What advice would you give a newbie to the trade?

Mad Dog_2

Larry...where will we be able to buy your book?  Also, I can't wait to see your donated water heater collection at The General Society. Mad Dog 🐕 

RayWohlfarth

@realliveplumber Around here the plumbers are not working but the hvac guys are
@Larry Weingarten congrats I am looking forward to purchasing and reading it

Larry Weingarten

Hi @Mad Dog_2 ,The book will be on Amazon. I'll put it up on my site too. Maybe if I pay @Erin Holohan Haskell about ten million dollars, she might put it up here too. It's only partly technical stuff, so might not be the right fit. We'll see.

Yours, Larry

Erin Holohan Haskell

Larry Weingarten said:

Hi @Mad Dog_2 ,The book will be on Amazon. I'll put it up on my site too. Maybe if I pay @Erin Holohan Haskell about ten million dollars, she might put it up here too. It's only partly technical stuff, so might not be the right fit. We'll see.

Yours, Larry

Of course, we can add it to our store @Larry Weingarten. Looking forward to reading it!

Paul Pollets

I'd say learn the business of contracting. It presumes you already know the technical side. You're in the business of boilers and hydronics, not the boiler business.

lager

i will order a copy when it comes available Larry

lager

Dan has never let me down with book reviews

Larry Weingarten

Hi @lager , Dan wrote the forward to this book, and his writing is simply beautiful!

Yours, Larry

lager

My name is Jim Walls, Larry
I work for Regal Mechanical in Sidney Ohio,
when the original owners came up with the name, they seated at bar, with a mirror and Lager beer sign behind them,,,,,,,,,,,They each looked each other How about Regal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DanHolohan

I love this book.

DanHolohan

Jim, that's a great story! I've often felt inspiration arrive when I'm atop a bar stool.

DanHolohan

I wrote this some years ago:https://heatinghelp.com/blog/advice-for-those-just-entering-the-heating-industry/

lager

Dan, I love the article. reminds me of another good book. "You're Not Listening" by Kate Murphy
"what you're missing & why it matters"

DanHolohan

I’ll check it out, Jim. Thanks, as always. 

propmanage

I would say keep growing the business slow but steady and try hiring family-oriented people. Keep training and pay them well. Pay grows with profit stay above the average and If you take good care of them , they will want to stay and help you profit. How you run things is just part of it but the people you use to run things are essential to success.

Lance

Ray, Thanks for all your contributions. My advice is never let the chance to learn slip you by. Always ask why and never forget to consult with what you learned. Boiler explosions, common in the old days, are rare today. I never expected to ever be confronted with an active dry firing steam boiler glowing red. Some would have said it just needed water and fed it. But I thought not in a million years. The sap dripping from 100 year old timber, wires melted and melted plastic on the floor led me to do an about face, throw the switch off and out to the gas meter to shut off the fuel. Lack of electric does not shut off swollen gas valves It took three hours before that red Iron turned black again. Teaching saves lives.

lager

"Most of us would rather risk catastrophe than read directions."
Mignon McLaughlin

RayWohlfarth

@Lance Thats scary I have never seen one do that and the thought terrifies me

@lager That is so true but the manuals today are so much bigger than they used to be

Mad Dog_2

Be happy to be an Army of one, like I have been at many points.. YOU are the driving force behind the wheel.  Imitate success along the way.  When I first met and hired  The Billies (Dan's Brother in law and nephew)  , we had no idea who we had in common.  I admired their impeccable workmanship, professionalism and independent spirit. They had lines around the block waiting for them to drop a crumb.
They very carefully and with a smile picked thru all the potential customers 😊 .  Nah..not interested...no thanks...ahh yes well be there Monday. They had TOTAL control and I LOVED IT.  To them is was  all...Will you really appreciate the unparalled work I'm about to give you?   Life is short, I'm giving you my heart and soul but you WILL appreciate me.   Best part, their prices were always great. These lads were NOT in it for the money. They LOVED what they did.  I emulated them and it has worked out very well for me.  Mad Dog 

OuterCapeOilguy

After more than 50 years in the trenches, the majority of them working for myself, I would have to recommend as follows: DON'T TAKE SHORTCUTS OR CUT CORNERS. Take your time and do it right. Probably 3/4s of my work has been coming in behind others who did exactly that-took shortcuts, cut corners, or simply didn't know what the hell they were doing. Today's business models don't encourage this mindset, with the emphasis on "getting in and getting out" and on to the next opportunity for billable hours, and if you are an employee you have to conform-but if you are your own boss, you can set the pace. NEVER LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN. You will never know it all, but the more you learn, the better you will be at what you do. DRESS THE PART. If you are working for yourself, invest in a uniform of your choice; don't just show up looking like you slept under a bridge in Goodwill castoffs. RETURN PHONE CALLS, and SHOW UP WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL. Where I live on Cape Cod, tradespeople are scarce and becoming scarcer as housing costs increase and housing opportunities decrease. Many take themselves for granted, don't bother to return calls, or fail to show up. I can't begin to count how many times I've been told-with amazement-that "wow-you called me back!" If you can't show up as planned-and that is going to happen-CALL THE CUSTOMER AND TELL THEM! Doing otherwise is unprofessional and extremely rude, and someday you will lose business to someone who does do the right thing in that regard. WHEN YOU WRITE UP THE JOB, BE DETAILED! What passes for invoices that I've seen, make me sick. "Fixed burner- $475.00" is not an informative service record. "Replaced nozzle, adjusted electrodes, found boiler badly in need of cleaning and cleaned as per standard procedure," followed by a complete rundown of readings after the tune-up (with the printout of the combustion analyzer, if such is used) is something which tells the owner what he/she is paying for, as well as helping a subsequent service what he/she is dealing with. Other than that, stay current in your knowledge; depending on what kind of equipment you work on, changes are coming faster and faster, and you will need to keep up with them, even if it means going back to school. Fortunately, I no longer have that worry....

lager

I tried to post this on my phone but it did not work a couple weeks ago

"The only endeavor where you stop at the top, is digging a hole."

lager

Start at the top instead of stop