To start an HVAC business you need the right contractor license, EPA Section 608 certification, liability insurance, a registered business, tools and a service vehicle, and a way for customers to find you. Most one-truck startups get going on $10,000 to $50,000 depending on how much you buy upfront. The licensing and safety pieces are non-negotiable; the marketing can start free. Here's the order that actually works.
We run our own HVAC company in Sacramento, so we'll be straight with you about what you need on day one and what can wait — including the website, which is later than most agencies will admit.
Get licensed and certified. Check your state contractor board for HVAC license rules, and earn EPA Section 608 certification to legally handle refrigerant. This gates everything else.
Form the business and insure it. Register an LLC, get an EIN, open a business bank account, and carry general liability plus any required bonding and workers' comp.
Buy tools and a vehicle. Gauges, recovery machine, vacuum pump, and a stocked van. Start lean and reinvest rather than financing everything at once.
Set your pricing. Know your hourly cost, flat-rate common jobs, and price for profit, not just to be the cheapest in town.
Get found: Google Business Profile first, reviews next, website when you're ready.
It's free and it's where "AC repair near me" gets answered. Complete every field, set HVAC categories, and add photos. For a new company, this is the single highest-return hour you'll spend.
Your first ten reviews do more than any ad. Ask the same day, with a one-tap link. Reviews are how a brand-new company earns the trust to win the next call.
Friends, family, past coworkers, neighbors. Word of mouth is free and the warmest lead you'll ever get. Your first season runs largely on it.
Once you want to rank for more searches, run ads, or win bigger jobs that vet you online, a real site pays off. Before that, the profile and reviews carry you.
We build websites and SEO, but we'd rather you wait until it pays. Hold off if:
Come to us when you're ready to rank for more searches and run ads against real tracking. Until then, the free playbook above is the right move.
When the profile and reviews aren't enough on their own, our Start Getting Leads plan is $249/mo — a hand-built HVAC site with AI lead capture so a midnight "my AC died" call becomes a named lead on your phone. Grow in Google adds the SEO engine at $597/mo to rank for more searches. Month-to-month, and you own everything.
See the build in HVAC website design, the search plan in HVAC SEO, the channel math in HVAC marketing, or how the AI receptionist catches calls while you're on a job.
We don't post stock testimonials. On a 15-minute call we screen-share the real dashboards behind our own businesses — live leads, rankings, and the exact page that produced each one. See the proof →
A contractor license, EPA 608 certification, liability insurance, a registered business, tools and a vehicle, and a way to be found. Requirements vary by state — check your board first.
Many one-truck startups begin at $10,000 to $50,000 once tools, a vehicle, licensing, insurance, and marketing are counted. You can start lean and reinvest.
No. Start with a complete Google Business Profile and early reviews. Add a site when you want to rank for more searches, run ads, or win bigger jobs.
Tell everyone you know, complete your profile, and ask every first customer for a same-day review. Those early reviews are the cheapest source of the next calls.
Send your company name and metro — we'll confirm your market is open and build a working demo within 48 hours. Free, no card, no commitment. And if you're not ready yet, we'll tell you.
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