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Starting A Roofing Business After A Hurricane Takes More Than Hustle with Reed Brown, Roof Rangers · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm excited to be joined by Reed Brown with Roof Rangers.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Reed, thanks for being here.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing today?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Doing great.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Excited to be here.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: No problem at all.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're excited to have you.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go ahead and jump right into things.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, for those of you who may not know it yet, you know, who are you?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Who is Reed Brown and what is Roof Rangers?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hello everybody.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Reed.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am first, most importantly, a husband and a father to two beautiful little girls.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a two-year-old and a one-year-old.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: So that pretty much defines my life just about now.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Roof Rangers is a local residential and commercial roofing contractor.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: We service the Greenville, the upstate area, Greenville, South Carolina, and Myrtle Beach in Charleston.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's a nice area there.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's really up and coming.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, Reed, you know, let's let's get into things.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, real talk is there's something about running a business that people think is amazing, but it's actually complete BS when you hear it.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, before I started running a business, what I thought was pretty amazing was from the outside looking in, it seemed pretty simple.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: The team, everybody did their roles, and therefore the owners at a previous employer that I worked for seemed everything seemed to run pretty smooth.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: But what I've learned that is complete BS is that this is not a nine to five.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I am on call 24-7, and at any given point, pretty much needed to be able to answer a question for the reps, check on a job as far as the production goes, running materials, doing everything.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's a non-stop lifestyle for sure.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what would you say or have you ever had an exact moment where you realize, you know, this thing could either really work, this business, or it could completely blow up in my face and I lose everything?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: I've never had the mindset that it would blow up in my face, but I've I've had doubts, probably like any business owner.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: There's hard days, long days, 12-hour, 24-hour days.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Being a contractor, we mobilize.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: So we go anywhere in the state of South Carolina.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: The driving along with the computer work and and everything can catch up to you just like it could to anybody.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, we we manage well.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: We have a great team that supports everybody in every role that's played here at Roof Rangers.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: So with that, I'd say nothing, nothing crazy outstanding.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, would you and have you ever, you know, when did you actually start your business?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we officially opened the doors in 2024, October of 2024, to be exact.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: October 2024.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So right after right after Hurricane Helene.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: So uh good on you for making a negative for most people into a positive.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, absolutely.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: That was a really cool experience, yet probably not the it could be it could be debated whether it was a good or bad time to start.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: We we definitely jumped off the diving board into the deep end there, but it worked out well.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: It gave us a good run into the market up here in the upstate.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, how did this pass winter?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you know, this past winter, we got a lot of snow here in the Carolinas, very cold and snowy winter, a lot of ice and stuff like that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Did did that affect business at all for you?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes and no.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: We we had some people call with with some specific situations due to that, but for the most part, everybody that we were servicing at the time and and had to put off due to the snow for installations and people we were working with that had open claims or all everybody was pretty safe and no no big complications because of it.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody seemed to make out pretty well.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, awesome.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what would you say was the most stressful moment you've had as a business owner?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like a, you know, how am I going to get through this type of moment?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Personally, for me, it would probably be some of the municipality aspects to things as far as permits go for particular jobs that might be a little unique compared to our everyday work that we're more used to doing.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, have you ever thought about quitting?
