Thomas “Tommy” Smith of Weston, Florida is the owner of All Year Cooling, which is based in Coral Springs, Florida. During his time at All Year Cooling, Thomas has transformed the company from a small business to a well-known, thriving operation. The company installs and services a wide variety of brands, including York, Goodman, Trane, and Ruud. All Year Cooling services customers throughout South Florida—from Homestead to Vero Beach. They provide free quotes and offer same-day installation. In addition to installing and servicing AC units, All Year Cooling performs duct cleaning to ensure their systems function efficiently and their customers’ homes have clean air.
Thomas “Tommy” Smith lives in Weston, Florida with his wife Erin and their four children. Outside of business, he is active in the community and charitable work. Thomas Smith and All Year Cooling donate to many causes such as Project We Care and Cancer. org.
What is All Year Cooling all about?
All Year Cooling is a full-service HVAC company that has been in business for almost fifty years. We install and service any make or model of air conditioning unit, as well as clean your ducts. In addition to our work with residential home systems, we also provide commercial services. Our top priority is to provide honest and reliable service from start to finish so that every customer can rest assured that they are receiving top-notch treatment from an experienced team of professionals. Providing the utmost quality service is what All Year Cooling strives for on a daily basis.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
There are many factors that go into making a successful entrepreneur, but the three most important would be diligence, determination, and knowledge.
- Diligence is required in order to complete tasks within given deadlines; it wouldn’t matter if you had all the time in the world to do something if you didn’t put forth effort.
- Determination is critical because there will be challenges along the way; knowing how to push through obstacles makes success more likely.
- Finally, knowledge of your industry—whether it’s residential or commercial HVAC work—is needed in order to make educated decisions about your product or service offering.
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to grow this company?
All Year Cooling has spent nearly fifty years building a solid reputation for reliability, dependability, and affordability. We’ll continue to offer these same values in our products and services as we move into the future; I want my family’s business to remain successful far into the future because it means that our employees will be able to keep their jobs. We’ll continue to offer free equipment cost quotes and same-day installs, as well as provide honest advice based on years of industry experience; this makes us an attractive choice for both homeowners and business owners.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
The lockdown in particular and the pandemic, in general, have caused an increase in sales. As people have been spending more time at home, they have had a new appreciation for the importance of cooling in the summer and for having clean air in their homes year-round. I think we saw the biggest increase in the summer after stimulus checks went out. On the operating side, we have definitely had some cost increases due to supply chain issues and materials costs, but overall it has been net positive with the increased sales.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
- One of the mistakes I made when starting out was delegating too much responsibility. After a while, it became obvious that not all of these people were producing at the level they needed to in order for me to succeed; this caused us to fall behind on orders and work, which was extremely frustrating.
- The second mistake was not realizing how time-consuming managing employees could be. I should have realized this earlier, but it took some trial and error to figure out.
- Finally, I would say that one of my top mistakes was hiring people who didn’t have the same work ethic I had. Overall, I’ve learned that it’s important to listen to your gut when you feel like something isn’t right, and regardless of what someone else is telling you if you don’t agree with them, it’s best for everyone involved if they move on.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
All Year Cooling operates on a low-cost/high-effectiveness model; we keep our advertising and marketing costs down by using online resources. We have done well with Google Adwords, Facebook, Craigslist, YouTube videos, and asking customers to provide reviews.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m learning what it takes to improve our service and increase our sales. In order for a business to be successful, owners need to have a good understanding of their market, customers, competition, etc. You can do all the research in the world about something but until you experience it first hand you won’t completely understand it.
We learn through trial and error by doing things that don’t work so we can figure out what does work. I have always believed that the more time and effort spent on something increases its chances for success exponentially; this is why being open to feedback from customers as well as employees has been very important to my growth as an entrepreneur/manager.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
I would have started advertising earlier, I would have asked for feedback more often, and I would have said no to some of the work requests that came in when we were struggling before.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Saying no to things you don’t have time for, either now or in the future. This tip has saved me so much stress and time over the years. If I don’t have time to complete something that someone else needs done right away I simply tell them no; it doesn’t matter who they are or how important they think their request is. If you spend too much time on one thing then something else suffers, which results in less than ideal outcomes down the road.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would cautiously invest in Google Adwords, Craigslist advertising, Facebook ads, and YouTube videos. I would also do some research on what products sell well in my area to determine if there are any opportunities for me to make money. Lastly, I would purchase a few things here and there that seemed promising but were not too flashy or expensive until I actually figured out whether they were effective or not.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Knowing that we serve a real need in the community and getting feedback from my customers and employees reminds me that we’re doing things the right way. I feel a sense of responsibility to our community and it motivates me to provide everyone with exceptional service at an affordable price.
What is your favorite quote?
“I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.”
– Albert Einstein
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
I would leave them with three key things that are short and simple but not necessarily easy to do. Start advertising early, don’t be afraid to say no to requests that are not in your best interest, and build good relationships with mentors.
What is your definition of success?
Success for me would be growing my business and hiring people that work for me. I think having employees that you can trust making sound decisions on their own, while still knowing they’re acting in the best interest of the company’s mission statement, is a huge testament to what we’ve built here at All Year Cooling.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I try to remind myself that I have already overcome many obstacles in my life, so what’s one more? It’s not easy to do but it gets easier with time. I own and run a successful company that is going on 50 years in business, and in that time, I have had to take on some huge projects and make some very tough decisions. At the end of the day, though, we have continued to prosper and I am confident that regardless of what obstacle comes next I will be able to deal with it.
How can readers get in touch with you?
The easiest and best way to get in touch is through our website and email.
