're apart of, what I love about this
is the power of mentorship andcommunity.
And so a lot of times when youhear Crystal, when you hear me
talk about community, I'mtalking about your local
community.
But for contractors that arelistening to this, you need a
(21:12):
community of other contractorsthat you do not feel threatened
by, that you feel you can trust,that you can share open and
honestly and like kind of becomean open book, because that is
how you make, like, changing bigchanges and swings in your
operational efficiency and yourmarketing guides, all of these
things.
And, um, I love that for youbecause it's such a it honestly
(21:35):
is almost a relief to know, likeyou know what, let me, I have
this trusted group of friendsthat I can ask questions to a
hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So, like I, it was everything that I'd been looking
for locally.
Um, going and knocking on mycompetitors doors locally and
I'm like, hey guys, hey, what doyou do for this?
And no one wanted to talk to me.
And when I walked in the doorat service nation, understanding
that you get placed in a groupand you get to ask whatever you
want and people share theirforms and they share their
(22:02):
information, there's nothing tobe threatened by.
I mean, there's so much work tobe had here, locally and
everywhere.
But really having a group ofmentors or people that you can
trust and talk to and we're allkind of going through the same
stuff, yeah, really feelingvalidated and having that
support has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, well, and I'm just glad to hear that
contractors have it, because itwas game changer for my family's
company and so I'm so excitedfor you.
Well, katie, so tell me what'sup.
So tell me what's up for 2025.
What do you think?
So, at the time we arerecording this, it's towards the
middle of December.
This is going to come outtowards the end of January, and
so that's when this will publish.
So I'm curious, like, do youhave any big thoughts or plans
(22:46):
for 2025?
Like, maybe tell me two thingsthat you're hyper-focused on as
an owner for 2025 to build TruePros even more.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
That's a great question.
So I would like to repeat lastyear, but do it more profitably.
Now that I'm understanding myown financials and having
processes in place and corevalues and an AB group, I really
feel strong about moving into2025.
Like, currently I'm working ona it's called transparent
pricing for our service pricebook, and it's something that
(23:17):
I've struggled with for severalyears.
Where I was before, I wastrying to help build a company
and could never quite wrap ourhead around the service price
book and pricing and I just gotthat dialed in and so now I'm
moving on to our price book forinstallation.
So I would like to do just alittle bit more as far as volume
(23:40):
next year, but much moreprofitably and with more
organization behind it.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
So I love it and I think everybody on my team would
be very happy for somestructure and some stability,
because it's crazy around here,it feels like the Wild West Well
, it is constantly Well, and itis when you are growing at the
pace that you're growing at andyou're pushing them more and you
know it should feel maybe notchaos, but it should feel.
I call that energy right.
So there's lots of energy inyour brand and energy in your
business, and so I'm just soexcited for you and proud for
(24:17):
you to step out and have takenthat.
And so, katie, if anybody islistening to this, this podcast
right now, like I want to reachout to Katie, I want to know how
she did what she did.
How would you like for peoplelisteners to reach out to you.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Oh, I love that.
You know my name is spelledK-A-T-Y, so just email me at
katieattrueproscom, or ourwebsite is trueproscom there's a
connect here or contact us.
I'm super easy to get a hold of.
I'll respond right away.
I'd like to give a huge shoutout to my couple of female
technicians that trained fromthe ground up, that are, in
(24:52):
their own vehicles, a leadinstaller and a lead maintenance
technician.
Just, I'm proud of the workthat we're doing and I want to
be more visible for otherfemales if they're interested in
the trades.
So if you've got questionsabout how to get your training
and your certification, I'd loveto help.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Katie, that is amazing.
I encourage all of you that arelistening to consider joining
Women in HVACR, which is anorganization that's a nonprofit
that we really promote allwomen's in the trade.
So, no matter where you sit, ifyou are for a manufacturer, a
distributor, if you're atechnician, an installer, csr, a
dispatcher, we encourage all ofus to come together.
We built this and it is apretty broad community, but
(25:31):
we're all here to celebratesuccesses, and so I'd love to
have all of you guys join us inWomen in HVACR.
So well, katie, thank you somuch.
Like I just want to take amoment and tell you like, girl,
you are killing it and be.
You have done amazing things.
Like your growth in one year isphenomenal and I'm just so
proud for you of the barriersthat you're breaking and doing
(25:52):
great things there in Utah,northern Utah so Well we
couldn't do it without peoplelike yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So thank you, thank you so much for allowing me to
tell part of my story, and andjust thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah, absolutely, it's been a joy.
Well, guys, thank you forlistening to another episode of
from the yellow chair.
If you love this, we would lovefor you to promote this episode
.
Give us a review, give us alike, tell us what you think and
we will definitely be sippingsome.
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