Kicking the year off, we have a great podcast for you co-hosted with Randy Brothers, from Elite Roofing in Denver, Colorado. Randy is also the host of the “Start Build Grow Show”, the author of “Start it, Build it, Grow it: The Contractor’s Guide to Success”, and the founder of The Roofing Academy®.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZPqHRWEmDc
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http://www.buzzsprout.com/75529
Randy’s reasoning for getting into the industry is a bit different than others. He started in carpentry and home building, but when the recession hit, he quickly realized there had to be a better business option that didn’t involve bank loans. With banks stopping loans, he knew he had to find a way to get jobs without depending on banks and homeowners to pay their own bills, and insurance claims was the solution. That’s when roofing became main priority. Kitchen and bath remodels can wait during a recession, but a leaking roof has to be addressed.
To get into roofing, anyone with truck and ladder can do it. Unfortunately, many dive in and don’t know how to lead and manage. That’s where Randy saw an opportunity to apply fundamental business practices and with integrity, which is a well-known challenge in the industry. He was able to create opportunities for other people, which became the overall company mission. By pushing the envelope to grow his business, he was able to create a great life, jobs, income, resources, and more for as many people as possible.
His focus is big on education and educating. Most people don’t like to be educated after they put in their time with traditional schooling. There are many contractors out there that feel they’ve spent 20 years on a roof, learned the ins and outs, so there’s no need for additional educating. He notes it takes a certain type of person to take ownership of importance in learning and growing. However, just because you consume the information, doesn’t mean you’re taking action. With such a large market, it is possible to educate millions of people, but only 20% will take the information and truly run with it.
Andy also mentions that when people come to him and ask for advice, he’s regularly met with excuses as to why it won’t work for them. Instead, he suggests that others try something and learn something. You have to try! If it doesn’t work, you learn from it and then move on. If you’re just sitting back making excuses waiting for something perfect to happen, you’ll never be able to grow. Many others out there are crushing it making mistakes, trying things over and over until something sticks. They are the movers and shakers in the industry
Besides education, they both agree having a trusted CRM and technology will help business owners continue to be successful. That, paired with implementing processes, can lead you to successful growth. From Randy’s perspective, all it takes to start a new process is taking an idea from your head and putting it on paper. In its most primitive form, it’s a checklist. Once you put that into your CRM system, you do a training with the employee that it’s going to pertain to after you’ve tested it for yourself. Even better is to have that person help you create the process with you so they can own it.
When it comes to making technology and CRM decisions, there’s no “what’s the best” – the question is what is best for you! It’s all about how you want to build your business model and processes. This applies to many different aspects of business. Find what is right for you and what works. Don’t be afraid to fail. The economy is rocking and rolling, with the age of technology and ease of marketing strategies and information, there’s no better time.
SPONSOR APPRECIATION
Special thanks to our sponsor Top Roof Contractors. Membership in this organization includes reduced prices for commercial roofing leads, third-party-verification to add credibility to your company, and a host of valuable benefits upon acceptance into the network. Learn more about them at www.TopRoofContractors.com.
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