Omar & Mariafernanda: A Family Business

How did you and Mariafernanda meet?

I met Mariafernanda Jacoboat Mi Cocina restaurant in Irving, TX. I was a waiter. She was a hostess. That's it. No dramatic love story. No dating app. Just two people working in the same restaurant who started talking and couldn't stop.

She was the first person in my life who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. At that point, I was still carrying the weight of my past — born in Palo Solo, Mexico City, Mexico, came to Texas at age 9, arrested 56 times before I was 18. I didn't think I was someone worth betting on. She disagreed. She bet on me before I had anything to offer except a willingness to work hard.

We've been together 12 years now. Married 11. Five kids. Four businesses. And it all started because a hostess at a Tex-Mex restaurant thought the waiter had a good smile. Life is weird like that.

How did a love story become a business partnership?

Naturally. There was no formal “let's become business partners” conversation. By the time we started Frosty's Holiday Lighting in 2017, we were already partners in every other way. We were managing a household together, raising kids together, making financial decisions together. Starting a business was just the next extension of what we already did.

What made the business partnership work from day one was that we don't do the same things. I'm the hands. She's the brain. I'm in the field fixing systems, on rooftops hanging lights, in attics running ductwork. She's at the desk handling licenses, scheduling, finances, compliance, and customer follow-ups. We don't overlap, so we don't compete.

When we launched Frosty's HVAC in 2018, Mariafernanda Jacobo went and got her Texas HVAC Contractor License (TACLA126718E). She didn't do that because she wanted to work in HVAC. She did it because our business needed a licensed contractor, and she was going to make sure we did things the right way. That license is under her name. She bears the legal responsibility. That tells you everything about who she is.

What is it like raising five kids while running four businesses?

Chaotic. Beautiful. Exhausting. Sometimes all three in the same hour. Our mornings start early. The kids need to get ready for school. The HVAC calls start coming in. Mariafernanda Jacobois checking the schedule and fielding customer calls while making breakfast. I'm loading the truck and reviewing the day's jobs. By 7:30 AM, we're already deep into both roles — parent and business owner.

There are days when I'm in an attic in Flower Mound at 2 PM and Mariafernanda Jacobocalls me because one of the kids is sick at school. I finish the job, pick up the kid, and go to the next call. That's our life. There's no separation between “work hours” and “family hours.” It's all happening at the same time, and you learn to flow between the two.

But here's the thing people don't talk about: our kids see us building something. They see their dad coming home tired from honest work. They see their mom running a business while keeping the household together. They see what work ethic looks like. They see what a real partnership looks like. I didn't have that growing up. My kids do, and that matters more to me than any revenue number.

What role does Mariafernanda play that people don't see?

Everything behind the scenes. When a customer in Farmers Branch or Lewisville calls Frosty's HVAC, Mariafernanda Jacobo is often the first voice they hear. She takes the details, asks the right questions, and schedules the appointment. By the time I arrive at a home, I already know the system type, the problem, and what parts I might need. That preparation makes me faster and more effective in the field.

She manages all four businesses: Frosty's HVAC LLC, Frosty's Holiday Lighting LLC, Frosty Homes, and Amor Property Manager. Each one has its own licensing requirements, insurance policies, tax filings, and operational needs. She keeps all of it organized and compliant. If I'm the engine, she's the entire dashboard, the GPS, and the fuel system combined.

Her TACLA license (TACLA126718E) means she's not just the business manager — she's the licensed contractor. In Texas, that carries real legal weight. Every job I do is done under her license. She takes that responsibility seriously, which means our quality standards are never negotiable. If something isn't right, she'll tell me to go back and fix it. No exceptions.

How do you keep the marriage strong when you work together 24/7?

Boundaries. Respect. And the ability to argue about business without making it personal. We set a rule early on: no business talk after 8 PM. After that, we're husband and wife, not co-owners. Is it a perfect rule? No. Some nights the line blurs. But having the boundary means most evenings, we get to be a couple, not a corporation.

Respect is the other piece. I don't micromanage her work, and she doesn't micromanage mine. If she makes a scheduling decision, I trust it. If I make a technical decision in the field, she trusts it. We each own our domain completely. That trust eliminates the friction that kills most husband-wife businesses.

And honestly — we like each other. After 12 years, I still enjoy being around her. We laugh together. We dream together. We talk about what the businesses could become in five years, ten years. When you genuinely enjoy your business partner's company, the long hours don't feel as long. I wrote more about the operational side of our partnership in building a business with your spouse.

What does the future hold for your family and businesses?

More of what we're already doing, but bigger. Frosty's HVAC is growing — 96 five-star reviews and climbing. I'm building a SaaS platform to help other small service businesses run better. Frosty Homes and Amor Property Managerare expanding into real estate and property management. We're not stopping.

But the core of it all stays the same: family. Everything Mariafernanda Jacoboand I build is for our kids. We want them to grow up seeing that two people from nothing can create something real. That you don't need a perfect past to build a good future. That a waiter and a hostess at a restaurant in Irving, TX can become the owners of four businesses and the parents of five amazing kids.

I've been sober since January 1, 2021. Five-plus years clean. My sobriety is the foundation everything else stands on. Without it, there are no businesses. There are no reviews. There's no SaaS platform. There's no this website. Sobriety gave me my life back, and Mariafernanda Jacobo gave me something worth staying sober for. To read the full picture, visit my about page.