RoofersCoffeeShop

Top 20 Insights From Our 2022 RoofersCoffeeShop® Influencers

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 06:00:00 PDT

By Evelyn Witterholt.

Our 2022 influencers gave us a lot of insight into roofing industry trends and helpful business advice.

Each year, we here at RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) name a number of roofing professionals to be our RCS Influencers. These influencers come from all sectors of this industry, from contracting to manufacturing to associations and everywhere in between!

Every month, our Influencers will respond to a question about an important industry topic either by written response or in an interview. These Influencers always offer informative and impressive insight into the world of roofing, and we always look forward to what they have to say!

This past year we got a wealth of responses from our influencers on topics ranging from new technology, cause marketing, material shortages and more! Without further ado, here are the top 20 insights from our 2022 RCS Influencers:

Honorable mention (#20-#11):

20 - Hire Employees Who Fit Your Company’s Culture

19 - 5 Tried and True Ways to Build a Team Aligned With Company Values

18 - How to Prevent Problems With Clients Before They Arise

17 - Overcoming Mistakes by Being Self Aware

16 - Strategic Business Plans Going Into 2022

15 - A Marketing Perspective on Material Shortages

14 - Sometimes You Have to Say No

13 - It’s Never Too Early to Start Your Business

12 - Focus on Customer Experience in 2022

11 - Make Sure Your Company is Covered

Top 10 influencer insights:

10 - Adapting to the Material Shortage Crisis

9 - Being Upfront and Honest With Customers

8 - Seeing the Problem of Toxic Employees From All Angles

7 - Manage Workplace Chaos by Dealing With Toxic Employees Directly

6 - Make 2022 the Year You Get Rid of Bad Debt

5 - Successful Mergers and Acquisitions Require Careful Planning

4 - Customer and Company Relationships Should be Mutual

3 - Making Sure New Hires Align With Your Core Values

2 - Material Shortages Will Pass: Build a Workable Plan and Stay Patient

1 - Supply Issues Won’t Be Over Anytime Soon

RoofersCoffeeShop® Announces 2021 Roofing Influencers

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 04:00:00 PST

RCS Influencers celebrates its fifth year of giving back to the roofing industry.

RoofersCoffeeShop®, the award-winning website where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business announces the 2021 RCS Roofing Influencers.

RCS Influencers contribute thoughts and wisdom monthly through interviews,videos and articles on RoofersCoffeeShop concerning pertinent industry and roofing topics. The Influencers represent all facets of the industry including contractors, associations and industry service providers. Their insights are recognized in a special category on the site called RCS Influencers.

“We have been asking important questions to diverse groups of RCS Influencers for the last four years and have found that they all have expertise in completely different areas of a roofing contractor’s business. We have been committed to sharing that thought leadership since 2017,” states Heidi J. Ellsworth of RoofersCoffeeShop. “With our RCS Influencers’ opinions, tips or advice, our readers get a feeling for all sides of a topic. Our Influencers are true thought leaders in the roofing industry and bring diverse and informative perspectives based on their interactions and relationships.”

We are proud to announce the following 2021 RCS Influencers:

Rae July – Chinook Roofing

Tammy Hall – CFS Roofing Services

Pete Harding – Go Green Roofing

Greta Bajrami – Golden Group Roofing

Michelle and Christian Kettering – LTD Exteriors

Danny Kerr – Breakthrough Academy

Julissa Chavez – SRS Distribution, Inc.

Rod Petrick – Ridgeworth Roofing Co Inc

Charles Antis - Antis Roofing & Waterproofing

Michelle Boykin and Curtis Sutton - Rackley Roofing

Trent Cotney - Cotney Construction Law

Thea Dudley – Pocket Protectors, LLC

Heidi Ellsworth – RoofersCoffeeShop®

Rudy Gutierrez - Shell Roofing Solutions

Wendy Marvin - Matrix Roofing and Home Solutions

Mandy McIntyre - 1st Choice Roofing

Mike Pickel - Texas Traditions Roofing

Marty Stout - Go Roof Tune Up

Ashley and Seth Pietsch - Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc

For more information on the 2021 RCS Influencers, meet them here.

