Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Deans.
Hi Taylor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my business in 2023 after spending eight years working for both small and larger companies. I started out doing installations of residential HVAC systems and then after about fours years of installs, I moved over to service and maintenance. In my mind when I got into the trades, I always wanted to eventually get to the point where I could start my own business. In 2021, a lot of medium and large size companies sold to private equity firms. Many homeowners don’t know that as all the business names stayed the same. The internal changes, including pricing, culture of the companies, and what many trade industry individuals call “sales techs” became the priority. It was no longer about taking care of the customer. Well, I should rephrase that. It became taking care of the customer at that moment in time and to squeeze them for as much money as possible. I was never a sales oriented tech, I enjoyed fixing things. Even with the changes, I was still successful at my company. Not because I tried to sell everything under the sun, but because I sold customers things they needed and not what the company wanted me to sell. I knew that if I could create a business plan where customer service was priority #1, and building great customer relationships everything else would fall into place. That was how my old owner/CEO did so well. He prioritized the customer first and foremost. My plan was to get my license in 2021 and start working on growing my business. Unfortunately, I had a bad back injury at work that kept me out of work for almost six months which then delayed my contractors course due to the Finacial burden. I eventually got my license the following winter and once all paperwork was completed Mountain Air SRQ was formed.
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?
I’m not sure building any business is ever a smooth road. There have been many ups and downs but thankfully I can say there have been way more many ups than downs. Starting a business with no Finacial backing is tough no matter what. The first 6 months were probably the hardest and scariest. Going from a guaranteed paycheck every two weeks to not knowing when the next call would come in was extremely stressful. To add to that stress my wife and I had our first child at that time as well. My wife was in the restaurant industry prior to our daughter being born, so once our daughter arrived she left her job to be a stay at home mom. The Finacial stress of all the bills, including the mortgage, water, electric, food, and diapers was a lot to handle. The other business stresses came and went constantly. One day, I felt like I could use another 2-3 guys on the road to help handle the call counts and then the next day I would maybe have 1 or 2 calls. I could just never figure out when was the right time to hire my first employee. I ended up going almost two years without hiring a full time employee. I had to be sure I could also financially support that tech and his family as well. Going into year three now of business starting in 2026, I’ve come to the realization that there is never going to be a perfect answer or time for a lot of things any growing business has to overcome.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Mountain Air SRQ is a residential HVAC company located in Sarasota. We service from North Port to Parish. We are a family owned and operated business. We do new system installations including replacements and also new construction installations, service, and maintenance. We are probably best known for our quality of work and our business ethics. We pride ourselves on treating ever customer like our own family. If I or my employees wouldn’t recommend it to our parents, we aren’t going to recommend it to you. My goal is to create a customer base that first and foremost trusts us. Trust in the trades has been on a steady decline for years now. Homeowners are always preparing for the worst when they need to call an HVAC company. My goal is to eliminate that fear. Mountain Air SRQ will always try the path of least resistance first before we more on to the more extreme steps.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
As far as podcasts go, I listen to a bunch of different podcasts. The one that applies most to my business is HVAC school. Yes, I have passed my contractors exam but the HVAC industry is forever evolving. I try my best to not only run a successful business but to also be a great technician. I want my employees to know that if they ever have a question regarding the mechanical aspect of an HVAC system I can guide them towards the right answer. That only happens if I continue to prefect my craft.
Pricing:
- $89 AC Tune up
- Maintenance plans which can vary based off from how many systems you have in your home but for one system its $219 a year and then each addition system is $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mountainairsrq.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Mountain-Air-SRQ-100094458365128/
