EP# 176 - Resilience and Redemption: The Entrepreneurial Saga of Chace Garlinghouse

Chace Garlinghouse's journey from a troubled youth to a successful entrepreneur is nothing short of inspirational. Kicked out of high school and facing multiple arrests, Chace's life seemed headed down a dark path until a chance opportunity in the air conditioning industry set him on a transformative course. Join us as Chace candidly recounts the pivotal moments that reshaped his destiny, emphasizing the importance of resilience and the power of seizing opportunities.

In this episode, Chace also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the essential services offered by Chace Joseph Air Conditioning, especially crucial during Southwest Florida's scorching summers. From maintenance and residential installations to debunking common myths about the industry, Chace offers practical insights and invaluable advice. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or simply interested in the human stories behind local businesses, this conversation is packed with lessons and inspiration. Don't miss out on this must-listen episode!

Chace Joseph Air Conditioning
Chace Garlinghouse
25613 Old Gaslight Dr,
Bonita Springs, FL  34135
(239) 293-1589
Chace@chacejosephac.com
WEBSITE

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

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

Speaker 2: 0:11

Welcome Good Neighbors, to episode number 176 of the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Chace Garlinghouse from Chace Joseph Air Conditioning. Welcome, hey, how's it going, jim? It is going awesome. Can I complain? You know we're in the heat of summer, so a lot of people are in demand for your services, so we'll get through this. So why don't we start off by? Why don't you share a little bit about what you do?

Speaker 3: 0:36

Well, we have a my name's Chace, my middle name is Joseph, so you know that's a lot of people. It's the business name, chace Joseph. Full service air conditioning, you know, maintenance installation, residential. We do a little bit of commercial work but mainly residential service calls. Maintenance is, you know, just servicing anybody that needs any help or assistance.

Speaker 2: 1:08

And that's big in Southwest Florida right now, especially this time of year. I'm sure you're spread a little thin right.

Speaker 3: 1:14

Yeah, definitely. I could use some good manpower, but I'm getting there there you go.

Speaker 2: 1:20

So let's back up your story a little bit. How did you get involved in the air conditioning business?

Speaker 3: 1:26

Well, I was 18 years old and you know, I didn't have a job. I really things weren't looking too good for me and I had was actually my mom's boyfriend at the time. Yeah, he he's like hey, you, you know, I see that you're hungry and you want to learn something. This was 10 years ago. And, um, he gave me an opportunity to talk to his boss and he said hey, you know, I got a guy that wants to work. Yeah, yeah, you know whatever. And uh, then, yeah, I just put my head down and uh, just, um, you know, did the best I could and always tried to learn something, something new. You know, just push myself and see how far I could take it.

Speaker 2: 2:11

And that's and that's what you do. You jump right in, you learn, you grow and you know, and then, before you know it, you're a business owner, right, yeah, so we've all had some type of I want to say challenge or obstacle along our journey. You know, obviously starting a business is not easy. Going out on your own is not easy. Is there something that happened along your journey that we can look back at now and say you know what. You know. I went through that, but now I'm in a better place now. Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3: 2:46

You know, when I was younger, I was kind of a I guess you could say a delinquent, you know, and, uh, just a troubled teen, you know. And I just, I just, it took me a while to find you know who I was and what what life was all about. And so, yeah, I was younger, I um, when I was in 10th grade actually, I got expelled from high school, you know, and I ended up getting my GED, which I still have, my GED, you know a little bit, a little bit of skills to go along with it, but you know. So, when I was younger, things were definitely difficult for me to to do, to make good decisions, you know, just like, just like a lot of young guys, you know, it's just a little trial and error, but yeah, for the most part, I mean, yeah, I had a couple. I was actually arrested like four times before I was 21. So that wasn't good and I realized I was like I got to do something different here.

Speaker 2: 3:38

You know, turn my life around and change it. And yeah, but yeah, you, you got involved got involved in the industry and started your own business and so, looking at the industry at whole right now, are there any maybe myths or misconceptions surrounding what you do? You know a lot of questions. People always have questions or concerns.

Speaker 3: 3:58

Oh yeah, no, no, there's a lot of uh worry when it comes to the ac guy seems like everybody's on their tiptoes, you know as as soon as you pull in the driveway they're kind of looking out the window sometimes new customers. But you know, once people get to know you in their house and everything, they feel more comfortable. But yeah, there's a lot of misconception. I mean we kind of have a bad rap. Being an ac guy, you know from things that have happened and people have been ripped off or whatever, um, but um, not all ac guys are there just to you know, gouge you and see how much money you have in your wallet. You know, some of us are actually there to provide a good service and actually help you and give you all the information that you need to make a good decision and just kind of put the ball in your court. But yeah, I think there's a lot of, there's a lot of like a bad, like you get a bad reputation. Yeah, it's any service industry.

Speaker 2: 4:53

People always think I was like they just want my money. It's any service industry. People always think I was like they just want my money, that's all they care about. But you're actually there to help them yeah.

Speaker 3: 5:01

And being different. You know that's how you kind of can show, cause everybody says, oh yeah, we're different, we blah, blah, blah. But when you actually do things that are different, people can see that you're not just all talk. For instance, we have a service where you can just text us questions, kind of like the doctor Yep, just text and say, hey, this, that, that, send pictures, whatever.

Speaker 2: 5:24

But yeah, we kind of make things simple, try to be different and just try to be efficient and provide that extra level of customer service that a lot of people don't do nowadays, or say they do but never follows through. Yeah, so so do you see anything changing or trending in the industry recently?

