Meet Jon Esquivel - TACCA's Newest CE Instructor

Meet Jon Esquivel, TACCA’s newest continuing education instructor for the Austin and Waco area classes. Jon has owned and operated Austin Star Services for 14 years. He began his career in HVAC after being honorably discharged from the United States Army in 2002. He served for several years and was last stationed in Bad Kissingen, Germany. His ambition is to help and serve others and make this planet more energy efficient to pass along to his children. With this mind set he found his passion in HVAC. Jon keeps his competitive advantage by being knowledgeable about the trade. You will always find him at a class, meeting or getting a new certification. He strives for success, and being in tune with Home Performance, and HVAC. He has acquired the knowledge of building science and how to look at a home as a system instead of the HVAC box. In his spare time, you can catch him exploring outdoors in the city, relaxing at home with his family and dogs, or studying for his next project. 

TACCA: Tell us how you got into the HVAC business.

Jon: I was planning to become a police officer but realized that wasn’t going to be the right path for me. I had a family member in the HVAC industry who asked me three questions. Do I get stressed in heat? Could I handle the heat? Could I work long hours? When I answered yes to all three, he said “I think HVAC just might be right for you.” The industry was full of military guys and people that wanted to go into a trade, not go to college. I attended Capital City Trade and found I had a knack for HVAC. I slowly grew from a tech to an installer to actually running my own business. It was a lot of fumbling around trying to figure out what I was doing. About four years ago I finally figured out the key – to listen. Listening to understand my clients and what they want.

TACCA: What was the biggest challenge for you in becoming a business owner?

Jon: The biggest challenge for me was the tech work was easy, but learning all the other hats – financing, marketing, business management – was tough. You’re a tech, an entrepreneur, and a manager, and lot of the time with small business we focus so much on the tech piece, we forget the rest. When I was with Austin Energy, I loved the home performance work, but I really only understood the HVAC puzzle piece. When I started to understand how a house works as a whole, that’s when I knew I had to learn that bit about listening.

TACCA: What would you tell a young person who is thinking about getting into the industry today?

Jon: First, learn to listen and understand your client. Then, never stop learning. Find someone who is as good as you that you can bounce ideas around with, someone who is better than you that can help you see why those ideas are good or not, and someone who has been in the industry a long time. Mentors will help you learn things to try, challenge you to be better, and sometimes reveal how not do things. This industry is tough but if you do a good job, you can see instant gratification. The heat can bring the meanness out in people sometimes, but when those people are carrying your tools out to your truck for you at the end of the day, you know you did something right.

TACCA: What do you love about teaching and instructing?

Jon: HVAC is a hard group. When I had been in the business for about 12 years, I realized I wasn't as professional as I thought. I didn't always know when to do something or why it should be done. I got knocked down a few pegs and had to climb up in a better place. Now I have processes that help me know they why and the when, and a lot of that comes from continued learning. Our trade is more valuable than people realize and we need to stay on top on new technologies to best help our clients.

Jon was recruited by Ben Poole, the former instructor for the Austin and Waco classes. It is obvious when you speak with Jon that he is passionate about HVAC and helping educate people about the business. He has already taught his first two classes with TACCA, receiving high evaluations for instructing, and we look forward to having him teach for us this year.