About RoofersCoffeeShop

As an award-winning website and online community, RoofersCoffeeShop is committed to being a roofing professional advocate by supplying consistent information, education and communication avenues for all roofing professionals, and especially contractors, while promoting the growth, education and success of the roofing industry overall. Visitors to the site continue to find excellent opportunities for sharing information while participating in important ongoing conversations concerning new technologies, safety and the overall roofing trade. From the rooftop to the board room, RoofersCoffeeShop is “Where the Industry Meets!” For more information, visit www.rooferscoffeeshop.com.

We Love Our RCS Influencers

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 06:00:00 PDT

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

Download the top 15 blogs of 2019 for FREE!

Here at RoofersCoffeeShop® we are dedicated to providing contractors and roofing companies with as much information as possible to support the success of their businesses. One way we do that is with the help of our RCS Influencers, a diverse group of people, including roofing contractor companies, and companies that service contractors. This variety of professionals bring their own opinions, tips, and advice they then share with our followers. Each individual has their own interesting perspective based on their background and experience in the industry.

Read below to see what the top 15 blogs of 2019 were:

Jennifer Stone is the Pacific, Preferred Accounts Manager for Johns Manville. She spent 15 years in sales and marketing. While working as the Vice President for a horticulture company, she realized she was drawn to the roofing side of the business. She’s been in the industry ever since. Her blog, Service Departments Take Extreme Organization, focuses on the niche market of service and maintenance departments. She notes that women are finding huge success in leading these departments due to their ability to organize and multi-task, in addition to their emotional intelligence, among other qualities necessary for the job.

Mike Hicks, the President of Hicks Industrial Roofing, Inc., has been roofing since he was 16. He has a unique view of his career stating, “I look at roofing as a means of doing good rather than a way to provide a lifestyle.” Mike belongs to three trade associations: the National Roofing Contractors Association, the Midwest Contractors Association, and the Ohio Roofing and Contractors Association. He stresses the importance of being involved in trade organizations and all of the benefits they provide businesses in his blog, Associations Offer Business Owners Resources That They Can’t Get Anywhere Else

Go Roof Tune Up, Inc. focuses on inspecting, reporting, repairing, and warranting single family homes. Marty Stout, the President of Go Roof Tune Up shares in his blog, 2019 Will be About Better Service, Better Relationships and Building a Better Place to Work, the specific ways his company is working hard and marking improvements.

Drew Smith, the Vice President at Brad Smith Roofing, emphasizes the role technology plays at his company. Drew started roofing at 16 when he worked during the summer months as a laborer on new roof and repair service projects. He provides the names of the technology-based programs his company uses and explains their benefits in his blog, From Leads to Estimates to Project Management, This Company Has a Tech Solution Every Step of the Way.

The founder of Cotney Construction Law, Trent Cotney, is dedicated to serving the roofing industry. He specializes in roofing litigation and arbitration, including defending roofs on construction defect claims, prosecuting lien and bond law claims, defending OSHA citations, contractor licensing defense, and bid protests. In his blog, Research Matters When Starting Your Business, Trent explains the value in researching the industry, market, prospective clients, and competitors when starting a business.

Mike Pickel started as a framer, then moved into project superintendent roles, and managed multi-million-dollar projects as a project manager. He then co-founded Texas Traditions Roofing with his brother-in-law. Mike’s blog, Technology Can Help Support Your Business’ Growth, is a transcript of his conversation with RCS Editor, Karen Edwards. She speaks with Mike about the ways his company is integrating technology, in addition to the benefits and challenges the company has experienced with technology.

The President of Kelly Roofing, Ken Kelly, took over the family business in 1993. Kelly Roofing is an industry leader, ranking 53 out of all roofing contractors in America. Ken is a traveler, businessman, and humanitarian. In his blog, You Can Make a Difference When You Participate and are Involved in Your Community, Ken stresses the importance of giving back by joining local committees, volunteering, donating free roofs, and participating in Roofing Day in D.C., among other ways.

Heidi J. Ellsworth, the owner of HJE Consulting Group and partner in RoofersCoffeeShop, has been in the roofing industry since 1993. Throughout the years she has worked with Malarkey Roofing, Carlisle Construction, and EagleView Technologies, and founded her own roofing-focused sales and marketing consulting group (HJE Consulting) in 2015. Heidi writes about the importance of change in order to meet market demand, employee needs, and business requirements. Her blog, 2019 is About Pushing Boundaries, highlights the ways RCS is pushing its boundaries and making changes to improve.

