Bell Brothers Heating & Air, Elk Grove

In 1982, brothers Jerry and Kenny Bell headed off to Arizona's Universal Technical Institute to learn the ins and outs of the HVAC field. When they came back to Elk Grove, they earned their chops at various companies while helping out with their father's new pizza parlor, Pizza Bell. In 1991, they decided to strike out on their own—two men in a pickup truck on a mission to repair and maintain heating and air-conditioning systems. Their only advertisements were flyers pasted on top of Pizza Bell boxes and willing strangers' foreheads.

They've come a long way since pizza-based advertising, employing an experienced staff of industry certified, professionally trained, background-checked and drug-tested technicians who thoroughly tune up air-conditioning units with a 30-point cleaning, calibration, and fine-tuning process. In addition to replacing heating and air-conditioning systems, their technicians can parachute to homes to inspect, maintain, and repair entire HVAC and furnace systems.