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3 TIPS FOR PUTTING TOGETHER AN HVAC BUSINESS PLAN

websitebuilder • October 30, 2020

After your HVAC education, training, and certification, you may want to consider taking the next step toward starting your own HVAC business. Before jumping into anything or buying into a franchise, it’s vitally important you have a business plan. Here are some tips for putting together a business plan that will help you succeed.

1. LOOK AT WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING

Before crafting a business plan, you should pay close attention to the other HVAC services you want to emulate, compete with, or learn from. A few things to consider when looking at other services include:

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  • What services they offer
  • What services they don’t offer
  • How they charge for service
  • How they market their services
  • Who they serve and who they underserve

You can do this type of market research with HVAC services from anywhere, but it’s best to check out the services closer to where you want to ply your trade. Knowing what others are doing can help you figure out which HVAC services you can concentrate on when starting your own business.

Research can also help you ascertain if the area you want to start your business in is already oversaturated. You may want to try a different locale if the one you initially wanted already has an overabundance of happy and satisfied customers.

This process will help you find your niche and your market, which will help you put together a seamless business plan.

2. FIGURE OUT WHICH BUSINESS STRUCTURE WILL WORK BEST

Your business structure will play an incredibly large role in how you deal with finances and taxes. You can work as an HVAC contractor under any capacity, but you will typically want some degree of separation between you and your business. Business structures include:

  • Sole Proprietorships
  • Partnerships
  • Corporations and S Corporations
  • S Corporations
  • Limited Liability Company (LLCs)

You should spend some time looking into the different business structures to figure out which one you should form your business under.

An LLC is a good place to start, but you may want to incorporate or form a partnership. Know what type of business structure you want before making a formal business plan. The business structure can dictate how you go about seeking funding.

The business structure will also matter when you’re seeking state or local licensing. In addition, the type of business insurance you need can change depending on the type of business structure you use.

3. UNDERSTAND WHY YOU NEED A FORMAL AND INFORMAL PLAN

There’s a difference between the more informal business plan you work out for yourself and the formal business plan you will need to procure funding, interest, partners, clients, and other things necessary to start and run your business.

Your informal business plan should include:

  • All your current and future goals
  • What equipment you need and want
  • Your ideas for your business
  • A roadmap to get to where you want to go

This informal plan is a living document. You can, and should, change it as you learn more and things change. Your informal plan should serve as a compass for your business goals. Always keep it updated and refer to it to make sure you’re working on your goals and not veering from your course.

The formal business plan will require more consideration, more attention to detail, and far more math. This is the business plan you will show people and the more detailed you can make it, the better.

If you plan to request financing or find interested investors in your HVAC startup, then you’ll want to include all the relevant information that shows exactly what you’re trying to accomplish and how you plan to accomplish it. To that end, your detailed formal business plan should include things like:

  • Detailed information about the company and its vision
  • A market analysis that shows the potential viability of the business
  • How you plan to organize and manage the business and its assets
  • All the services you plan to offer
  • How you plan to market your services
  • What type of funding the business requires
  • Cost structures and revenue projections

You may need to include other things depending on who you want to look at your business plan.

Just about every bank will want you to have a detailed business plan if you’re seeking a loan. Even if you’re approaching a non-traditional lender or investor, you can’t just hand them a list of what you wish for. They will want to see that you understand what you’re doing and have achievable goals that will generate revenue.

You can find many business plan templates online to help you with creating your formal plan. While this plan can also change with time, you need to have it in a finalized and concrete form before showing it to people.

Never consider starting an HVAC business without doing your research. Also, you may find you need to pick up additional HVAC training and certifications to make your business goals a reality. To learn more about what you need to begin your HVAC business and business plan, contact the HVAC Technical Institute today.

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