The President and CEO of Shell Roofing Solutions Group, Rudy Gutierrez, has helped develop strategies for companies with a focus on sustainable construction and energy efficiency for 25 years. Energy and roofing professionals at Shell Roofing Solutions focus on eco-friendly and sustainable roofing building solutions. In Training and Education are Imperative to the Success of a Company, Rudy shares the value and benefits of the NRCA Pro-Certification™ Program, which many of his employees are enrolled in.

In Jon Stantz’s blog, Customers Want to Be Educated, he explains the importance of providing information about each job to customers so they can make informed decisions confidently. Jon is a salesperson and repairman for Pell Roofing and Siding, a company he has worked at since 1988. He started as an installer/groundman and has worked his way up to being a supervisor, salesperson, and repairman.

Ross Riddle has been with South Coast Shingle Company for 51 years, serving as the President and CEO for the last 20 years. South Coast Shingle Company supplies southern California with every type of roofing and masonry material. Ross shares 11 Tips for New Contractors Just Getting Started, which include planning ahead, having a cash reserve, and much more.

Charles Antis, the founder and CEO of Antis Roofing, began his career as a roofing professional in 1984. Throughout the years he has become one of the most trusted names in the southern California roofing industry, as well as an inspirational business leader championing social corporate responsibility. His blog post, It’s a Super Exciting Time to be in Roofing, shares his excitement about the future of the industry. He starts by explaining that roofing is a reliable trade that will always be around and moves into the new and exciting changes technology is bringing to the industry.

The owner of Pocket Protectors LLC, Thea Dudley, has worked for 30 years as a credit and collection officer. Thea has been a major force in both the building industry and the credit profession to advocate for business financial health awareness through education and presenting seminars and webinars for associations. Now as the owner of her own consulting company, Thea writes about how Giving Customers a Little ‘Extra Time’ to Pay Will Lead to Cashflow Issues. She encourages contractors to always keep an eye on their collections and accounts receivable to keep cash flow consistent.

In Wendy Marvin’s blog, Use Technology as Leverage to Grow your Business, she dives into the various technologies her company uses and encourages people to identify the needs of their company before settling on a specific program or technology to use. Wendy co-founded Matrix Roofing and is now the CEO and current owner of the company, which was founded on the principles of customer service, people over profits, integrity, and trust.

Shelly Duhaime is a Captive Specialist for NFP, an insurance broker and consultant. She has served roofing contractors for more than 21 years in risk management and alternative risk financing. In her blog, Want to be a Roofing Contractor? Buy an Existing Company, Shelly outlines the multiple benefits to buying an existing company, such as having an existing client base and established labor.

An influencer is an authority, mentor, and expert. We ask our RCS Influencers to answer important questions, share their opinions, and provide tips. And many are returning for the 2020 year! We are grateful for their insights and the wisdom they provide to our followers.

Download your FREE copy of the top influencer articles from 2019!

Roofing Road Trips Podcast: Thea Dudley

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 10:41:00 PDT

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

Understanding the world of credit and collections from a professional with 30 years of experience.

Thea Dudley has honed her skills as a credit and collections officer throughout her 30 years of experience. After spending many years in the corporate world, Thea, also an RCS Influencer, decided it was time to do something different. So she started her own business called Pocket Protectors. Thea speaks with Heidi J. Ellsworth, RoofersCoffeeShop® partner, about her experiences in the credit world and how she helps her customers manage their cash flow.

Growing up, Thea’s father worked as a contractor. She shares, “I’ve always been very empathetic to our customers because I knew the struggles, and they were real. You have to go through contracts and retention and all of the things that go with that. Sometimes you don’t have somebody in your company that understands that and can help guide you through it, and so I’m like your surrogate credit manager.”

Prior to starting her own business, Thea worked with Cameron Ashley Guardian Building Products and then SRS Distribution. Working with these larger companies, she realized she “really connected to the customer and helping them work through some of those cash flow issues.” That’s when she decided it was time to make a change.

After stepping away from corporate, she “...started doing work with contractors and distributors in the industry to improve that back office cash flow situation so that contractors didn’t feel like they were basically holding up the money bag for everyone.”

Her clients are a variety of people from distributors to lumber dealers and from insulation contractors to the National Association of Credit Managers. Thea works hard to have them leverage technology and get their sales and credit departments working together to help with cash flow and “open up a whole other world for your company.”

