After years of watching neighbors wait days for service calls, Paul Harris and his son, Will, brought One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning to North Carolina’s Crystal Coast to raise the bar on reliability. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning is a residential home-service franchise focused on heating and cooling repair, maintenance and system replacements, pairing local ownership with a tested operating playbook.
The Harris’ roles line up with their strengths. Will, a mechanical engineering graduate who worked in process improvement at a Trane plant, gravitates toward systems and repeatable workflows. “I have a good process brain. I like things to work properly and consistently,” he said. “A franchise is nice in that sense — it gives you the process for how things should flow.”
Paul, a former Anheuser-Busch distributor who worked his way from the truck to management, brings people leadership and P&L discipline shaped by a service-obsessed culture. “Back in the day when the Busch family was running the company, quality and customer service were top-notch,” he said.
The brand came onto their radar through family connections, and a measured discovery period solidified the choice. They met senior leaders, spoke with top operators and pressure-tested support across marketing and operations. The experience left an impression. “Every question we had, they had a good answer,” Will said. “They seemed like a very professional organization that had their head on straight.”
Fortunately, capital wasn’t a bottleneck. Paul had exited the beer business several years earlier and chose to reinvest locally. “I had sold my beer distributorship in 2012 and had retired and gone back to work,” he said. “I had plenty of capital to get going. I like to tell people I raised it off the backs of the Budweiser Clydesdales.”
Opening day brought the realities of a skilled-trades startup. Neither founder is a technician, so recruiting credibility — and the right talent — was the first hurdle. “Finding people who do good work and making the right hires was challenging in the beginning,” Will said. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s recruiting partners and tools helped them source candidates while they built a reputation. On the demand side, they learned quickly that weather drives calls, but consistent marketing sustains momentum. “Working with the resources provided, we found the right recipe and got the phones ringing,” Will said. “Don’t skimp on marketing.”
Support layers deepened as they scaled. The franchisor’s marketing team helped allocate budget and sequence campaigns. Paul and Will’s franchise business consultant — a former trades controller — reviewed operations and financials, and a nationwide owner network traded playbooks and vendor advice.
Access to leadership was important, too. “We can pick up the phone right now and call the VP of operations for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning,” Paul said. “We could call the president of the trade brands. He might not initially pick up, but he’ll call you back. They’re accessible and willing to help.”
Inside the shop, culture became their edge. Competitive pay, steady communication and humane scheduling set a tone that keeps technicians loyal. “We don’t have turnover,” Will said. “It’s a family atmosphere and regular communication. We pride ourselves on being at or near the top of the market on compensation.”
The standard carries into customer interactions. “I’ve kind of become One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning,” Paul said. “I take it personally if we get a bad review.”
The mission remains the same as day one: fix an underserved market with professional service that shows up on time and does the job right. “The area lacks good service, and that was our driving force,” Will said. “We figured if you could even provide 50 percent better service than now, you’ll be successful — and we’re a lot better than that compared to the competition.”
Looking ahead, the Harrises aren’t shy about where they want to land. “Our long-term goal is to be the No. 1 HVAC business on the Crystal Coast and in eastern North Carolina,” Will said. They already see signs the plan is working, with Paul noting, “We currently have 700 reviews at five stars, and we hope to always be a five-star service provider.”
Community ties round out the picture. The company sponsors the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, a major local fundraiser for youth and other causes. As they continue to grow, Paul and Will Harris aim to pair consistent, on-time service with a workplace technicians are proud to join — the combination they believe will keep homes comfortable and their reputation strong across the Crystal Coast, season after season.
For more information about the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/one-hour-heating-and-air-conditioning/info.
One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning
SPONSORED
From engineering and beer distribution to business ownership, Paul and Will Harris leveraged One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning's model to fill a local service void - and build something lasting.
After years of watching neighbors wait days for service calls, Paul Harris and his son, Will, brought One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning to North Carolina’s Crystal Coast to raise the bar on reliability. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning is a residential home-service franchise focused on heating and cooling repair, maintenance and system replacements, pairing local ownership with a tested operating playbook.
The Harris’ roles line up with their strengths. Will, a mechanical engineering graduate who worked in process improvement at a Trane plant, gravitates toward systems and repeatable workflows. “I have a good process brain. I like things to work properly and consistently,” he said. “A franchise is nice in that sense — it gives you the process for how things should flow.”
Paul, a former Anheuser-Busch distributor who worked his way from the truck to management, brings people leadership and P&L discipline shaped by a service-obsessed culture. “Back in the day when the Busch family was running the company, quality and customer service were top-notch,” he said.
The brand came onto their radar through family connections, and a measured discovery period solidified the choice. They met senior leaders, spoke with top operators and pressure-tested support across marketing and operations. The experience left an impression. “Every question we had, they had a good answer,” Will said. “They seemed like a very professional organization that had their head on straight.”
Fortunately, capital wasn’t a bottleneck. Paul had exited the beer business several years earlier and chose to reinvest locally. “I had sold my beer distributorship in 2012 and had retired and gone back to work,” he said. “I had plenty of capital to get going. I like to tell people I raised it off the backs of the Budweiser Clydesdales.”
Opening day brought the realities of a skilled-trades startup. Neither founder is a technician, so recruiting credibility — and the right talent — was the first hurdle. “Finding people who do good work and making the right hires was challenging in the beginning,” Will said. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s recruiting partners and tools helped them source candidates while they built a reputation. On the demand side, they learned quickly that weather drives calls, but consistent marketing sustains momentum. “Working with the resources provided, we found the right recipe and got the phones ringing,” Will said. “Don’t skimp on marketing.”
Support layers deepened as they scaled. The franchisor’s marketing team helped allocate budget and sequence campaigns. Paul and Will’s franchise business consultant — a former trades controller — reviewed operations and financials, and a nationwide owner network traded playbooks and vendor advice.
Access to leadership was important, too. “We can pick up the phone right now and call the VP of operations for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning,” Paul said. “We could call the president of the trade brands. He might not initially pick up, but he’ll call you back. They’re accessible and willing to help.”
Inside the shop, culture became their edge. Competitive pay, steady communication and humane scheduling set a tone that keeps technicians loyal. “We don’t have turnover,” Will said. “It’s a family atmosphere and regular communication. We pride ourselves on being at or near the top of the market on compensation.”
The standard carries into customer interactions. “I’ve kind of become One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning,” Paul said. “I take it personally if we get a bad review.”
The mission remains the same as day one: fix an underserved market with professional service that shows up on time and does the job right. “The area lacks good service, and that was our driving force,” Will said. “We figured if you could even provide 50 percent better service than now, you’ll be successful — and we’re a lot better than that compared to the competition.”
Looking ahead, the Harrises aren’t shy about where they want to land. “Our long-term goal is to be the No. 1 HVAC business on the Crystal Coast and in eastern North Carolina,” Will said. They already see signs the plan is working, with Paul noting, “We currently have 700 reviews at five stars, and we hope to always be a five-star service provider.”
Community ties round out the picture. The company sponsors the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, a major local fundraiser for youth and other causes. As they continue to grow, Paul and Will Harris aim to pair consistent, on-time service with a workplace technicians are proud to join — the combination they believe will keep homes comfortable and their reputation strong across the Crystal Coast, season after season.
For more information about the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/one-hour-heating-and-air-conditioning/info.
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