TrueWorks Roofing: 3 Years Update | Business Hats Podcast

TrueWorks Roofing: 3 Years Update | Business Hats Podcast

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welcome back to business hats podcast this  episode is brought to you by job Nimbus the   only CRM I recommend for contractors CRM that I  used in my roofing business for many years and   a lot of my friends use as well check out  job numbers tell them admission sent you welcome back everyone to business hats podcast  today I have a very special guest Laura and   Joel Patzke owners of true works Roofing I  actually had the privilege to visit their   company I believe in their first year in  business was there not even complete year   right you were like right there at the end of  the first year I believe and today we're gonna   do a follow-up on them so it was what year and a  half ago so how long you've been in business now   it'll be three years in March man time flies  fast so I have a lot of questions because I   want to capture that time business ownership from  first year to end of third year so pretty much   last two years uh last time when I visited you  guys you have very tiny office I remember it was   you did have a meeting room space but you have  very small room where we try to do the meeting   um where you guys now I've seen social media post  you you upgraded you moved to the warehouse now uh   guide me through your move how your business life  changed since you made the decision to upgrade   yeah we were working out of a uh Regis so like  it's like a shared space we did have our private   office but it was about 300 square feet I mean it  would be like four of us crammed in there cranking   out estimates and then they had a conference room  that was available for rent and so when you came   so once a week we would rent it for our team  meetings for like the full team to come and uh   you know as we grew we had everything um our  storage shed or our little garage of our own   personal place um was packed you could barely  open it um full of like extra material and the   catch-all and different things like that and uh  so we definitely you know with the growing team   needed a bigger space um we found a good uh space  that was in a retail business park which I really   liked so it's like a high-end retail business  park it's in the exact zip code we wanted   um and we kind of went client facing so we  did it like a showroom basically so we have   all these little mock-up uh model homes with our  different roofing systems that we install in here   and clients can come in and see them and tour it  and that's been pretty cool we've gotten several   deals just from the location that we picked people  driving in and out to these other high-end places   and then these little roofs we take to uh Home  and Garden shows so they kind of work that way   as well so pretty cool love it I know in the  roofing business you don't have high traffic   from the homeowners I mean a couple jobs out  of hundreds it's not bad I mean definitely   nice bonus but that's not the reason we're getting  offices usually people will drop a check mail use   something that's one of the reason to have office  but my question is can you tell our audience the   difference between running it from small office or  home to actually have uh your office because just   yesterday I was talking to one of my students in  Roofing school and he is three months in business   and he asked me would you recommend getting office  and here's what I want to tell you I've never met   one roofer in my life who took Faith step right  so jump in it because usually when we start we   don't have extra money we don't have extra 1500  bucks two thousand dollars to spare but I've   never met one who regretted that decision says I  never should have rented a warehouse it's always   the same story You Gotta Wear a house and then  you see benefits you did not expect before so   there are a lot of contractors out there who work  from homes from the garage and they think that   they save money by working from home but they're  missing on a lot of other opportunities meeting   clients meeting Subs meeting employees interviews  all of those benefits I want to hear it from you   did you regret moving and if not how did your life  change business life once you move to bigger space I mean it's been it's been nothing but great um  it's you know it's going to add to your overhead   but you know your Roi on it is pretty pretty fast  um especially I mean like as you mentioned you   know hiring um it's a great first impression  for you know you can only you can say so much   about your company on indeed or any of the you  know online job application sites but you know   whenever they walk in and as you can see we  have a green wall behind us it's not just a   green screen it is everywhere in our office and  um it really like screams our brand name and you   know uh it looks very professional you come in  you see the the homes that we have set up it's   just such a great impression for somebody they  get psyched and ammed and then they're also in   here with you know we usually whenever um if we're  doing a hiring we do kind of like a hiring Fair   um so there's a lot of people here at one  time kind of and they get a whole PowerPoint   presentation which they get to sit at our big  conference table they get to see us at our uh   watch our interactive Vibe board and you know  PowerPoint presentations Joel usually gives them   um as the owner I think it speaks volumes  so really getting a higher quality and a   better expectation for the the company that you're  