Thea shares, “No matter what company and at what level, whether it’s a general contractor, subcontractor, dealer, distributor, whatever, wherever you sit on the bus, the problems are all the same. They’re just a different viewpoint.” She enjoys helping her customers update their processes, tools, and thinking, and bring their credit, which might be very behind, to the next level.

Thea explains, “You can teach people how to treat you, so you can teach companies how to treat you.” If customers know they can stretch out their payment a few weeks, they’re going to take advantage of that. Instead, she encourages her clients to make their payment expectations very clear from the beginning.

Thea works hard to help her customers improve their cash flow by updating their processes, getting sales and credit departments to work as one, and training her clients to hold companies accountable to their payments. Her three decades of experience have yielded promising results for distributors, roofing contractors, drywallers, and others in the construction and roofing industry.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about credit from Thea. Read the entire transcript of the podcast. Check out the RoofersCoffeeShop® podcast page for even more.

Roofing Road Trip with Thea Dudley- PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 15:52:00 PDT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Thea Dudley. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello. This is Heidi Ellsworth, Roofers Coffee Shop partner. I am here today with another Roofing Road Trip With Heidi podcast. I have to tell you I have been on the road with this guest so many times at National Women in Roofing events, different conventions, but today we wanted to get together and really talk about something that is so important to contractors, and that is how to get your money, credit. I want to introduce Thea Dudley with Pocket Protectors, a dear friend of mine. Welcome to the show, Thea.

Thea Dudley: Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: I'm so excited to have you here today because so many people just get scared when you talk about collections or credit or really how to make that a strong part of your business. You always make it sound just like... You make it easy. I'm excited for you to share some of your thoughts with our audience out there today.

Thea Dudley: Well, thank you. Thank you for inviting me on a road trip with you. It's very fun to be here. Money is not scary to me, but then that's what I've dealt with for the last 30 years, so want to take some of that and heartburn out of it and make it okay to talk about. It's not a dirty word.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is perfect. You know what? For all of those folks, and I know there's a lot out there who know you very well, we... I've watched you. I've known you work credit for so many huge corporations, working with contractors all over the country. Share what you're doing now. You're doing something pretty dang cool.

Thea Dudley: Well, I stepped outside of the corporate world. I had a lot of years with Cameron Ashley Guardian Building Products and then moved on to SRS and had some experiences before that, but I always got really connected to the customer and helping them work through some of those cash flow issues because if they know how to collect and protect their money, they could, in turn, pay me. When I stepped outside of that corporate role, I wanted to take a little bit different path, started doing work with contractors and distributors in the industry to improve that back office cash flow situation so that contractors didn't feel like they were basically holding up the money bag for everybody.

Heidi Ellsworth:That is great. It's your own business you have started, so it's near and dear to my heart. It's a woman-owned business. We all support each other that way. Who are you working with, Thea? Give us some examples because I know it's not just roofing. You're really across the board doing some interesting stuff.

Thea Dudley: Well, I work with a lot of distributors, a lot of lumber dealers, roofing contractors, insulation contractors, drywallers, and a lot of work with the National Association of Credit Managers because just... The building material and construction industry is pretty slow to adapt and change, in a lot of aspects, and credit is no exception. Trying to get people to leverage technology and stop thinking adversarially between sales and credit is really what I'm working towards, that if you can get those two departments working together and you can get that communication, that cash flow really follows suit, and then that opens up a whole nother world for your company. It's something very dear to my heart. My dad was a contractor. Working with a distributor, I've always been very empathetic to our customers because I knew the struggles, and they were real. You have to go through contracts and retention and all of the things that go with that. Sometimes you don't have somebody in your company that understands that and can help guide you through it, and so I'm like your little surrogate credit manager.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is perfect. You know how much I love sales, so I understand the problem. You go out there and you work so hard to sell something. If you're not having that strong conversation with the back office, with accounting and finance and everything, then it just doesn't work. I love the fact that you're really bringing that collaboration to the forefront too.

