Setting up your business toolkit

By Emma Peterson. 

Starting a new business brings in a lot of moving parts, by developing an effective business toolkit you can make that manageable and profitable. 

In this Roofing Road Trips® episode, Heidi J. Ellsworth went down south to Dallas, Texas to learn about having the right strategies in your business toolkit to succeed in the industry. Guiding her is Steve Little of KPost Roofing and Waterproofing. Steve has been around the industry for over two decades now, having started KPost with Keith Post and Jayne Williams in 2004. From there, they’ve had an expansive career that includes work with the Tesla Solar Roof program and the Dallas Cowboys. Steve cites a lot of success to “finding good employees, giving them the tools they need and getting out of their way.” 

But what exactly are the right tools for this kind of success? Steve addressed this at the 2024 International Roofing Expo (IRE) where he spoke about the importance of third-party support that’s not necessarily on the roof. He explained, “We are very good at certain skills, but there are so many things in today's world that you must be subject matter experts (SMEs) on to be successful, and we don't have many of those skills. So, we built that network of professionals (SMEs) and are promoting that through the market to help other contractors.”  

All of this is becoming more and more crucial to success today, as Steve explained, “I think the technology, regulations and the immigration issues that the world has, not just the United States, has changed the barrier to business with the single ply world.” The role of KPost’s business toolkit is to connect growing businesses in all parts of the industry so they can help each other overcome obstacles.  

To get started with the toolkit, Steve recommended, “Figuring out where you want to go, building a plan that you can measure by and have smart goals by and starting to understand what you can and can't do.” Once you find those holes in your skillset, find the people to fill them.  

Read the transcript or Listen to the full podcast to learn more about KPost Waterproofing and Roofing and how to succeed in the industry.