Rebuilt at 45: How Chris Rocher Turned a Layoff into an HVAC Powerhouse

0:02Chris Rocher:Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast, where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. as we go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it. Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with ActionCoach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.

0:46Today, I'm excited to be joined by Christopher Roche, Advanced Air Technology of South Carolina. How are you doing today, sir? Good. How are you? Doing great. doing great. So Chris, thanks for being here and let's go ahead and jump right into things. So for those who may not know it yet, who is Chris Roche and what is Advanced Air Technology of South Carolina? I am an owner of a local heating, ventilation, and air conditioning business. I hold degrees from Bob Jones University here in Greenville, South Carolina, And I also hold a degree from Greenville Technical College, which is also here in Greenville, South Carolina.

1:28Perfect. Perfect. And that's awesome. So take us back to the very beginning of when you started your business. What made you say, yep, I'm doing this. I'm starting this particular business. Well, it was an interesting start. I was after Bob Jones, I eventually built my education. I worked for Verizon for a long time, 13 to 15 years. And during the 2020 COVID, they did mass layoffs. And I realized that I had absolutely no trade skills whatsoever. I had obviously educational skills that were very advantageous. contagious, but I realized at that point, if there was anything I ever needed to fix on my own or do, I didn't know how to do anything, really, honestly.

2:21I used to have my kids do it all. My wife and I have six kids, and they would be the ones that would be tasked with even changing the light bulb. Wow. So when they did the cuts, the state contacted me and said I was at midlife because I was already 45 years old at the time. And they asked me if I wanted to go back for the retooling program and that they would cover my tuition. I said that was fine. And I went for refrigeration, and it eventually led to me opening up my own air conditioning business. Very nice. Very nice. That's an interesting story there. So basically it was the state that kind of got you started with everything.

3:02It was. It absolutely was. That's awesome. That's awesome. As my business got good, my wife went into real estate, and that is eventually how I became connected with B &I. Okay. And this is all hypothetical. Let's say if you had to start again from absolute scratch, your business, no brand, no clients, no safety net, what would you do differently the second time around? That is really a good question. And I really think if I could do it a second time around, my organization skills would have been much better. I think I realized as time went on, things just don't magically work themselves out. And I was all over the place.

3:57From organizing my finances to getting parts to so-called winging it. and eventually it just doesn't work out well. And so I think if I could do it all over again, I would have went in it a little bit more strategically

4:13Chris Rocher:and a little bit more well-organized. Okay. So, you know, what's a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for?

4:27That's a good question because being in the service industry, I think what's a little bit different is you're going to come across various customers. And I think the one thing that I learned is that you really need to be on your game. And what I mean by that is you have customers who don't know you and will go ahead and malign you. And just that one bad survey can really hurt your business. Okay. Okay. Okay. So what would you do differently then as far as that is concerned? Would you do anything differently? I would. And I think part of being with BNI has changed me for the better. I believe being with BNI has allowed me to be more polished, more organized, more thoughtful in how I relate to my customer base.

5:24I believe I went out there with this idea that if I'm honest, everything's going to work out just fine for me because I am an honest person. But I realized being in BNI, there's business acumen that will help you to drive a successful business. It's just not about being honest, making money, having the finances to retain that customer base. It really, the customer experience really matters. And within that customer experience, I have learned through BNI and through others that from that comes, how do I present myself? How do I talk and relate to my customers? How is my reputation in the community?

6:04Those things really came into factor once I joined BNI and I had a chance to really take a hard look at how I was operating. okay okay yeah i love that so what's one common myth people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now laughing already i believe this is my personal bit my personal belief my business is a reflection of who i am and so i believe the principled life that i live and how I present myself is how my business presents itself as well. When people look at my business, they look at me. May I give you an example? Many people who look at me and they look at my business, they also want to know about my social media.

6:59They want to know who I am, who are they letting into their house? Because think about this from the service perspective, I'm literally coming into your home where you have your family, your loved ones, things you protect, and they want to know who is the person that's coming in that front door. And so when you run a business, it does need to be a reflection of who you are in today's world. I think in the past, there was the idea that your personal life and your business were separated. In that regard, it's true. But from a mirror and image, we're in a whole different ballgame these days. okay okay so and so the idea that you know you know so the idea that you know your business and you are separate i would say in this time and age we live in not so because the person who is the business is who they're going to look at not so much the name if that relates well okay so be be honest are you are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart and why I'm definitely more of an entrepreneur.

8:10I am a go-getter. I absolutely want to run my own ship. I was a longtime manager for Verizon when I was there. And so I prefer to be my own entrepreneur. And it's just not about running my own schedule. It's just not about making my own money. I love a challenge. I love being innovative. I learn so much from troubleshooting and staying ahead of the game. That is how my mind works. I like moving all the time. Okay. So how do you personally handle stepping away from the business, like vacations, downtime, unplugging? Are you the kind of person that works nine to five and then at six o 'clock, you turn everything off or are you still working around the clock?

