Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon & Heather Taipalus.
Hi Brandon & Heather, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2019 Brandon decided that after about 13 years of working for other people doing HVAC, that he wanted to try it on his own. He called me up one day and asked what I thought. I said “OK! Go for it!” Brandon supported my dream of becoming a nurse, and I believed in him so I had no doubts about supporting him through this journey. His original plan was to work for himself and by himself. He didn’t realize how quickly his business would take off. A few months in he hired his first employees. Kyle was one of them, he still works for us today. The business continued to grow, it seemed pretty rapidly. When the pandemic hit we could not work much. We let Kyle take all the service calls that came in so he could make money to feed his family. I was working in a nursing home so we had my income to keep us afloat at home. I called up Brandon in July of 2020 I believe it was, and was near tears and told him I wanted to quit my job. I was burned out like many of the healthcare professionals were during that time. He said “Good! Because I need you in the office.” I was pretty nervous about that because my income as a nurse covered our bills and was a guaranteed paycheck. Now we had to rely on just the business to provide for our family and the employee’s families. I believe we had 2 employees at that point. The restricted business during the pandemic put a financial strain on the business for sure and we owed a lot of money to our supply house. Brandon had reached out to our salesman at Johnstone and then to Jeff, he was in a management position there at Johnstone and Brandon was looking for some guidance on bidding jobs. Jeff told him about a class coming up that he thought would really benefit our business. It was all about how to run a successful HVAC business. The class was put on by BDR (Business Development Resources.) They are based out of Seattle, Washington. Honestly, the class literally changed our lives. It was a couple days long and we got stuck sitting right up front and center (we thought we were early, but everyone else in the class was earlier.) The information we learned in just those couple days was enough to push us to make a change. We signed up with them to get a business coach. It was a risky move because it cost us money every month that we didn’t think we had. I remember Brandon saying we couldn’t afford to sign on with them but the direction we were heading, we couldn’t afford NOT to. We meet with our business coach, Gwen, twice a month virtually. She is from South Carolina. She is absolutely amazing, really knows her stuff, and we really credit a lot of our success to BDR and especially to our coach. She helped us get out of debt to the supply house, gave us the structure and ability to change the way Brandon was bidding jobs, and the resources to really create a business that we love to go to every day. Or most days I should say. I would be lying if I said it was all sunshine and roses all the time. If you ask Brandon what one of the first things our coach taught us is, he will tell you this: One of her first questions was “How long do you want to be in business?” Brandon’s answer was “well, until I retire.” Gwen’s response was “what if I told you if you keep bidding jobs the way you are currently, you will be bankrupt in 2 years?” That really hit Brandon pretty hard. At that point it was a reality check. Thinking “ok, we really know nothing about running a business.” So we dove right in with our coaching and took some more classes through BDR and its a never ending learning process, but we would not be where we are today without BDR, Gwen, and Johnstone Supply. The support we get from Johnstone has been another huge part of our success. We are forever grateful for them working with us through our struggles. When we started with BDR, we were working out of our house. Every year we do Profit Launch, which is 3 full days of going through our numbers and creating a business plan for the upcoming year. We get our revenue projections for the next 5 years. It was hard to believe we could be where they were projecting us to be. In year 2, we hit what we were projected to do for revenue in year 5! We always thank Gwen and BDR for the impact they have had on us and our business. Gwen’s response is always “ya’ll put in the work.” But there is no way we would ever be where we are now without her. We still have lots of work to do but there is only one direction we are going.
About a year and a half after starting to work with Gwen we rented our first office space in Whitehall. We outgrew the space so quickly. We were up to 4 guys in the field plus Brandon, and myself and one other person in the office. Every day we drove by a building in Montague very near our house. It was a beautiful building built by a HVAC company. I told Brandon often “if that building ever goes up for sale, we are buying it!” It seemed like a very far fetched dream at the time. But in 2024, 3 years after working with our business coach, we bought that building! We now have 8 employees and Brandon and myself. Our oldest daughter works in the office with us, one of my best friends and previous co-workers joined us last year and has made a huge difference for me. Kyle is still here, and we have added a couple guys Brandon has known for years, a close friend of ours and 2 other guys brand new to HVAC. But we have the best team. These guys show up day after day and work hard for us. They don’t call in often, they show up on time and each one has contributed a lot to get us to where we are. We have fun, we get work done, we hang out outside of work, we have spent holidays together and babysat each others kids. It has definitely been a wild ride but a great one! Long story short, there is a lot of people that have got us to where we are today!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh I think I named most of them in the previous text. It has definitely been a very bumpy road. Financial struggles in the beginning, growing pains, a couple employees we gained and then lost, buying the building was a huge stress. We continue to struggle with some things that just can’t be changed overnight. But as long as there is improvement or steps in the right direction, we are happy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Elite Air ?
We are a small, family oriented business. We do pretty much anything related to HVAC installation and service. Furnace, AC, heat pump, mini splits, boilers, water heaters, ductwork, geothermal. I would say we specialize in heat pumps such as geothermals, mini splits or air to air heat pumps. What sets Elite Air apart is that we’re not just here to fix furnaces or install air conditioners—we’re here to take care of people. We back that up with things most companies don’t offer, like 10-year labor warranties, 12-year parts warranties on mini-splits, and even 0% financing options. But more than that, we have a team that truly treats customers like family. We built this business from the ground up, and our name and reputation are on the line with every job. That’s why we focus on honesty, reliability, and making sure the job is done right the first time. If there’s one thing I’d want people to know about Elite Air, it’s that we care—about doing the job right, about standing behind our work, and about treating people like family.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Commitment. Not just from Brandon and I but also the rest of the team. I always use Kyle as a good example of what commitment means. He left a job at a very established HVAC company to work for Brandon. When it was just Brandon out of his truck and his glove box was his filing cabinet. Kyle must have believed something would come together. Also from everyone else because they have been a part of our lives for the whole journey for the most part. They have seen where it started and where it has gone with their own eyes. Determination as well. Brandon and I refuse to give up. There were many sleepless nights for me in the beginning, still happens sometimes. But we won’t ever fail. We have 3 girls to show that you can do anything you put your mind to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eliteairheatingandcooling.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elite.air41
