A heart for the community

Serving and supporting the local community is paramount for award-winning heat pump supplier and installer Heat Pumps NOW. In a very short time Blair Ashdowne and his team have won many friends in Christchurch.
 
By Glenn Baker.

When the second massive earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February 2011, Blair Ashdowne was on a job for AHI Carrier in the suburb of Bromley, close to the epicentre. His wife Emily was at home across town in St Albans, but Blair’s attempts to reach her were hampered when his 4WD plunged into a sinkhole created by the liquefaction.

The events of that day would have a profound effect on the Ashdownes’ life, as it would on every Cantabrian. It would bind communities together in a way that had never been seen before in New Zealand. Blair describes a “village-style mentality” that emerged from what had previously been a largely self-centred world.

The most significant outcome for Blair and Emily took place two years later when the couple launched Heat Pumps NOW – an accredited heat pump installation business.
Blair, who admits to being a “student of business” for many years prior to setting up the company, recalls having an ‘aha!’ moment at 2.33pm on Thursday October 10th 2013, while working alone. “The week prior I installed about $100,000 worth of hardware in a single day and it suddenly occurred to me; why can’t I share in such profits by setting up my own business?”

That night he ran that thought past Emily, who agreed it was a great idea.

People had already been approaching Blair to help them with their heat pump and air conditioning needs. They were not happy with the level of service they’d been receiving from other installers. The larger companies just weren’t taking care of the residential market, he recalls.

“People were looking for someone they could trust to provide the right solution, rather than just making a straight purchase,” says Blair.

Heat Pumps NOW was born on April 1st, 2014, and Blair made the tough transition from tradie to business owner.

The goal when starting out was simply to survive the first two years – Blair was aware of the stats that say 80 percent of start-ups fail to do so. But key to the business’s success is Blair’s ability to “talent-spot good people” to bring on board. Cameron Taylor, a friend of his with a background in marketing and journalism, was recruited as a communications consultant. There’s also James, a full-time apprentice; friend Kahla helps Emily with the monthly accounts; contractor Donn handles servicing and larger installations; and another friend, Joel, is engaged in online marketing and infrastructure. Blair’s proud of the fact that he’s employing two mums returning to the workforce.
And to help keep both his personal and professional lives on track he has engaged no fewer than eight mentors over the years.

From day one Heat Pumps NOW has never lost that “village-style” outlook on Christchurch. “We’ve come to love the local community focus,” explains Blair. “It’s become ingrained in our DNA through the strong supportive communities born out of the quakes.” He says their community focus even encourages people to approach them for work. And the subject of conversation at many of their team meetings is invariably about the positive outcomes resulting within their community of customers.

For Blair and Emily, business is not just about turning a profit, or about supporting the wider community (which they do through a number of sponsorships and initiatives, such as their Community Heroes programme). “We genuinely want to make a positive impact in the lives of individuals in our community,” says Blair.

On a fast-track
Heat Pumps NOW has only been trading 18 months, but word of mouth works incredibly well in a city that’s still dealing with the effects of the events five years ago, and growth has come quickly.

The company’s major point of difference, says Blair, is the speed at which they work – from initial quote to final installation.

Cameron Taylor agrees, “We recognise that if you’re living in a cold home, you don’t want to wait until Tuesday next week until someone’s available. The difference is that we do what we say we’re going to do, when we said we would do it. We don’t look at customers as a sale, we see them as people.”

Year on year turnover has been growing at 350 percent. “We achieved last year’s turnover in the first four months of this year,” says Blair. A large commercial project secured early on allowed him to employ James, their first full-time staff member.

Another factor working in their favour is the collaborative spirit in which the HVAC services industry is operating in during the rebuild.

While growth’s been quick, Blair says it hasn’t been without its challenges – the primary ones being the constant need for creative marketing to secure new customers, and the balancing act of installations versus consultations.

“But we’ve found that if you have the right people on board things run much smoother,” says Blair, adding that their policy of ‘hiring the character and training the skills’ has been really successful.

Going forward, Blair has plans to establish Heat Pumps NOW in New Zealand’s four main centres and he’s already on the hunt for installers.

Now that his business is out of the starting blocks, he’s keen to build something substantial. He has some ambitious plans on his wish-list around support, training and development for his staff, and for people in need in the wider community. When NZBusiness caught up with Blair he was looking forward to taking his staff on a trip to Auckland as a thank-you Christmas gift.

“In this life you have a choice of leaving a legend or a legacy; we definitely want to leave a legacy.”  

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