8:55How do you handle that? Being in the air conditioning service industry, it is definitely a different ballgame, especially here in South Carolina. I would say from May to early October, the business owns me. Most businesses here that run air conditioning, we, you ever hear the expression, we're wide open? That means they are full. That means we are going around the clock. The thing there is in South Carolina, we don't get harsh winters. So we don't make a lot off of the heating season. Like for instance, today it's 72 degrees. Last week it was 20 degrees. So now we see good weather. So in the summertime, it's very difficult to have a personal life balance when there are so many people calling because their air conditioning is out.

9:53You have people calling because someone didn't show up as they should on time. Really, it's very difficult in the summer to balance it. I do. On Sundays, I just turn my phone off. And that allows me just to have time with my family. However, Monday through Saturday, I go around the clock, I would say, probably starting at 6 in the morning. And my day probably ends at 7 at night. Okay. All day. Yeah. All day. And that's part of being in this type of an industry. And it's part of being reliable and having that good that good reputation. But like I said, we don't have a winner. So there are times my wife comes in a room and says, oh, you're still here.

10:38Can you go out in your garage and find something to do? so yes it's like busy yeah it's like an amusement park we make all of our money from may to october and then i get plenty of downtime during that winter and holiday season okay so looking back at it what what would you attribute most of your growth uh so far in your business to i would say word of mouth is very powerful when when when people know you have an honest and reliable business and that they they can trust you to come into their home and that your work is good and your price is fair your name will spread and i believe having that coupled with then with bni which is an awesome network and i believe it has really allowed me to grow leaps and bounds but I will say if your work is bad, people will hit it on social media these days.

11:43No, I definitely agree with that. The world will get out there if you do a bad job. I agree. So now getting into that a little bit more, what would you say, have you done anything to attribute most of your growth? Have you done anything yourself? What have you done to actually attribute to most of your growth? Personally, I continuously educate myself on how to keep running and building my business ahead. Whether it's efficiency through applications, constantly reaching out to my customers to see how they're doing, even if they haven't called me in a year. This has really contributed to my growth because, for one, keeping up with my customers has really been probably number one.

12:33on the overall scale. And I pick up so many recommendations from people and they're like, you know, Gina recommended you. And I'm thinking, that's awesome. And I'm thinking in my mind, who's Gina? And then I'm going through and I get so many recommendations from customers that I kept up with just to see how they're doing. And having that customer relationship has really built my business. In addition to running, like I said, we run flyers, we run emails, we run reminders for maintenance through social media and that aspect. But there's nothing like picking up the phone and calling a customer and talking to them.

13:10I believe they really like that human interaction really is pivotal. Yeah, no, I totally agree with that. So when you're building your team in your business, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume. You know what? I can always teach somebody a skill if they're lacking it. And this is one thing I've learned. I can always teach them a skill if they're missing something. But if they come in with the right attitude and they're a great person to be around and they're honest and they talk wonderful to my customers and they talk good to their fellow employees, that makes all the difference.

14:02If somebody's a big negative, I'm telling you, it can really bring down your business. Yeah, no, I totally agree with that. And so really, I think I have learned that you can teach somebody a skill, but you can't teach people to be honest. And so really, not just the background check, but how they interact and their ability to learn and relate to others, it's pivotal. I will say this to you. When you lose a customer due to a bad interaction, it's almost impossible to gain that customer back. And so I have learned how we treat the customers goes the extra mile. If we make a mistake and they realize it, we go back and correct it.

14:53most customers are great because we came back and we were honest. And so really how a person treats everyone really does matter and how they relate. Okay. So what's something you do intentionally to keep your workplace positive, motivated and productive, you know, especially during stressful seasons, like you said, during the summertime basically here. Yeah. I think the one thing I don't allow is talking bad about our customers or even the competitor. It has to begin somewhere. And so if they have a negative experience, I let them vent and I let them talk through it. But carrying that negative experience over to the next customer can really impact you negatively.

15:45And so that is one thing I don't allow is for us, even if the customer was in the wrong, it's fine. We'll just pick up. We'll keep moving. So keeping that positive atmosphere there, making sure everything's OK with the employee. How's their day going? You know, sometimes days are long. You know, sometimes they see me more than they see their own families Monday through Friday. You know, how's their kids doing? What do they have planned for the weekend? and keep them looking forward to it. Hey, today's Wednesday. Your son's ball game's on Saturday. You excited? That lets them know that we're there and that we're engaged with our employees.

