25 Proverbs About the Business of Contracting

Proverbs are short, pithy sayings that illustrate truths. Here are a collection of proverbs about the business of contracting.

1. Your team takes their cues from you and magnifies them. If you act frightened about the economy, they will be terrified.

2. St Francis said, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” What is the gospel you preach within your company?

3. Everything in nature is growing or dying. There’s no in-between. It’s true for nature, companies, and people. If you’re coasting, you’re still rolling downhill.

4. Your truck is your single best advertising “vehicle.” Professionally brand and wrap it.

5. HVAC is fundamentally a neighborhood business, where consumers prefer to do business with family-owned companies with stakes in the community.

6. The brand on the side of the truck is far more important than the brand on the side of the box.

7. If you match the opportunity to the tech likely to make the most of the opportunity, you will generate more gross profit than the expense you will save by dispatching the closest tech.

8. Consumers prefer upfront pricing. They perceive flat-rate prices are more affordable than charging time and materials.

9. Culture is everything. Great strategy must be executed to be effective. Great culture is self-executing. This is why management guru, Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

10. Everyone exits their business. Some walk out. Others are carried.

11. Companies close when they run out of cash. That’s why cash is king. It’s not cold and hard. It’s warm and soft and you can cuddle it. Contractors who sleep under a blanket of cash, sleep well.

12. People trust friends and neighbors for contractor recommendations over the Internet. Contractors can build a personal network through service clubs, leads clubs, and more.

13. The most common business problem in HVAC is poor pricing. It’s also the easiest to fix.

14. Unless you hire people better than yourself, your company’s potential can never exceed your own limitations.

15. With success comes envy because you show what’s possible. Remember when others point one finger at you, three are pointed back at them.

16. Marketing is like fishing. Use technology to find the fish, but be prepared to try a different bait if the fish aren’t biting.

17. The bankrupt company serves no one. Charge enough to make a profit and continue to serve your customers, employees, and community.

18. Despite fear and trepidation, the residential service and replacement industry was not destroyed by franchising… or unfair utility competition… or consolidation… or big box retailers… or government mandates and regulations… or COVID… and it will not be destroyed by private equity.

19. Artificial intelligence holds significant promise as a tool to improve efficiency, but it is still a tool, and HVAC is a people business.

20. It’s impossible for your team to treat customers better than you treat your team. To put your customers first, put them second. Put your people first.

21. Training is like bathing. Both wear off and should be repeated regularly.

22. The past is prologue for the replacement market. What was installed in the past is replaced today. Get ready for a 10-year run of ever-increasing replacements.

23. Some consumers are not your customers. You cannot serve them like they want, so fire them and focus on the consumers you can serve.

24. No one can take your customers from you, but you can give them away.

25. The best time in history to be an HVAC contractor is now.

These sayings remind us that while technology, tools, and market conditions change, the core truths of the contracting business remain timeless. Leadership, culture, pricing, and people still determine success. Take these lessons to heart, share them with your team, and keep growing — because the best time to build a thriving HVAC business isn’t behind you. It’s right now.