Thea Dudley: It's been really fun, and it's amazing how many... No matter what company and at what level, whether it's a general contractor, subcontractor, dealer, distributor, whatever, wherever you sit on the bus, the problems are all the same. They're just a different viewpoint. It has been really gratifying to work through and to take somebody whose credit was maybe running very behind and they hadn't updated anything in a really long time as far as processes, how they're thinking, tools they're using, and to get them to the next level and to see that cash flow really bust loose is really just so gratifying and really fun.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is so cool. That is cool. Okay. I don't know if everyone who's listening to this knows, but of course, we have our R Club. Our CSR Club is really there for contractors with discounts on classifieds, and the gift shop, and great content, but one of the best parts, I think, of R Club is you, you. People, our friends, who are willing to come in and do free consulting for the contractors to help them, that 15 minutes of just, "Where do I even start?" Then it allows them to get to know you. I'm curious, along that lines, Thea, is what... Your first conversation with a roofing contractor, what is usually that number-one discussion point that you start out with talking to roofing contractors?

Thea Dudley: The thing that comes up most in our conversations is processes. Everybody comes to the table when I ask them and say, "Okay, tell me what your processes are," and they have to admit they don't really have any. There's nothing written down. It's tribal knowledge. It's evolved over time. Somebody just picked up the slack on this job of collecting money or making sure the invoicing is out correctly. That's where we start backing in is trying to nail down those procedures. That seems to be universal where there's no policy and procedure. It's tribal knowledge. There actually is a procedure. You just haven't acknowledged it and written it down. It's the unwritten law of the land, but it gets massaged a million ways that, sometimes, aren't good for the company, but it works to maybe get jobs done.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. A lot of times, it's just about get it done today, and we'll worry about the rest of it tomorrow, but then your cash flow is halted, and that doesn't work. What do you see, along with the processes as a roofing contractor, the owner is trying to put this in place with the right people in the right seat of the bus, what are some of the pitfalls or what are some of the things that you would really coach them on thinking about as they're putting these processes together and also getting the right people to work on it?

Thea Dudley: Well, I think you hit the nail on the head right there. It's getting the right people. Then the owner is sometimes one of the worst people to put in charge of credit because we have what we call FOBs, friend of the boss. Everybody likes to get to that owner and say, "Gosh, if you would just work with me, here's what I'm thinking. I need another 60 days," or whatever. Owners cave a little bit faster than anybody else if you put somebody in there. A lot of it's pride, and you want to help your friend, and you want to be there to support because you maybe feel obligated to. Walking into that friend of the boss situation, the no processes, and then contracts really jam up a lot of people where they're so afraid of turning away business or questioning, "Hey, this is what's in this contract. Let's talk about this retention or let's talk about your terms of payment, and let's make sure that's clearly outlined before I set one toe on your project." Those are the things that really start to jam people up because they feel like, "If I turn this job away, then it's going to go to my competitor, and I'm not going to get it." It's like, well, I understand you might not get it, but it might be something you want to step away from. You've done no research to check out this guy bringing this contract to you and saying, "Hey, I'd like you to work on this." Did you check them out? Did you run a credit report on him? Did you read the contract, I mean really read it and make sure you understood what the pay scale is, what the warranties were, indemnification, scope of work, all of those things? Then what do you have to do for invoicing? Is there specials that you have to do? Is it AIA billing? Is it that it's just a normal bill cycle? What's going on there behind the scenes? Don't be afraid to make your payment expectations very clear up front. I always of put it to the contractor in context. If you're a sub rolling up and you're ready to do the roof, there's is an expectation by the GC you're going to be there, by the GC or the owner that you're going to be there on a certain day to do this project. If you're not, they're on the phone just blowing you up, but they don't have that same treatment with payment. How about we flip the table? What if I said, "Hey, my crew will be out there sometime between now and Christmas. I'm not really sure when it's going to make it there. We're just going to roll with it." The contractor wouldn't like that. That's the same thing he's doing with your money, so you have to start putting it in context.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love that. I love that. That is so perfect. As you're going in and meeting with, starting to work with different roofing contractors, it sounds... I mean all of those things you just said, that's a lot. What's the order? How do you work through that to help them get there to be able to say that, like, "It'll show up sometime between now and then, about the same time my money does"?

