I'm interviewing HVAC, plumbing, and landscaping owners to understand the business,, anyone willing to chat?
Context: I'm building a small "ecosystem" project to help local trades run smoother back-office stuff. Before I write a line of code, I want to do about 30 customer discovery calls.
I started with landscaping, and now I'm talking to HVAC and plumbing owners because the business model is fascinating and brutal in the same ways: seasonal demand spikes, techs and crews you can't find or keep, equipment and material costs up double digits, and customers who want a quote yesterday and financing to match.
What I'm NOT doing: selling software, recruiting, or asking for referrals.
What I AM doing: 20-minute conversations about:
- where profit leaks (pricing jobs with last year's material costs, scope creep on maintenance, unbilled drive time and supply runs)
- what you wish ran on autopilot (scheduling, dispatch, inventory, invoicing, follow-ups, crew check-ins)
- Hiring and retention? what actually keeps a good tech or crew lead vs what job boards promise
- the tools you actually like vs the 7+ tabs you tolerate to run the business
If you've owned, run, or managed an HVAC, plumbing, or landscaping shop (residential or commercial, 2 trucks or 50), I'd be grateful for your perspective. I'll send you the anonymized notes afterward so you can see how you compare to others... no names, just patterns.
Comment or DM, and we can do phone, Zoom, or even just a DM thread if that's easier. Based in WA but happy to talk to anyone in US/Canada.
Thanks for considering! and mods, please remove if this isn't allowed. Just trying to learn from operators, not marketers.