Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 244: HVAC Success: Jose Vargas From High School Dropout to Business Owner

• Sophia Yvette

Share episode

What makes Jose Vargas with Five Star HVAC Contractors a good neighbor?

What does it take to build a successful business when the odds seem stacked against you? Jose Vargas's remarkable journey proves that determination and mindset trump formal education every time.

As founder of Five Star HVAC Contractors, Jose candidly shares his unconventional path to success on our latest episode. After dropping out of high school—completing ninth grade three times, as he humorously admits—Jose found himself at a crossroads. Through his brother's connection, he apprenticed with a 70-year-old HVAC technician who became his mentor and teacher. Despite initially struggling and even quitting briefly, Jose returned with renewed purpose, bringing a notepad daily to document everything he could learn.

The financial reality of building his expertise meant working HVAC jobs all day before delivering pizzas until 1 AM. This grinding schedule ultimately paid off as Jose gained the knowledge needed to obtain his license and eventually launch Five Star HVAC Contractors, now serving the Rowlett area for a decade. Perhaps most compelling is Jose's transformation from technician to business leader—a shift requiring him to step away from daily service calls to focus on strategic growth through marketing to multi-system homeowners and developing comprehensive business skills.

What makes Jose's story truly inspirational is his hard-won wisdom about mindset. "You don't have to live in that mindset that you can't do things just because you didn't accomplish certain things when you started," he explains, offering encouragement to anyone facing similar barriers. His company's name isn't just branding—it's a philosophy of delivering five-star service to every customer, every time. Ready to be inspired? Listen now and discover how passion and persistence can overcome any obstacle in business and life.

To learn more about Five Star HVAC Contractors go to:

https://5starhvaccontractors.com/

Five Star Contractors

972-845-1103

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an HVAC company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, jose Vargas, with his company, 5 Star HVAC Contractors. Jose, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

I'm doing pretty good. How are you?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing pretty good as well, so we're excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you tell us a bit about your company?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we're, of course. It's Five Star HVAC Contractors. We're out here. We've been here for about here in the Rowlett area. We've been here for about here in the Rowlett area. We've been here for about 10 years since we started. We haven't moved from here since we got started.

Speaker 2:

So how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

That's kind of a funny story, I guess. Really I guess the whole backstory with me. I was a high school dropout. I really just told the story to all our guys here last week, just kind of explained it. So I'm a high school dropout. I completed the ninth grade three times, so really I'm probably the dumbest one here out of everybody, but I'm okay with that. But after I dropped out for the third time I didn't know what to do.

Speaker 3:

So my brother was working in the AC business but he was on the other side of it, you know, selling parts business. But he was on the other side of it, you know, selling parts, that equipment. He told me, hey, you should really check it out. So I went to work with this old guy. He was, I don't know, maybe 70 or so at the time. He couldn't really do the work, so he'd make me get up there in the attic, do everything and I would pop fuses, burn wires and just kept messing everything up. I couldn't do it, so I quit after about two months.

Speaker 3:

But you know, I came back to it after a while and really from there just kept learning, kept learning. He found out that he was a teacher. I went back to work with that same guy. So I used to bring a notepad with me every day. You know I would just take notes, ask him questions. After I know that I could really, you know, figure it out that I could really really do it, I took those, started taking notes every day you know they're a little started talking a little bit here and there. I wasn't making much with them working every day. So I would work during the day, you know they're like eight to five. After that I would go home, take a shower, change.

Speaker 3:

I'll go deliver pizzas at night about midnight or one morning you know, just to be able to provide for everybody, you know. But after working for him for a few years I was able to learn everything I needed to and he was able to sign off for me to be able to get my license. And just after I did that, was able to get my license, kind of started off slowly doing, you know, at the beginning you know you do everything yourself. So I was doing all answering the phone calls, doing all the service calls, doing the installs. It was a lot, you know myself where I really had to learn how to be a better business person, not just being able to fix everything most definitely wow, what a story.

Speaker 2:

And so, having so much experience in your industry, I'm sure you get questions a lot. So what is the most common myth or misconception you tend to come across?

Speaker 3:

The most biggest myth.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

Probably, I don't know. I hear a lot. I guess other people tell me that they have to go to school to really learn the trade. I guess I would say I mean it's better off just to get that hands-on experience to really learn the trade. I guess I would say I mean it's better off just to get that hands-on experience to really learn it in person, be able to get your hands on everything, learn it yourself, versus in a school.

Speaker 2:

So who are your target customers? And, in terms of marketing, I'm sorry. Who are your target customers and, in terms of marketing, how do you attract them?

Speaker 3:

My target customers are going to be. Of course, we like to target the homes with multiple systems, so it's going to be a bigger house with at least two systems in the home. We're doing a lot of direct mail pieces, so we sent out direct mail pieces every month here to our local community. We're also doing, of course, all our Google ads online local services. We're doing a lot of Facebook. We just started that, actually Facebook a lot of Instagram things like that, so we're working on that as well. A lot of Instagram things like that, so we're working on that as well, now let's go ahead and switch gears.

Speaker 2:

Can you describe a hardship or life challenge you overcame and how it made you better and stronger today? It can be the same one you shared earlier or a different one, whatever you're comfortable sharing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I would say, probably that we've talked a lot about that here as a team. It's about mindset. I feel like me. I used say, probably, that we talked a lot about that here as a team. It's about mindset. I feel like me. I used to have that feeling that I couldn't do it or I didn't belong here when I would think about, you know, not finishing high school and not having that actual business training, so I felt like that really held me back. But after a while just you know, I learned that mindset is what's holding you back. You know what I mean? You don't have to live in that mindset that you can't do things just because you didn't accomplish certain things when you started or you had a bad upbringing or a bad life growing up. You can overcome all those things.

Speaker 2:

Most definitely, and it gives you the opportunity to grow through those experiences. So, jose, if you don't mind me asking for all our listeners here, what happens that shifted your mindset, where you took that final leap?

Speaker 3:

um, I would say a couple of things. I mean, of course, having kids. I knew, you know, once I had kids, I had to be able to provide for them.

Speaker 3:

And then it took me a while. I learned, you know, after I was the one doing all the work doing, you know, being out there every day, I knew I had to stop being in the truck doing all the work myself. I learned that I had to be a better business owner. So I had to actually learn the business side versus the technical side. Better business owners I have to actually learn the business side versus the technical side. So that's kind of what took me a little while to learn. You know, if I get out of the truck and not be out there every day, I can sit here and focus and learn on my business. So really just started, you know, reading a lot of books, just taking business classes, just doing things that I didn't do before.

Speaker 2:

So, jose, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about five-star HVAC contractors.

Speaker 3:

One thing I'd say probably. I mean it's the name. That's something we really thought of. It's not just a name, that's something that we really focus on. So we provide that five-star service to each and every customer. We're going to serve a customer. We're not just thinking about ourselves or really, you know, think about the customer. In that sense, we're going to provide that five-star service to every single customer.

Speaker 2:

So it's not just the name, it's what we stand for and where can our listeners go to learn more about five star hvac contractors?

Speaker 3:

our website. We're on Facebook and Instagram. That's pretty easy to get ahold of us.

Speaker 2:

Well, Jose, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfriscocom. That's gnpfriscocom, or call 469-221-9345. Thank you.