stories
How It All Started – by Nichole
Back in August of 2009, I was working at a medical clinic in Lehi, and Brittain was working for another HVAC company. We had just started dating and one day Brit casually mentioned he wanted to start his own HVAC business. We bounced ideas around about the name and a logo – Platinum Air was born. I thought that was the end of that, but little did I know how much HVAC would take over my life!
Blending Our Families
Fast forward 4 months: New Year’s Eve, Brit gets down on one knee and proposes – I said Yes! In May 2010, we were married, blending his two little girls and my little boy and girl into one big, chaotic, beautiful family.
Facing Challenges – A New Beginning
We’d just gotten married, had 4 kids running around, and the economy was in the dumpster, and we had this gut feeling— we call it divine inspiration—that Brit was about to lose his job, and we needed to be ready. So, we got a business license, saved a few pennies, and crossed our fingers.
Sure enough, a few weeks later Brit came home and said, “I got let go.” It was a punch to the gut, but we just looked at each other and said, “Here we go.” As he tells it, “I was on my way home, wondering what on earth we were going to do, a friend called needing a new AC installed. I drove straight over and got my first install as an owner of Platinum Air. Tender mercies. It was like God was saying, “You’re doing the right thing.
Struggles and Miracles
In the beginning, I wanted nothing to do with Platinum Air. I had 4 kids to wrangle and zero interest in anything HVAC-related. Brit did it all and starting a business during a recession? Oof. Brit went to every restaurant in Utah County begging for work. Most places said, “Sure, we’ll pay you… in food gift certificates.” That’s how we got our date nights and family dinners that year.
Money was so tight that we had to get help from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for groceries and utilities. That Christmas, Santa (our church ward) showed up with pillow pets for each of our kids. I bawled like a baby. We swore right then that as soon as we had anything extra, we’d pay it forward and help other families at Christmas and we’ve kept that promise.
We struggled. Hard. We made flyers and walked neighborhoods with our kids, putting them on doors. Some days we just wanted to quit and get “normal” jobs, but deep down, we knew this was what we were supposed to be doing.
A Turning Point: The Groupon Miracle
Then, fall of 2011, everything changed. We decided to run a Groupon deal for cheap furnace tune-ups. After Groupon’s cut, we made $5 per call.
The same week that ad ran, Brit went hunting (no cell service for days, obviously). When he came back into range, his phone exploded with messages—over 50 customers needing service! He called me, panicked, and I said, “Hand me the phone.” I spent the next few hours scheduling calls, and just like that, I was officially in the business, answering phones and running the office. From that point on, we could finally pay our bills; it was nothing short of a miracle.
Growing the Business and Our Family
We moved to Saratoga Springs in 2012 for more space (4 kids, remember?). By the end of that year, surprise—I was pregnant! In July 2013, we welcomed a baby girl.
As Platinum Air grew, so did our adventures. In 2013, we moved to Santaquin. A few years later, Brit landed a huge apartment job, and we hired our first employees—big moment for us! But our little house couldn’t keep up with all the trucks, tools, and chaos. So, we built a bigger home in Santaquin with a little more land.
Where We Are Today: A New Home and Business
It was great—until we outgrew that, too. Cue the move to West Mountain, where we finally have enough space for our family, the business, and all the equipment (for now, anyway).
We’ve had highs, lows, and everything in between, but through it all, we’ve learned to trust the process, serve our community, and stick together as a family. And even though I never thought I’d be here, having answering HVAC calls for over a decade and running an office, I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything.
Platinum Air – built on hope, hard work, prayer, and a whole lot of sheet metal.