Empowered his team with ownership without the complexity

Operating in Atlanta’s crowded HVAC market, Zen Air’s owner, Eddie McDonald, knew keeping top talent engaged was getting harder. “It’s a very competitive landscape right now,” he shared.

Any advantage I can have over one of my competitors, I’ll take.

He wanted his team to feel truly invested, but traditional equity programs were too complex and costly to set up on his own

When Eddie discovered Reins, he was already exploring how to share ownership with his team, but the legal and setup barriers were daunting. “I had started to look into what it would take to do this kind of program,” he said. “Luckily, Reins kind of fell into my lap when I was ready to pull the trigger, and it just worked out great.”

He describes Reins as “an easy way to make it all happen.” The Reins team and platform guided him through every step, making what once felt complicated feel achievable. Reins basically just takes the whole process of creating the equity plan and dumbs it down for the contractor,” Eddie said.

They walk you through it step by step and help you implement it successfully.

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After rolling out the plan, Eddie saw his team’s reaction immediately: “It was very positive,” he said. “They were excited to have a stake in the company.” For him, Reins has created more than just a benefit: it’s created buy-in.

It makes them feel a greater sense of being part of the team and having a stake in the results.

Now, because of Reins, Zen Air’s top performers are not just employees, they’re actual stakeholders contributing to the company’s success.

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Eddie plans to continue using Reins as Zen Air grows, leveraging his equity program to attract top technicians and retain them long-term. “We want our top people fully engaged and part of the success of the company,” he said.

For Eddie, Reins isn’t just about incentives. It’s about creating a culture of shared ownership.

It was affordable and just an easy way to make it all happen.

When asked what advice he’d give to other business owners, he said, “I would say, definitely check it out.”

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