Robert Davis
Since its founding in 2003, Ierna’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing has gone from two employees to 90 and established itself as a mainstay of the Tampa-area home services community. And at the helm, since the very beginning, is its owner, Charlene Ierna.
Charlene was able to take time out of her busy schedule (she’s a licensed alligator trapper in her spare time!) to sit down with The Sharpest Tool™ podcast for an informative and wide-ranging two-part interview.
In the first half of our chat, Charlene recounts the early portion of her career and explains what drew her to the trades in the first place. Despite working in a male-dominated industry, she makes a case for why more women should consider opportunities in home services.
Charlene likes to stay involved in every aspect of her company’s operations. She sees her role as not only an owner but as a visionary, innovator, leader, and brand ambassador — all of which have helped her forge a unique identity that distinguishes her business from competitors.
For Charlene, success in the home services field is all about relationships. She tells us about how building strong connections with employees, colleagues, customers — and even competitors — has been the foundation of her success.
In part two of the interview, Charlene gets into the importance of company culture and building a healthy work-family environment. Over the many years, she’s noticed how team morale filters into employee performance and productivity. Hear her advice on what it takes to keep employees happy and on a path towards career development.
We also discuss her company’s onboarding process, why well-trained employees make for the best brand ambassadors, and the valuable lessons she learned as her team grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year.
Nearly 20 years into her home services career, Charlene Ierna credits her longevity to two things — tenacity and flexibility. Be sure to listen to both parts of this interview to learn more about her management philosophy and how you can apply it to your business plan.
If you have any questions about the topics covered in either episode or would like to learn about how Scorpion can help your company develop its digital marketing strategy, contact our team here.
