EP 244: HVAC Success: Jose Vargas From High School Dropout to Business Owner

What makes Jose Vargas with Five Star HVAC Contractors a good neighbor?

What does it take to build a successful business when the odds seem stacked against you? Jose Vargas's remarkable journey proves that determination and mindset trump formal education every time.

As founder of Five Star HVAC Contractors, Jose candidly shares his unconventional path to success on our latest episode. After dropping out of high school—completing ninth grade three times, as he humorously admits—Jose found himself at a crossroads. Through his brother's connection, he apprenticed with a 70-year-old HVAC technician who became his mentor and teacher. Despite initially struggling and even quitting briefly, Jose returned with renewed purpose, bringing a notepad daily to document everything he could learn.

The financial reality of building his expertise meant working HVAC jobs all day before delivering pizzas until 1 AM. This grinding schedule ultimately paid off as Jose gained the knowledge needed to obtain his license and eventually launch Five Star HVAC Contractors, now serving the Rowlett area for a decade. Perhaps most compelling is Jose's transformation from technician to business leader—a shift requiring him to step away from daily service calls to focus on strategic growth through marketing to multi-system homeowners and developing comprehensive business skills.

What makes Jose's story truly inspirational is his hard-won wisdom about mindset. "You don't have to live in that mindset that you can't do things just because you didn't accomplish certain things when you started," he explains, offering encouragement to anyone facing similar barriers. His company's name isn't just branding—it's a philosophy of delivering five-star service to every customer, every time. Ready to be inspired? Listen now and discover how passion and persistence can overcome any obstacle in business and life.

To learn more about Five Star HVAC Contractors go to:

https://5starhvaccontractors.com/

Five Star Contractors

972-845-1103

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of an HVACcompany?
Well, one may be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
jose Vargas, with his company, 5Star HVAC Contractors.
Jose, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
I'm doing pretty good .
How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm doing pretty good as well, so we're excited to
learn all about you and yourbusiness.
Can you tell us a bit aboutyour company?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, we're, of course.
It's Five Star HVAC Contractors.
We're out here.
We've been here for about herein the Rowlett area.
We've been here for about herein the Rowlett area.
We've been here for about 10years since we started.
We haven't moved from heresince we got started.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
So how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3 (00:56):
That's kind of a funny story, I guess.
Really I guess the wholebackstory with me.
I was a high school dropout.
I really just told the story toall our guys here last week,
just kind of explained it.
So I'm a high school dropout.
I completed the ninth gradethree times, so really I'm
probably the dumbest one hereout of everybody, but I'm okay
with that.
But after I dropped out for thethird time I didn't know what

(01:17):
to do.
So my brother was working in theAC business but he was on the
other side of it, you know,selling parts business.
But he was on the other side ofit, you know, selling parts,
that equipment.
He told me, hey, you shouldreally check it out.
So I went to work with this oldguy.
He was, I don't know, maybe 70or so at the time.
He couldn't really do the work,so he'd make me get up there in
the attic, do everything and Iwould pop fuses, burn wires and

(01:38):
just kept messing everything up.
I couldn't do it, so I quitafter about two months.
But you know, I came back to itafter a while and really from
there just kept learning, keptlearning.
He found out that he was ateacher.
I went back to work with thatsame guy.
So I used to bring a notepadwith me every day.
You know I would just takenotes, ask him questions.
After I know that I couldreally, you know, figure it out

(01:59):
that I could really really do it, I took those, started taking
notes every day you know they'rea little started talking a
little bit here and there.
I wasn't making much with themworking every day.
So I would work during the day,you know they're like eight to
five.
After that I would go home,take a shower, change.
I'll go deliver pizzas at nightabout midnight or one morning

(02:19):
you know, just to be able toprovide for everybody, you know.
But after working for him for afew years I was able to learn
everything I needed to and hewas able to sign off for me to
be able to get my license.
And just after I did that, wasable to get my license, kind of
started off slowly doing, youknow, at the beginning you know
you do everything yourself.
So I was doing all answeringthe phone calls, doing all the

(02:40):
service calls, doing theinstalls.
It was a lot, you know myselfwhere I really had to learn how
to be a better business person,not just being able to fix
everything most definitely wow,what a story.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
And so, having so much experience in your industry
, I'm sure you get questions alot.
So what is the most common mythor misconception you tend to
come across?

