Since growing up in her parents’ business and living her youth in Asheville, Jennifer didn’t want or expect to move back here after college. But life, as it often does, arranged things in a different way.
Her parents started Bullman Heating & Air in 1993; Dad worked at it full time, and Mom worked a regular job during the day and helped him at night. They started out in a tiny trailer with one truck. When Jennifer was only 12 years old, she began working in the business every day after school; her main job was typing—on an actual typewriter—job proposals her dad created. She also answered phones and made appointments. A focus on work and success was something she saw in her parents and something she emulated herself from that early age.
In 1999 she graduated from North Buncombe High School and went off to college at UNC-Charlotte. “Back then Asheville wasn’t like it is now (I love it now) and it was not where I thought I’d get married and raise my family.” But in her first year in Charlotte, she met her future husband, Chris Jones, a first-round draft pick right out of high school who played for the Giants in the minor leagues. “I was one of those who said I wasn’t getting married till I was 30 . . . I think my dad even had me sign a contract about that! Two months after we met, Chris proposed, and we married a year later.”
They traveled together for a couple of years after college, living in several places—like Louisiana, Maryland—every few months until in 2003 he was traded to the Rockies which brought him to Asheville to play for the Tourists. Back home, Jennifer thought it was great to be near her family again. It had been hard for her to get a job since they moved about every six months, so she went back to work for her family business, which included her brother, Branson. At the end of that baseball season, she was pregnant and decided not to go back to Charlotte where they usually spent the off season. Her husband left for spring training, but she stayed behind in Asheville, not wanting to travel while pregnant. Then he decided to retire right before their first daughter, Mckenzie, was born; he got a job locally while she continued to work for Bullman, where she’s been ever since.
During that time a lot of changes happened: her parents got divorced and her mom left the business. Jennifer moved into the role of office manager with a lot more on her plate, including a second daughter, Madelyn. Dad was still in the role of owner/president and her brother was in sales. But in 2012 their dad decided to retire and hand the business over to his daughter and son. From then until about two months ago, Jennifer was Vice President and Branson was President. “Then he decided to go a different route and pursue his music career. I am now owner/president and it’s been great. My biggest worry was that the employees might not like a woman boss. I was a woman running a heating and air business within the construction industry. I had been in a management role but not a full owner.”
Partly because she has an “open door” policy with her 50 employees and partly because many of them had seen her grow up and grow with the business: “Everyone has been very receptive of me running things. They feel they can come in and talk with me about their lives. A lot of people who are managers now have been with the business for 20-25 years. We also have customers who have been with us for years and also watched me grow up. We are one big family!”
And speaking of family, Jennifer and her husband have raised two daughters, now 15 and 12 who have also grown up seeing a successful mom and dad. “I want them to be proud of me. I tell them: You make your own money, make your own way. Don’t marry a doctor, BE a doctor!”
When each of them was born Jennifer didn’t take them to daycare right away. “They came to work with me every day, and my 15-year-old now comes in after school when she is available to help out. When our 12-year-old needs money, I tell her to come to work and earn some.”
Bringing babies to work, especially in a male-dominated business, might seem difficult to carry off. But, “Employees were happy to see the girls. We had a huge office with a playpen. My service manager at the time actually helped me change diapers! I would sometimes put the babies in file cabinets while I was filing. I have videos and photos of them running around the office; everyone loved it.” And
that contributed even more to the “One Big Family” feeling.
And surely that has contributed to Jennifer’s full life: she’s been married 18 years this coming January; her girls are active in sports: travel volleyball and they play for Biltmore Volleyball Academy. Her oldest also plays softball and they both are straight A students. “We normally go to a game or practice after work. We’re very proud of them. Our oldest, now a sophomore, is preparing to go to Chapel Hill for college when the time comes. She’s always thinking about building her college credits.”
Meanwhile Bullman Heating & Air continues to build and maintain its strong reputation for quality and service. “We’re very picky in our installation. Look at our duct work and it looks like art. I’ll only hire people who do it our way: right the first time. There are lots of ways to pass code, but that’s not our way, the Bullman way. It’s got to be perfect. My dad taught us that.”
Meanwhile, they have been voted best in WNC for the last six years. They have three departments: new construction, change outs, and service. They cover all of WNC and are also licensed in TN and SC. Jennifer says that while they could grow more, add more employees, she wants to keep the business about the size it is now to maintain that family feeling.
“My dad was hard on me growing up; he pushed me and told me, one day you’re going to take over the business and I want you to be able to do it well. I had no plans to be here, but now I can’t imagine life anywhere else.”
Jennifer Bullman Jones
[email protected]
Bullman Heating & Air, Inc.
bullmanheating.com
828-658-2468