Translate
Comfort Ops, Jerad Miner and Andrew Fitzgerald
Jerad Miner and Andrew Fitzgerald are military veterans who met in a training program for HVAC service technicians, where they discovered a shared passion and vision for business. They joined together in January 2022, forming Comfort Ops, which provides residential heating, cooling and air quality services in the Rochester and Spring Valley, Minnesota area.
Since opening, the business has successfully grown from the initial pains and inconsistencies that come with starting a new business to steady full-time work with repeat clients.
"As far as being a successful business, to me," says co-owner Andrew, "it is about making an impactful impression upon our customer and taking a lot of pride in the quality of our workmanship."
Comfort Ops, provides residential heating, cooling and air quality services.
"We work on the furnace or air conditioner, service calls, replacements, and garage heater installs," says Jerad. "People also may have issues with their house being unbalanced, with temperature difference in one area of the home. We also work on issues of filtration, humidity, and UV purification."
Comfort Ops services within 30 miles of the Rochester and Spring Valley communities in Minnesota.
As military Veterans, Jerad and Andrew both shared that their military experience made entrepreneurship more attractive than working for someone else.
"Life is what you make it. You only get one chance, so I would rather swing for the fences and try and make something of myself," says Andrew. "I like a challenge, which is also part of the reason I joined the Marine Corps. I wanted to challenge myself and also build something bigger than myself. Jerad and I have very similar personalities, so it was honestly a perfect made match to try and make an honest run at this thing and give it our all."
"With the authority I had in the military, I felt very high-end leadership, and I really respected those people. When I began to work for some other companies and my bosses didn't really stack up to what I'm used to for a supervisor," Jerad explains. "It never felt right because I couldn't fully get behind the people I was working for."
Comfort Ops, is veteran owned and operated.
"Ops are what we call operations in the military," says Andrew. "We wanted to tie that in."
Andrew and Jared agree that going into business together fulfilled a larger purpose.
"A lot of people, when they get out of the military, they feel like they lost their purpose. Everything was so structured and you felt like you were doing something to the betterment of society. Then you get out, and you're just a normal person working a normal job. A lot of people deal with mental health issues because of that. And I feel like starting the business gave me that sense of purpose again," says Jerad. "I think being a business owner can help many people who are feeling unnecessarily lost; it gives them something to strive for."
Jerad and Andrew say that starting out, it was an exercise in trust.
"We didn't have anything guaranteeing success, but it's just like, hey, if we keep doing it, it's going work out. We sometimes went a couple weeks between calls. There were many days when I questioned if I made the right choice and worried if this was going to set me back. Talking it out was key," says Jerad.
On the low side, Jerad and Andrew agree that doing taxes for the first time was a challenge.
"It ended up fine, but I was stressed," says Jared.
As far as the high points, they both love working with people and the sense of satisfaction being an entrepreneur brings.
"I like meeting new people every day and even reconnecting with some people that I've known for years. I also like the satisfaction of being able to take an old unit out, put in a new one, and everything just looks really aesthetic," says Andrew. "I'm a big fan of seeing the progress as you go. I can sit back and look at something and be like, 'wow, this looks good.' The fruits of my labor are being able to be visually seen and felt."
"I also would say another big thing specifically about owning the business, that you won't be able to do if you worked for somebody, is we set our schedule. We like to focus on thoroughness instead of as many jobs as possible," adds Jerad.
"We had started the business and were kind of struggling. We needed some guidance, so we reached out and never looked back," says Jerad.
"Confidence for sure. They have helped let us know if we are doing things right, if we're going down the right path, doing it correctly," says Jerad.
"They helped us with Quickbooks, and helping to get us to be more streamlined and efficient," says Andrew. " [Bruce & Paulette] have owned a couple of businesses and all the nitty-gritty stuff of owning a business, they have helped us hammer out."
"They also helped with marketing ideas," Jerad adds.
"It's great to be able to trust the information you're getting. When you start a business everyone thinks they are experts and lots of people try to give you advice. But it's nice that our mentors have no connection to us, they are not trying to protect our feelings, like family might," Jerad adds.
When it comes to someone starting their own business, Andrews says, "How bad do you want it? This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. You have it really want it."
Jerad says to prepare for the financial impact.
"I would say create a realistic projection of what you think you're going to make in the first year and then shrink that down. You have to be in it for the long haul," he says. "It's going to be rough, but honestly, anyone who asked me if they should start a business, I would tell them yes, absolutely. I think the long-term benefits far outweigh not doing."
"You know, the patience is bitter, but it bears sweet fruit," Andrew adds.
"I think just be willing to listen. Be open-minded, be willing to learn something new," says Andrew.
"From our personal experience, [our mentors] were extremely knowledgeable in everything we asked them about. And there's probably more stuff that we should have asked about," says Jerad. "I wish we could go back and right away get a mentor. Don't wait. Also have a notebook full of questions and be ready to write down the answers."
"What I've come to realize, the hard part isn't doing the work itself," says Andrew, "It's all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I think it's made me appreciate other small business owners that much more. I'm probably going pay a little bit more and go for a small business because I feel the struggle."
Jerad adds how his experience impacted his time and family life.
"I've learned somewhat, you go from working a nine to five, to a five to nine," adds Jerad. "It also impacted my family more initially, dealing with the ups and downs of it all."
.I would like to share my years of experience as a business owner, buying a business, starting a...
. I would like to share my knowledge from experience in starting up a small business, buying an...