applying for it just we've reaped great benefits   from that we've we've found All-Stars for our  team that that you know I think it would have   been a little bit harder not to sell them on  the dream but to really just visually show them   because this is what we're about to believe in you  I mean talk yeah talk is cheap so many people want   them to follow you but then if you did not take a  risk if you can't even rent a Warehouse around the   office what a risk are you taking you work from  home I work from home why do I need you what do   you have that I don't have would you say hey would  you say it pays for itself absolutely I mean that   sense of home you know um so the the guys you know  everybody always says oh you know there's their   you know their salesmen so they're always out  in the field you know that's not like they come   sit at a desk and that's why you have an office  that's not the whole reason I mean our guys come   in all the time and know that you know the door  is open to them for any questions that they have   they can always come up and pick up extra material  so they're never out we don't have to like really   meet them anywhere and you know they can come  eat lunch you know and take a break and talk to   the owners talk to the office managers help you  know talk through their pipelines and everything   like that so it's just a really good home base  for them as well I think it I think that helps   um actually you know our percentage of closing  deals because that availability is there not just   through an app or a phone call it's that you know  person-to-person face-to-face communication as the   owners do you guys work from home every once in a  while do you believe in working from home you know   I like coming into the office and my mindset you  know if I if I get to sit in my PJs on the couch   on a laptop you know I'm gonna get work done but I  don't think as diligently you're not as productive   and not you're not you know you have the  availability to go walk into your kitchen and   snack all the time or you know just I don't know  stare out the window or something but um yeah I   mean there's something about getting up putting  on a true work shirt every morning and coming   in to a you know a building that has foot traffic  you know so um we never know who's going to come   through our door because it's open to the public  and as Joel was telling you we're in a big retail   space so everything in here is high-end it's a  it's a very nice side of town um there's a a lot   of you know retail spaces and also for families  to come like do Taekwondo there's indoor soccer   you know so everybody's seeing our sign and they  come in all the time hey I've got a leak I just   saw your sign you know right my kid does Taekwondo  over here and I see your guys stuff all the time   um so being being able to be in that you know kind  of uniform professionalism in the the office and   ready for whoever's going to walk in whether it's  an employee or a client or anybody yeah I think it   helps separate work from home that too a little  bit I mean we're already you know married we're   already at dinner talking about someone's roof I  mean of course I'm answering emails and texting   and things like that but it does help separate  a little bit where you know you come here you're   focused a laser focused 100 on work and you get to  you know when you get home have that little bit of   Separation okay now it's family time so yeah I  think that helps a lot with that I remember last   year I had a call with the contractors who had  been in business for 20 years always work from   home which is a great home office but I think  if we're honest with ourselves we're never as   productive at home as we're at work I always  wanted like I need to leave and go somewhere and   opportunities are endless but when you come to the  office eight to five right like everybody hates on   AIDS 5 jobs but in reality that's where you're  the most productive you know you go somewhere   like treat it like it's your job which is it is  you just work for yourself but anyway last year   this guy called me he's been doing it for 20 years  he wants to hire people he wants you know one-man   show I mean he has sobs he has reliable help maybe  a sales guy I don't remember all the details but   he's like give me advice what should I do I'm  like number one you rent office it's like why   well you've been doing this for 20 years you  never grew more than I think you said like 700   000 a year you never pass 700 000 you want to  either keep repeating what you've been doing but   obviously it's not working so if you're tired  of your results change something I'm telling   you what I've done in 2013 I rented office after  being in business for three months my company is   still there I sold it and they're still in this  same space you know 1500 bucks a month and then   we got another unit so we pay three grand a month  for the past nine years now and everybody knows   the location everybody knows where my business  is it's awesome it's great feeling but this guy   some people are stubborn like that I've done it  for so many years why do I need to change well   you calling me asking for advice I'm giving you  advice and you're not willing to listen then do   you be you work from home we're we're different  my next question is let's move to another topic   otherwise we'll be here for hours let's talk  about you growth so what have changed in the   last two years how many employees do you have  how many jobs you do Revenue if you want to share   yeah so we have 12 I think right like