Family-run Cedar Park HVAC business celebrates 10 years in Greater Austin area

The opportunity for failure looms large over any family-run company. Combining personal and professional lives is not always easy, yet the Bloomquist family has successfully struck that balance while operating Arise Air the past 10 years.

It is the best of both worlds, said Robin Bloomquist, who works alongside her husband, Larry, and her oldest son, Seth, to operate the 10-year-old heating and air conditioning company.

"The three of us really are able to mesh our abilities to work well together," she said. "Each of us have a niche in this company."

While Robin handles administrative duties and in-home consultations, Larry oversees installations of heating and air conditioning units and other service work, and Seth keeps track of the company's numbers and handles its marketing strategies.

This time of year is particularly busy for the Leander-based Bloomquist family, who employs six full-time and two part-time workers.

"We could use twice as many employees, but we're not the kind of company that hires people and later lays them off, so everyone has to work real hard in the summer," she said. "It's just not who we are as a company to hire seasonally or temporarily."

The vast majority of Arise Air's business—75 percent—is residential installations and service calls. No installation is done without Larry seeing to the final product. He first started the company in 2002 out of his home after years in the high-tech industry.

"I realized my air conditioning unit was old and I didn't know anything about it, so I went back to school," he said.

Many of the company's customers have been with Arise Air since Larry started 10 years ago, Seth said. He touts the company's integrity as the reason for its sustained success.

"If we're the best at what we do, then our customers will be our advertisers," he said.

There are still moments of adversity that test the family members, Seth admits, but in the end, they have learned to work together effectively.

"It was difficult at first leaving work at work," he said. "We just learned to draw the line."

Arise Air, 715 Discovery Blvd., Ste. 508, Cedar Park, 260-0160, www.arisehvac.com