Thea Dudley: It's a process, and you sit down. There's a lot of conversation by phone going, "Okay, tell me about what your processes look like. Tell me about your business. Let's talk about how you go to market. How do you sell? Then let's start with how you pre-qualify somebody." You back into it in chunks. You make it not seem quite so like you're trying to eat that elephant all at one time. You make it not so scary where, "Let's take this in chunks." My view has been honed over 30 years of doing credit in the industry, so my perspective's a little different. You just have to teach that to other people, that it's okay to act like you need the money. That's another pushback I hear from a lot of the guys is, "Thea, I don't want to look like I need the money." It's like I worked for some big corporations, and let me tell you, we needed and wanted our money because that was our deal. That was the arrangement we made. Nobody here is... Yes, I want to provide a quality service for you, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we're a for-profit corporation regardless of size. There is a certain chain of events that have to take place for everything to go correctly, so getting them into that mindset and being able to walk them through some scenarios that they can grasp, that makes it very easy to go, "Okay. I get where you're coming from on the money thing." It's like you can do a lot when you've got money in the bank.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I mean I always find it really interesting too when people push back that way like, "Well, do you really need it now?" Well, that's what the contract says, and that's how this works. Maybe it's just because we all try to pay our bills on time and be that person, you really want that same respect from your customers.

Thea Dudley: I think it's setting the expectation. A lot of times, we don't teach. It goes back to any aspect of your life. You teach people how to treat you, so you teach companies how to treat you. If I know that I can stretch your payment out for six, eight weeks, and then you make a phone call and I can stretch it out and another three to four, well, my pocket's always better than your pocket. Unfortunately, the squeaky wheel does get the attention. You have to train your customers, "Here's my expectation. I don't really care how you treat anybody else. That's between you and them, but this is what our relationship is going to look like."

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. That is great.

Thea Dudley: [crosstalk 00:00:12:45]-

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh, go ahead.

Thea Dudley: You have expectation. They have expectations of you as a company. They expect you to have good crews that come out. They expect your job site to be a certain way. They expect all of these different things that they've laid out in their contracts from you. They expect you to live up to that or they will send you a bill for it or you'll hear about it, so what's wrong with setting the expectation table back on the other side of it and being very clear about it?

Heidi Ellsworth: I think that's so true. Maybe can you talk, just share some of your philosophies on that same concept with your employees? I mean I'm sure there's a lot of training you have to do with sales team and the finance team and them working together. Talk a little bit more about that. I find that really interesting.

Thea Dudley: That's sometimes one of the biggest challenges once you get past, "Okay, here's how we're going to approach this. Now let's talk about the people side of it," because policies are easy to put in place. It's harder to get people to carry them out. Not everyone's going to have the same like-mindedness as you. Salesmen come from all over, and they come with their salesman baggage. Same thing with credit people. I'm not letting them off the hook. You've got to have two people that are really working for the same goal, so you have to talk through it, and then you've got to have accountability and support from the top or it's never going to work. There might be people on your team that aren't good fits for that philosophy and how you're going to move forward after you've invested in them, worked with them, trained them, tried to walk them down that. It might not be that they can look at it the same way and get them to the place they need to be, and you might have to help them go find their smile somewhere else.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah, we know that. Do you see some of this starting to fit into company culture too? Because company culture, right now, is the hot topic in roofing on recruitment, retainment, and just good business practices. Where do you see all this fitting into that?

Thea Dudley: Oh, like you said, it's such a big topic, and everybody... It's not the same workplace as when our parents went to work where the philosophy was you got there before the boss, you stayed til after the boss left. If you had kids, nobody knew it. It was just very, "We're all about work," where today you've got, "Hey, my work life and my personal life overlap and blend, and there's really no clear-cut division." You want companies that can acknowledge that and give you that flexibility and also give you a voice, and you want to feel heard and you want to feel supported. You also want that, "Hey, if I did something wrong, I would prefer that you take me aside privately. Let's talk about it. Let's fix it publicly as a team, and get that courtesy that... Let's give you a learning environment with a safety net." Looking at how the culture has changed over the years, that really is a big thing. It's not that whole command and control and, "I'm going to dictate to you." You can't yell at people anymore like you used to be able to. They push back. They frown on that. The culture is really, "Hey, I can work anywhere in this economy, so I'm going to choose to work with companies that are all about my growth as well."

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I think that training is so important too because when you start putting either the younger or the next generation coming into credit, putting them out there talking to customers, when you have salespeople who you're trying to have them set the right expectations, I just really think that it's an opportunity for huge growth if the training is there and if they're using, honestly, someone like you who can help them with some of those pitfalls before they stumble into it.

