In a crowded HVAC market, differentiation doesn’t necessarily come from adding more trucks, spending more on advertising, or racing through more sales calls. For Derek Aarstad, owner of DNA Heating and Cooling in Richmond, Virginia, it has come from doing almost the opposite: staying intentionally small, testing before guessing, and building a customer experience around evidence and education.
Five years into the business, Derek is the only technician his customers see. His approach centers on measuring airflow, static pressure, duct leakage, and overall system performance before recommending solutions. After attending his first National Comfort Institute Summit, Derek realized there was a name for the work he had already been doing: high-performance HVAC. That realization helped him sharpen DNA’s positioning and communicate why his company operates differently. In this episode, Derek joins Ed Smith to unpack how that philosophy translates into a real HVAC business — from setting boundaries around free estimates and educating homeowners with simple visual evidence, to building a website that actually reflects his personality and generating business without paid advertising.
The results challenge the idea that a testing-first approach has to come at the expense of growth. Derek says DNA has blown past its installation goals this year, while Reddit and word-of-mouth increasingly bring in homeowners who already understand why they want to work with him.
Expect to Learn
- How Derek discovered his identity as a high performance HVAC contractor and used it to better position DNA Heating and Cooling.
- How testing before guessing helps Derek differentiate his business while making complex HVAC measurements easy for homeowners to understand.
- How pulling a random floor register helps Derek quickly show homeowners problems with airflow, installation quality, and ductwork.
- Why Reddit has become DNA Heating and Cooling’s biggest source of business and why those customers often arrive informed and ready to trust Derek.
- Why Derek chooses to keep DNA Heating and Cooling intentionally small while still exceeding the installation goals he set for the year.
Timestamps
[00:00] - Episode Teaser
[04:12] - Intentionally Small: The DNA Heating and Cooling Model
[07:04] - From the Trades to HVAC Business Ownership
[30:49] - Finding the Right Customers and Building a Brand That Feels Like Derek
[37:23] - “I Am a High-Performance HVAC Contractor”
[41:13] - Making Testing-First HVAC Work Economically
[45:55] - Pull a Register: The 30-Second Move That Changes the Conversation
[48:01] - Why Reddit Became DNA’s Biggest Lead Source
[49:09] - The Real Reward of Building DNA
[52:10] - Closing Thoughts: Building a Business That Feels Like You
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