The Trade Boom is Making Everyone Millionaires: Here’s How to Position Your HVAC, Plumbing, or Electrical Company Now

TL;DR

The skilled-trades shortage is real and getting worse.

1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 44,000 openings every year for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, and around 81,000 openings every year for electricians over just the next 5 years. Most of those openings are from retirements and people leaving the field. bls.gov+1
2. U.S. construction spending is running at an annual rate of about $2.1–$2.2 trillion, with a record wave of data centers, AI infrastructure, and nonresidential projects pouring fuel on demand. Census.gov+2Construction Coverage+2
3. U.S. data center construction alone hit a record $40 billion annual pace in 2025, driven by AI. Every one of those buildings needs power, cooling, and mechanical systems. Reuters
4. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said, “If you're an electrician, you're a plumber, a carpenter—we're going to need hundreds of thousands of them to build all of these factories,” and called trades workers the next generation of millionaires. Fortune+2Yahoo Finance+2

If you own an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company, this isn’t a fun headline. This is your window.

At Contractor HQ (CHQ), we’ve got 40+ years in the trades and strategies backed by data from over 1,000 contracting businesses. Our Winter Special is built so you can get your marketing and business foundation fixed now with almost no risk:

 👉 Claim the Winter Special: $0 Setup + First Month Free

We’ll build (or rebuild) your modern mobile website, dial in SEO and AI-search optimization, clean up your Google Business Profile, turn on tracking/reporting, and meet with you live every month — so when the boom really hits, your company is the one that looks ready.

The Trades Boom Is Real (And You’re Sitting in the Middle of It)

If you’re in HVAC, plumbing, or electrical, you’ve probably felt this:

• Hiring is harder.
• Good techs get poached fast.
• The work itself keeps stacking up.

That’s not just “your market.”
That’s everywhere.

The BLS is projecting:

• ~44,000 openings per year for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters. bls.gov
• ~81,000 openings per year for electricians. bls.gov+1
• One report predicts the U.S. will be short 550,000 plumbers by 2027.

And that’s just two trades. Zooming out, construction and extraction occupations as a group are projected to see hundreds of thousands of openings each year. bls.gov

On the money side:

• Total U.S. construction spending is hovering around $2.17 trillion a year as of 2025. Census.gov+1

And then there’s AI.

A Bank of America report based on Census data says U.S. data center construction hit a $40 billion annual rate in 2025, after huge growth in 2024. That’s being driven by AI-heavy companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta building new facilities as fast as they can. Reuters+1

All of that hardware needs:

• Massive electrical service and distribution
• Serious HVAC design and cooling
• Ongoing service and upgrades

In other words: your world.

So when a guy like Jensen Huang says the next millionaires will be plumbers and electricians, he’s not blowing smoke. He’s looking at where the money is being poured and who is needed to actually build and maintain it. Fortune

Why This Matters for Your Business (Not Just “the Industry”)

You don’t run the U.S. economy.
You run your shop.

So let’s translate all this into what it actually means for your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company.

1. Demand Isn’t Going Away

Even if the broader economy wobbles, people are still going to need:

• Heat and A/C
• Safe water and gas lines
• Reliable power

Now stack on top:

• AI data centers
• Mega-projects
• Infrastructure and electrification work

You’re not in a “maybe” field. You’re in a must-have field.

2. The Real Bottleneck Is Skilled Labor, Not Leads

Most contractors think, “We just need more leads.”

In a labor shortage, the real bottleneck becomes:

• Good people
• Good systems
• Good customers

The shops that thrive will be the ones that:

• Have more of the right customers than they can handle
• Can raise prices without panic
• Can say no to junk work

That only happens if your brand and marketing actually give you leverage.

3. Customers Will Choose Whoever Looks Legit and Shows Up First

When a homeowner or facilities manager needs help, they’re not doing a PhD-level comparison.

They:

1. Google something like “AC repair near me” or “commercial electrician [city]”
2. Look at the first few results with good reviews and real websites
3. Call whoever looks like a real, trustworthy company and answers the phone

If your online presence is stuck in 2013 while the boom hits in 2026–2030…

You’ll still get some work. Sure.

But the best jobs, best customers, and best long-term accounts will go to whoever looks like the top-tier shop in your market.

Why There’s a Shortage (And Why That Actually Favors You)

Let’s simplify what’s causing this crunch.

Older Techs Are Hanging It Up

A lot of the guys who built the modern trades workforce are in their 50s and 60s.

BLS and related outlook reports make it clear: most of the projected openings for plumbers and electricians are from replacement—people retiring or leaving the occupation—not just new growth. bls.gov+2Facilities Dive+2

Every retirement is decades of skill walking out the door.

