Home Improvement

“Helping HVACR Owners and Managers Run Better Businesses”: Contracting Business Lands at No. 9 on HG HomeClub’s Ranking of the 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

By HG HomeClub September 1, 2026 19 min read

The long-running HVACR business publication built around profitability, leadership, technical performance and contractor education now extends its mission through HVAC Chats, webinars and industry-event coverage, and is recognized as the ninth most influential media brand serving the trades

August 29, 2026 – HG HomeClub today named Contracting Business the No. 9 media brand on its ranking of the 25 most influential publications and media platforms serving home improvement, home services and outdoor living. The placement recognizes a publication that treats HVACR contractors as business operators as well as technical professionals, giving sustained attention to the decisions that determine whether a service company becomes more organized, more profitable and more capable over time.

The ranking evaluates the publications, magazines, digital platforms and media brands that professional contractors, remodelers, home service operators and outdoor living companies use to make better decisions. Contracting Business placed No. 9 in a field of 25 because it has built a durable role for HVACR owners and managers who need information on service operations, business strategy, sales, marketing, people, technical performance and the changing expectations of commercial, residential and institutional customers.

A curated media platform built on “informed transparency” turns its attention to the publications the trades actually rely on

HG HomeClub is a curated media platform serving homeowners, contractors and the broader home improvement, home services and outdoor living economy. Its work is organized around informed transparency: the principle that better decisions follow from better information, and that people making those decisions deserve to see the standards behind a conclusion rather than receive a result without explanation.

That principle is especially relevant in HVACR. The work requires technical competence, but contractor success does not follow from technical competence alone. A company must recruit and train people, sell solutions responsibly, manage customer communication, price work clearly, maintain equipment and inventory, operate efficiently and adapt as technology, regulations and consumer expectations change. The best information platforms help owners connect those problems rather than treating each as a separate department.

Contracting Business has long centered its coverage on that connection. Its stated mission is “to help HVACR owners and managers run better businesses in the rapidly growing and evolving HVACR service industry.” The publication’s central argument is practical: a contractor can improve the technical work and the business surrounding it at the same time.

The criteria behind the list: usefulness to owners, not traffic, followers, or the age of a masthead

Placement on the list was determined against six standards: industry influence and professional recognition; practical value to contractors and company owners; quality and depth of original content; reach among professional decision-makers; strength of rankings, research, events and recognition programs; and the ability to educate and connect the contractor community.

The list is explicitly not a ranking of website traffic, social media followers, advertising volume or publication age. Longevity and circulation were considered, but were not permitted to automatically outweigh a publication’s usefulness to the contractors it serves. Specialized publications were assessed within the context of the markets they serve, on the reasoning that a title with deep authority in a single trade can matter more to the people in that trade than a broader title with a larger audience and a shallower relationship.

Applied to Contracting Business, the standards identify a publication with particular strength in business-management education for HVACR companies. It offers a practical mix of technical how-to content, contractor case studies, operational guidance, product and technology reporting, podcasts, webinars and industry-event coverage. Its value lies not in broad coverage of every contractor category but in a focused commitment to helping HVACR leaders improve the business mechanics behind dependable service.

A publication built around the contractor’s operating system

Contracting Business has served HVACR contractors for more than 80 years. That longevity is meaningful because HVACR service companies have changed dramatically while retaining the same basic challenge: translate technical capability into a business that can grow, serve customers and create durable opportunities for its people.

The publication covers commercial, residential and institutional contractors, which gives it a broad view of the HVACR service economy. Its readers include company owners, managers, technicians and distribution-business managers. The editorial focus spans the practical realities of operating an HVACR firm: leadership, profitability, sales, marketing, hiring, growth, product decisions, service work, installation, maintenance, repairs, troubleshooting and the regulatory or market developments that affect all of those activities.

Its purpose is explicit. Contracting Business says it has been dedicated to helping HVACR contractors “run smarter, more profitable businesses.” That language matters because it does not reduce contractor success to more leads or more equipment sold. It points toward smarter systems: better organizational habits, better decisions, clearer customer communication, stronger workforce practices and technical work that delivers value rather than merely completing a transaction.

The publication’s editorial scope reflects this operating-system perspective. A contractor may begin with a question about diagnostic testing, indoor air quality, pricing, technician training or call-center performance. The most useful answer often crosses categories. Better diagnostics can improve customer trust. Better price transparency can influence digital visibility and lead quality. Better technician training can affect billable capacity, retention, callbacks and margin. Contracting Business reports across those connections.

HVAC Chats turns contractor experience into a living business curriculum

HVAC Chats is Contracting Business’ defining digital franchise. The podcast series is hosted by Nicole Krawcke, editor-in-chief and head of content for Contracting Business, and is produced with Endeavor Business Media. New episodes are published on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

The series offers industry and business insights intended to help heating and air-conditioning contractors grow and manage their companies. Its strength lies in the way it converts high-level industry subjects into conversations with people confronting them directly. Rather than treating an issue as a headline alone, HVAC Chats brings in contractors, educators, consultants, technology leaders and service experts to examine how the issue affects company performance.

