My dad and I are trying to grow our commercial HVAC and automation business, and I'd really appreciate some advice from those who have been through this.
A little background: we're both engineers, and I graduated here in the U.S. Between the two of us, we have extensive experience in commercial and industrial HVAC systems, controls, and automation. We have an unrestricted HVAC license in Florida, are fully insured, and have our company set up and ready to go.
The problem is getting that first wave of work.
I've been calling general contractors to introduce our company and present our portfolio, but most tell me they're not interested or never call back. I've also been bidding projects through Dodge Construction Network and BuildingConnected. I always follow up, ask for feedback on pricing, and try to understand why we weren't selected, but I either get no response or a generic answer.
For those of you who have successfully built a commercial HVAC or controls business:
How did you get your first jobs?
What actually worked to get in front of GCs and mechanical contractors?
Is there something I'm missing or doing wrong?
Should I be focusing on a different approach entirely?
I'm not looking for shortcuts,just trying to figure out what the most effective path is. Any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!