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you know, I would probably be lying if I said no, but at the same time, that just isn't an option.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Once we started this, we're we're here to stay, and my family depends on it, and so does my partners as well.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's important that we just get through the hard days and keep moving forward.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have them, but we're also gonna have good days too.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: So enjoy them while you get them and just keep your head up and keep emotion out of everything in order to get through those hard days and keep a level head.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it's worked out pretty well.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now you said your family, you know, everybody you have working for you depends on you.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what what would you say as far as, you know, I I know that's kind of a deciding factor, but you could always go back to a nine to five, right?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: And work for another roofing company.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: No, I I don't I don't think that I could.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: One thing that I pride myself on with roof rangers is it it is ours, so we have the ability to service the way that we see fit and to make the calls that need to be made in order for a customer to be handled correctly in in each situation.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think that the way we carry ourselves on job sites and everything definitely takes the the uh detail and and kind of control that we have over the situation, being, you know, the the owners and and being in charge and being able to lead and guide everybody so that way we put out a good service and something that's you know gonna be received well.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Roofing is a it's a messy business.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's we're right on top of people's houses, and we're taking we're taking all all this material off around all these beautiful flowers.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: And we had a lady with tulips who wanted to do the roof right during tulip season.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I tried to get her to just you know push it off a week or two because tulip season doesn't last long, but she insisted.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: So being the owner, I was able to come up with an idea that worked to protect that and act on it, and therefore it worked out.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas if I was working for someone else, I might not be able to make some of the decisions or go the certain routes that I feel necessary to make the job progress.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, I like that.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's good, that's good insight for other entrepreneurs who, you know, maybe listening, who think it about that's kind of why I followed up with that question.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: You basically are like, you know, I can't go back to working for somebody else.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's just not an option at this point, right?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, I love that.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, what would you say is a mistake you made early on that cost you either serious money, time, or reputation for your business?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good question.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'd say probably just being a little happy-go-lucky about some things, thinking that everything can be figured out e easier than maybe some situations have come across to where they haven't been as simple.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a very fast-paced business.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of the decisions that need to be made are it has to be quick and on the spot.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I think just getting around learning from being a sales rep to being the owner, now I'm the decision maker, it just trusting the team to to make the right calls as well when I'm not around.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'd nothing too elaborate in the in that sense.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what would you say is something about you personally or something that in your personal life that had to change in order for your business to grow and scale?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely emotions.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned a lot about just needing to take emotions a little bit out of business.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: However, that's what I think makes most entrepreneurs unique is the sense of how much they care about their product and their service that they provide.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: But you also have to take care of the company and and protect the company as well.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes I'm at the beginning, it was a little easy to correct a mistake or something that might not have been our fault, but it was due to not planning well enough in the beginning, as far as the right photos or uh covering something of a a little stronger in a certain area.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Just to make sure that everything goes correctly.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this next question, this is hypothetical, but let's say if someone shadowed you for a full day or let's say even a full week, you know, they shadowed you, went behind you, and kind of watched everything you did for that full week.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say would surprise them the most about how you operate your business?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: About how we operate.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're owner operated, so most of the situations that come about and the customers that we deal with are meeting the owners.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you think that would surprise them the most is just being able to meet the owners?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've I've worked for another company before and seen a lot of uh of other roofing companies, and I think that a lot of people rely solely on their teams and reps, but I've felt very good about being integrated into everything and being a part of each process as we go.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say that definitely sets us aside from from some other companies.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what what do you what would surprise them most about how you operate?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like let's say if they shadowed you specifically, I mean kind of how you handle the business every day for a full week.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: What would surprise them most about how you operate the business, would you say?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Probably just my attitude.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: I just try to have fun.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: This job was fun to me from the moment that I got into it.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, the pressure of being an owner can, you know, kind of get to you every now and then, but at the same time, just attitude is really important.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Just trying to make the most fun out of every situation.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, no, I I agree, I totally agree with that because I say this all the time that you know we spend more time at work than we do with our own families, right?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like if I mean doing that and if you can't have a little bit of fun while you're at work, you know what I mean?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's that sucks.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it just sucks to live your whole life and just be miserable, right?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: To work for work at a place and it's miserable every day and people can't have fun.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's nice to have a little bit of a good time, even at work, right?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean spend your whole you spend your whole life there.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you just have a little bit of fun while we're here, you know what I mean?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's awesome.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about numbers without getting too specific, you know, too specific since you've been in business now.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: About two and a half, you're going on almost what?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, yeah, that would be almost two years here this October.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be around in two years.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Two years here coming up this October.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So what would you say?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: When would you say was the moment or the time?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Was it six months?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Was it the first year?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say was the turning point where things started to scale and you became profitable and started to grow?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely took us a good three or four months to get our footing and just the the standard operating procedures of everything, creating those SOPs and changing them.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Hmm.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good question.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like I could elaborate more on that, but I don't have anything at the moment.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's fine.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think we can move on then.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So what would you say actually moves the bit the needle most in your business right now?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, some examples, you know, leads.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Would it be the conversions that you're making?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Would it be the pricing that your team does, or would it be your team's performance?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it something else entirely?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: What meet what moves the needle most in your business right now, would you say?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, something that we have integrated is offering multiple quotes for any of our retail estimates that come our way, anybody that reaches out to us or any any leads that the reps bring in that are looking for a retail quote, we provide a good, better, and best.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: We call it an essential preferred and pro.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that just helps us stay within the market of the higher tier products that people are selling, the mid-tier, your workhorse type products, and then your builder grade products as well.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Gives somebody the option to see all three at one time versus just getting one number and you know, needing to from there have a conversation about price and changing things.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: We kind of feel like we build something for every person right off the bat by offering that essential preferred and pro system.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of like a personalized quote in a sense.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's nice.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's nice.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: So do you would you say is that something that you know you're doing today that's giving you an unfair advantage over your competitors?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: I would say that I don't see it very often.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it it has helped us win quite a few bids being compared to other contractors that are giving quotes as well at the same time.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: I see that they oftentimes customers will ask for a small change due to the fact that we are giving them three possible numbers for the project.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: They give us a little bit more conversation and feedback on what we're providing and what somebody else has offered, and then we can kind of tailor it based off of what maybe they liked from somebody else, but didn't see exactly from us.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: But they were getting the feeling that they had more options because they were given more on the front end.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, and it let's say, you know, because I maybe this hasn't happened to you yet since you've started your business, but let's say, you know, have you ever had to make a tough call?
