Byron Plummer, founder of Metropolis HVAC

The latest episode of our Building Black Podcast features Maxwell in conversation with Byron Plummer, founder of Metropolis HVAC. In Partnership with Drive Toyota.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
What's going on y'all. My nameis Maxwell and this is another episode.
Welcome and thank you for being apart of the Building Black Biz Podcasts.
I'm here with the family, misterByron Plumber, Metropolis Hvac. Welcome to
the podcast. Dear sir, thankyou, and I understand we have Evet
who's also been a very special partof the business as well. That's gonna

(00:23):
chime in if needed, is whatshe told us before we started rolling,
right, So I guess we shouldwe should start from the very top.
And what was it like eighty sixeighty seven, nineteen eighty seven when Metropolis
began, Like, tell us aboutabout your business. Well, we're a

(00:43):
full commercial HVAC business, heating,air conditioning, ventilation. We do some
nice jobs with jobs at the PortAuthority venturecol Station. We did sixty percent
of the power stage all of WestNew York Nayak, New York. We've

(01:04):
been around almost thirty seven years,so we've been at one point we're union
now we're not union, so butyou know we're certified as an MBE throughout
the We're certified throughout the metropolitan areaNew York City, New York State.

(01:27):
We have the dB status. Ourwork stands for itself. We've been in
business as long, so that meanswe're doing something right. That's right.
Well, I guess to that.Let's talk about the longevity, and let's
talk about the commitment to excellences.As they say, what do you attribute

(01:49):
some of those you know, thosethose special things that you all do that
has allowed you to be a partof the Tristate area here for such an
amazing uh you know time. Well, we we pride ourselves and doing the
work correct. I'm one of thoseguys. I have that problem that if

(02:13):
I don't like the way books,I'll rip it down and put it back
up. Or have always been likethat. So yeah, you know,
it has to be done right.And we have never been thrown off a
job, and we've got you know, we peat customers, so that's you
know pretty much. I've always pridedmyself in getting the job done and done

(02:36):
on time. So now whatever ittakes, if we're losing a little bit
of money on some jobs, thereputations were well worth it. Yeah understand
that, Well, think go forit. I'm going to add the relationships
with the clients that gets such referralsand continue business as well as the ethic,

(02:58):
help the employees that work for Thereyou go committed, what the job?
There we go. I heard thatNow when you think about, gosh,
those early days and wanting to startyour own business, want to get
involved in this, wanting to becomea black business, that would you know

(03:21):
one day be able to you know, like you said, stand on top
of you know, thirty five thirtyseven years. What what made you want
to start your own business? Well? I was working for a large real
estate company as an engineer for them, and I got tired of doing the
same thing over and over again,the same thing every day. So I

(03:42):
decided to go out and make somemoney. And I'm not saying it was
easy. It was you know,I fell on my face a couple of
times when I got back up,and that's part of the toughness you have
to be when you're in your ownbusiness with this magnitude. That's what I
was going to be, uh,you know. Following up that question with
and the perfect segue, what weresome of those challenges that you faced when

(04:02):
you were creating Metropolis? I meanthere's you know, in the beginning,
you're you're you're doing jobs that youmay have done before, but you're you're
being tested, you're being watched,and they scrutinize black businesses a little bit
more differently than they do some others. So you know, we have you

(04:26):
know, a cross dot our eyesand across our teens because at the end
of the day, you could losea lot of money if you don't do
the job correctly, and somebody's watchingall of your twenty four seven they're looking
for you to mess up. Soyeah, put that out the window and
uh, just do the job thecorrect way. We don't discriminate on our
side. We hire it. Youknow, if you're good, you're working

(04:49):
there, you go. Yeah.But like you said, it's uh,
it's that attention to detail, notonly because you want to, not only
because like you said just a bitago, it's a part of who you
are and part of the DNA ofthe company. But it's because we have
to, you know, and Isay we you know, coming from the
African American experiences like you mentioned,there's so many eyes that are honest,

(05:14):
thinking and hoping even at times thatwe don't succeed. So it's the fact
that we've got to be ten stepsahead to positions better than the average person
who may get the opportunity because ofthat that weird kind of uh you know,
dynamic that that happens here, youknow, when like you said,