full-time  employees at this moment and then our one uh group   of one set of installers so technically they  are 10.99 but if they're the only ones we use   um as far as Revenue goes we did you know I mean  we're we're real small of course for the Houston   Market we did like two and a half million last  year and about the same this year so it really   didn't grow um but I think did you improve your  margins did you improve our margins we improved   um a lot of we improved in a lot of other areas  as well I think the most exciting thing for us has   been our step into Commercial Roofing um so United  Airlines is one of our clients now we've done tons   of work out there all of them what what do you do  for them and how did you get that yeah so all of   the work that we've kind of done in commercial  really has been through the product ecader from   castagra and I know you know tats and I talked to  him before awesome guy great team the product is   honestly my favorite product of all the things  that we uh you know sell or partner with or   install because you know we love Malarkey  Malarkey's great but there's it has some   differentiators but it's still a shingle you  know this product is really there's nothing else   like it on the market it's truly revolutionary  patented proprietary like just um blows everything   else away from what we've seen and um so we have  probably we're doing a job in in Fort Worth today   a coding job um we have like four or five million  dollars in proposals out right now for huge jobs   um that I expect will get a couple of those  and they wanted to wait until you know the   first of next year to kind of make those big  decisions but I think that's been the most   exciting part of uh our journey that's been  different since we probably saw you last time   very cool what kind of growing pains are  you experienced now I know different size   different years always have them what's  happening at the end of year three I mean we had a you know we had a  big change in our core admin staff   um we turned over everybody once and got  rid of um a lot of you know I say a lot   but you know a couple of positions that were  um hurting us for now that we can look into   um you know in a few years maybe next year  uh depending on our growth but we're we're   realizing that going back to as Joel as  you know uh mentioned a lot going back to   more of a Grassroots type mentality um for the  sales team um for I think for our admin team as   well is making sure that you know it's just so  because you know we've been in the hospitality   industry for years and you're used to recurring  clients the same clients the same clients bring   their friends you know and you just you see them  all the time and it's weird to go into Roofing   because it's like it's a one-time thing you  know and you go through all this stuff with them   um whether it's insurance or retail and then the  roof is done and it's almost awkward you're kind   of staying there and you're like well I guess this  is it you know but it doesn't have to be you know   because if you're really you know preparing the  client for you know hey share it with you know   you know referrals with friends and family or you  know download our referral app that we have and   you know there's you know some incentives there  and really making sure that every client produces   another client or a possibility to get your  name out there because they I mean I'll brag on   ourselves we're almost at 105 star reviews and I  mean there's stories and the fact that people are   harping you know like just just really preaching  from the rooftops about the great customer service   quality and all of that that they're getting from  us I really want that to really translate into   all of their friends and families and neighbors  because why not you know that's there's nothing   there's not a better feeling than you know getting  a great recommend or giving a great recommendation   um so a kind of distanced off there but um  but really getting back to the Grassroots   not trying to grow so fast um and you know as  he's saying you know we are meeting around the   same you know 2.5 million this year but with  with what we've seen in the industry and it   being slow and the fact that we you know added  on all this overhead and we've grown physically   um as a company the the mentality needs to  really go back to the client and really just   making sure you're making the most of  of each of each client yeah yeah it's   been a it's definitely been a tough year  we had um a marketer we were paying a ton   of money to um that wasn't really producing  results we had an accountant that um I was   and that's shady but uh a lot of self-interest  negligent you know for sure and um so we've   we've fixed those issues um we had a lot of  turnover people that were definitely like family   um you know some of them doing little like side  deals I mean you know all the all this stuff man   I mean it's been it's been a crazy crazy year for  sure but now we're like in housing our marketing   doing it ourselves doing it more grassroot we  have an accountant now that's uh incredible   um and we you know use like some really cool  software um one's called live plan and we really   have a good grasp on our numbers now for the first  time you know like a really solid grasp on our   numbers uh we're kind of building like our own CRM  and airtable and in that we're able to forecast   better so like we have a pipeline where um we have  all of our projected deals so all of our clients   are in it for the next several months you know and  we have like