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While adjusting to motherhood and continuing to maintain their home on a farm, Pat was also learning a lot of other things \u2013 some of them the hard way. The need for a business license was learned after another business owner asked if they\u2019d gotten one. \u201cI said, \u2018What\u2019s a business license?\u2019\u201d Pat laughed. \u201cAnd the next thing I know, the gentleman from the State of Tennessee is knocking on my door and wants to know my sales tax number, and I\u2019m like, \u2018What’s a sales tax number?\u2019 So that\u2019s how I got instructed about a sales tax number. It’s been a learning experience, to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good thing Pat has a sense of humor and a desire to learn because both would be greatly needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team got to work with just two of them, one old truck, and $1,500 borrowed from Pat’s grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFortunately, the good people of Shelbyville, Bedford County, and the surrounding areas were good to us. We just worked hard, treated people fairly, and listened to advice from the state tax and business license people. And we read books and went to school,\u201d Pat said. \u201cMy husband and I took turns. He would go to learn the mechanical end of it, and I would learn the business end of it. In those days, the manufacturers offered schools on repair, sales, and business management, and we took advantage of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t a complicated recipe for success. The ingredients are simple: be good to everyone, including employees; work hard; treat others fairly; and listen to advice from people smarter than you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Redd\u2019s Sheet Metal grew after a manufacturer asked the company to sell window air conditioners in addition to the ductwork they tooled for machines, factories, and commercial facilities. Once central heat and air gained momentum in the area, the manufacturer put them into sales and installation, and the name was changed to Redd\u2019s Heating & Air Conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kimberly said, \u201cLittle did we know, everything would take a sudden turn. My dad had some health problems, and we found out in 2016 that he had pancreatic cancer. He lived five months. I had barely been here a year, and to say it was devastating is an understatement. My mom had always been with him, so we quickly became second-generation business owners \u2013 quicker than we anticipated. We were already here working, but on a fiveyear plan, then my parents were going to retire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy brother and I walked into a 20-something-year-old business with a good foundation, and we were able to carry it out and continue to serve our customers. They’re the ones that did the hard work and overcame so many challenges,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pat recalled, \u201cEddie was the brains behind all the jobs, the installs, and figuring things out. He was really, really good at that. And Jamie is just like him. He’s a go-getter, a hard worker, and he knows how to handle something that’s not going right. He knows how to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn’t want them in the business, because it’s really hard and has really long hours. But they tried some different things and ended up back at Redd’s Heating & Air, and they’re doing well; they’re doing a great job even though they sometimes wish the hours weren’t quite so long and the stress level not quite so high. Customers like them. They’re just like their dad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kimberly said, \u201cMy mom and dad were just a magnetic couple. They took his dream, and they really ran with it. Growing up in it, I have all the respect and admiration for them, because I saw how hard they had to work to build this business and how long it took. Dad not only cared for people and kept them comfortable in their homes, but he also touched the lives of the people who worked for us and became our family and long-tenured employees. There was one thing I knew that I didn’t want to be when I grew up, after watching them, and that was a business owner. Well, here I am, but I guess if I had to fall into anybody’s footsteps, I’m glad it was theirs.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Redd’s Sheet Metal in Shelbyville started over 50 years ago as a family business and has stayed that way through steady growth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-7320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-october"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/James-Redd-and-Kim-Dunn-747x1024.jpg\")
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