(05:36):
when you when you're trying to putyour best foret forward as you know,
as an African American business, asa black business owner. So yeah,
I mean, how proud are y'allto have withstood some of those difficult times
and now you can look back andsay, I knew we could do it.
Yeah, you know, I don'tpat myself on the back. I

(05:57):
just work hard, always been likethat. But you know, I was
one of five mini contractors in oneof the locals, so I knew what
kind of racism I was looking at. But you know, we went forward
that bottles, so I dealt withit. Now, think about someone who
may be wanting and it might notbe at h V A C. It

(06:19):
may be a different type of abusiness. But what would what advice would
you give to someone that was lookingto maybe step out and start their own
business? Determination? Wow mm hmm. You say that, you say that
with your chest you have tough skin. That's all I can say. Mm
hmm. Yeah. Man, Ohmy goodness, what about the team that

(06:45):
you surround yourself with And a lotof these conversations that we have here on
the Building Black Biz podcast. Andit's not a I, it's not a
me, it's a it's a WII, it's a it's a culture that is
built off of community. You know, that's just who we are as as
black folks. You know, howhow important is it for you have that

(07:06):
team around you? Say, you'reone of five, I can imagine that.
You know growing up that you knowthat unit was just as thick as
thieves. How important is it tohave that team surrounding you that also believes
in you. Well, my fatherwas a good example for me. He
was in the rinefow for thirty threeyears and I went to office to school
myself. But you know, wegrew up a different style and a lot

(07:29):
of folks to today. You know, we had to throw that father when
he came home most of the time. It was a tough life. Yeah,
do it. You know, hewas a good example for us.
He made you know, he didn'tgive us nothing, He made work for
it. Yeah. Yeah. Andto that also, you know, having
the the team around you, havingthe family unit, having the squad around

(07:54):
you that are there to support butalso to let you know when you're not
doing right. That's a part thatI don't think that a lot of people
fully understand what a good friend ora good partner or a good family member
is. Is that person to tellyou that you're not acting right? Did
you have anybody like that that maybewasn't you dad, but someone in building
the business that was making sure thatyou stayed on your p's and q's and

(08:16):
and you know had to tell yousometimes no, you know what, Byron,
that ain't the way to do it. Man. Yeah, well,
uh, it goes back mostly goesback to my rear. Yeah, growing
up. I think back in theday. Uh, you know, parents
got involved a little bit more andthey expected a little bit more from you.
They gave you a little rope,but you know, you were able

(08:37):
to hang yourself if you wanted to. M h. I don't know every
job I had like yourself. Wow, that's no, that's that's big right
there. I mean yeah, tohave that, that fortitude, to have
that determination to you know, bringthat into what metropolis is. Would you

(08:58):
would you say that that determination hasbeen that you know, very thick line
that has always, you know,continuously run through what the DNA of of
your business is. Yeah, ithas to be because you'll be threatened on
this job by many of folks andyou just got to say, well,
you know what, you got tostand so you got to stand up for

(09:22):
something. Yeah, that's right man. Oh my gosh. Well I want
to reset this and let everybody knowwho's taken a listen to our conversation.
Thank you again for being a partof the Building Blackbizs podcast. My name
is Maxwell from iHeartRadio and Metropolis.HVAC HVAC. Do folks do they say
h vac all the time or dothey sometimes uh you know, blended together

(09:45):
and say hvac. Well, theyalso they say h vac, but they
all say mechanical contractors because you know, we do the larger projects. So
that's what it calls some mechanicals tobe able to accomplish some of those large
contracts that you have mentioned, youknow, the top of the conversation here,
what does it mean to y'all tobe able to step out there as
a black business to earn uh thesecontracts based off of the quality of work

(10:09):
that you do and to succeed andhave that generate more opportunities for you.
Well, a lot of people lookat our capability statement and they've seen what's
been around a lot been around along time, so they can always check
what some of the contractors we workfor. So you know, that's why
I try to make sure that whenI finish the job, it's done correctly,

(10:31):
so that we get a good rapportfrom these contractors that we work for.
Yeah, man, ah gosh,love to see that. And I
want to think about you know howhow anyone who is listening to this conversation
here and thinking, you know,man, this is something I want to
do. I want to I wantto step out and create a business for

(10:54):
myself. But what are some ofthe what are some of the tools in
the toolbox that I needed? Whatwould you say or what would you recommend?
Like, what tools would you recommendfor anyone starting their own business?
Well, it depends on what you'rewhat you're going into. This business does
very pays very well, so dependingon you know what category you're looking for.

