How I Started an HVAC Company in Texas

Why did I decide to start an HVAC company?

I started Frosty's HVAC LLC in 2018 because I was tired of making money for other people. I had been working in construction and HVAC for years — 15 years in construction total, with 10of those in HVAC. I knew the trade inside and out. What I didn't know was how to run a business. But I figured that out the hard way, and I'm going to tell you exactly how it went.

There was no master plan. No investor pitch deck. No business loan. My wife Mariafernanda Jacobo and I sat at our kitchen table in Farmers Branch and decided we were going to bet on ourselves. We had some savings, a used truck, my tools, and a willingness to outwork everyone else. That was it.

What does it take to get licensed for HVAC in Texas?

In Texas, you cannot legally operate an HVAC company without a TACLA license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This is non-negotiable. You need a licensed contractor on your business, and that person needs to pass exams covering mechanical codes, business law, and refrigerant handling.

Our company operates under license TACLA126718E, held by Mariafernanda Jacobo. She went through the entire licensing process — the study, the exams, the paperwork. I hold my EPA 608 Universal Certification (#2396328), which is required for handling refrigerants. Between the two of us, we cover everything the state requires.

The licensing process took months. You need documented experience hours, you need to pass the exams, and then you wait for TDLR to process everything. If you're thinking about starting an HVAC company in Texas, start the licensing process first. Everything else depends on it.

How much did it cost to start Frosty's HVAC?

The honest answer is that we spent under $20,000 to get started, and every dollar came from our savings. No bank loans, no investors, no credit cards. Here's roughly where the money went:

• TACLA licensing fees and exam costs: Around $500-700 total
• General liability insurance: About $3,000 for the first year
• Surety bond: A few hundred dollars, but required by the state
• Tools and equipment: I already had most of my tools from years in the field, but I still spent around $3,000 filling in gaps — recovery machines, manifold gauges, a quality leak detector
• Vehicle: We used our existing truck. No fancy wrap, no fleet. Just a truck with tools in the back
• Business registration and LLC formation: A few hundred dollars through the Texas Secretary of State
• Marketing: A basic website, Google Business Profile setup, and some Nextdoor posts. Under $500 in the first year

The insurance was the biggest surprise. General liability insurance for HVAC contractors in Texas runs $2,000-4,000 per year depending on your coverage limits and claims history. And you need it before you can get bonded, and you need both before you can legally operate. Getting bonded was its own process — the surety company checks your credit, your financials, your license. When you're just starting out with nothing to show, that process feels like running into a wall.

How did we find our first customers?

Our first customers came from the most basic possible marketing: telling people we existed. I posted on Nextdoor in Farmers Branch. I told friends and family. I put up a Google Business Profile and made sure our information was accurate. That was it.

The first call was a simple AC repair in Farmers Branch. I remember being nervous, not because I didn't know how to fix the unit — I'd been doing this for years — but because this was my name on the line now. When that customer left us our first five-star Google review, it felt like validation that we were doing something right.

Finding customers in the early days is a grind. Nobody knows your name. You don't have reviews. You don't have a reputation. All you have is your work ethic and the quality of your service. Every single job in those first months was an audition. Show up on time. Diagnose honestly. Price fairly. Clean up after yourself. Do that consistently, and the reviews start coming in. The reviews bring more calls. The calls bring more reviews. That flywheel is everything in home services.

What were the hardest parts of starting an HVAC company?

The hardest part was the uncertainty. When you work for someone else, you know you're getting a paycheck. When you work for yourself, the phone might not ring for three days. Then it rings five times in one day and you're scrambling to fit everyone in. The inconsistency in the first year will test your nerves.

Insurance costs were a shock. I knew I'd need coverage, but I didn't fully understand how expensive it is to be properly insured as an HVAC contractor. Between general liability, workers' comp (once we hired), and vehicle insurance, insurance became one of our biggest monthly expenses.

And then there's the stuff nobody tells you about: bookkeeping, quarterly taxes, managing inventory, dealing with suppliers, handling callbacks when a repair doesn't hold. The trade work is the easy part. The business side is where most HVAC companies either survive or fail. I wrote more about those early struggles in my article on lessons from my first year in HVAC.

What advice would I give someone starting an HVAC company today?

Get licensed first. Get insured properly. Start lean — you don't need a fleet of trucks or a warehouse full of parts. You need one truck, your tools, a phone, and the willingness to answer every call.

Focus on residential work in your immediate area. We started in Farmers Branch and expanded to Coppell, Irving, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Grapevineas demand grew. Don't try to serve the entire metroplex on day one. Build your reputation in one neighborhood, then let it spread naturally.

And find a partner who complements your skills. I'm a technician — I'm best in the field diagnosing problems and installing systems. Mariafernanda Jacobo handles operations, licensing, and the business side. That division of labor is what makes Frosty's HVAC work. I cover that in detail in my article on building a business with your spouse.