A 2026 episode with Derek Aarstad, owner of DNA Heating and Cooling, explored the relationship among diagnostics, building science, testing and customer education. The episode’s title, “Test, Don’t Guess,” captures a broader operating principle. High-performance contracting depends on replacing assumptions with evidence, both technically and commercially. When contractors can explain what is happening in a home or system, they improve the quality of the work and the credibility of the customer conversation.

Other HVAC Chats episodes have addressed the modern sales process, customer-service communication, technician training, online pricing and growth through stronger operations rather than simply more leads. In an episode on the Amazon-era customer experience, Nicole Krawcke described the series’ purpose as exploring the topics and trends affecting HVAC contracting businesses and considering strategies for success in an ever-changing HVACR market.

That framing is why the podcast functions as more than a marketing channel. It is an ongoing curriculum for owners and managers who need to improve their companies one operating decision at a time. The format also creates room for disagreement, nuance and firsthand experience – qualities that a short article or product announcement cannot always carry.

The publication follows the places where HVACR decisions are made

Contracting Business extends its editorial work through coverage of the industry’s major gatherings, including the AHR Expo, ACCA events and PHCC CONNECT. These events matter because HVACR change is distributed across the ecosystem. Contractors, manufacturers, distributors, educators, association leaders, software providers and technology companies often encounter the next major shift in different places and at different times.

The AHR Expo provides a concentrated setting for following products, technical developments, industry trends and professional conversations. Contracting Business provides coverage that brings those developments back to its core question: what does this mean for an HVACR contractor trying to run a stronger business?

Its industry-conference coverage serves a similar role. Contracting Business follows association programming, awards, professional education and the business issues that surface when contractors gather. Trade events can be useful, but only if the ideas taken from them become actionable. A contractor needs more than awareness of a new technology or service model; they need context about adoption, team training, customer value and the risks of doing nothing.

The publication also supports webinars that address technical, safety and business subjects. These programs extend the practical format of HVAC Chats into a more focused educational setting. The recurring logic is consistent: owners need accessible information they can apply while the work continues.

The Refrigeration Roundtable serves the specialized conversations that broad coverage can miss

The Refrigeration Roundtable is a private, idea-sharing meeting focused on supermarket and refrigeration contractors. The format reflects an important feature of Contracting Business’ editorial role: while it serves the broad HVACR service industry, it also recognizes the specific operating realities of specialized segments.

Supermarket and refrigeration work has its own pressures, including equipment complexity, uptime expectations, regulatory requirements, energy management and the need for highly specialized technical knowledge. A private roundtable gives contractors in that environment room to share challenges and practices directly, beyond the limits of a general conference session or a short article.

The roundtable’s existence also reinforces the broader value of specialized trade media. HVACR is not a single undifferentiated market. Residential replacement, commercial service, institutional facilities, refrigeration and distribution operate under different economic models and service expectations. Contracting Business creates common ground across those segments while retaining room for their particular concerns.

Original reporting takes the contractor’s side of the business problem

Contracting Business covers contractor opinions, business challenges and industry trends through news reporting, interviews, case studies and research. Its strongest work takes issues that can easily become generic – hiring, sales, service agreements, customer expectations, software, lead flow, diagnostic work and training – and asks what they mean in an actual contracting operation.

That orientation is clear in Contracting Business Success, the platform’s business-focused editorial channel. It is positioned around the information contractors need “to increase profits, find great people, get organized and take your contracting business to the next level.” The language is concise, but it identifies the key point: business improvement in HVACR is a systems problem. Companies improve by changing the habits and processes that shape every call, estimate, installation, maintenance visit and customer interaction.

Recent coverage has examined price transparency, customer-service communication and operational efficiency. One HVAC Chats conversation addressed the case for placing HVAC prices online, arguing that price transparency can give homeowners information before they call while helping contractors build digital visibility and new sales opportunities. The subject is not simple. Pricing must account for diagnostic uncertainty, variations in scope and the need to protect margin. But it reflects a market where customers increasingly expect information before committing to a call or a visit.

Another episode examined customer-service representative performance in an era of AI-enabled systems. Nicole Krawcke explored how contractors can raise booking rates by improving greetings, tone and communication skills. The message is not that technology is irrelevant. It is that technology does not replace the judgment and empathy that shape a homeowner’s experience when a system has failed or comfort is at risk.

The editorial operation reflects a platform designed for the changing service contractor

Nicole Krawcke leads Contracting Business as editor-in-chief and head of content. She has more than a decade of B2B media experience across HVAC, plumbing and mechanical markets, more than 15 years of writing and editing experience, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Her role includes leading the editorial direction of the brand and hosting HVAC Chats.