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, for example, like letting someone go or cutting a job or not taking a job because, you know, maybe a customer was difficult, or maybe the job was too difficult at the time.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: That ended up being the right move in the long term.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: I've had all three of those instances so far.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: I've had to let somebody go.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've had to let somebody go.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: I've had to turn jobs down, and we've had to make some tough calls on jobs as well.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's so let's go ahead and get into putting into the specifics a little bit.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, what happened there in that situation with the employee?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Honesty is key.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: We need to be transparent in everything that we do, and Roof Ranger's integrity is key.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: So honoring what you say is is really big to myself and Thomas, my partner.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: And with one of the reps that we had, we just went kind of in a in a spiral with us a certain gentleman and just being accountable and and being honest.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we had to cut ties due to that.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then in regards to kind of the you know, second part there, you know, declining that job, what what happened with that job that you had to that you had to move on from?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I I don't have a specific one off the top of my head.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I could pick one or two.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: I've had some instances where some people wanted to go with a lower quote due to uh finances.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: However, in their quote, they didn't put a permit for asbestos tear-off, or maybe didn't want to go with our program as far as the right way to do something.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted to take shortcuts, and we just can't really stamp our name on on shortcuts or or provide a warranty for it as well.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes, unfortunately, we have to turn down somebody who's ready to pay some money but isn't looking to do it exactly the right way.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there's cases where it's just not a good fit.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, gotcha, gotcha.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna head into what's called the quick fire round.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: So basically how this works is I'm going to give you one word, and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then kind of give me, and then after you give me that one word, give me, you know, two or three sentences, kind of a little blurb after it to kind of explain why you chose that.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's see what you got.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: First word is success.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Money.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: With with it with success comes money.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end of the day, that's that's what we're doing this for.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing this to provide for our family.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: So the more successful we are, the more able we are to provide.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And the opposite of that.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Failure.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Stress.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's stressful to fail, but you have to get over it and overcome and move forward.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Burnout.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Driving.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I do a lot of driving across the state of South Carolina, and I would feel like that that's that's where burnout comes from for me.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's where I see it the most.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, speaking of that here, uh, you know, let's just take a quick sidebar here from the quick fire round.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do you do you only do South Carolina?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Do you do any Eastern Georgia or any North Carolina at all?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, not currently.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: We would.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: We've we do have a few projects right now.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: One in Georgia that we're looking at taking on, and a couple in North Carolina, but not as far as marketing there.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll so you'll go and do the job, but you don't market there.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, gotcha.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we don't want to turn down a good opportunity if it seems like a good fit for us, and it was a client that we've worked for in the state as well.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so back to it.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: So next word is scaling.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Scaling.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Heights.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, our our goal is to is to scale to a certain size company and then just try to maintain that.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I'd I'd say I'd say heights.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're you know, getting into that a little bit more.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Where where do you guys what do you see yourself in in five years?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, in five years, I I'd suppose that's in in my mind, that's where we would be finally stable and have a more surefire team, as far as somebody that's really good in each niche area of of this industry, as far as you know, retail, interns, new construction.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: And right now I've got some some really good reps, but nobody's a master of one yet.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it would be really good to guide some of our guys into certain areas of the industry where I see that they would fit a little bit better.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And instead of trying to constantly drum up leads via door knocking or marketing, just being able to provide such a value that these jobs are coming to them because of how well they performed and how well roof rangers looked while we were on site and how well we delivered.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that answer.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: All right, and the next word is hiring.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Firing.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Hiring is uh it's tedious because the job is not easy.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: This is a self-starter type of career.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: This is a 1099 position.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: And whereas we will train you and help you and do everything we can as the company is the backbone for our reps and for our crews.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: We need everybody to do what they say they're gonna do.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end of the day, motivation changes for people.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd say it's just kind of tedious bringing somebody on, making sure it's a good fit long term versus short term.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Competition.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Friends, I I think competition is necessary everywhere.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: It pushes people to grow and to be better and to better themselves.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, I think that we also as owners Have the ability to help each other and create a good name for just roofing in general as far as an owner goes, not badmouthing other competitors or anything like that, but just staying true to what we are, who we are, and what we provide.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: The last word is freedom.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: America, thank you for our all of our soldiers and everybody overseas taking care of us.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Freedom comes from just being able to be here in the USA.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, no, I agree.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: I totally agree with that.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate you answering that quick fire round there.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go ahead and wrap things up.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, where do you think your industry is going, you know, with all this talk of AI and things of that nature, robots getting involved?
