How to start an HVAC business while you're still on the payroll: side work, your boss's customers, non-competes and when to go

Published November 3, 2026 · Law checked November 3, 2026

• Free to read. Nothing to download or sign up for.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Every rule here links to the statute, rule, court opinion or board page it comes from, read on November 3, 2026. Non-compete law turns on the exact words you signed, so have a lawyer in your state read yours before you bet a business on my reading.

You can start an HVAC business while you're still on someone's payroll, as long as the side business is legal on its own: its own license or registration, bond and insurance, and none of your boss's truck, parts or customers. Non-competes are weaker than most hiring paperwork suggests. They're void in Minnesota for agreements signed since July 1, 2023, banned in Virginia for anyone paid overtime or earning under $1,507.01 a week, void in Colorado below $130,014 a year, and unenforceable in Massachusetts against anyone entitled to overtime.^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} The FTC's nationwide ban never took effect and came off the books on February 12, 2026.^{8, 9} Hold your start-up costs plus a cushion for a thin first year (one owner made $25,000 less than his old paycheck in year one), and go in this order: read what you signed, form the company, insure it, bond and license it, open a supply house account, then line up customers who were never your boss's.¹⁰

"Nobody warns you about how much paperwork, money and time it really takes just to get started," one r/HVAC poster wrote in November 2024.¹¹ In October a service tech asked the question this page answers: "Wouldn't having a business on the side create conflict for me while employed, potentiallyget me fired? My company strictly enforces no side work."¹⁰

For our research we hand-read 156 Reddit threads from new and nearly new HVAC owners, August 2024 to November 2026. 87 were written before the jump, and in at least 9 the license came before any plan to leave. Some people want side work and nothing more. A Florida tech who had just passed his contractor exams wrote in September: "I'm not looking to quit my job and start a full blown company. I want to keep working, learning, and improving while slowly doing legitimate side work. I've avoided side jobs in the past because I didn't want to do unlicensed work and expose myself to unnecessary liability."¹² Others have outgrown the side work. A Connecticut tech with 12 years in: "As most of you the side work has become overwhelming over the last few years, and turning work away never feels good. But trying to balance life with a regular job, and sidework, isn't ideal."¹³ This page is for both, state by state for Virginia, Minnesota, Louisiana, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Idaho, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Nebraska.

Starting an HVAC business while employed: is HVAC side work legal in your state?

Side work for pay is contracting. In most of these states the card you carry as an employee doesn't make a side business legal by itself. The business needs its own standing, and in four places one license holder can stand behind only one company. Here's what each state asks for before the first paid job.

The one-company rules matter most to someone on payroll. If you're your employer's bona fide representative in New Jersey, his master of record in Iowa, his certified supervisor in Denver or his master in Omaha, your license is spoken for. Side work under it means leaving that role first (or, in Iowa, the board's approval in advance).

If you hold a New Jersey Master HVACR license and work for someone else

New Jersey licenses the person, not the company. The statute says a business "shall not engage in the business of HVACR contracting" unless "authorized to act as a Master HVACR contractor," and that "In order to act as a 'Master HVACR contractor,' an individual shall be a bona fide representative of the legal entity licensed."¹⁴ So the license on your wall doesn't let you take a paid side job by itself. You need a business of your own with you registered as its bona fide representative: the owner of a sole proprietorship, a partner, an LLC's manager or a corporation's executive officer, holding at least 1% of it if the business is mainly HVACR.^{14, 31} You register within 30 days of taking the role, giving the business name and address, the business's consent that you're its agent for service of process, and its acceptance of liability for penalties and consumer refunds.¹⁵

The catch for an employed master is the one-business rule.¹⁶ If you're already your employer's bona fide representative, you can't also be your side business's. If someone else holds that role at your company, nothing I read stops you from registering your own business. The board drew the employee line in 2014, when an in-house lead mechanic at Merck asked whether he needed the license. Not while he's employed there, it said, but he would as an outside contractor hired by Merck.³²

Before the first job, the van gets lettered on both sides: the business name, your name, "Master HVACR contractor Lic. #" and the number in letters at least an inch high, and your town in letters at least three inches high. The same name and number go on invoices, letters, your website and every ad.^{33, 31}

What your employer can stop

None of the state rules above says anything about your employer's side-work policy. That part is between you and him, and owners run it very differently:

• An owner who caught a senior tech twice: "doing side work for the second time - with company truck, materials and this time slipping up and charging fees to the company." His answer: a written warning and "No personal use of company vehicles."³⁴
• One who allows it: "I let my guys know they can do side work and use the truck if needed, but they can't compete against us and they can't use company materials."³⁴
• Another, answering a tech who wanted to buy equipment for a friend's job: "Some employers (myself included) are ok with that arrangement as we know we will never get those types of jobs (low bid side job type customers) anyways."³⁵
• Another reply on the split: "Commercial contractors generally do not care if their techs do residential jobs on the side, so long as they get paid for the materials that they use while doing so." But "Residential companies feel that you are stealing their customers and potentially hurting their image and you can be fired for doing so."³⁴
• And the short version from the same thread: "If you do it behind their back it's a hard stop and you'll get fired. If you ask, they generally say yes as long as it isn't one of their customers."³⁴

Asking worked out well for one owner who's now 12 years in. He did side work for family and friends "with the understanding of my employer." The boss rented him the company truck for $100, he became a Luxaire dealer while still employed, and "I have him a hard date of overlap (2 months) and we parted ways. He even paid my $70/hr rate a couple times to get his stuff done."¹⁰ So ask before the first side job, and get the answer in writing. Keep the company truck, parts, supply account, phone and shirt out of it unless he says yes. Most of the owners above draw their line there.

