“From the Trenches to the Turnaround: Tim Young’s Real Talk on Building AAA Extreme Comfort”

🎙️In this candid and refreshingly honest episode, Tim Young, founder of AAA Extreme Comfort, shares the unfiltered reality of building an HVAC business from the ground up.

With decades of experience in heating and air, Tim started his company after witnessing poor workmanship and inflated pricing practices in the industry. Frustrated by customers being misled and underserved, he set out to create a company built on transparency, quality installs, and doing the job right the first time. His passion? Protecting homeowners and business owners from costly mistakes and delivering honest, dependable service.

But this episode goes deeper than technical expertise.

Tim opens up about the challenges of entrepreneurship — financial missteps, lack of working capital, learning business literacy the hard way, and the reality of still being “in the trenches” five years in. Unlike many polished success stories, Tim speaks from the middle of the journey — not the finish line. He shares lessons about taxes, structuring finances properly, building systems, and why knowing your trade isn’t the same as knowing business.

Key themes in this episode include:

• Why integrity and quality workmanship still matter
• The myth of “get rich quick” entrepreneurship
• The importance of planning, discipline, and execution
• Limiting risk and making calculated moves
• The power of business coaching and mentorship
• Rebranding and repositioning for growth

Tim also discusses the upcoming rebrand of AAA Extreme Comfort and his vision to scale with better structure, stronger branding, and a more strategic foundation.

This episode is for business owners who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or still grinding it out. It’s a reminder that success isn’t always glamorous — sometimes it’s about staying committed, educating yourself, and executing better each time around.

Real. Transparent. In progress.

“If this conversation helped you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review with your favorite takeaway—we read every one.”

Guest contact info:

info@aaaxtremecomfort.com

Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!
Bill

Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review,  and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/

Transcript

Meet Tim Young And AAA

SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right. Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McCray with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today I'm excited to be joined by Tim Young of Triple A Extreme Comfort. So, Tim, thanks for being here. Let's jump right in.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Yes, buddy. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Yeah, no, no problem at all. We're glad to have you. So for those who may not know it yet, you know, who is Tim Young and what is AAA Extreme Comfort? And what problems are you most passionate about solving for your clients?

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Man, me, I'm uh I'm I'm I'm up in age now, you know, not old, but you know, I'm in my 50s and uh you know been doing this since my teens. Um always had a you know just had a passion for helping people and you know got into you know the trade of heating in there and and realized that a lot of homeowners as well as business owners, you know, um are not really knowing um just this the extent of how their HVAC units work. And then a lot of this happen uh over time where

Fixing HVAC And Fixing Trust

SPEAKER_00 1:05

they're not getting it maintained and stuff, and then you know, say a unit tear up and they got a company out there, hey man, and go and tell them, hey, it's 20 grand to fix this. You know, they don't know that you know there's a lot of you know um um not price gouging, if you will, but you know, people that's out here that can kind of mislead them on you know what the situation might truly be. So reason why I'm mentioning that is where I come in. You know, I'm transparent, um, I'm gonna tell it like it is, I'm not gonna try to be the customer, you know. So it is a passion I have out of, you know, you know, knowing the customer is is being treated right, you know, uh with their heating and air situation.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Okay, okay. Yeah, so take us back to the very beginning. What made you say, you know, yep, I'm doing this, I'm starting a business, and I'm doing this?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Well, yeah, you know, probably about, you know, after I've worked for companies, you know, during my teens, late teens, and you know, my twinnies, you know, I'm I'm working for companies and what have you. Um, you know, I'm taking certain classes here and there, and um, you know, trying to get better at what I do. And, you know, it just came to where I've noticed, you know, in the meetings and and what have you that we were having at several some of the companies I was working for. And um just knowing how the guys would, you know, um treat the job based on the price. You know, for instance, if the job is 22 grand, you know, you ought to give the customer, you know, the 22 grand what it's worth, you know. But a lot of companies I saw, you know, and it might have been just the guys they had working for them, but they just did shabby work, you know, stuff that wasn't being completed, or not doing a thorough job, but the customer is not going up under their houses, up in the attic, checking behind, you know, the workers or what have you. So, you know, me as a lead guy, which I always eventually became in these companies, was a lead guy, you know, a lead installer. Um, you know, I would, you know, really just tat the stuff back apart, man, and redo it and be left at the job by myself

