4 Year Update of Building a SaaS for SMB HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, etc.

[kody.kendall]

I've been meaning to post for a while, but haven't gotten around to it. I originally posted 4 years ago, in September 2019.

NOTABLE! - HOT! - MARKETING - Help! How do I sell my SaaS application to HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Maid Service, Yard Care, etc., Companies?

From 2 companies and <$50/month to $1500/month

Hey Fast Lane Community,

It's been a wild 4 years since my last post, and I had a lot of great thoughts and feedback when I first started, so I wanted to provide an update, and hear some thoughts from the community!

A Quick Backstory:
This started as a part-time school project while studying Computer Science at the University of Utah. It started with a personal need. My dad, a hardworking HVAC business owner, juggled everything - calls, estimates, invoices, and the actual work. His business had stagnated, pulling him into 80-hour work weeks with no growth. He has always been super old-school with his business. Watching this, I knew technology could help.

How I built Field Rocket to help his business:

1. Making Customers Fill in Their Own Info:

My dad would be in the field all day working -- he didn't have a lot of time or motivation to be typing information into a clunky app.

So, I started by building a simple form for customers to put their info into the app themselves. My dad would then drag and drop these onto a calendar, and the app would notify the customer with a text message telling them where they got scheduled. This reduced his time talking on the phone, writing down notes, and typing customer info drastically.

2. Simple Invoicing & Estimates: After an appointment submitted their info, we put a button to lets users create invoices or estimates from templates. This eliminated hours of after-hours work for my dad.

3. Giving Employees Access: The app gave his lone worker direct access to the schedule, job information, invoicing, estimates, pricing, and more. This allowed the worker to accomplish WAY more than previous, because he would have to call my dad for pricing info, for his next job, etc. This freed up everyone's time and helped them work together as a team much more efficiently.

The Results:

By 2023, his two-person team had grown to six. Revenue jumped from $450K to $1M, and profits from $150K to $350K. March this year, he was able to happily pay off his house and retire, something he once thought impossible.

Field Rocket Today:
When I posted originally, "Home Service Cloud" had 2 companies and was making like $50/month, lol. Now, we're at $1500/month, and have 17 companies using it.

It's been a great (challenging and long) journey so far, but honestly, $1500/month is not very impressive for 5 years worth of work. I can't delude myself into thinking I'm anywhere close to where I want to be. I've given years to this project and am keen to expand. I've realized it's time to shift from the developer role and focus on marketing and sales.

I am 100% committed to building this into as large of a company as I can. I believe there is a huge opportunity in this space, and it's been a long-neglected area.

I've built the product almost entirely by myself. I would love to answer any questions, as well as hear critiques and suggestions.

I know the website could use a lot of work. I need to put up better screenshots, videos, tutorial, etc. as well as include pricing and other information. The current marketing strategy is to have users download the app for free, and then I text them and follow up with them manually.

This strategy has worked pretty well, and is how I've been able to grow and close new companies. But, I need to figure out how to get this in front of more business owners and get them to download the app to try it out.

Here is our website: Launch, Build, and Grow your Residential Contracting Business - Field Rocket

I'd love to hear critique and feedback.

Thanks!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Wow, love this idea. Congrats, sounds like some big things are ahead.

 

[RudyR]

I know the website could use a lot of work. I need to put up better screenshots, videos, tutorial, etc. as well as include pricing and other information. The current marketing strategy is to have users download the app for free, and then I text them and follow up with them manually.

This strategy has worked pretty well, and is how I've been able to grow and close new companies. But, I need to figure out how to get this in front of more business owners and get them to download the app to try it out.

Nicely done. I took a quick look at the site/App Store page. Here are my first thoughts.

1. This needs to get automated. No need to text them manually. Also If they can pay outside of the App Store, then you can avoid the 30% cut that Apple will take. So have an option to pay on the site.


2. I can’t tell what’s included in the free version vs paid version. Or if a trail is included and if It’s only a paid app?

3. It looks like it’s only an iPad/iPhone app? But on the site, it has a sign in button. Does that mean it’s also a fully fledged webapp? If so, then that needs to highlighted and featured as well.

 

[n8yeung]

Nicely done. I took a quick look at the site/App Store page. Here are my first thoughts.

1. This needs to get automated. No need to text them manually. Also If they can pay outside of the App Store, then you can avoid the 30% cut that Apple will take. So have an option to pay on the site.