Then read everything you signed when you were hired: the offer letter, the handbook, and any non-compete, non-solicitation or confidentiality agreement. Some clauses use none of those names. An owner who lost commercial accounts to a departing tech now has new hires sign something else: "This purchase agreement is stating if they take an account, they are agreeing to purchase said account for 1 year average sales or 10% of total sales whichever is greater."³⁴ Whether a clause like that holds up in your state is a contract question I didn't research. Find out before you take a customer, not after.

Your boss's customers: who you can take, and who can follow you

In HVAC, customers follow the tech. "My customers call for me, they did it when I worked for people and they followed me on my own," an owner wrote. "Most just like being able to talk to me, not a receptionist."³⁶ Another owner, in business since 2009, skipped the waiting: "What i did (and I hate to admit it, but the owners deserved it) was quietly poached a few customers as I worked for someone else." A few lines later: "Then, I got fired."¹¹ The rule most replies give is simpler: "Just don't steal customers. Don't go on company jobs and say 'i can do this cheaper on the side'. Generate leads independently."¹⁰

The law mostly cares about soliciting, meaning you reach out to the customer. A non-solicitation clause is a different promise from a non-compete, and several of the state laws below treat it differently:

• Minnesota's ban covers non-competes only. It "does not include a nonsolicitation agreement, or agreement restricting the ability to use client or contact lists, or solicit customers of the employer."¹ So a customer clause you signed in 2025 isn't voided by this law.
• Massachusetts leaves out "covenants not to solicit or transact business with customers" the same way.⁷
• Virginia goes the other way: a non-compete "shall not restrict an employee from providing a service to a customer or client of the employer if the employee does not initiate contact with or solicit the customer or client."³
• Colorado voids a customer non-solicit unless you earn at least 60% of the highly compensated line, which is $78,008 in 2026 (my arithmetic on $130,014), and it's no broader than needed to protect trade secrets.^{5, 6}
• Louisiana lets an employer bar you from "soliciting customers of the employer" in parishes or towns the agreement names, for up to two years after you leave.³⁷
• Courts in New York, New Jersey and Nebraska weigh the relationships you built on the employer's time and money. New York's top court said a former employee "may be capable of fairly competing for an employer's clients by refraining from use of unfair means," and it wouldn't enforce a clause against clients the employee had brought in himself.³⁸ New Jersey's Supreme Court called an employer's interest in "protecting his customer relationships" legitimate.³⁹ Nebraska's court asks whether the employee could take the employer's goodwill "by initiating personal contacts with the employer's customers."⁴⁰

What I'd do anywhere: don't copy a customer list, don't pitch on your boss's calls, and don't use his phone, software or truck to find work. When a customer finds you on their own after you leave, write down when and how they reached you. In Virginia that's the exact line the statute draws.

Are non-competes enforceable? HVAC non-compete law by state

On Reddit the answer is usually "never sign" or "they're unenforceable." That's right in some of these states and wrong in others. A helper starting his first HVAC job in March 2025 was handed one that said he couldn't "directly or indirectly engage in any business which provides any service or product provided by the company in any county where I have worked for them for one year." He asked them to limit it to the time he worked there. "They refused. So, I decided not to move forward with the job."⁴¹ Here's how a clause like his would fare in each state:

Put your own pay next to those lines. In Minnesota (for agreements since July 1, 2023), Virginia, Colorado and Massachusetts, a non-compete can't be enforced against an hourly tech who gets overtime. In the other seven it comes down to the clause and the judge. If you're salaried, paid above Virginia's or Colorado's line, or work in a state with no statute, have a lawyer in your state read the clause before your last day.

The FTC non-compete ban: gone, but the FTC still acts

A lot of techs think the FTC settled this. One answer with 15 upvotes, to the helper above: "They were banned so essentially you could and it would do nothing because at the time its not legal."⁴¹ They weren't. Here's what happened:

• The FTC published a rule in May 2024 banning almost all new non-competes. It never took effect: "On August 20, 2024, a district court issued an order stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule."⁸
• On September 5, 2025 the Commission voted 3 to 1 to drop its appeals "and to accede to the vacatur of the Non-Compete Clause Rule."⁵⁰
• On February 12, 2026 it published a final rule "removing its 'Non-Compete Clause Rule' ... from the Code of Federal Regulations."⁹

The FTC now goes after non-competes one company at a time, and the biggest case so far is a home-service company. In April 2026 it ordered Rollins, the parent of Orkin, to stop enforcing non-competes against more than 18,000 workers, including pest-control technicians. The FTC said they barred workers from pest control for two years, "typically within a 75-mile radius," and that the workers "received no extra compensation" for signing. It sent warning letters to 13 other pest-control companies.⁵¹ The order became final on June 22, 2026.⁵² It binds Rollins, not your employer. Your clause is still a state-law question, but if it looks like Rollins' (two years, a wide radius, signed with no extra pay), that's the pattern the FTC went after.

When to go: how HVAC owners made the jump

None of the 156 threads asked how to quit. They asked when, and the owners who answered tell it in a few different ways.