For Years, Kids Were Pushed Away From Trades

High schools and parents spent years saying:

“You need a four-year degree, or you’ll fall behind.”

Result:

1. Trade programs lost prestige
2. Fewer kids hit the trades pipeline
3. Not enough young techs replacing the older ones

Trade school enrollment has been ticking up, but it’s still not enough to close the gap fast. Facilities Dive

It Takes Years to Turn a Rookie Into a Rock-Solid Tech

You already know this.
You don’t turn a helper into a lead tech in six months.

It takes:

1. 4–5 years of training, ride-alongs, and real jobs
2. Code knowledge
3. Safety, troubleshooting, and soft skills

That means the shortage can’t be “fixed” quickly.

So while everyone else is trying to figure this out on the labor side, you can be:

1. Upleveling your marketing
2. Upleveling your positioning
3. Making sure that when people are choosing which contractor gets the good work, your name is on the shortlist every time

How to Position Your Company NOW (Before the Boom Hits Harder)

Here’s where we shift from big picture to “what do I actually do?”

Think of this as your trades boom readiness checklist. This is also what we handle for you inside Contractor HQ’s Winter Special.

1. Treat Your Website Like a 24/7 Dispatcher

Your website doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs to perform:

1. Loads fast on mobile
2. Clear services and service areas
3. Big, obvious call and booking buttons
4. Real photos of your team and work
5. Simple trust signals (reviews, logos, guarantees)

If your website looks dated or confusing, you’re leaving calls and high-ticket jobs on the table.

2. Dial In SEO and AI-Search Basics

Search is changing.

It’s not just:

1. “10 blue links” on Google anymore.

Customers are also asking:

1. Google
2. ChatGPT
3. Gemini
4. Voice assistants

Things like:

“Who’s the best HVAC company near me that actually shows up on time?”

If you want to show up in search and AI answers, you need:

1. Clear, well-structured service pages
2. Local city/area pages that actually talk about the problems you solve
3. Clean technical SEO (title tags, H1s, internal linking, etc.)
4. Consistent business info across the web

3. Own Your Google Business Profile (GBP)

Your Google Business Profile is basically your online storefront.

It should:

1. Have accurate name, address, phone
2. Use the right categories (HVAC contractor, plumber, electrician, etc.)
3. Show your true service areas
4. Be full of real photos, not generic stock
5. Have a steady flow of fresh, honest reviews

If you’re not actively managing your GBP, you’re playing with one hand tied behind your back.

4. Turn On Tracking So You Stop Guessing

You don’t need a Wall Street dashboard. You do need to know:

1. How many calls came from Google Organic
2. How many from Google Business Profile
3. How many from paid ads (if you’re running them)
4. How many turned into booked jobs and revenue

When you can see the numbers, you can:

1. Kill what isn’t working
2. Double down on what is
3. Hire and invest with more confidence

👉 Read (Cluster #2): Your Trades Marketing Foundation Checklist for 2025
(That blog will break all of this down step-by-step so you can either DIY or hand it to us.)

How Smart Contractors Use the Shortage to Get Better Jobs (Not Just More Jobs)

Here’s the shift most owners need to make:

The goal is not “more leads.”
The goal is better leads and a better business.

In a tight labor market, you want:

1. The right type of customers
2. The right type of jobs
3. Pricing that reflects reality

A stronger brand and smarter marketing help you:

1. Say no to low-margin work
2. Fill your schedule with work that fits your techs and profit goals
3. Grow maintenance and service agreements that stabilize your revenue

👉 Read (Cluster #3): How to Raise Prices and Choose Better Jobs During the Trades Labor Shortage

That piece will go deeper into:

1. Practical ways to raise rates without blowing up your customer base
2. How marketing and capacity planning fit together
3. How to shift toward more profitable service and replacement work

A Simple 24-Month Roadmap to Ride the Trades Boom

Owners always ask us:

“Okay, if we work together, what does the next couple of years actually look like?”

Here’s a high-level roadmap we use a lot at CHQ.

Months 1–6: Foundation and Visibility

1. Rebuild or fix your website
2. Get your SEO and local signals in order
3. Clean up and optimize your Google Business Profile
4. Set up tracking and call reporting
5. Start monthly strategy calls to review what’s happening

Months 7–12: Refine and Focus

1. Look at real data: which services, offers, and areas are producing the best jobs and profits
2. Adjust your content, offers, and campaigns
3. If appropriate, layer on paid search or paid social — with a clear strategy

Year 2: Scale Intentionally

1. Expand service areas or add service lines (if it makes sense)
2. Raise prices where you have obvious leverage
3. Strengthen your reputation with reviews, case studies, and content
4. Make smarter hires because you can see your demand coming

👉 Read (Cluster #4): From Invisible to In-Demand: A 24-Month Growth Roadmap for Small HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Shops

That blog lays this out quarter-by-quarter with more detail you can share with your team or business partner.