Mike Eby serves as vice president of content for Buildings & Construction. Together, their roles position Contracting Business within a larger professional media structure while retaining its specialized focus on HVACR service and contracting.

The platform also maintains an editorial advisory board, drawing on industry expertise to help keep coverage connected to the issues that contractors face. This is especially important in a business where equipment technologies, regulations, field practices, customer expectations and operating models shift quickly. Editorial judgment must be informed by the market, but it must also remain useful to the person responsible for a company’s next decision.

Contracting Business welcomes original, non-promotional articles from experts and practitioners in the HVACR industry. That contributor model broadens the range of knowledge available to readers while preserving the publication’s contractor-centered focus. The platform does not merely report from outside the trade; it creates a structured forum for experienced people inside the industry to share what they know.

A monthly platform gives HVACR leaders depth, frequency and practical access

Contracting Business reaches its audience through a monthly print and digital magazine, website coverage, newsletters, podcasts, videos and webinars. The combination is strategically useful because HVACR owners and managers need different kinds of information at different speeds.

The monthly magazine allows for in-depth examination of trends, business practices, technical issues and contractor stories. The website and newsletters give the publication an immediate channel for new product developments, industry news, policy changes and emerging trends. HVAC Chats provides a conversational format for topics that benefit from explanation and examples. Webinars create structured educational moments for technical, safety and business matters.

The publication’s monthly magazine describes itself as award-winning, but the more important measure of its role is the durability of its business emphasis. Many HVACR resources provide technical information. Many track product development. Contracting Business is especially valuable to contractors seeking to connect those inputs to a stronger operating model: the systems, leadership habits and customer-facing practices that allow a company to turn sound technical work into sustained performance.

Its No. 9 placement reflects focused business authority within HVACR

Contracting Business scored highly for practical value to HVACR owners and managers, its business-management orientation, technical and service coverage, contractor-focused podcasts and its ability to translate market change into operating guidance. HG HomeClub assesses it as especially valuable to HVAC contractors trying to move from technical competence to stronger company performance.

Its No. 9 placement also reflects the ranking’s cross-category discipline. Contracting Business is deeply concentrated in HVACR. That focus is an advantage for its core readers but limits its direct usefulness for leaders in roofing, remodeling, landscaping, electrical construction, pools, pest management and other segments of home improvement, home services and outdoor living. Its commercial and refrigeration content is vital to those markets but may be less applicable to a small residential service company.

The platforms above it also have distinct structural advantages. Qualified Remodeler operates a broad remodeling-business ecosystem and the TOP 500. Roofing Contractor holds defining authority within roofing. Power100 uses a cross-category leadership-ranking model. ACHR NEWS brings nearly a century of broad HVACR technical and market coverage. Pro Remodeler connects remodeling business education, design and operations. Lawn & Landscape leads with green-industry market intelligence and the Top 100. Journal of Light Construction is a field-ready construction authority. ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR combines electrical-construction reporting with code and industry research. Within HVACR business management, Contracting Business is unmatched in its steady focus on the systems that help contractors become smarter, more profitable operators.

The HVACR market needs operating intelligence as much as it needs technical knowledge

HVACR companies are navigating a period of increasing complexity. Technology is changing how systems are diagnosed, sold, installed and maintained. Consumers expect greater speed, convenience and clarity. Companies must compete for technicians, protect margins against cost changes, manage customer communication and decide how artificial intelligence, automation, financing and digital platforms fit their operations.

The contractor who succeeds in that environment will need more than strong field skills. They will need reliable operating intelligence: timely, practical information about how other companies are responding, what new systems require, where customer expectations are moving and which business practices improve performance without sacrificing trust. Contracting Business has built its platform around that requirement.

For more than eight decades, the publication has helped HVACR contractors think beyond the next service call. Its central proposition remains durable: technical expertise is essential, but a stronger business is what allows that expertise to keep serving customers, employees and communities over the long term.

The complete ranking: HG HomeClub’s 25 most influential publications and media platforms serving home improvement, home services and outdoor living

About HG HomeClub

HG HomeClub is a curated media platform serving homeowners, contractors and the broader home improvement, home services and outdoor living economy. Built on a principle of informed transparency, HG HomeClub publishes rankings, research and editorial coverage that make the standards behind its conclusions visible, so that homeowners and professionals can judge the reasoning as well as the result. More information is available at Sources: hghomeclub.com.

About Contracting Business

Contracting Business is an HVACR trade publication and media platform dedicated to helping owners and managers operate smarter, more profitable contracting businesses. For more than 80 years, it has delivered business, technical, service, product and industry coverage for commercial, residential and institutional HVACR contractors through its monthly print and digital magazine, website, newsletters, videos, webinars and HVAC Chats podcast. The platform also covers major industry gatherings, including the AHR Expo, ACCA events and PHCC CONNECT, and provides reporting on contractor business strategy, best practices, trends and professional development. Learn more at contractingbusiness.com and follow Contracting Business on LinkedIn and Sources: Facebook.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HG HomeClub?