Build it on the side, then set a date. "Start things up while you have a steady gig," wrote an owner who went out about 10 years ago. "If you're still working full time there will be a weird transition of being 'double busy' but there is no way around that." He'd done it the hard way first: "I started with about 20k total and no full time gig… it took a solid year of hustling and doing jobs for way too cheap before enough work was flowing in that I wasn't biting my nails."⁵³ Another moonlighted for years with his own truck, his own materials and his own customers: "Turned out to be the next thing I did because after 7 years of it I was able to go on my own."³⁴ The 12-year owner above gave his boss a two-month overlap.¹⁰

Go when the side work outgrows the evenings. A single-truck owner in his first year: "I had about $60k in savings and too much work to keep up with on the side before I left. I also had a CRM and books set up and a somewhat put together pricebook. website, phone, email, business cards, van, etc."¹⁰ The Connecticut tech, laid off for three weeks from a union job, had formed an LLC, was buying insurance, owned the tools, had "about 4 replacement jobs lined up" and "about 70 oil burners I've been taking care of," and still wrote "that's not going to pay the bills!"¹³

Or don't go. An owner in upstate New York, five years on his own, took a 40-hour maintenance job at a factory, with benefits he calls outstanding. It lets him "bang out my 4-10s run a couple service calls when I get off at 430 and gives me 3 full days a week to keep my business running."³⁶ An Iowa master uses the license as job security instead: "I really use it as a 'if i get fired ill just start my own company, so it benefits us both to not fire me'."¹²

And sometimes the date picks you. The owner who poached customers got fired and "immediately hit the road. It was rough at first."¹¹ My read of all this: the people who went without drama had three things before the last paycheck. They had more side work than they could handle, savings, and the paperwork done. If you have all three, set the date. If you have none, keep the job and build them.

HVAC business startup costs: what cash to hold

Here's what owners say they started with. These are single voices, not averages:

The fixed costs come from your state. Bonds run $3,000 in New Jersey, $25,000 in Minnesota (plus $100 to file), $5,000 in Iowa and $2,000 in Idaho.^{14, 20, 23, 24} You pay a surety company a premium, and the face amount is the most a claim can take. Liability minimums are $500,000 in New Jersey and Iowa.^{14, 23} An EIN from the IRS costs nothing ("You never have to pay a fee for an EIN").⁵⁵ Self-employment tax is 15.3% of your net earnings, the Social Security and Medicare that used to come out of your check, now with the employer's half too.⁵⁶ The owner who started in July 2025: "Give yourself a salary that's less than you made at you last job and put 20% away for taxes."¹³

Then the pay cut. Here's the median paycheck you're stepping away from, from BLS's May 2025 wages for HVAC mechanics and installers on payroll, next to the 12-year owner's $25,000 first-year drop:

That's one owner's year, divided by medians.^{42, 10} Yours will differ. What I'd hold: the bond, the first insurance payment, the tools you don't own yet and the license fees paid before you quit, plus enough to live on through a first year that pays a third to two-fifths less than your job. Three of the six owners above started with $15,000 to $20,000. The $500 start worked because a heat wave hit in the first three weeks.

HVAC business startup checklist: the order of steps

The order matters because each step asks for the one before it. A tech planning his own start put it this way: "Where i am they pretty much want proof of insurnace to open an account. To get insurnace i need registered LLC in my state."⁵⁷ So:

1. Read what you signed, and ask about side work in writing. Non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality, handbook, and anything like that "purchase agreement." Check the state table above against your pay.
2. Form the business. An LLC or sole proprietorship with your state, in a structure your license rules accept. In New Jersey the bona fide representative has to be the owner, a partner, the LLC's manager or an executive officer.¹⁴
3. Get the EIN. Free, online, from the IRS.⁵⁵ New Jersey's board wants it on file.¹⁴
4. Buy general liability insurance at your state's minimum or above ($500,000 in New Jersey and Iowa), and ask the agent about workers' comp before your first hire.^{14, 23}
5. Bond and license or register the business from the table: New Jersey's bona fide representative registration within 30 days, Minnesota's bond, Virginia's Class C, Iowa's contractor license, Idaho's certificate and bond, Connecticut's contractor license, Nebraska's registration, and the city or county license in Denver, Westchester or Omaha.
6. Letter the truck and set up your paperwork with the business name and license number where your state wants them. New Jersey wants both on the van, invoices, letters, website and ads.^{33, 31} Our HVAC invoice template has a license line in the header.
7. Open a supply house account. Requirements vary by counter. One tech: "APR didn't ask me for any of that... I opened up COD accounts, no credit accounts." Another "could get accounts at most places, I just couldn't buy Bryant, trane, etc."³⁵ Branded equipment can take more than a cash account.
8. Line up customers who were never your boss's. Family, friends, neighbors, other trades and property managers. The 12-year owner started with "work for family and friends on the side."¹⁰
9. Give notice with a hard date. If you're the company's license holder, tell your boss early so he can replace you. Iowa gives a contractor six months to name a new master of record if the board hears within 30 days.²³

More for new HVAC contractors

• HVAC pricing guide: what to charge for a service call, your labor rate and the first jobs, with a free rate sheet.
• HVAC tune-up checklist: the visit in order, the target readings and what to charge, with a free report card.
• Opening a supply house account: what to bring, cash or credit, and how dealer programs work, with a free checklist.
• Quoting your first system replacement: the price, the scope and what the quote must include, with a free proposal template.
• Register every install: maker deadlines, your labor warranty and what a callback costs, with a free close-out sheet.
• Your first slow season: the customer list and the one reminder that fills a calendar, with a free log.
• Your HVAC license and first 30 days, by state: Colorado and Denver, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Virginia.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know employment law. It won't tell you whether your non-compete holds, track your bond or insurance, or file your registration. What it does for a side business: Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with no card, which is about the size of a side business, so your own customers, quotes and invoices live in their own account from the first job. The quote terms you write once in settings are copied onto every new quote, and the invoice footer onto every invoice, so the business name, your name and "Master HVACR contractor Lic. #" print on each one without retyping. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. Your own request form link lets people send you work: each submission lands as a new request and emails you. Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices when you hire (pricing).

