Today we’d like to introduce you to Slate Simons.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
So my first career started as a law enforcement professional. I started with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office in 2000. I began my career in the Jail, worked my way to Patrol, and was the first ever to graduate the infamous D.R.E. Program from Patrol Division. D.R.E. is Drug Recognition Expert. It is known for being the hardest class and certification in Law Enforcement. I was then promoted to the Traffic Division. I worked Criminal Interdiction and was an established Expert in the field by State and Superior Court in my respective Jurisdiction. After five years, I was promoted to Criminal Investigations Division and rose to the rank of Sgt. There I worked cases such as Financial Crimes to Homicide. I solved one of the largest credit card fraud cases on the eastern seaboard at the time and apphrehended the criminal who was also wanted by the United States Secret Service and authorities ourt of Florida. From there I moved to the I.C.E. Unit (Interstate Criminal Enforcement) where I interdicted Drug Traffickers, Sex Traffickers, and worked cases in conjunction with the D.E.A. and F.B.I. I was also a K-9 Unit to where I won 2015 and 2016 K-9 Nationals with K-9 Kyro.
After approximately 20 Years, I retired from the Sheriff’s Office and pursued a career in HVAC. I was in sales with a company and honestly, my career exploded. Within two years, my sales topped over 2 million and I was asked to move straight to ownership with the company I was with. I accepted the opportunity and launched my own office in Milledgeville Ga. As a new owner and establishing a footprint in a completely new area, I faced many challenges. I worked 16-20 hours a day trying to grow my company. I achieved over a million dollars in sales my very first year. I thought I would be so proud of myself, until I realized that my moral compass and my business partners were not congruent. I attempted to make company wide changes in pricing and selling to which they would not agree and or conform. There primary pursuit was the almighty dollar which to me was not biblical. I discussed with my wife that I was stuggling with this dilemma and I was diligently praying about this. After two meetings with my business partners and unsuccessfully negotiating with them, I decided to walk away. I left everything. All the money owed to me, all the stresses of moral character, etc. I felt immediate relief, however I had no idea what my future and any career or lack thereof looked like.
I was then at a dinner date with my wife at a restaurant that was owned my some friends of mine. They also ironically owned an established hvac company. As she and I were at dinner, one of the owners, Mike came to our table and said that he and his wife watched my journey and said he was very proud of what I had accomplished and wanted to know if I wanted to buy his company outright as he and his wife were looking to retire from that industry. I said no however my wife immediately told me that this decision was needed to be prayed over and she was right.
I prayed over this for several weeks. I woke up one Friday morning with what I feel like was God’s blessing and immediately drove to my wife’s office and told her I was making an offer to buy the our friends, Mike and Cathy’s hvac company. She teared up and was so happy.
Fast forwarward four years later, we’ve gone from 3 employees to 15, Won Best of the Best in our industry and now have state wide contracts with several large corporations such as Walmart, Huey Magoos, Jersey Mikes, Family, and Dollar Tree. We have contracts with the military and are truly blessed to serve all of Middle Georgia in their residential and commercail heating and air needs.
Last but not least, my wife and I are business partners and I even placed 51% of our company in my wifes name so that we are minority owned.
Thanks for the listen and opportunity with your publication.
Sincerely, Slate Simons
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, coming into this industry is extremely challenging. Alot of other companies wanted me to fail since I was the new guy on the block. Some of the respect was earned once I earned my own Non-Restricted State License which is the highest license you can attain. There were other companies and owners working tirelessly to tear me down every day.
Also, I faced the consitent challenge of hiring quaity personnel and attaining enough work to be able to provide for my employees as well.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about REECE HEATING & AIR, LLC?
We are the #1 Recommended Heating and Air Company in all of MIddle Georgia. We offer Residential and Commercial Heating and Air. We also offer Refrigeration to companies as well. Our are infamous for our honesty and quality of work. We dont sell you anything you dont need and are often able to repair systems over replacement to which is an anomoly in our industry because most companies want to replace your unit to make more money. We sell Trane with is the top selling Brand for 13 Years in a row. We offer everything from maintenances, replacements, indoor air quality, you name it, we do it. Our prices and extremely competitive due to the fact that we dont price gouge.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
By surrounding yourself with like minded people who are honest, hardworking, loyal, and motivated. Success is treating your fellow employees like family and ensuring their success is parallel to yours.
Pricing:
- competitive
- honest
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reeceac.com
- Instagram: reecehvacrefrigeration
- Facebook: Reece Heating and Air, LLC
