Tommy Smith is the owner of All Year Cooling and currently resides in Weston, Florida. Tommy possesses the professional knowledge and years of experience required to deliver best-in-class service to his customers, having grown up around the business. He has put in the time and effort to ensure that every one of his employees is well-trained in order to provide the finest possible service to the families of South Florida. During his time at All Year Cooling, Tommy has transformed the company from a small business with a few employees to a well-known, thriving enterprise. The company installs and services a variety of York, Goodman, Trane, and Ruud air conditioning units, as well as other brands.
All Year Cooling, based in Coral Springs, and Tommy Smith, based in Weston, Florida ensure that their customers throughout South Florida—from Homestead to St. Lucie County—get prompt and efficient service. They provide free quotations and typically deliver same-day installs. All Year Cooling performs duct cleaning in addition to installing and servicing air conditioning units to ensure that their systems function more efficiently and that their clients’ homes have clean air. Tommy Smith and his wife Erin have four children. They are active in community outreach and charitable work, having donated to Broward County Schools, Cancer.org, and Project We Care. Tommy Smith enjoys spending time with his family, whether it’s traveling to new locations or simply making new memories at home in Weston, Florida.
Where did the idea for All Year Cooling come from?
The idea for the newest model of All Year Cooling came from what we saw as a market need. We felt there was a need for a more convenient option for our customers. There was no reason someone should have to wait 2-3 weeks before they could enjoy their new air conditioning unit or even be forced to stay with relatives or friends until we could get their old unit back up and running! We saw an opportunity where others did not and continue to provide excellent service at an affordable rate.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My day starts at 5am when I arrive at the office to return emails, phone calls, and perform any other necessary errands. From there it is a routine of talking to contractors in the field, responding to customer concerns or complaints, reviewing invoices for accuracy and timeliness, researching new ways to support our customers better in the future both with our products and services….and sometimes I get to go home!
How do you bring ideas to life?
The AC business isn’t necessarily one that requires constant innovation, so for me it’s more about executing the ideas and processes that we already have in place. For that to happen, it is important that our team is firing on all cylinders. We all work together to make sure projects are completed on time and most importantly correctly with 100% customer satisfaction. When you consider that we offer same-day installations, you can imagine how easily things could go wrong if anyone on the team is not performing at the top of their game.
As for creative ideas for, say, marketing or promotional campaigns, I have a moleskine journal that I keep for jotting down lines, ideas, or sometimes even a quick diagram or doodle that will jog my memory later.
What’s one trend that excites you?
From a product standpoint, I am seeing more people take an interest in energy-efficient products. Everyone wants to save money on their utility bills, especially in Weston, Florida, or any part of South Florida, where it can be pretty brutal for half of the year. I am most excited about the smaller, more energy efficient cooling options that we offer, such as our compact size wall unit or even a blower style that is small enough to install in your closet!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I constantly try to improve my craft. I think the ability to be the best at something is very important and constantly learning how you can do that better will always help you as an entrepreneur. Learning about lean startup, SCRUM master, or any other management system has helped me improve as a manager of people and processes.
What advice would you give your younger self?
There are two pieces of advice I would offer my younger self, both of which are related to patience. First, it is important to look at your “mistakes” as lessons learned instead of failure or flaws in yourself. Second, you never know when opportunity will knock so always be ready for it!
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Most people would agree that success is a combination of smarts and hard work, but I believe it’s more about effort. In my opinion, you can be the smartest person in the world with all the right connections, but if you are not willing to put in effort or really try then nothing will come of your success.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I think this goes hand in hand with experience. I’ve realized that the more experienced you are, the easier it is to make decisions quickly and correctly. Experience does not necessarily mean success or conclusion, but it’s about learning from your mistakes so they don’t happen twice.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
We have tried a variety of successful marketing ideas including print advertising, event sponsorships, internet marketing efforts on Google Adwords, Facebook ads, etc… For us though the best return on investment has been our website with its online store front management system. So much work goes into every single sale that comes through our site. Our team works tirelessly to ensure each product meets our
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
My early years as owner were pretty tough. I had a terrible time hiring the right people and bringing in good customer service. I found that everyone acted like they were doing me a favor by working for my company and taking advantage of every situation to make extra money. That played out through decreased work ethic, lack of attention to detail, and increased theft. After much trial and error we finally came up with processes and systems that would be effective at making sure everyone gave us their best effort as well as ensuring that our customers got the quality services they deserved!
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I think anyone who has been living in Weston, Florida or anywhere in South Florida knows about the high water bill costs we all face here! There are plenty of mobile apps such as MeterHero which seek to help consumers save money by giving suggestions on how to reduce their utility bills, but I think there is an opportunity for a company to develop more of a one-stop-shop app that gives users an overview of their usage and provides relevant information such as where they can make energy efficiency improvements in their home.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Google Docs is really great. We have used it for projects that require collaboration between our team. I live in Weston, Florida, the office is in Coral Springs, and our techs and crew are all over South Florida, so it helps keep us all connected. This has been a life saver for us since we cannot always meet face-to-face to complete projects due to the nature of our industry. Email can be unreliable at times so Google Docs allows us to edit and track changes all in real time!
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
That’s a tough one. I really like the books by Donald Miller because they encourage us to not just dream about who we want to be but to take action and get started doing it! So for anyone looking for an inspirational read I would highly recommend “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller.
What is your favorite quote?
This favorite quote of mine comes from Les Brown who was an inspirational speaker once said “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” I think this quote relates to everyone and the power of sticking to a goal no matter how lofty it may be. If we fall short, we dust ourselves off and start again until one day we succeed!
What are three things Tommy Smith wants our readers to remember?
-Teamwork and communication is essential to getting projects done and staying organized.
-Using the right tools at the right time will save you a lot of unnecessary work or frustration.
-Having a clear vision for your business and becoming aware of available resources to help achieve it is critical!
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