16:24If they do have a problem, it's good just to deal with it then on the spot because you don't want them carrying certain things throughout the entire week with them. It will impact the atmosphere. And then, of course, whenever time, have fun. Joke around. Don't make everything about a heavy business. If a job is done and they're on their way to a next job, have fun. Joke with them. Let them know that you're right there with them in it. Right. Perfect. Yeah. Appreciate that answer. So we're getting ready to head into what's called the quick fry round. And basically how this works is, you know, I will give you one word and I want you to tell me basically the first thing or the first idea really that comes into your head when you hear about this word.

17:09in regards to running your business. Yep. Okay. So first word is education. You kind of talked a little bit about this earlier. Up to date. Ahead. Okay. Next word is planning. Discipline. Okay. Next word is inspiration. Motivational. Commitment. Dedication. Perfect. And then this next word, you kind of, you actually said it earlier, but discipline. Organized. Okay. Next word is risk. Leap of faith. Love it. And the last word is execution. That's a good one. To me, to execute means I am able to follow through on what I've committed to. So one word for execution. That's good. Implement. Implement.

18:04Okay. Okay. Yeah. Love that. Yeah. Appreciate that for the quick fire rounds. So just to wrap things up here a little bit. So, you know, and I want you to be as candid as you can on this answer here of this next

18:15Chris Rocher:question. But let's say if a business owner is listening right now to the podcast episode today and, you know, that business owner feels stuck or overwhelmed or out of place, what's a piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today? Yeah, take a step back and go ahead and don't be afraid to look at your weaknesses as a person and as a business, because through that weakness will come strength. Do an audit of the business. Look and see where you are hitting target. Look and see where you're not. Because if you're overwhelmed, then that means there's something in the organizational structure that is not working out.

18:59So it doesn't hurt to reach out to other business owners. or like I said, there's plenty of organizations out there. I use one called Wave and then I'll use another one called House Pro and they help you to manage your business. Pretty much service calls, inventory. Don't walk away. Challenge is an opportunity. Don't walk away from crisis, run to it. It's an opportunity to do some introspection and see where you are missing it but where you can also fix it and move ahead. Perfect. Yeah, no, I appreciate that advice. So you've talked about some networking groups earlier in the conversation. And, you know, other than BNI, are there any other networking groups you'd recommend for small business owners looking to grow?

19:48BNI is the best one so far. I think BNI is the best because BNI thoroughly reviews every candidate and you are in a very good network for small business. And obviously, the local chamber of commerce is a very good, I belong to both. And then, of course, but really, I think those are the best two networks. Let me say this to you about the networking thing, if you don't mind. Yeah, go ahead. You only, you're only going to reap what you sow. So you're only going to get out of it what you put in. and some of the networking groups like BNI and some others, they might be expensive to join, but the end result is so much better.

20:36You get quality people you meet who can groom you. You get it back on the back end. BNI, it allows me to meet people who guide me and they give me advice. They give me books to read. They give me classes to take, small podcasts. And in the end, I find I'm reaping so much back from it. It's worth the investment. So my advice to small business owners is make that wise investment. You'll save time and money in the long run. I like that. All right. So what's next for advanced air technology of South Carolina? What should people be excited about? What's coming up next? Well, I've got all kinds of cool things coming up.

21:19Obviously, we're now moving into the world of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in HVAC. So as you can see, you've got your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi thermostats. And we are now innovative. We have customers now who we even put Wi-Fi ductwork in their house that allows them to control dampers to how much flow they want on one floor. Pretty much too. We've been able to innovate with people where they're able to control their home security system, their appliances, and their air conditioner from one central hub on their wall. So meeting the customers in the new technology is right where we're moving ahead. Okay. So what's nice is from your application on your phone, we install a hub in your home.

22:09And on this application, you can control the temperature of your home. You can control your stove. If you have something cooking, your refrigerator, you can see your appliances. You can see the security of your home. You can see your smoke detectors, your carbon monoxide alarms, all from one central hub. Okay. So, and finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you do? On Facebook, we have our Advanced Air Technology SC. people can connect with us we're always open and we're always willing to communicate and then of course if anyone's a part of BNI feel free to look me up perfect I appreciate that are you guys hiring right now at Advanced Air Technology SC we we will be in the next month or two because as the summer comes we will be slammed okay so you're thinking maybe early April oh yes late late March okay all right perfect so just keep that in mind, folks.

23:12All right. Perfect. Yeah. So I really appreciate it, Chris. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. It was really a pleasure speaking to you about your business, behind the scenes and all that good stuff. And I feel like you had some really good nuggets today and I feel like this was a great episode. Thank you so much, Cliff. I enjoyed it. Yeah. Thank you very much.

23:32Chris Rocher:Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast. Here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, The Coach Approach. It's free for you at gift giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly.

24:19Chris Rocher:Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. It's not screened. It's my real email. Just send it to me. I can't wait to talk to you. Hey, and until then, all the best.