a percentage placed on those to close   so we have like this funnel basically with and  we're just able to kind of predict and project   Revenue better so all of the like struggles  uh that have happened mistakes that we've made   um where we we're like better for it for sure so  we've fixed that and kind of come out the other   end and are stronger because of those experiences  love it I want to reflect to that really quick   um I want to say that when you put a business hat  on we usually as a business owners we want to be   positive we want to share with the world positive  news we're growing and stuff like that but doesn't   it feel sometimes like everybody's out to get you  like just what you shared your accountant your   marketer like your phone actually starts reading  non-stop the moment you get that LLC the moment   you get that Google listing marketers Services  estimators I mean you named it and you have to   learn how to say no more than to say yes and it  just it does well people do think that we make   way more than we make and it sucks because early  on everybody's after you and I think that's in a   sense good because you know that's how you become  better that's how the fittest Will Survive and   the weakest will go out of business because if  you don't learn how to say no and manage those   people and if you're trusting everyone people  will take advantage of you so thank you so much   for sharing I want I want to talk about your  podcast Houston roofer podcast what's the story   behind it and your experience so many people  out there that want to start a podcast because   everybody's on YouTube on I mean that's like  next big thing right but attention is harder   and harder to get because there's so much noise  you guys doing phenomenal job with your show how   did you come up with the name what's the concept  and how's it going yeah so the podcast is is fun   it's it's really like a you know labor of love  we enjoy having guests on there I'm not sure   um anybody really listens to it other than  like our moms you know but uh well they do   yeah they do but 150 uh plays on one video  and I'm pretty sure it's Phil's mom but   but um it's good for SEO it ranks really  well so like we're Houston roofer podcast   um and the the kind of intent behind it was there  are of course a bunch of roofing podcasts but we   wanted to create one that was geared towards  the homeowner or property owner so to talk   in an unbiased way about you know our opinions  on what are the best roofing systems you know   we just had you on talk about directory so any  resources that a homeowner business owner would   be able to that would be a benefit to them we  want to kind of provide that education and that   knowledge because I felt like that was a little  bit lacking um and we have had some people call   us because of the show and so they you know they  were Googling whatever and the show pops up and   they are like that's kind of interesting and it's  just a way for them to kind of learn more so it's   fun I think it's just a great uh resource you know  like like you're saying I mean if I was Googling   Brava roof tiles I mean it's a newer you know  composite you know a lot of you have to do a   lot of research your own research especially  since it's a higher end and then you have this   video pop up that's like a q a with Brava or  just our experience personally installing it   it's it's almost like a how-to guide to uh  all basically all the questions that you're   you know searching answers for so I think it's  um really beneficial especially when you can   go down a Google rabbit hole and all sorts of  stuff will pop up especially the first page is   all ads you know you don't really know who to  trust and where to go especially I think one of   my favorite ones that we've gotten the the most  positive feedback on is uh the insurance claim   um one and we've done a few where we kind  of break it down because it's a monster   um all insurance claims but really educating  this is this is the conversation that we have   with all clients whenever they're about to  start it and it is this in depth but a lot   of people will want to look on the internet and  do their own research before they you know trust   somebody who knocked on their door so the  fact that we can still reach them and give   them that high level of education and break  down all of the frequently asked questions   um I think it's doing great job yeah you know you  just have so such an educated clientele now that   really likes to do their own research and so it's  just another Avenue for them to be able to find us   and I think our team likes it a lot being able  to share like you know your the clients asking   about a deductible and we're like you know there's  some validation there and credibility where they   can say look our owners just did a podcast and  a YouTube you know a video on deductibles and   what's legal what's not what's right what's  not let me send it to you real quick and so   it's kind of a cool resource for them as well I  love it I mean there's so many benefits I cannot   find any cons of making the content I mean you  don't have to repeat yourself you establishing   yourself as an expert when people searching for  you for your company I mean company who does have   a podcast will stand out from any competition  in any industry because immediately people like   well they're here for the long term right uh haul  they're here to stay they're not going anywhere I   mean they're doing the show they've done 250  episodes they must be real right and maybe   they'll talk about me or