Frequently asked questions

Can I do HVAC side work while I'm still employed?

Yes, if the side business is legal on its own. In New Jersey that means your own business registered with you as its bona fide representative, plus a $3,000 bond and $500,000 of liability insurance. Virginia wants a firm license (Class C covers single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000), Minnesota a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond, Iowa a contractor license with a master of record, Idaho a certificate of competency and a $2,000 bond, and Connecticut a contractor license, because the S-2 journeyperson license covers work only while employed by a licensed contractor. Where one license holder can back only one company (New Jersey, Iowa, Denver, Omaha), a license your employer's business already depends on can't also cover yours. Your employer's side-work policy is a separate question, so ask in writing and keep his truck, parts and customers out of it.

Can my employer fire me for doing side work?

The state license rules I read don't address an employer's side-work policy, and owners run their own. Some let techs use the truck as long as they don't compete or use company materials; some allow family and friends only; some have zero tolerance after losing accounts to a tech. One reply sums up what owners say: "If you do it behind their back it's a hard stop and you'll get fired. If you ask, they generally say yes as long as it isn't one of their customers." Read your handbook and everything you signed, and get the answer in writing.

Are non-competes enforceable for HVAC technicians?

It depends on the state and on your pay. Minnesota voids non-competes signed since July 1, 2023. Virginia bans them for anyone entitled to overtime or earning under $1,507.01 a week in 2026. Colorado voids them below $130,014 a year in 2026 unless they protect trade secrets. Massachusetts doesn't enforce them against overtime-eligible (nonexempt) employees or anyone fired without cause. Louisiana's must name the parishes and last no more than two years, and Idaho's apply only to key employees for up to 18 months. In New Jersey, New York, Iowa, Connecticut and Nebraska there's no statute, so a court decides whether the clause is reasonable, and Nebraska courts won't rewrite an overbroad one.

Did the FTC ban non-competes?

No. The FTC's 2024 rule never took effect. A federal district court stopped it on August 20, 2024, the FTC voted 3 to 1 on September 5, 2025 to drop its appeals, and it removed the rule from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026. The FTC still brings cases against single companies: in 2026 it ordered Rollins, the parent of Orkin, to stop enforcing non-competes against more than 18,000 workers, including pest-control technicians, and the order became final on June 22, 2026.

Can my old customers follow me to my own HVAC company?

In several of these states, yes, as long as you didn't go after them. Virginia's statute says a non-compete can't stop you serving a customer of your old employer if you didn't initiate contact or solicit them. Minnesota's and Massachusetts' non-compete laws leave customer non-solicitation clauses out, so read whether you signed one. Courts in New York, New Jersey and Nebraska protect the customer relationships you built on the employer's time, not ordinary competition. Don't copy a customer list, don't pitch on your boss's calls, and write down how each customer found you after you left.

How much does it cost to start an HVAC business?

Owners on Reddit started with anything from a $500 credit card (and a heat wave) to $60,000 in savings, and three of the six who gave a figure had $15,000 to $20,000. One owner put the bare minimum at about $2,000 in tools and a $300 a month insurance policy plus licensing. Add your state's bond ($3,000 in New Jersey, $25,000 in Minnesota, $5,000 in Iowa, $2,000 in Idaho), liability insurance at the state minimum ($500,000 in New Jersey and Iowa), and a cushion for a first year that may pay less than your job: one 12-year owner made $25,000 less than his employee pay in year one. An EIN from the IRS is free.

How much do you make owning an HVAC business?

Owners' own numbers are all over the place. A solo owner wrote "Did 150k year one solo and 200k year two." A 12-year owner with annual gross sales of about $450,000 to $600,000 made $25,000 less than his employee pay in his first year, matched it in the second, and says it has typically been 180 to 250 (thousand) a year lately. For comparison, the median HVAC mechanic on payroll made $61,010 a year nationally in BLS's 2025 data, from $56,240 in Idaho to $77,300 in Massachusetts.

Can a New Jersey master HVACR contractor do side jobs?

Only through a registered business of his own. The statute says a business can't engage in HVACR contracting unless authorized to act as a Master HVACR contractor, and an individual acts as one only as the bona fide representative of a licensed entity. A bona fide representative serves only one HVACR business. If you're already your employer's bona fide representative, side work under your license is out. If someone else holds that role, you can register as the bona fide representative of your own business within 30 days of taking the role, with the $3,000 bond, $500,000 of liability insurance, the federal tax ID on file and the van lettering that go with it.

