Tools beyond the roof

By Dani Sheehan. 

Hear one business owner’s insights on family business, starting a company and the power of outside resources. 

Kendall Ekerson grew up in the roofing industry, and after 15 years working with the family company, she and her husband branched off on their own with their two business partners. In this recent episode of Stories from the Roof, Megan Ellsworth chats with Kendall about the lessons she’s learned over the years and how tools in the office can be just as important as the tools on the roof. 

She talks to Megan about her career in roofing and her decision to join the NRCA Future Executives Institute (FEI) in 2015. It was during this program that she and her husband really started to consider the next step in their careers. She says, “Me and my husband started those conversations of, if we do take over the family business, what does it look like? What are the conversations we need to have? And along the way I thought a family business going from one generation to another just happens. It's not the case. It's the opposite, it takes much more.” 

Ultimately, she shares that taking over the family business was not meant to happen in their story, but after talking with their friends Brandon and Nalani, they started Simply Affordable (SA) Roofing in 2021. As a small company, they are constantly looking for ways to improve their business while still providing a personal touch to each of their customers.  

One of the ways to do this is to recognize services and people that can provide value. Kendall explains, “I had heard of Ruby for a few years, and it was like, we need to implement this... With us being small, we tried a phone tree situation, so it would get somebody, but it was usually one of us running around on our cell phones and it wasn't the proper, ‘Hello, you've reached SA Roofing, how can I help you?’ It was a, ‘Hey, it's Kendall.’” 

Ruby is a Portland-based company that provides exceptional customer service to enhance small businesses by building trust, fostering loyalty and meeting customer demands for quick answers and personalized service. Kendall boasts of their professionalism and really sees the value-add in their company.  

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about Kendall’s experience and how building a successful business takes leadership, help from others and honest communication.