my job or my experience  yeah who knows yeah absolutely yeah I mean you   know the the real the best way to sell of course  is I mean listen always but educate and so that's   the the purpose of it is to really educate who  would you call biggest partners in business now   like we mentioned monologue um other products  other like who's who do you get credit to so um   we loved the relationship we've established with  our different you know manufacturers and partners   um any uh thing that we kind of partner with they  really have to be meet three criteria that's kind   of the values of our company they have to be very  Innovative so kind of be the most Innovative in   their space have durable products and having  an some kind of eco-friendly component to   them so for shingles Malarkey is that we've  loved our relationship with Brava Roofing   um you know we're their preferred contractor here  in Houston and really in Texas and have gotten to   do a lot of those jobs those jobs are really fun  I I do believe you know depending on what happens   with solar I mean composite roofing is going to  have a big part in the future of roofing just no   grain annuals you know one piece construction it  just makes sense and I know there hasn't been a   lot of incentive in the you know Market to make  a product like that because everybody's making   a lot of money um everybody likes replacing  everyone's roofs every 15 years or whatever   um and then and you know I just appreciate the  Innovation and what they're doing there and then   of course castagro with uh ekadur um we have a  metal shingle we install from Castlewood they're   kind of under Isaiah Industries that we love  a lot to kind of differentiate from standing   seam and looks beautiful and it can pass in HOAs  so I think those probably been the biggest and   we you know those guys come down and talk to our  team I would say once a quarter probably we have   somebody come in and talk to the whole team  and like kind of educate and train the team   on that product specifically um all of them  have been incredible as far as like teaching   Us best installation practices and things like  that just a lot of support and so we definitely   appreciate that I mean it does feel like a true  partnership got it uh two questions left one is   um not popular topic not many people want to talk  about it but I'm gonna ask because we ask tough   questions you cannot make money on every job have  you lost money on jobs this year oh yeah for sure yes yeah we actually we just had a um a big  standing seam job metal job um go go south on   us so how much did you lose in that one I lost  60 Grand on one standing same job those metal   jobs always so promising we really only our loss  on it is only maybe a couple of grand we really   only lost about three thousand dollars but we were  you know supposed to make about 20K um so there's   you kind of could look at it you know like losing  23k and a lot of time probably a lot a lot of time   um and uh yeah we ran the the panels um and you  know it was just a big mistake I'm like I wasn't   there to check every panel and we ran you know  seven eight thousand feet linear feet of coil   and then at the end notice that on one little  Ridge they all had ripples in it you know and   you have those conversations where you're like I  mean people are telling me like man they're not   going to notice that you know it's such a small  detail they're not going to notice and I'm like   I I notice you know and I wouldn't put it  on my own house and so you have to make   those tough decisions I would rather lose  money on this job and do it the right way   um because you know that's what we I mean it's  plastered on our wall you know true to our word   true to our work and like doing the right it just  means doing the right thing no matter what and   um and especially at that price point that's what  you're paying for you're paying for a professional   like job to be done yeah so and then we  just had one it's one of those jobs where   we had one issue after another and yeah you  mentioned it yesterday when we were interviewed   interview like you know there's this uh one job  that you have no matter how many times you go back   it just can't can't seem to get over that hill and  we did finally took a lot of resources but we the   homeowners are really cool we've had a few other  ones where you know that um you have that certain   homeowner that is just like so OCD nitpicks  everything and we're usually really good with that   type of homeowner ask lots of questions they like  us and appreciate us and our attention to detail   um but it just feels like that the jobs that go  wrong is always with that one homeowner that like   you just of all people why them so yeah we have  another one now um some windows that are leaking   that we we scratch their Windows during the tear  off had to replace these huge bay windows now the   windows are leaking um and we got to go back  and fix that and that'll be a big L as well so   um but they're all learning experiences and  you just uh bite the bullet and do the right   thing no matter what and um you know don't do  it again feel feel that pain yeah and let that   inspire you and teach you love it let's finish  on your advice to a brand new startup because   numbers don't lie you already way above statistics  three years strong keep going so you're probably   the top 10 percent I mean three percent is  not a lot three years in business is not   blood but in the roofing industry is a lot I  mean a lot of people 80 cannot make it through   two years what's your secret what