Sources

1. Minn. Stat. § 181.988, Covenants not to compete void in employment agreements. Subd. 1(a): "A covenant not to compete does not include a nonsolicitation agreement, or agreement restricting the ability to use client or contact lists, or solicit customers of the employer." Subd. 2(a): "Any covenant not to compete contained in a contract or agreement is void and unenforceable"; (b) exceptions for the sale or dissolution of a business. revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
2. Laws of Minnesota 2023, chapter 53, article 6, section 1 (enacting § 181.988): "This section is effective July 1, 2023, and applies to contracts and agreements entered into on or after that date." revisor.mn.gov, read November 3, 2026.
3. Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8, Covenants not to compete prohibited. A: a covenant "shall not restrict an employee from providing a service to a customer or client of the employer if the employee does not initiate contact with or solicit the customer or client"; "Low-wage employee" means an employee whose average weekly earnings are less than the Commonwealth's average weekly wage, or who "is entitled to overtime compensation under the provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 207." B: "No employer shall enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce a covenant not to compete with any low-wage employee." C: no covenant is enforceable if the employer discharges the employee without severance or other monetary payment, unless for cause. E: civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation. law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
4. Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, "Notice of the Average Weekly Wage for 2026" (January 6, 2026): "low-wage employee" includes "all employees who earn an average of less than $1,507.01 per week." doli.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026. $1,507.01 × 52 = $78,364 a year (my arithmetic).
5. C.R.S. § 8-2-113 (2025), read on Justia's copy of the Colorado Revised Statutes. (2)(a) a covenant not to compete "is void"; (2)(b) exception for a worker earning at least "the threshold amount for highly compensated workers" when signed and when enforced, if it protects trade secrets; (2)(d) a covenant not to solicit customers needs "sixty percent of the threshold amount"; (4)(b) notice "in a separate document" that "must be signed by the worker"; (8)(b) "a penalty of five thousand dollars per worker." law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
6. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, 2026 PAY CALC Order, 7 CCR 1103-14, adopted December 8, 2025, effective February 1, 2026: "Highly compensated employees ... $130,014 annually." 60% of that is $78,008 (my arithmetic). cdle.colorado.gov, read November 3, 2026.
7. M.G.L. c. 149, § 24L, the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act. (a): noncompetition agreements "do not include ... (ii) covenants not to solicit or transact business with customers, clients, or vendors of the employer"; (b)(iv): "In no event may the stated restricted period exceed 12 months"; (c): "shall not be enforceable against ... (i) an employee who is classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act ... (iii) employees that have been terminated without cause or laid off." malegislature.gov, read November 3, 2026.
8. Federal Trade Commission, Noncompete Rule: "The Noncompete Rule is not in effect and it is not enforceable. On August 20, 2024, a district court issued an order stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule." Lists the Federal Register notice "16 CFR Part 910: Non-Compete Clause Rule (May 7, 2024)." ftc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
9. Federal Register, 91 FR 6507 (February 12, 2026), "Revision of the Negative Option Rule, Withdrawal of the CARS Rule, Removal of the Non-Compete Rule To Conform These Rules to Federal Court Decisions," final rule effective February 12, 2026: "the Commission is removing its 'Non-Compete Clause Rule' ('Non-Compete Rule') from the Code of Federal Regulations." federalregister.gov, read November 3, 2026 (through the Federal Register's document API).
10. r/HVAC, "1 truck company owners, what is considered a good month for you guys, 30k, 70k, 100k?" (October 10 to 12, 2026). The opener, a 12-year owner: "My annual gross is right around $450k-600k." His comments: "I made this transition 12 years ago. To start I did work for family and friends on the side, with the understanding of my employer. He had me rent the truck for $100 (more like $250 now) ... I became a Luxaire dealer while employed ... I have him a hard date of overlap (2 months) and we parted ways. He even paid my $70/hr rate a couple times to get his stuff done" (pf4429c); "We had $15k saved up when I started the business ... Made 25k less than I did as a high value employee that first year, then matched my employee income the next year. Over 12 years it's gone up and down, but typically between 180-250/ year" (pfd8j0b). A tech: "Wouldn't having a business on the side create conflict for me while employed, potentiallyget me fired? My company strictly enforces no side work" (pf27jfx). A reply: "Just don't steal customers. Don't go on company jobs and say “i can do this cheaper on the side”. Generate leads independently" (pf2khzr). A first-year single-truck owner: "I had about $60k in savings and too much work to keep up with on the side before I left" (pf22ogq). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
11. r/HVAC thread of November 10, 2024 (opener since deleted). The opener: "Nobody warns you about how much paperwork, money and time it really takes just to get started," read in an archive copy, quote checked November 2, 2026. An owner since 2009: "What i did (and I hate to admit it, but the owners deserved it) was quietly poached a few customers as I worked for someone else ... Then, I got fired (that's for another post) and immediately hit the road. It was rough at first" (lwhj3sy), quote checked November 3, 2026. reddit.com.
12. r/HVAC, "Passed my Florida contractor exam and got licensed. Now what?" (September 24, 2026). The opener: "I'm not looking to quit my job and start a full blown company. I want to keep working, learning, and improving while slowly doing legitimate side work. I've avoided side jobs in the past because I didn't want to do unlicensed work and expose myself to unnecessary liability." An Iowa reply (October 1, 2026): "I really use it as a “if i get fired ill just start my own company, so it benefits us both to not fire me”" (pd41hui). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