Speaker 3: 5:43

you know what? Yeah, things are changing all the time. Um, I think things are starting to get a little bit more, uh, efficient. You know, systems are a little bit more efficient nowadays. Of course, they keep on getting efficient, but the main thing is, of course, they don't make things like they used to, right.

Speaker 2: 6:02

They make them to break, they don't make them to last. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 6:06

That's a term in the economy, whatever language, I forget what it's called, but it's something when they make things cheaper to make them break. But yeah, so the older units, you know lasted I mean, some of them are from older than I am, you know, installed in the 80s, still running today. We just replaced one from 95 on Sunday. Yeah, that had a year on me. Wow, yeah, that was that had a year on me. But anyways, no, yeah, things, definitely the trend is it seems like they just try and make them cheap as possible or something. But you know, the lifespan of them is 10 to 15 years.

Speaker 2: 6:46

So you know, there's, there's ways to get it longer, but it's just just more expensive and and maintenance, you know, and doing the proper maintenance on it and keeping on top of those things as well.

Speaker 1: 6:57

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:58

So are you from Southwest Florida originally.

Speaker 3: 7:02

Well, not Southwest Florida, southeast Florida kind of like, uh, the other coast, west palm beach that's what brought you, what brought you over here.

Speaker 3: 7:12

Well, uh, I gotta say, when my mom moved over here, probably 10 years ago, um, I kind of just naturally just followed her, you know, and um just like to be close by or whatever, and um, she moved to Bonita, I think, yeah, about 10 years ago or something, something like that. So I moved over like two years after and kind of just started coming over here and at the time I was only 19 years old or 20 years old. So you know, I was working for another company and just progressively, slowly started, you know, getting my name out there, and I worked for a lot of companies before I started my own business five years ago. So yeah originally.

Speaker 2: 7:59

Yeah, you're just continuing to grow and learn, and you know that's what you do as a business owner. So, being a being a business owner, I know free time is probably at a. You know it's a little not not as much as we'd like to, but when you do get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing?

Speaker 3: 8:18

You know, that's a good question actually, because usually when I get too much free time, I'm like I got to start another business or something. Usually when I get too much free time I'm like, all right, I got to start another business or something, but no, lately, my hobbies, I mean, I've been really trying to, you know, have some personal time and trying to, you know, separate personal life from the business life. But, like I said, for the past four years I started a new business every year just to just as a hobby.

Speaker 2: 8:42

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 8:44

And it's looked at as a hobby. But yeah, my real passion is business. You know, I've always been a businessman since I was a little kid, so yeah, but I mean I like to listen to music, you know, just like other people, music I'm actually. I was actually thinking about taking some surfing classes.

Speaker 2: 9:02

Well, there you go, there you go. You're never too young or too old to learn new things, right.

Speaker 3: 9:09

Yeah, definitely, and traveling is important too. But when you have an AC business I mean, it's not it's you don't have too much free time. You know, on call.

Speaker 2: 9:19

When our AC is out, people are. It's like an emergency. I can't live without it. I need my AC. Get over here now.

Speaker 3: 9:25

Yeah, you got it.

Speaker 2: 9:33

So is there one thing that you wish our listeners knew about what you do, or?

Speaker 3: 9:35

the services you provide that maybe they're not aware of. Well, yeah, I think you know a lot of people might think that we're a big company or something we got like I don't know. Some people think that, but we're not. We're a small company. I have, uh, two employees, two or three employees, you know something like that, on and off, kinda, um, yeah, we, uh we're a smaller business. Um, we don't have a big warehouse or anything. It's not like we have a big fancy warehouse. I'm kind of trying to wait until I'm forced into one big fancy warehouse. I'm kind of trying to wait until I'm forced into one to, you know, get the overhead and all that. So I just I started the business at my mom's house and it's it's. We still kind of run it there and we have a location in Fort Myers to an office up there. Just just, it's where I live and it's nice.

Speaker 2: 10:24

It's nice, you know you don't need to be too big, You're manageable, you can. You know you can go that extra mile because you're actually taking care of a customer rather than hurrying to get to the next one.

Speaker 3: 10:35

Or a number. Yeah, it definitely becomes a part of your life and you schedule it, you know as.

Speaker 2: 10:42

Absolutely so. How would our listeners go about contacting you if they had questions about their ac or or anything like that in general? Yeah, um, so our website chacejosephac. com.

Speaker 3: 10:54

We got a lot of information on there, just phone numbers and, but our phone number is 239-293-1589. You can text that number, call the number, video chat us if you really want to, um, but you know, just that's, that's how you could reach us, the phone number. Email I mean, uh, website's probably the best thing, maybe.

Speaker 2: 11:18

Or social media, you know we're kind of they can find you.

Speaker 3: 11:22

You're up, yeah yeah, if you just type in Google and type in Chace G, I've been looking at the analytics and it's starting to kind of.

Speaker 2: 11:30

There we go. That's good. That is good. It's all about getting your name out there. Well, Chace, it's been a pleasure getting to know you today. Thank you for being such a good neighbor.

Speaker 3: 11:39

And.

Speaker 2: 11:40

I hope to see you on the community soon.

Speaker 3: 11:42

Yes, sir Jim.

Speaker 1: 11:47

Thank you very much for having me on your show. It's been a fun time. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpestero. com. That's gnpestero. com, or call 239-296-2621.