Thea Dudley: I think that's true. It's hard. The credit environment is tough. I go to a lot of the NACM, the National Association of Credit Manager meetings, and I speak at a lot of them. You walk into a room and you see a certain demographic, and it's all very skewed to maybe the boomer generation. I've asked a couple of the millennials or younger that I know, it's like, "Hey, why wouldn't you want to get into credit?" They're like, "Oh, my God. No way. First of all, your job looks awful," which it's not. It's like the best job in the company because you really control if we make any money or not, so it's the best job ever. I can see where they would say that. There's a lot of negativity, a lot of times, around the role of credit. We always come across like we're a little jaded and grumpy and that everybody's a crook. That's not true, but you spend 80% of your time dealing with the less-than-desirable people and maybe not as much time dealing with people that you could affect change with, which is what I loved about what I'm doing now. I get to spend time with companies that really want to improve it and with the customers that I used to maybe not have the best relationship with because you're calling them going, "Hey, what's going on?" Well, now you have the opportunity to go, "Hey, let's fix this because, with a couple easy tweaks, you could be rocking and rolling in cash, and this would not be a problem for you." It's really nice to get to go in and help coach some of those people on their team and go, "Here's how you would approach this. Let's take a look at how you want to present this, and let's lay out what the return on your investment's going to be. Let's let's walk through these steps."

Heidi Ellsworth: The great thing is, with what you did on the corporate level, that was always your focus was it wasn't just collecting money. It was helping contractors collect money and grow their business and become more sustainable. You have real life examples from so many different directions to really help those contractors out.

Thea Dudley: Well, thank you. That's been really fun for me, and that's always where my heart really was. It was never... Yes, I spent a lot of time in court, but that's just the nature of the job. You get to take customers that you can see. It's like, "Look, really easy. You're a really good roofer or drywaller or insulator or whatever you're doing, but the back office systems really aren't your strong point, so let's talk about how we build that out and how we put some things in place to help you and get you there, get your back office to grow as much as your front, the front side of sales and marketing of your business did." That's really the fun part, and then getting to take people on their team, just like I did on other teams, and to help them grow and stretch and reach for what they want to do and how they can build out the role to be something that they actually really enjoy coming in every day and doing.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. That is great. Moving just a little bit away from credit in that you're seeing so many different industries, insulation, building products, roofing, everything, what are you seeing in some of the... I mean as you're an RCS influencer. We ask you questions every month, and you write amazing blogs and send us great videos, but what are you seeing is really the hot topic or the trends that contractors should be aware of that's happening out there across the building products market?

Thea Dudley: I think part of it is the false sense of security. That's one of the things that I keep reminding. It's like, yes, business has been really good for a lot of years and, hopefully, you remember the dark years enough to want to not repeat that. Although all economic indicators aren't saying they're going to be as bad as it was, eventually, what goes up must come back down, so it'll hit a snag again. If you're not positioned to take care of that, you're going to feel the effects and be a casualty. I keep seeing distributors let their customers go out a little farther. They give them a few more days. Contractors don't tighten up. They're asking for money or they're reviewing the contracts, and so they're getting very comfortable with, "Hey, this'll go on forever." If you're not preparing for that and you're not setting the expectations now, it will jam you up when that hits, and it'll be too late for you to fix it then. You've got to start laying that groundwork now and setting that expectation.

Heidi Ellsworth: I think now is the perfect time even though everybody is so busy. I mean that's so great for all of us in the industry, but now is the perfect time to really talk to someone like you, talk to... We have Cotney Construction Law in the Roofers Coffee Shop. We have a number of really great people who are out there ready to help to create that sustainable model that will weather the bad times that we know will come eventually.

Thea Dudley: Unfortunately, nobody wants to think about it because everybody, right now, is really high on where everything is, and it's been really comfortable, but that and across the board in the construction side of it, people are so uncomfortable approaching the mechanic's lien aspect of things where those are... It's not a slam on anybody's ability to pay or not pay. It's just a mechanism to help level the playing field for everyone. I'm letting you know I'm out here and, if something goes wrong, which we don't expect that it will, but if it does, then I've given you notice that I know my rights, and I'm going to assert them under the lien law. It also lets people know that you're out there, so everybody up the food chain gets to know, hey, I'm on this project, and I'm going to be looking for money. They're going to make sure that you get paid because they don't want to get liened. A lot of people, a lot of a companies shy away from using mechanic's liens because they don't know how to explain them. They're not comfortable with them. They're a little misunderstood. After that last rough recession, if you're not utilizing mechanic's liens, wow, you're a trusting soul, my friend, because they're there for a reason. If you can explain them and explain how they're good for everybody to your customer and why it's good for them, it's really an easy sale. It's really an easy pitch.

