Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Gonzales.
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was working for different commercial contractors in Salt Lake. Some friends and I decided we should do residential air conditioning and furnace changeouts as side work. Being commercial HVAC installers, we were being approached quite a bit by people we would meet on various job sites. We would get permission from the companies we were working for at the time to use their accounts to pay cash for equipment. We used the money we made to supplement our incomes. It was so much fun! Pretty soon people were talking to each other about us and the quality of the installs and of course the great deals they were getting. I honestly never expected it to become what we are today. The installers and commercial contractors I’ve been fortunate enough to work with are, in my opinion, some of the best people in the trade. I have learned so much from so many different mechanics. You can see it in the work that we do today. Every one of us is an artist in our own way. Sometimes we’d go after work in the middle of the week and start a change out and be wrapping it up late in the evening and then head to work the next morning ready to go. Air By Design is that small shop that can afford to operate a little differently than the rest. Air By Design has a motto… We’re happy to help. We like to be those go-to guys that you can send your Family and friends to. We will find a way to get you taken care of. Not everyone can afford an expensive change out. We keep our overhead as low as possible so we can offer equipment at cost. Granted we do charge a fair install flat rate labor fee for our service. But we pride ourselves for being those guys that put people before profit. Now instead of being a couple of commercial installers supplementing our income, we are a licensed and insured subcontractor. And we absolutely love what we do. We have ads and pages but most of our work comes from referrals from people that we’ve installed for in the past. Eventually, Air By Design will start to grow and our expenses will grow as well. I am very confident that we will find a way to still give that top-quality install at an affordable price. Our wealth comes from the friendship we have with all of our customers. It is very rewarding. We get a lot of support from our vendors as well. They believe in us and appreciate what we are doing. Air By Design… Making The World A Cooler Place One A/C At A Time!!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been anything but a smooth road! Starting out completely dedicated to Air By Design has been rough. I am one of those people that tends to overthink almost everything. Sometimes I’m doing six installs in a week and doing really good. And sometimes, we wonder if we made the right decisions in going into business on our own. Being an over-thinker, I made things pretty rough on myself. I’m laughing at myself because, in the end, it always works out. We find a way through the tough times. I’m very blessed to have a huge very supportive Family and circle of Friends. Failure is not an option. A friend of mine who I consider a Brother and a very smart Man told me that I can’t grow my company until I start trusting in other people to help me out. I’m not very good on the computer so creating ads and web pages is very difficult for me. Don’t get me started on accounting!! Again the blessings keep coming. We met our friend Lauren. A computer-savvy accountant! Lauren got me going on QuickBooks and helped us come up with a logo. Then she created our web page. She has taught me so much. After that, we hired Jake to help me out in the field. And now we have structure. We still have our slow periods but we find a way to keep going. We have our place in this industry and we belong. The vibes with Air By Design are very positive and we are here to stay. We have a great network of people that we count on and are happy to be those people that can be counted on.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Air By Design?
Air By Design is a Heating and Cooling contractor. We install residential equipment and commercial as well. We get calls to do projects that no one else can figure out a solution too. We specialize in finding a way to get it done. There is always a way. We will find a solution for all of your Heating and Cooling needs and wants. We like our work to be picture-perfect as well as perform at its best. Some of our projects have been pretty challenging but we implemented a plan and created a very nice system that will do its job for years to come. We work with a lot of creative and talented custom builders. Sometimes we are tasked with installing a system in a place that’s almost complete. Again we find a way to make it happen. And we can do it without braking the bank. We are most proud of being a part of some very impressive builds that draw a high turnover profit and get us a call to do it again . Repeat customers that have plenty of options out there but believe in us. What we offer is a top-quality install for your project whether it be a remodel or just time to upgrade to a newer system. We offer knowledge and experience in our repairs and advice. We will evaluate your individual situation and treat it as our own. We don’t believe in overselling our customers. Integrity and honesty is key. We will give you the absolute best deal that can be had regardless of name brand. We stand behind everything that we do and again will be those go-to HVAC guys that are just a phone call away.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I secretly wish that I could go back and visit every install that I have done so I can experience that WoW factor again. I want to see how we have improved since the beginning and fix the things that I might not like. Its not about the money for me, it’s about putting that smile on our customers’ faces for a job well done. That’s my reward, my big payoff.
Contact Info:
- Website: Air By Design.Pro
- Instagram: air_bydesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Air-By-Design-LLC-108038148309631/
- Yelp: Air By Design