Leaving Employment To Lead

SPEAKER_00 3:10

while these guys just sitting, you know, in the trucks, you know, you know, calling back to the office, like, hey man, tell them to our stuff apart, man. He's, you know, that's why we're still here, you know. And I'm trying to tell them, hey, it's not done right. These come these customers pay X X amount, and um, we ought to deliver on that, you know. So that's what really drove me to say, hey, man, I need to separate myself. I can do this better than these guys, you know. So I started really educating myself, eventually gotten my contractor license. So a lot of what I do now is uh what I've seen over the years, and I wanted to do better, and it's and it's just what I do to brand myself, as well, you know, for instance, sealing the joints, you know, um, sealing duck work is extremely important, and you got to layer this stuff up with the correct material, um, you know, just proper installs, pulling proper vacuums, putting proper pressure tests on this stuff. You know, a lot of a lot of this wasn't really happening. And um, so I wanted to, you know, kind of do my thing and offer, you know, superb, excellent service, quality, efficient service, you know, not beating the customer, not trying to shortchange them, you know, actually giving them and delivering on my promise and delivering on the solution that I offer and I'm presenting, you know. Um, but yeah, but you know, just a passion to help people, man, and have the stuff done right and really to brand myself and really I got into it really to make money, you know, to really, you know, to be financially free, you know.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

So it sounds like you were naturally more of an entrepreneur than an employee.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yeah, pretty much. Always been that way.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Okay. Okay. So yeah, if you had to start again from absolute scratch, no brand, no clients, no safety net, what would you do differently the second time around?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Man, the second time around, I would, you know, I would definitely uh, you know, pay more attention to, you know, um how, you know, you need working capital for this stuff. So I would have made sure my credit and stuff like that was kind of uh prepared before starting, uh, because you need working capital, you know, you need a team. Um, you know, and that's

Craftsmanship Over Corners Cut

SPEAKER_00 5:20

something that, you know, I'm I'm in the process of doing now is building my team because I started out by myself, you know, uh with my son, you know, before he went to college. You know, he he helped me a lot, you know, and I do have guys and people that I, you know, subcontractors and stuff like that that I utilize, but I don't have a really an in-house team, you know, right now. And um, and and that's what I'm in the process of building. But if I had to do all over again, it's just dotting all my I's and crossing all my T's. And you know, a lot of what I've learned, I've learned, you know, as far as the business part of it, is just, you know, on the whim of just going um and going down the road and down that path and and then knowing that, hey, I need this or you need that, you know, you need this type of software, you need that type of platform, you know, um, you know, and that's just what I would, you know, I would have did, you know, more of a thorough um um preparation, you know, preparing to actually enter into the business. Because once all I did was I passed my test, got my license, you know, and I went, I, you know, and I just start branding myself, start trying to market myself, and you know, and you know, you just got to have certain platforms and and softwares to actually, you know, uh structure your business to where it needs to be.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Okay, okay. So what's a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Um man, just uh taxes and just knowing your financial, um, you know, just just how to um pay yourself, how to um set money aside, how to uh defensurate accounts, you know, where um you know you set up accounts where that it will handle the miscellaneous stuff or the contingencies that might come up, you know, because me, I was depositing into the business account. I might deposit some money, some some stuff into the personal account, but you know, you just need um, you know, to have certain um entities in place um to help you and protect you um, you know, when it comes time to, you know, really uh divvy out the funds, you know. It's just knowing having financial literacy really uh is what I would, you know, what I had to learn the hard way. Just financial literacy, because if I would have prepared myself, it I probably could have secured a long, you know, some capital by now, so like working capital. But um, you know, the way I just handled my finances, you know, when they go to try to examine or review um my bank statements and stuff like that, it's just is everywhere. It's everywhere. It's not it's not structured the way it should. So, you know, I had to learn the hard way as far as just how to handle the books, you know, working my books and you know, um, you know, just setting up accounts and just making sure I'm I'm I'm covered and protected, you know, at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Okay, okay. No, I love that. That's good, that's good advice. So, what would you say is one common myth people believe about running a business that makes you laugh?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

That is easy. Oh, that that is that is that is uh that you're just gonna get rich quick, you know, to start a business and and you get a loan and you you you know you you're gonna make money, you know, but uh it's it's a journey. You know, it's you know, it's it's it's it's having things in place, you know, it's being able to purchase, you know, the items you need to make your business grow and to make it work, you know, it's it's it's more than just getting that name out there on that paper, you know, it's it's it's other uh devices you need. It's it's it's not

If Starting From Scratch

SPEAKER_00 9:00

it's other, you know, um products you need to help your business. And and that's what I didn't have. You know, I didn't have that knowledge of what was out there to help me scale my business.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Okay, okay. So how do you personally handle stepping as away from the business, stepping aside, like vacations, downtime, unplugging without everything falling apart?

