My name is James R. Leichter. I'm the founder of MrHVAC.com and Aptora Corporation and I love America. So much so in fact, my wife and I gave our daughter the middle name of America. I bet you love America too.

Why do I love this country so much? Because in America you have the opportunity to do almost anything you want. To be the best person you can. What's more, if you screw up, you're given a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, and more. America never gives up on you. Some of us just give up on each other and ourselves. Don't!

I don't think many Americans realize just how good they have it. The truth is, some of our poor would be considered quite rich in many other countries. Not many people have benefited from this great country as much as my family and I have.

If you're reading this page, chances are that you own a contracting business. Congratulations! I am proud to say that I am also self-employed. I'm proud to say that because self-employment was not supposed to happen for me.

You see I was a horrible student. I almost flunked out of school. I never went to college. I was a shy and quite kid with little or no self-confidence. No self-worth. It wasn't that I was born thinking these things. I learned these things by listening to others talk about me.

I was raised by my single mother in a lower middle class home in Kansas. Actually, it gets worse but I won't bore you with the details.

In high school, my counselor urged me to join the Army, go to trade school, or get a job in the welding, plumbing, or the HVAC industry. You guessed it. I got a job in the HVAC industry.

I started out, under a government welfare program known as J.P.T.A., making $5.00 per hour in May of 1985. One year later I started my own HVAC company. I had no business being self-employed. I was totally and completely unqualified to own a contracting company. Well, on paper anyway.

What all of those "experts", and their fancy assessment exams couldn't measure was my heart. That shy quiet kid had something burning in him. The desire to prove all of the big shots wrong. The desire to be someone who made a difference in this world.

So with a lot of help from God and a tremendous amount of hard work and perseverance, I built a great HVAC company. Since I sold the company in 1995, I have dedicated myself to helping folks like you become a little better. This web-site contains some of the tools that I developed to help me with this task.

Today, my family and I are healthy, happy, and financially secure. We owe much of it to the HVAC industry. I don't take that for granted and I hope that I never will.

So what's next for you? Whether you own your own business, desire to, or work for another company, my suggestion is that you go out and make the best of it. You only get one chance on this earth. One chance! This is no trial run.

Maybe someone once told you that you were mediocre. Maybe you believed them. Starting now, I want you to go out and prove them, or yourself, wrong. Incidentally, please don't let any of this happen to your own kids.

Take on the world. You may just win! If I can, you can too.