what do you  say to someone who's just getting started and   Roofing where where are the blind spots where the  most common mistakes that business owners makes   man know your numbers the numbers don't  lie people lie but numbers don't lie   um you know Outsource any other friends that  you may know that are business owners that   have great accountants um it's just you always  need to be looking forward it's not just what's   next week how are we finishing out the month  it's like what are we doing in five years you   know and as long as you have you're you're out  that far then you can build you know backwards   how do we get to this and break it down into your  daily routine um making sure that you really like   can break down your systems and processes  that's something obviously it's gonna it's   forever changing in a company but as long as  you're moving with that like your systems and   processes are moving with your company then your  gold and that communication with your admin team   is just so key and really making sure that  the expectations are there so really sharing   um the we're very transparent with all of our  team our sales team everybody our crew um about   what our intentions for this company are and then  you know our admin we we let them know you know   financially how things are looking what what our  goals are and how what we need to do to meet that   and so they can step up in their role and you know  help as a team effort to get us there yeah if it's   if it's someone who's looking to possibly Branch  out on their own um and start their own business   I mean I would typically say don't do it you know  don't do it just go work for a great company and   um and clock out at five and forget about work and  just be blessed and be happy and uh it's no matter   what you think it's so so so so much harder and  so much more work than you could possibly imagine   um so just be ready for that and if you are then  you know um I think you do want to be well funded   as as best as you can so you want to save as much  as you can you know there's every time you um if   you're on Facebook or something there's always a  guy saying like I started this from zero dollars   and everything like that and that's good for him  but of course the 20 people that also started from   zero dollars that are no longer in business are  not responding and saying you know they're not   raising their hand um so for every one there's 20  or whatever the numbers are but I mean you know   it you are going to have those really tough times  where you're really strapped for cash and you may   not be able to pay yourself and you got to pay  your team first and things like that and we've   um run into you know tough times financially  for sure and uh are we going to make it are we   going to make payroll this month you know and  we've we've never had to lay one person off   we've never missed a payment on anything uh and so  have you paid have you paid people more than you   paid yourself oh for sure everybody yeah everyone  everyone on the team makes more than us for sure   that's some real truth right there for sure but  you know uh you have to there you wouldn't have   a company without him you can't take care of your  staff if they're if they're producing and they're   100 you know bleeding green true works you know  and asking what can I do what can I do I mean   why not you have to take care of them yeah yeah  100 but um you know so if you're prepared for   how hard it's gonna be yeah know your numbers um  make Sops for you know every single job position   um we did that this year it  was a really great experience   um so we have you know great great training I  mean we really have like I feel like a three   years into it starting to feel like I know  what we're doing and feel like we have a good   business with good systems good is good hiring  good training you know Sops for every position   people really feel like they know what their  job is what the goals are things like that but   man it's been a struggle just to get here and  I'm sure there's plenty more struggles ahead   um but uh I mean it's fun it is fun yeah  and uh the reward is amazing yeah you know   um just being able to see the team succeed um  come in and like if they buy a new car they buy   their Christmas presents or they buy their like uh  a new house you know because of the success of the   opportunity the platform that we kind of provided  for them it is like something that is very   Indescribable kind of how you would say kids are  you know you can't blame it that love you cannot   explain it and it's the same type of feeling you  just my happiest moments in work really are like   their successes and seeing them better their  lives and knowing that like we provided that   opportunity we provided that platform for them  to come in and do that and it's thrilling and   rewarding and yeah love it love it thank you  guys so much for sharing it is rewarding it is   hard I love what Laura says you know make sure  you know your numbers numbers are very logical   they're not emotional there's no emotions in  numbers so many business owners are emotional   they go by what they feel it's not about your  feelings numbers will never lie to you it's the   most logical thing in your business forget about  your feelings look what's on paper if it doesn't   make sense on paper you should not be doing it  thank you guys so much for your time absolutely   thanks for having us for sure it's been fun man  talk to you soon thank you have fun bye foreign

2023-01-09 03:04

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