13. r/hvacadvice, "Going on my own" (September 26, 2025). The opener, from Connecticut: "As most of you the side work has become overwhelming over the last few years, and turning work away never feels good. But trying to balance life with a regular job, and sidework, isn't ideal ... I started an LLC, getting an insurance policy on the LLC ... I have about 4 replacement jobs lined up and coming into the fall I've got about 70 oil burners I've been taking care of but that's not going to pay the bills!" A reply from an owner who started in July 2025: "I immediately had $20,000 and all of that ended up going into the bullshit that it takes to start a company ... Give yourself a salary that's less than you made at you last job and put 20% away for taxes" (ng821d6). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
14. P.L. 2007, c. 211 (N.J.S.A. 45:16A-1 et seq.), the HVACR licensing act. Definitions: "Bona fide representative" means "in the case of a sole proprietorship, the owner; in the case of a partnership, a partner; in the case of a limited liability company, a manager; or in the case of a corporation, an executive officer"; "In order to act as a 'Master HVACR contractor,' an individual shall be a bona fide representative of the legal entity licensed." A business "shall not engage in the business of HVACR contracting ... unless authorized to act as a Master HVACR contractor." Bond "in the sum of $3,000"; "The minimum amount of general liability insurance shall be $500,000"; "File with the board its Federal Tax Identification number." pub.njleg.gov, read November 3, 2026.
15. N.J.A.C. 13:32A-5.2: a master "seeking to act as a bona fide representative shall comply with the following within 30 days": register with the Board with the business name and address; proof the business consents to the representative as its agent for service of process; the business's acceptance of liability for monetary penalties and consumer restoration. law.cornell.edu (unofficial copy), read November 3, 2026.
16. N.J.A.C. 13:32A-5.3(a)5: a bona fide representative shall "Serve as a bona fide representative for only one HVACR business." law.cornell.edu (unofficial copy), read November 3, 2026.
17. Va. Code § 54.1-1100, Definitions: "Contractor" means any person that "for a fixed price, commission, fee, or percentage undertakes to bid upon, or accepts, or offers to accept, orders or contracts for performing ... the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of any building or structure"; "Class C contractors" perform work when "the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000." law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
18. Va. Code § 54.1-1103(A): "No person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed under the provisions of this chapter." law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026. The exemptions in § 54.1-1101 that I read name no dollar floor.
19. 18VAC50-22-40: the firm names a qualified individual who "Is a full-time employee of the firm or is a member of the responsible management of the firm" (law.lis.virginia.gov); 18VAC50-22-10: "Full-time employee" means one "who spends a minimum of 30 hours a week carrying out the work of the licensed contracting business and who receives an IRS Form W-2 annually"; "Responsible management" includes the principals of a sole proprietorship or LLC (law.lis.virginia.gov). Both read November 3, 2026.
20. Minn. Stat. § 326B.197(a): "A person contracting to do gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel burning, or refrigeration work must give and maintain bond to the state in the amount of $25,000" (revisor.mn.gov). Minnesota DLI, Mechanical contractor bond requirements: "While there is no state license required for mechanical contractors"; "The fee for filing a bond with DLI is $100 and the filing is valid for two years"; "cities may require licensure or a competency card for workers performing mechanical work" (dli.mn.gov). Both read November 3, 2026.
21. Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, "Heat, Air Conditioning, Ventilation, Duct Work, and Refrigeration": "A license is required when the value exceeds $10,000" (lslbc.gov); Types of Licenses: home improvement covers work on a residential structure "for which the project value is seven thousand five hundred dollars or more," and "Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing projects exceeding $10,000" need a license (lslbc.gov). Both read November 3, 2026.
22. City and County of Denver, Contractor Licenses: "Contractor licensing in Denver is a two-step process" (denvergov.org); Denver Commercial Building Code 2025, section 121.1, "Certified Supervisor" means an individual who, among other things, "Is employed by only one contractor at any given time," read on UpCodes' copy of the code (up.codes). Both read November 3, 2026.
23. Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, Plumbing and Mechanical contractor license: public liability insurance "with a minimum coverage amount of $500,000"; "a surety bond ... in a minimum amount of $5,000"; "A master may only be a master of record for one contractor in any particular discipline at any one time, except that a contractor or a master may seek prior board approval"; after a master of record leaves, the contractor may continue "for a period of up to six months" if it notifies the board "within 30 days." dial.iowa.gov, read November 3, 2026.
24. Idaho Code § 54-5008: unlawful "to engage in the business, trade, practice or work of heating, ventilation and air conditioning" unless the person or the firm's "responsible person" has passed the examination and holds "a state certificate of competency," which "shall not be transferable" (legislature.idaho.gov); § 54-5007: "HVAC contractors and specialty contractors shall provide a bond in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000)" (legislature.idaho.gov). Both read November 3, 2026.
25. Westchester County press release: "as of the first week of July 2025, all HVAC professionals and power washing operators must also be licensed through the County's Department of Consumer Protection." westchestercountyny.gov, read November 3, 2026.
26. NYC Department of Buildings, Project Requirements, Registrant, Mechanical: "Permits for mechanical systems work are only issued to the Registered General Contractor (GC)." nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
27. Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, policy statement "Venting of Flue Gases": "permits to perform gas fitting work shall only be issued to licensed plumbers or licensed gas fitters" (248 CMR 3.05(1)(b)8). mass.gov, read November 3, 2026.
28. Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-332-5(b): "Unlimited heating-cooling journeyperson's license (S-2). The holder of this license may do all heating, piping and cooling work as so defined only while in the employ of a licensed contractor" (law.cornell.edu, unofficial copy); Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Heating Piping and Cooling License Types and Scope of Work, S-1 unlimited contractor and limited classes (portal.ct.gov). Both read November 3, 2026.