2. I can’t tell what’s included in the free version vs paid version. Or if a trail is included and if It’s only a paid app?

3. It looks like it’s only an iPad/iPhone app? But on the site, it has a sign in button. Does that mean it’s also a fully fledged webapp? If so, then that needs to highlighted and featured as well.

I would place a testimonial section on the landing page so that potential business owners can read the 17 other business owners experience. You can use text and also have YouTube videos of testimonials!

I’d go to a conference where motivated HVAC business owners gather and do a presentation of your software. This will accelerate your business development efforts. Good luck!

 

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[Trismigistus]

I've been meaning to post for a while, but haven't gotten around to it. I originally posted 4 years ago, in September 2019.

NOTABLE! - HOT! - MARKETING - Help! How do I sell my SaaS application to HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Maid Service, Yard Care, etc., Companies?

From 2 companies and <$50/month to $1500/month

Hey Fast Lane Community,

It's been a wild 4 years since my last post, and I had a lot of great thoughts and feedback when I first started, so I wanted to provide an update, and hear some thoughts from the community!

A Quick Backstory:
This started as a part-time school project while studying Computer Science at the University of Utah. It started with a personal need. My dad, a hardworking HVAC business owner, juggled everything - calls, estimates, invoices, and the actual work. His business had stagnated, pulling him into 80-hour work weeks with no growth. He has always been super old-school with his business. Watching this, I knew technology could help.

How I built Field Rocket to help his business:

1. Making Customers Fill in Their Own Info:

My dad would be in the field all day working -- he didn't have a lot of time or motivation to be typing information into a clunky app.

So, I started by building a simple form for customers to put their info into the app themselves. My dad would then drag and drop these onto a calendar, and the app would notify the customer with a text message telling them where they got scheduled. This reduced his time talking on the phone, writing down notes, and typing customer info drastically.

2. Simple Invoicing & Estimates: After an appointment submitted their info, we put a button to lets users create invoices or estimates from templates. This eliminated hours of after-hours work for my dad.

3. Giving Employees Access: The app gave his lone worker direct access to the schedule, job information, invoicing, estimates, pricing, and more. This allowed the worker to accomplish WAY more than previous, because he would have to call my dad for pricing info, for his next job, etc. This freed up everyone's time and helped them work together as a team much more efficiently.

The Results:

By 2023, his two-person team had grown to six. Revenue jumped from $450K to $1M, and profits from $150K to $350K. March this year, he was able to happily pay off his house and retire, something he once thought impossible.

Field Rocket Today:
When I posted originally, "Home Service Cloud" had 2 companies and was making like $50/month, lol. Now, we're at $1500/month, and have 17 companies using it.

It's been a great (challenging and long) journey so far, but honestly, $1500/month is not very impressive for 5 years worth of work. I can't delude myself into thinking I'm anywhere close to where I want to be. I've given years to this project and am keen to expand. I've realized it's time to shift from the developer role and focus on marketing and sales.

I am 100% committed to building this into as large of a company as I can. I believe there is a huge opportunity in this space, and it's been a long-neglected area.

I've built the product almost entirely by myself. I would love to answer any questions, as well as hear critiques and suggestions.

I know the website could use a lot of work. I need to put up better screenshots, videos, tutorial, etc. as well as include pricing and other information. The current marketing strategy is to have users download the app for free, and then I text them and follow up with them manually.

This strategy has worked pretty well, and is how I've been able to grow and close new companies. But, I need to figure out how to get this in front of more business owners and get them to download the app to try it out.

Here is our website: Launch, Build, and Grow your Residential Contracting Business - Field Rocket

I'd love to hear critique and feedback.

Thanks!

Pretty bad a$$ man, thanks for the post. Congratulations on the success! Very motivating!

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

@kody.kendall awesome work man, congrats. Adding tech to service businesses has huge upside (see Johnny Boy's threads).

A few comments:

1) Mention who the target market at the top of your landing page so that when they get to your site, they immediately know that your site is for them.

2) Add some testimonials & data. Going from $150K to $350K annual profit is huge and a great selling point if your app played a big part in that.

3) Check out @Fox 's threads for improving your landing page

P.S. I actually just grabbed a list of HVAC companies & their contact info recently. I can send them to you over DM if you'd like.

 

[cluebird]

@kody.kendall love this idea, my day job is working with small business owners so I can certainly see the value here. I recently spun up my own landing page for a webapp we developed, would be happy to discuss tips and tricks for improving yours if you're interested!

 

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