How I Made My First HVAC Acquisition

2022 feels like a long time ago, but that was when I made my first HVAC business purchase and finally got into the game. But at that time I was looking at multiple industries and businesses to potentially buy into. Honestly, the craziness of the markets at the time made everything looks appealing and I felt sort of like a kid in a candy store.

How did I do it and what happened? Let's talk about my first HVAC business acquisition and what I learned from the experience.

Chucks, Trucks, and Appliances

On the podcast we often reference "Chuck in a Truck" businesses. This is, literally, a guy on a small scale running that home services businesses out of his aforementioned truck. You see them everywhere, and often they're a sub-million business with low aspirations.

In other words, they're ripe for acquisition. This is where I started looking. However, HVAC wasn't my initial favored landing spot.

If had been up to me at the time I might have considered an appliance repair company. I often kick myself for not pulling the trigger on that. It's a business that, today, is still thriving and doing great. I wish them well, but all the same I get mad thinking about not making that deal.

I might still pick it up one day.

Market Matters

This seems obvious, but the market you acquire a business within matters a ton. For me, this came down to Nashville and a territory with a lot of these smaller businesses but not a true centralized behemoth. The business I landed on, Rapid HVAC, was definitely that Chuck in a Truck stereotype.

Two guys, an owner who was a sales advisor, and nothing else. Cheap software, no dispatch, no debt.

That spells room for growth, so I moved.

The SBA process went super fast, closing in 40-45 days. From there, due diligence and checks were all that was left. That said, there wasn't much to discover. Small deals, legit books. We jumped in with an SMB law firm that handled the deal and we went from there.

Finding Your Platform

End of the day, this sub-million business that I probably paid too much for is the thing that got me into acquisitions. After all, what matters isn't just getting into the game, but being able to survive.

There were cheaper opportunities, but ones that weren't as solid and open for growth as Rapid HVAC has ended up being.

That's how you build a platform--a business to springboard all your other acquisition decisions. Your first one should be swift and smooth, and mine was certainly that. Money in the bank, done in 40 days, and the rest was history.

Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC
‍‍https://rapidhvactn.com

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