29. Nebraska Contractor Registration Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 48-2101 to 48-2117: "Before performing any construction work in Nebraska, a contractor shall be registered with the department"; "any person who earns less than five thousand dollars annually for construction services is not a contractor for purposes of the Contractor Registration Act." nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 3, 2026.
30. Omaha Municipal Code, master ACAD contractor licenses, read in a City of Omaha public notice published by the Omaha Daily Record (September 23, 2020), a secondary copy: the license "may only be issued to an individual on behalf of one firm or one corporation"; "Exception: If the license holder owns 50 percent or more of any additional company, firm or corporation, he/she may also use his/her license for that company." omahadailyrecord.com, read November 3, 2026.
31. New Jersey HVACR Board, FAQ: the bona fide representative's name, license number and "HVACR Contractor" go on "Commercial vehicles," "All business correspondence, invoices, stationery, and website(s)" and "All advertising"; ownership of at least one percent unless the entity earns more than 65% of its revenue outside HVACR contracting or is publicly traded. njconsumeraffairs.gov, read November 3, 2026.
32. New Jersey State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors, minutes of July 8, 2014, item 4e: "An HVACR license is not required for Mr. Donahue while he employed as a lead mechanic at Merck. However, if he is a 3rd party, outside contractor hired by Merck, an HVACR license would be required." njconsumeraffairs.gov, read November 3, 2026.
33. N.J.A.C. 13:32A-5.1(a): commercial vehicles marked on both sides with the business name, the name of the master who owns it or of the bona fide representative and "Master HVACR contractor Lic. #" with the number "in lettering at least one inch in height," and the municipality in lettering at least three inches high. law.cornell.edu (unofficial copy), read November 3, 2026.
34. r/ProHVACR, "Side Work" (March 31, 2025). The opener, an owner: "I've caught a senior tech who's 3+ years with the company doing side work for the second time - with company truck, materials and this time slipping up and charging fees to the company"; later "No personal use of company vehicles, he's received a written warning" (mkt6jnq). Replies: "Commercial contractors generally do not care if their techs do residential jobs on the side ... Residential companies feel that you are stealing their customers and potentially hurting their image and you can be fired for doing so" (mkmehgn); "I let my guys know they can do side work and use the truck if needed, but they can't compete against us and they can't use company materials" (mkmqqy0); "If you do it behind their back it's a hard stop and you'll get fired. If you ask, they generally say yes as long as it isn't one of their customers" (mkmp76p); "after 7 years of it I was able to go on my own" (mkqf2px); an owner whose tech "stole 5 commercial accounts worth 250k a year": "This purchase agreement is stating if they take an account, they are agreeing to purchase said account for 1 year average sales or 10% of total sales whichever is greater" (n5sc1kv, July 29, 2025). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
35. r/HVAC thread of August 30, 2026 on supply house accounts for side work (opener removed by moderators). An employer: "Some employers (myself included) are ok with that arrangement as we know we will never get those types of jobs (low bid side job type customers) anyways" (p6vofap); "APR didn't ask me for any of that. Really no supplier asked me that. I opened up COD accounts, no credit accounts" (p6vkwmz); "didn't have a business license and could get accounts at most places, I just couldn't buy Bryant, trane, etc" (p6vq1fz). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
36. r/HVAC thread of April 16 and 17, 2025 (opener deleted). An owner: "My customers call for me, they did it when I worked for people and they followed me on my own. Most just like being able to talk to me, not a receptionist" (mnhwpwl, author since deleted). An upstate New York owner: "I have been on my own in the great white of upstate NY for going on 5 years now ... I was fortunate enough to find a 40/hrs gig that is not primarily in the HVAC industry which allows me to bang out my 4-10s run a couple service calls when I get off at 430 and gives me 3 full days a week to keep my business running" (mnpzfnn). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
37. La. R.S. 23:921(A)(1): every agreement restraining anyone "from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind, except as provided in this Section, shall be null and void"; (C): an employee "may agree with his employer to refrain from carrying on or engaging in a business similar to that of the employer and/or from soliciting customers of the employer within a specified parish or parishes, municipality or municipalities, or parts thereof ... not to exceed a period of two years from termination of employment." legis.la.gov, read November 3, 2026.
38. BDO Seidman v. Hirshberg, 93 N.Y.2d 382 (1999): "A restraint is reasonable only if it: (1) is no greater than is required for the protection of the legitimate interest of the employer, (2) does not impose undue hardship on the employee, and (3) is not injurious to the public"; "a former employee may be capable of fairly competing for an employer's clients by refraining from use of unfair means to compete"; enforcing the covenant as to the employee's "personal clients would permit BDO to appropriate goodwill created and maintained through defendant's efforts." law.cornell.edu, read November 3, 2026.
39. Whitmyer Bros., Inc. v. Doyle, 58 N.J. 25 (1971): "the employer has a patently legitimate interest in protecting his trade secrets as well as his confidential business information and he has an equally legitimate interest in protecting his customer relationships," describing Solari Industries v. Malady, 55 N.J. 571 (1970), where the employer might be awarded "a limited restraint" against dealing with "actual customers or prospective customers ... with whom he had substantial dealings." law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