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And where do you think your industry is going?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you see it in the next 10 to 15 years?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I see it being somewhat easier finding a lot of tools that are very helpful in our industry.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: That being taught this job and this trade by my father, I see a lot of things that he didn't have access to that I do that definitely would just be beneficial and is hopefully going to continue going in the right direction of just making everybody's life and job a little bit easier.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the day, we can spend more time with our families and do the things that we enjoy most because of being able to work and provide.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: And the things like you said, you've talked about a little bit before, you know, being able to spend more time with your family, your kids, stuff like that, right?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: I love that answer.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be as candid as you can for the next answer for this next question, you know.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, be as honest as you can.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, let's just say a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode with you today, Reed.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And let's say they're feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, 2020, they're just not having a good go at 2026, they're not profitable, they're not getting the business that they like.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: What's a piece of advice you'd want to give them today?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: Just take each day at a time, create a plan and a structure around your life, create boundaries.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: Boundaries are huge.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, you'll fall into the trap of just making work your entire life, which I definitely have done, and so is a lot of the the guys around me, but that's what makes us good at what we do is we care a lot, but boundaries are are huge for family, friends, work, clients, all of that.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate that.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's next for Roof Rangers?
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: What should people be excited about coming up in the near future?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, in the upstate primarily, I mean, we could offer it anywhere, but being closer to Tennessee, I've recently made a really good partnership and friendship with a blacksmith out of Tennessee who makes custom copper rain chains and steel rain chains for us.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna hopefully put that on our website pretty soon.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're offering them now, just in person to customers.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: We have some samples, but upon that relationship being built, we found a way to bring something to the market that I don't see a lot of companies specifically offering, other than just shingle products and gutters and downspouts.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Rain chains are a really fun way to lift your curb appeal and add something to the house that is a little different and not the same as everybody else.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Are you guys hosting any events soon?
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: No events other than we've got the Greenville home show at the Greenville Convention Center May 16th and 17th this month coming up.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: So we will be out there.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: You guys gonna have a booth or what's uh what's the plan?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll have a booth and be standing there ready to chat with customers and show off some of our unique products and services that we're able to drive out to you and come come provide.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect, perfect.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And Reed, finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you or learn more about what you all do?
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and our website is up and active and functioning, and you can always just give us a call at our phone number 864-729-1310.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Any social media?
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it is roof.rangers.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what's that Instagram, Facebook?
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Instagram and Facebook.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Both of them.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, all right, nice, nice.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Any plans on a TikTok or anything like that in the future?
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, possibly.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: We've picked up some meta glasses and are playing around with the idea of using them to help make kind of training SOPs in the future and just showing the the amount of fun that we're able to have while doing this job.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're uh we're a small company, so everybody's you know very friendly with each other and knows each other pretty well.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that sets us aside with our crews as well.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: We can go out to any job site and name just about every member of the crew, unless one of those leads brought someone new that day, then we'll take the opportunity to meet them and and learn about them as well.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: But but yeah.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: All right, Reed.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's fantastic.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: You sound like a fun boss to work for.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind the scenes of building your business.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate you coming on today.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.