(11:16):
But in the commercial area, andyou know, plumbers and mechanical contractors
make more than doctors mhm, wow, so you know they do very well.
Wow, that's that's that's wow,that's that's news to me. And
that's uh, I mean, that'sthat's amazing. I mean for you know,
for the the amount of effort ofwork and attention to detail that you

(11:39):
put into you know, the work. Yeah, I mean you deservingly so
to make sure that you get rightfullycompensated, you know, for making sure
that infrastructures are set up correctly.So let me let me pause the comfo
a little bit to say thank youfor for doing that. We try.
That's now it sounds like it tobe to be a black owned business in

(12:05):
the community that is doing doing rightagain, Like you said, you don't
pat yourself on the back to youknow too often, but when you do
get the chance to take the timeto do that, do you feel you
know, maybe a little certain bitof responsibility too, you know, to

(12:26):
to lead by example, you know, within the community or do you just
let your work speak for itself andhope that you're leading by example. I
would say both and both things thatyou brought up would be part of it.
But the determination is very important.And you know, when you teach

(12:50):
one A lot of young people havecome through here and learned the trade and
they've gone on, some of themgoing on, but a lot of them
stayed with me. I have oneof a couple of guys that's been with
me for over seventeen years. Soyou know, amazing. We we treat
our employees right, and the familieslove us. So we have our little

(13:13):
parties at the end of the year. So we get there, you go.
I'm hoping that I'm hoping that Icould wheel my way into one of
these parties by becoming a you know, a play cousin through this conversation right
here about no problem y'all heard it. Yeah, Before we get ready to
wrap up here, I want toknow, as we look forward into the

(13:35):
you know, the future a littlebit, take a peek through the the
you know, the looking glass.In five years, where do you where
do you see Metropolis? I hopeMetropolis is still around. I'm getting kind
of old now, so I'm goingto pass it on to uh some brothers
that that really wanted. Amazing,all right, So there is there is

(13:56):
promise, There is Longevy. Therecould be uh you know, with with
the amount of hard work and dedicationlike you said before, and you know
and and uh, you know,blessings another thirty something years. Uh.
Like I said, it's so fewof us out here that I was ashamed
to let it go. So Iwould have to try to let it go
to somebody that I know, thatyou know has the same attitude I have,

(14:20):
so they can keep it running.There we go. I'll be around
long's God bless me. I'll bearound right on and still throwing those parties,
just still showing up at those partiesat the end of the day.
There it is. How can wemake sure that we find you? How
is it that folks who are lookingfor your services can be sure to tap

(14:41):
it and yeah in contract your workor you know, make sure that Metropolis
that all of the folks that arecoming out to make sure you're servicing what
we do, we're out here.I mean you just have to book them
up. We have a website fromdrops HVAC Contractors. So right, boom,
there is he said, we outhere. Well. Uh, any
last info that that you want tomake sure that anyone that's listening, missy

(15:07):
Vet I don't know if you wantto chime in as well, but any
last bit of info that you thinkthat our listeners need to know about Metropolis
HVAC. Yes, it's a minorityon certified contractor in New York State Authority,
New York, New Jersey MKA,New York City. And we're reachable
at nine one four nine six eightsix two two one website www. Metropolis

(15:31):
h AC New York dot com andwe are available for commercial work and if
you need us, please feel foryour to reach out and contact us.
And thank you so much. Ohyou're very welcome. And this is this
is amazing. I love having theseconversations with with folks who you know.
You said it quite a few timeshere, mister Barron. You've said it's

(15:52):
a dedication, it's a commitment toexcellence. It's you know, wanting to
do right because that's just the rightthing to do. And the the fact
that we can stand on those wordsand that firm you know character, it
is why black owned businesses like yourselfhave been around and doing so many amazing

(16:14):
things and earning the money that yougreatly deserve for over thirty SOMEI years.
So I just want to take thetime to say thank you, congratulations on
everything that has happened and it's stillto come. Thank you. No man
means the world well there it is, ladies and gentlemen, another episode of
our building Black Biz Podcasts. Again. My name is Maxwell, Metropolis HVAC

(16:34):
mister Byron Plummer, thank you somuch for being a part of the conversation.
Sir. You will right on y'all. Take care,