How Contractor HQ (CHQ) Helps You Get Ready — Without a Giant Upfront Gamble

Let’s talk about us for a second, because who you pick to help you through this matters.

Who we are

1. We’re Contractor HQ (CHQ) — a trades-only marketing agency
2. Our team has 40+ years in the trades and home services world
3. Our playbooks are backed by data from over 1,000 contracting businesses across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and related services

We understand:

1. Shoulder seasons
2. Lead quality problems
3. Dispatch, tech capacity, and revenue mix
4. The difference between a “busy” business and a profitable business

You don’t have to teach us how your world works.
We’re already in it.

What Is the CHQ Winter Special?

We built the Winter Special for owners exactly like you:

Winter Special: $0 Setup + First Month Free to Join Contractor HQ

That means:

1. No $4,500+ setup fee
2. No big check just to “get started”
3. A real chance to see how we work before you’re deep in

During that initial period, we:

1. Build or rebuild your modern, mobile-first website
2. Set up SEO and AI-search optimization for your key services and service areas
3. Optimize your Google Business Profile
4. Turn on tracking and reporting so you can finally see what’s actually working
5. Meet with you for live strategy calls with a U.S.-based account manager who knows contractors

The goal is simple:

Get your marketing foundation built before the trades boom ramps even harder — so you’re not scrambling to fix it after.

FAQs: Trades Boom, Marketing, and the CHQ Winter Special

1. Is this trades shortage really that serious, or is it just hype?

It’s serious.

Official BLS projections show tens of thousands of openings every year for plumbers and electricians, much of it driven by retirements and people leaving the field. Construction Forum+3bls.gov+3bls.gov+3 At the same time, construction spending is in the $2+ trillion range and data center construction is hitting record highs driven by AI. Census.gov+2Construction Coverage+2

That gap between “work that needs done” and “people able to do it” is what creates massive opportunity for well-run contractors.

2. How does this boom actually help my HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company make more money?

With demand up and skilled labor tight:

1. You can be more selective about the jobs you take
2. You have more leverage to improve pricing and margins
3. Strong companies can grow maintenance agreements, replacements, and long-term commercial relationships

The key is visibility and positioning. If your company looks like the obvious, trustworthy choice online, more of the best opportunities will come to you instead of your competitors.

3. What should I fix first if I’m starting from behind on marketing?

Start with the foundation:

1. Website – modern, mobile, fast, clear.
2. SEO + AI-search basics – strong service and city pages, clear structure, consistent info.
3. Google Business Profile – fully built out, regularly updated, review-focused.
4. Tracking – call tracking and lead tracking so you can see what’s actually generating revenue.

You can do some of this yourself, but if you’re already slammed, that’s exactly where CHQ steps in and does it for you under the Winter Special.

4. Why should I work with a trades-only agency like Contractor HQ instead of a general marketing agency?

Because we already know:

1. What “good” cost-per-lead and close rates look like in your world
2. How seasonality and weather impact demand
3. Which offers attract real buyers vs. tire-kickers
4. How to connect your marketing to capacity, tech hours, and profit per job

You’re not paying us to “experiment” in your industry.
You’re paying us to apply lessons learned from 1,000+ contractor businesses directly to your shop.

5. How does the Winter Special lower my risk?

The hardest part of working with a new agency is the upfront cost — especially if you’ve been burned before.

Our Winter Special removes that barrier:

1. $0 setup fee
2. First month with CHQ is free

You get:

1. A rebuilt or upgraded marketing foundation
2. Real data and reporting
3. A feel for how we think and operate

All before you’ve sunk a huge chunk of cash.

If we’re not a fit, you’ll still walk away with a better web presence and clearer numbers than you have today. If we are a fit, we’ll keep building on that foundation as the trades boom accelerates.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Watch the Wave — Ride It

You’ve probably seen different “booms” come and go.

This one is different:

1. It’s backed by demographic reality (retirements).
2. It’s backed by massive spending in construction and AI infrastructure.
3. It’s backed by serious people saying, “We don’t have enough skilled trades, and we’re willing to pay.”

The next millionaires really might be in the trades.

The question is:

Will your company be one of the businesses that rides this wave…
or one of the ones that watches it from the sidelines?

If you want help getting your marketing and brand ready — without a massive upfront risk — that’s exactly why we built the Contractor HQ Winter Special.



 👉 Claim the Winter Special: $0 Setup + First Month Free

We’ll look at where you are now, where you want to be over the next few years, and build a simple, practical plan to position your HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company to win as this trades boom plays out.