40. Gaver v. Schneider's O.K. Tire Co., 289 Neb. 491 (2014), syllabus: an employer is protected against unfair competition but "is not entitled to protection against ordinary competition from a former employee"; courts focus on "an employee's opportunity to appropriate the employer's goodwill by initiating personal contacts with the employer's customers"; a covenant is unreasonable when "not limited to former employer's clients with whom former employee did business and had had personal contacts"; "It is not the function of the courts to reform unreasonable covenants not to compete solely for the purpose of making them legally enforceable." law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
41. r/HVAC, "First job in the field, should I sign a noncompete agreement?" (March 12, 2025). The opener quotes a clause barring him from engaging "in any business which provides any service or product provided by the company in any county where I have worked for them for one year," and his edit: "I asked them to amend it so it would last only for the duration of my employment and they refused. So, I decided not to move forward with the job." The reply with 15 upvotes: "They were banned so essentially you could and it would do nothing because at the time its not legal" (mhczifb). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
42. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 wage data for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (49-9021), employees only, annual medians as shown by O*NET OnLine: United States $61,010; Massachusetts $77,300; Connecticut $76,610; Minnesota $76,350; New Jersey $74,450; New York $74,430; Colorado $65,200 (90th percentile $103,640); Iowa $60,680; Nebraska $59,850; Virginia $59,730; Louisiana $58,650; Idaho $56,240. onetonline.org (one page per state), read November 3, 2026. These match BLS's May 2025 hourly medians times 2,080 hours.
43. Idaho Code §§ 44-2701 to 44-2704: covenants with a "key employee or key independent contractor" enforceable if reasonable (44-2701); a court "shall limit or modify" an unreasonable one (44-2703); no post-employment restriction over "eighteen (18) months ... unless consideration, in addition to employment or continued employment, is given," and employees "among the highest paid five percent (5%)" are presumed key (44-2704). legislature.idaho.gov, read November 3, 2026.
44. New Jersey Legislature, S1407 (2026-2027 session), "Prohibits non-compete clauses": "1/13/2026 Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee," with no later action listed. njleg.state.nj.us, read November 3, 2026.
45. New York State Senate, S9759 (2025-2026), "Prohibits non-compete agreements and certain restrictive covenants": "Jun 03, 2026 ... passed senate," floor vote "Aye 40 Nay 21"; current status "In Assembly Committee" (Labor). nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
46. New York State Senate, S3100A (2023-2024): "Dec 22, 2023 vetoed memo.133." nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
47. Lamp v. American Prosthetics, Inc., 379 N.W.2d 909 (Iowa 1986): "(1) Is the restriction reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer's business; (2) is it unreasonably restrictive of the employee's rights; and (3) is it prejudicial to the public interest?" law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
48. Scott v. General Iron & Welding Co., 171 Conn. 132 (1976): a covenant restricting an employee after employment "must be partial and restricted in its operation 'in respect either to time or place,'" and "it should afford only a fair protection to the interest of the party in whose favor it is made and must not be so large in its operation as to interfere with the interests of the public" (quoting earlier Connecticut cases). law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
49. Connecticut General Assembly, HB 5492 (2026), "An Act Concerning Noncompete Agreements," bill history: Joint Favorable (Labor and Public Employees) March 19, 2026; "4/2/2026 Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House," the last action listed. cga.ct.gov, read November 3, 2026.
50. FTC press release, "Federal Trade Commission Files to Accede to Vacatur of Non-Compete Clause Rule" (September 5, 2025): the FTC "took steps to dismiss its appeals in Ryan, LLC v. FTC ... and Properties of the Villages v. FTC ... and to accede to the vacatur of the Non-Compete Clause Rule"; "The Commission voted 3-1." ftc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
51. FTC press release, "FTC Takes Action Against Noncompete Agreements, Securing Protections for Workers" (April 15, 2026): Rollins, Inc. (Orkin, HomeTeam, Critter Control) ordered "to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against more than 18,000 employees nationwide"; the agreements "typically prohibited them from working in the pest-control industry for two years," "typically within a 75-mile radius"; they covered "pest-control technicians"; employees "received no extra compensation or other incremental consideration"; warning letters "to 13 other companies in the pest-control industry." ftc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
52. FTC, Noncompete enforcement page: "June 22, 2026 The Federal Trade Commission finalized a consent order that requires Rollins Inc. ... to stop enforcing noncompete agreements"; Gateway Services consent order finalized November 25, 2025. ftc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
53. r/HVAC comment (June 9, 2025): "Start things up while you have a steady gig ... About 10 years ago I started with about 20k total and no full time gig… it took a solid year of hustling and doing jobs for way too cheap before enough work was flowing in that I wasn’t biting my nails. If you’re still working full time there will be a weird transition of being “double busy” but there is no way around that." reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
54. r/HVAC, "Thinking of starting my own thing." (April 20, 2025). An owner: "I started the company with a $500 credit card and decked my van out with just normal service parts, then after the first 3 week heat wave and I flipped that into $10k" (mo34aex). An owner with one assistant: "You could probably start with about $2k in tools, and a $300/mo insurance policy plus licensing" (mo2r5or). reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
55. IRS, "Get an employer identification number": "Use this tool to get an EIN directly from the IRS in minutes for free"; "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN." irs.gov, read November 3, 2026.
56. IRS, "Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)": "The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%." irs.gov, read November 3, 2026.
57. r/HVAC comment (September 13, 2024, author since deleted): "Where i am they pretty much want proof of insurnace to open an account. To get insurnace i need registered LLC in my state. So basically, they're looking for an established entity." reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.
58. r/HVAC comment (July 24, 2025): "Did 150k year one solo and 200k year two." reddit.com, quote checked November 3, 2026.