Q: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/cities.
Ans: We are a family owned heating and air conditioning contracting business. We specialize in residential and light commercial with service maintenance, replacement and new construction. Ferguson was founded by my father and grandfather in 1946, and has been in business for 72 years. We serve all of metro Atlanta with our main office in East Point and our satellite office in Peachtree City.
Q: Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I grew up in the business working for my father during summers, holidays and after school. I attended Southern Technical College and majored in industrial and mechanical engineering. Before I graduated, I was active duty in the navy for three and a half years. I returned to the states to finish school, and then worked for Scientific Atlanta and the Kennedy Space Center with one of their consulting firms. I completed energy audits for the space center and state and local government, as well as the U.S. Army. After that, I worked for Southern Bell as an energy engineer/consultant, then worked for AT&T for three years in NJ. Finally, in 1997, I found myself in Georgia once again, running the family business, Ferguson. I have managed it and run it ever since.
Q: What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: My father asked me if I wanted to come back and take over the business. He had already been in the business for fifty years and was getting older, so he asked for me to step in. Because I respected my father and did not want to see his legacy end, I took the job.
Q: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: Be in good health
Have a good work ethic. The business will be 24/7 so be ready
You must have passion
Q: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: You have to be marketing-oriented
You have to be personable, extroverted
You have to have good business sense: leading the business and making sure you’re making the right decisions
Q: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 10-12 hours
Q: To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Hard work, having a good work ethic, and being persistent
Q: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: In the past, our customer referrals have been our biggest source of new customers. The most successful recently has been online.
Q: Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: We have taken a different approach than some businesses. We try to grow from within and not too rapidly, keeping our finances paid and in check. We are mostly self-funded.
Q: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Through building a good reputation and aggressive marketing. Take pride in what you do and give good quality products.
Q: Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: Working more with individual homeowners as a major portion of business, as well as growing commercial service and maintenance business with replacement.
Q: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans:I don’t have a specific one, but I admire businesses who seem to be well organized and professional and who try to do the right thing for the customer. I admire a company that gets customers for life, like ours.
For more information visit us at http://fergusonheatingandair.com/
Ferguson Heating and Air Conditioning
1298 Central Ave,
East Point, GA, 30344
Tel No.: (404) 763-3240
Business Email ID: aferguson@fergusonheatingandair.com
Business Hours: Open 24/7