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Well, that's the thing. I you see, you know, I don't I've um hadn't taken a vacation, hadn't had had an opportunity to do that. See, you know, this conversation probably would go a lot better, you know, if I was uh an accomplished business owner, if I was a thriving business owner. But you're talking to a struggling business owner, you're talking to somebody that is still in the trenches of this, right? I'm still working it, I'm still out here turning the drill guns, turning the wrenches. So I'm I'm not a entrepreneur that that I've I've made a million dollars. I've made hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know. I'm I'm I'm I'm still I'm five years in and I'm I'm still you know spinning my wheels. So, you know, that's just being transparent. I'm I don't know how to really fake it in this sense, you know, because the conversation would go a whole lot better had I had some experiences on really winning, you know, and a lot of this is just because, you know, lack of knowledge, you know, lack of knowledge on my end, you know. I thought, yes, I know my trade, I can do it blindfolded, but business is different. You know, running a business, knowing how to scale that business, and it's just it's different, you know. Um, and you need people to help you. You need people on your team. I got a guy that I helped get his contract a license, and he's a millionaire now. But he had his brother and both their wives helping him. Me, my wife, she works. She's not gonna, you know, she's on something else, like, you know, she don't really know how to really help with me in that aspect. But, you know, um, and it hasn't like I haven't been out there trying and asking, you know, I've sat down with some people, but they got other things going as well. But that's pretty much it in a nutshell, is just me being, you know, solo in this, you know, without working capital, not being able to secure a loan. You know, had I had those things in place, yeah, I'd be a lot further along. But right now, yeah, that's just where I'm at. You know, a good face, you know, offer great product. You know, my product is good, you know. I got offer great product, I got a great business model. But, you know, in order to scale a company, you need working capital and you need branding. You need to be able to put yourself out there.

unknown 11:35

You know.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yeah, money talks, yeah. Yeah, no, understood. So, you know, and I know you said you work with some some other people. When you're building a team, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume? You look for any personality traits.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yeah, being able to uh, you know, communicate, communication, you know, just you know,

The Money, Credit, And Team Gap

SPEAKER_00 12:00

um having knowledge, you know, um, you know, being knowledgeable is is a trait, you know, and and not so much as being, you know, somebody that's just gonna follow somebody else's, you know, but being able to offer, you know, some something as well, you know, based on their their research, you know, um, and just being, you know, friendly, you know, uh, because we are in the in the uh customer, you know, social, um, you know, we we out here, you know, our our our product is is our services. So we're dealing with with homeowners and business owners. So you gotta be able to have an easy, you know, uh personality and and being able to really uh handle you know rejections or handle you know pressure, um being easygoing, you know, and being friendly is is really the traits that that you know, being able to put a smile on your face, even though it might be tough, you know. You know uh those type of people, you know, really gonna thrive as you know, then somebody that that's easy to get their feelings hurt or something that'll go their way, and then they then they crying, and then they they're not able to make for a good day. They're not able to get through the day. So, you know, the trace I look for is a strong-minded, you know, a strong-willed person that's definitely Yeah, no, understood, understood.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

All right, so what we're gonna head into now is what's called the quick fire round. So basically, what's got what I'm gonna do is I'm going to uh give you one word, and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business. All right. The first word is edu, the first word is education.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

The education is necessary, education is is paramount, you know.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Next word is planning.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Planning is essential, you know. You without planning, you know, you just you know, you you're gonna kind of crash, you know. You gotta plan, you know, um strategies, you know. You gotta plan, you know, your journey, you know. Uh you gotta plan these processes, you know. You can't just dive in without actually planning, you know, and and a and a lot of um stuff I've done, I've done on a whim, you know, and and realizing after some time I should have planned for this. Oh man, I should have planned for that, you know. Um, but yeah, planning is essential, it's very paramount. I mean, planning is

Hard Lessons In Financial Literacy

SPEAKER_00 14:20

very important. Yes. Inspiration. Oh, it's needed, it's necessary. You know, finding, finding, you know, the things that happen that inspire you, you know, um, and and finding that in in especially in this industry, it really, you know, having something that inspires you keeps you going. You know, it keeps you, you know, it keeps you, you know, fighting, it keeps you motivated, you know, because of, you know, whatever it is that, you know, you find that inspires you. And uh, and I'm inspired really just by the insatisfaction of people, you know, when I go in and I fix a problem or find a solution for a customer, you know, at a reasonable and affordable price, you know, and they leaving that great review, you know, that inspires me to keep going, you know, to not actually give up, even though I may be in a rough patch at that moment, you know. But just finding that in that positive feedback. Yeah, it's very important.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