Speaker 3 (03:08):
The most biggest myth .

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
Probably, I don't know.
I hear a lot.
I guess other people tell methat they have to go to school
to really learn the trade.
I guess I would say I mean it'sbetter off just to get that
hands-on experience to reallylearn the trade.
I guess I would say I mean it'sbetter off just to get that
hands-on experience to reallylearn it in person, be able to
get your hands on everything,learn it yourself, versus in a
school.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
So who are your target customers?
And, in terms of marketing, I'msorry.
Who are your target customersand, in terms of marketing, how
do you attract them?

Speaker 3 (03:46):
My target customers are going to be.
Of course, we like to targetthe homes with multiple systems,
so it's going to be a biggerhouse with at least two systems
in the home.
We're doing a lot of directmail pieces, so we sent out
direct mail pieces every monthhere to our local community.
We're also doing, of course,all our Google ads online local

(04:08):
services.
We're doing a lot of Facebook.
We just started that, actuallyFacebook a lot of Instagram
things like that, so we'reworking on that as well.
A lot of Instagram things likethat, so we're working on that
as well, now let's go ahead andswitch gears.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Can you describe a hardship or life challenge you
overcame and how it made youbetter and stronger today?
It can be the same one youshared earlier or a different
one, whatever you're comfortablesharing.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, I would say, probably that we've talked a lot
about that here as a team.
It's about mindset.
I feel like me.
I used say, probably, that wetalked a lot about that here as
a team.
It's about mindset.
I feel like me.
I used to have that feelingthat I couldn't do it or I
didn't belong here when I wouldthink about, you know, not
finishing high school and nothaving that actual business
training, so I felt like thatreally held me back.
But after a while just you know, I learned that mindset is

(04:56):
what's holding you back.
You know what I mean?
You don't have to live in thatmindset that you can't do things
just because you didn'taccomplish certain things when
you started or you had a badupbringing or a bad life growing
up.
You can overcome all thosethings.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Most definitely, and it gives you the opportunity to
grow through those experiences.
So, jose, if you don't mind measking for all our listeners
here, what happens that shiftedyour mindset, where you took
that final leap?

Speaker 3 (05:33):
um, I would say a couple of things.
I mean, of course, having kids.
I knew, you know, once I hadkids, I had to be able to
provide for them.
And then it took me a while.
I learned, you know, after Iwas the one doing all the work
doing, you know, being out thereevery day, I knew I had to stop
being in the truck doing allthe work myself.
I learned that I had to be abetter business owner.
So I had to actually learn thebusiness side versus the

(05:53):
technical side.
Better business owners I haveto actually learn the business
side versus the technical side.
So that's kind of what took mea little while to learn.
You know, if I get out of thetruck and not be out there every
day, I can sit here and focusand learn on my business.
So really just started, youknow, reading a lot of books,
just taking business classes,just doing things that I didn't
do before.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
So, jose, please tell our listeners one thing they
should remember about five-starHVAC contractors.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
One thing I'd say probably.
I mean it's the name.
That's something we reallythought of.
It's not just a name, that'ssomething that we really focus
on.
So we provide that five-starservice to each and every
customer.
We're going to serve a customer.
We're not just thinking aboutourselves or really, you know,
think about the customer.
In that sense, we're going toprovide that five-star service

(06:43):
to every single customer.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
So it's not just the name, it's what we stand for and
where can our listeners go tolearn more about five star hvac
contractors?

Speaker 3 (06:55):
our website.
We're on Facebook and Instagram.
That's pretty easy to get aholdof us.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Well, Jose, I really appreciate you being on the show
.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you for listening to thegood neighbor podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpfriscocom.
That's gnpfriscocom, or call469-221-9345.
Thank you.