Surviving Being Small  May 18, 2004 [Editor's note: At the 2004
Air Conditioning Contractors of America Conference, Chris
Colditz, co-owner of Laco Mechanical Services, Palatine, Ill.,
presented a session titled "Under 15 Employees: Growing and
Improving Effectiveness And Image." Due to time constraints, she
was unable to cover all of the information she had on her
agenda. She agreed to provide The News with her full report.
This is her first installment.]  Small HVACR contracting firms
have many challenges and options. Staying in business, of
course, is always the first challenge. An expression of that
challenge is: "When I wake up in the morning, I wonder if I
still have my company."  Owners of small contracting businesses
walk a very close edge every day of the week. Small HVACR
companies need to know their options, payoffs, and pitfalls so
that they can grow and move away from that edge into the world
of exciting growth and new options.  Many companies start out of
one truck. They place stock in the famil