The next word is commitment.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Yeah, being committed, you know, uh that separates, you know, that separates you, you know. Being committed is it's just, you know, without that commitment, you know, you you'll drop the ball, you know. You can't be dependent, you're not dependable, you know. And people can see when you're not committed, you know, they can see when you drop in the fumble in the ball, you know, and you know, and that's that commitment keeps you, you know, hey, I'm man, it's it's 15 below, man. It's cold as heck, but I got to get up out here, man. I gotta go. You know, I'm just committed to this, you know. I re I'm already committed, so I gotta complete it, you know. And then not only that, you know, commitment carries you through projects because, you know, you know, a lot of these projects, you go in, you know, you open a can of worms, you want to quit, you know, you want to walk away, but you know, you got to stay to the task and commit to the end. And then that's where the reward comes in because that just it it it it it makes that that statement much bigger, you know, that you're trying to portray once you commit to something to the end. It's like, wow, man, I saw what he he faced mid-trial, mid-journey. But man, his commitment to the end, and look at it, you know, it's flourishing. So, you know, it really adds some value to you, you know, by being committed to whatever you're committed to. So commitment is is is is uh top of my lips.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Okay, okay. Next word is discipline.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Oh man, discipline. Discipline, man, is uh, you know, it's one of those things where you know it doesn't feel good, you know. Uh discipline causes you to, you know, um, you know, maybe, you know, kind of desert comfort, you know, and it's you know, you might want to run run to comfort and and you know, discipline causes you to just, you know, you know, stay to the task, you know. Um you know, discipline is just, you know, it causes you to just, you know, um it actually causes you actually to go through certain situations, you know, where you normally without that discipline would have just, you know, um, you probably would have, you know, kind of kind of, you know, fumbled. You know, you would have you would have broken, you know, it would

Myths About Getting Rich Quick

SPEAKER_00 17:40

have broke you, you know. But discipline, being disciplined really uh separates you as well, uh because it keeps you on the path. It keeps you on on that path of uh accomplishing your goals, you know, doing what you need to do uh and what have you. So yeah, discipline is is is uh is a necess a necessity. And uh and it's something that you got to, you know, always kind of embrace is uh is is always keeping yourself disciplined and not letting yourself just go, you know, being greedy upon just those things that that can deter you or distract you, you know. But discipline calls you to stay focused.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Okay. And uh and the next word is risk.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Yeah, risk is is you gotta limit your risk, man. You know, uh I used to be I used to take a lot of risk, you know, being young, you know, but now you know you kind of like gotta, you know, take calculated, you know, steps and you gotta do your planning, and you gotta, you know, have that discipline and that commitment and and to truth and and to uh to education to all of that because you know uh you risk, I mean, a lot of times, man, you you know, you risk something, man, the consequences kind of turn out where you know it costs you more than what you thought, you know. So limit your risk. Limit risk. You know, sometimes I know they say, you know, take a risk, sometimes it's good to take a risk, but I say limit your risk. No without a doubt. Educate yourself, you know, have some discipline, you know, commit yourself to to something that's right and and that's a quality and that's that's uh that's thorough, you know. You know, uh commit commit to to to uh something that's that's long-lasting, you know, uh longevity, you know. Um, but yeah, limit your risk, man. Limit that risk. Yeah. Risk and cost.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

And and the last word, yeah, no, I I agree with you. And and the last word is execution.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Man, execute it. Once you got everything planned out, once you

The Reality Of No Vacations

SPEAKER_00 19:45

educate yourself, educated yourself and you know, committed to that, and and the journey has proven itself and everything has added up to you know your discipline and how you've how you've been committed and and and focused, you know, now it's time to execute. You know, execute everything you learn. And then when you execute it, it's gonna go the way you plan. You're gonna see, you know, because a lot of now that I see the things that I've planned, that I've committed to, that I discipline disciplined myself to, man, and when I executed it, it was it was flawless. So when you ever you know, know that when you educate yourself and you commit yourself and you discipline yourself, when you execute that, man, it's gonna be flawless. It's gonna go like it's too good to be true. But don't think it's too good to be true, man. You've educated yourself, you committed.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Love it, love it, love it.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

You know, you've committed. So don't, hey man, don't be surprised. It's gonna go smooth. Don't be like, man, this went too easy. Nah, it's because of all the work you put in. So don't fear executing what you've learned, what you've planned.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Yes, okay. All right. So, so um, and I want you to be as candid as you can be, you know, and and and give as much advice as you can on this answer here for this question. But if if you were a business owner listening right now and you feel stuck or overwhelmed, what piece of advice would you want somebody to hear today?