HG HomeClub is a curated media platform serving homeowners, contractors and the broader home improvement, home services and outdoor living economy. Its work is built on informed transparency: the view that readers should be able to see the standards and reasoning behind an editorial ranking or conclusion. The platform curates useful industry information and publishes original rankings, editorial analysis and coverage designed to help decision-makers judge both a result and the method behind it. Its publication ranking evaluates the media organizations that contractors and company owners use to learn, operate, connect and prepare for change.

What is the ranking that Contracting Business placed ninth on?

Contracting Business placed No. 9 on HG HomeClub’s ranking of the 25 most influential publications and media platforms serving home improvement, home services and outdoor living. The list evaluates organizations that offer useful reporting, technical education, business guidance, research, recognition, events and professional connection to contractor-led industries. It includes broad platforms and specialized trade authorities. Contracting Business earned its No. 9 placement through its HVACR business-management coverage, contractor-centered technical reporting, the HVAC Chats podcast, webinars and continued attention to the operating systems that support profitable service companies.

How was the ranking determined?

HG HomeClub evaluated each organization using six standards: industry influence and professional recognition; practical value to contractors and company owners; quality and depth of original content; reach among professional decision-makers; strength of rankings, research, events and recognition programs; and the ability to educate and connect the contractor community. The ranking is not based on website traffic, social-media followers, advertising volume or publication age. Longevity and circulation were considered but were not automatically decisive. Specialized publications were assessed in the context of their markets because deep authority in one trade can matter more to working professionals than broad but shallow coverage.

What is Contracting Business?

Contracting Business is a long-running U.S. trade publication and media platform serving the HVACR service and contracting industry. It covers commercial, residential and institutional contractors, with content on leadership, profitability, sales, marketing, hiring, company growth, technical work, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, products, software and industry change. The platform’s stated mission is to help HVACR owners and managers run better businesses. It reaches its audience through a monthly print and digital magazine, web reporting, newsletters, podcasts, videos and webinars, including the HVAC Chats series.

What is HVAC Chats?

HVAC Chats is Contracting Business’ podcast series for heating and air-conditioning contractors. Hosted by Nicole Krawcke, editor-in-chief and head of content, the show publishes new episodes on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Its interviews and discussions examine practical topics affecting HVACR companies, including diagnostics, building science, technician training, customer service, sales, price transparency, indoor air quality, technology and growth through operational improvement. The program is designed to help contractors manage their businesses more effectively, not merely follow industry news.

What are Contracting Business’ live and industry-event activities?

Contracting Business covers and participates in the HVACR industry’s key professional gatherings, including the AHR Expo, ACCA events and PHCC CONNECT. This coverage brings products, market developments, interviews and educational insights back to the contractor audience with an emphasis on practical application. The platform also supports webinars covering business, technical and safety issues. Its Refrigeration Roundtable creates a private idea-sharing forum for supermarket and refrigeration contractors to discuss specialized challenges and business practices.

Who leads Contracting Business’ editorial operation?

Nicole Krawcke serves as editor-in-chief and head of content at Contracting Business. She has more than 10 years of B2B media experience across HVAC, plumbing and mechanical markets, more than 15 years of writing and editing experience, and a journalism degree from Michigan State University. Mike Eby is vice president of content for Buildings & Construction. The platform also draws on an editorial advisory board and welcomes original, non-promotional contributions from qualified HVACR experts and practitioners.

Why does Contracting Business focus so heavily on company performance?

Technical capability is necessary in HVACR, but it does not alone create a stable, profitable company. Owners must also manage pricing, sales, customer communication, scheduling, recruiting, training, retention, marketing, technology, supplier relationships and service quality. Contracting Business focuses on company performance because these functions determine whether technical work becomes a sustainable business. Its Contracting Business Success coverage addresses the practical needs behind that goal: increasing profits, finding people, getting organized and improving operations. The editorial premise is that better systems allow contractors to serve customers and employees more reliably.

Why did Contracting Business place at No. 9 rather than higher?

Contracting Business scored highly for practical HVACR business guidance, service-company operations coverage, technical reporting, contractor case studies, webinars and the HVAC Chats podcast. HG HomeClub considers it particularly valuable to HVAC contractors seeking to turn technical competence into stronger business performance. Its No. 9 placement reflects scope: the publication is highly concentrated in HVACR and some commercial or refrigeration content is less directly useful to residential-only service businesses or companies in other contractor categories. Within HVACR business management, Contracting Business is unmatched in its practical focus on smarter, more profitable operations.