SPEAKER_00 21:09

And find a business coach, find a business coach at the beginning, find somebody that can coach you, somebody that has been through, you know, that has uh that has knowledge in your field. You know, uh I've just begun to talk to a business coach, right? So if you're stuck, find some business coach, somebody that can mentor you, somebody that can uh offer you uh advice, you know, to know what products to get, to know what path to take, know what, you know, uh number to call to help out with uh whatever the situation is that's you know causing this you to be stuck. You know, it's just having that having that um having a a coach, man, just somebody that can that can offer that information, you know, um that can help get you out of. That you know, that rut or that stuck place is just seeking that knowledge, you know. You know, continuing to educate yourself, you know. Um, yeah, because you, you know, you'll you'll get stuck. But if you try to figure it out yourself, you know, you might be in that place, you know, for a little bit, you know. But if you not, you know, you step outside of yourself and say, hey, you know, you, you, you know, you, you know, you just start, you know, kind of researching or trying to find, hey, man, let me find somebody that is familiar with my, you know, my circumstance, you know, my situation and what I'm trying to do with this company, you know. Because believe me, man, I didn't know,

Hiring For Grit And Heart

SPEAKER_00 22:40

but you know, it's people out there, man, that that are great coaches, you know, and they can actually coach you through, you know, these problems, you know, these these issues and stuff that might come up, you know. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

No, definitely agree. Yeah. Okay. No, I appreciate that. I think that's really good advice. So what would you say is next for Triple A Extreme Comfort? What should people be excited about? What's coming up?

SPEAKER_00 23:04

Man, the rebrand, the rebrand, the rebrand, you know, triple A Extreme Comfort, you know, it the three A's with acronym for available anytime ASAP. I'm an extreme guy wanting to provide extreme comfort, you know, but it's it's, you know, people I'm always having to say it's extreme without the E, and they trying to spell it's AAA extreme comfort. It's just for marketing reasons, that's not gonna work. So I'm excited about the rebrand. Uh, it's gonna be a totally different name, um, something that's gonna be uh that's gonna, I think, that's gonna be fun, you know, just finding the colors, finding the new the logos, this, you know, what's gonna really, you know, separate us and and and and you know uh set us apart, you know, from our competitors. So just just having to put in that work, you know, that planning, educating ourselves on our um, you know, on the competition and and things that we need to really come out swinging this go around with a bang. You know, we do great work, nothing's gonna stop about our quality, but just the way we present ourselves are gonna be, you know, it's gonna be fun and exciting. You know, just read the rebrand. Yeah. So yeah, just look out for us, man. It's gonna be a rebrand and you know, uh a lot of customers, um, you know, hopefully, you know, they're they'll be excited about it as well. Because we got over 1,700 customers, believe it or not. You, you know, that's uh been on our our team for quite a while, you know. Um, but yeah, but that's that's what's in the horizon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Okay. Awesome, awesome. Yeah. And

Quick Fire: Education To Execution

SPEAKER_01 24:40

finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn about what you do?

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Hey, um the best way to connect, um, you we have a Facebook page, uh AAA Extreme Comfort. Um, you can go on our website, uh, which is you know triple AXtremecomfort.com. Um, and our phone number is 864-7479-6737. Again, that number is 864-479-6737. Um, yep. And um, if you want to get a hold of us, yep, and that's that that that's the best way.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Okay. Any social media so anybody can see what you do?

SPEAKER_00 25:16

Facebook. That's the only thing we got right now. My son was trying to uh put us on um what is that, Instagram. So he might got some stuff on Instagram. I think we do have something, but um, I think he had was um he he put us on a Facebook page and he put us on an Instagram. Like I said, I'm 54. Well, I'll be 54 this year, and I, you know, I'm I'm not really savvy with with the social media and all of that. So I got a son that's 21 that, you know, he was helping me out with that. So uh, but we do have a Facebook page and somewhat of an Instagram page and a website.

unknown 25:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Okay, okay. All right, perfect. Yeah, Tim, this has been fantastic. Yeah, thank you for so much for sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind the scenes of building your business. We really appreciate you coming on and being a guest today.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

Oh man, thanks for having me, man. I wish I was more, more uh prepared, you know, just I guess, you know, having having gotten to a place where I feel like, you know, I'm I'm I'm ready for something like this to really offer advice. You know, I just feel kind of like I the advice I offer, you know what I mean, it's kind of like, you know, I hadn't really gotten there yet. You know what I mean? All I can relate to is a struggle right now, you know, you know. And um, but yeah, I I would hope to revisit this in about probably by about six months to a year. You know, I would love to revisit this. The conversation might be different. My tone of voice might be different.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I'd definitely love to have you on in a future episode. Absolutely. Thank you very much.