Heidi Ellsworth: That sounds like a really good article for us, Thea, on that. I think that would be something great to help educate our audience, so I'm writing that down right now, mechanical liens, so we can get that out there.

Thea Dudley: I will send you something fun just because you always buy the best wine, so I'll always support you.

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh, I love it. Oh, I love that. You and I were just talking about this. You're traveling a lot. You're speaking. Any speaking engagements or any conventions coming up that you'd like to share out there that where people might be able to see you?

Thea Dudley: I do. Oh, I will be at the North Carolina Home Builders Association in April. I'll also be out in Phoenix in April at the National Association of Credit Management, Credit Management Association co-branded a conference doing about three seminars for them. My mind just went blank. I know there's a few others that are coming up. It's been so much fun, and it's been so gratifying. I'm loving getting to spend time more on that one-on-one with customers. I'm happy to help anybody that I can. It's been a lot of fun.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is-

Thea Dudley: You can still read all my columns at LBM Journal. You can go online there. My credit advice column runs online and in the magazine.

Heidi Ellsworth: You have a new website. What's your website?

Thea Dudley: I do have a new website.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Thea Dudley: It's pocketprotectorslls.com, or you can just email me at thea@creditoverlord.com.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. More than anything, I just want everybody to know that you have a full directory on Roofers Coffee Shop where they can find all the articles that you've sent us, that you've written for us, the influencers, upcoming events. We try to keep all of that on the Coffee Shop so that everybody can easily find you along with this podcast.

Thea Dudley: Oh, thank you. Thank you, guys. The roofing community is so great because they're so embracing. As much grief as I get for being in this industry as far as, "Didn't your mom want you to be something safe and nice like an attorney?" I'm like, "No, no, nope. I'm going to hang with the contractors."

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, but now we've got all these National Women in Roofing too, so we got... and along with all the great guys in this industry. I don't know. I think we're pretty lucky. It's a great one, a great place to work.

Thea Dudley: I do too. It is a really fun industry, and I just thank everyone for all their support. It's been a wonderful first year.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's good. Well, thank you. Thank you for being an RCS influencer. Thank you for all of the wonderful advice and help that you give, continually give back to the industry. I think it's so important. Thank you for being here today. This has been great, Thea. I appreciate you so much.

Thea Dudley: Oh, thank you for everything. I appreciate the support. I love getting to spend time with you.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is good. I thank everybody out there for listening today. Roofing Road Trips With Heidi will be back again next week. Keep listening because a lot of our RCS influencers, key thought leaders in the industry, they're all coming here, and we're having these great discussions. We want to continue to share the wisdom that they bring with all of you in the industry. Thank you, and have a great day.

RoofersCoffeeShop® Announces 2020 RCS Influencers

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 06:00:00 PST

RCS Influencers celebrates its fourth year of giving back to the roofing industry.

RoofersCoffeeShop®, the award-winning website where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business announces the 2020 RCS Influencers.

RCS Influencers contribute thoughts and wisdom monthly through interviews, videos and blogs on RoofersCoffeeShop concerning pertinent industry and roofing topics. They represent all facets of the industry including contractors, associations and industry service providers. The blog posts are recognized in a special category on the site called RCS Influencers.

“We have been asking important questions to diverse groups of RCS Influencers for the last three years and have found that they all have expertise in completely different areas of a roofing contractor’s business. Oftentimes, we see articles written on a subject with one person’s opinion or suggestions, but there are many sides to the coin, and we have been committed to sharing that thought leadership since 2017,” states Vickie Sharples of RoofersCoffeeShop. “With our RCS Influencers opinions, tips or advice, our readers get a feeling for all sides of a topic. Each of them has an interesting perspective based on their interactions with the roofing industry.”

“We believe in empowering the industry and especially contractors to communicate with each other. We are hearing confirmation every day that RoofersCoffeeShop is where the industry meets. We want it to be the voice of contractors and roofing professionals that continue to build the professionalism and amazing reputation of our industry,” concluded Sharples.

We are proud to announce the following 2019 RCS Influencers:

Charles Antis - Antis Roofing & Waterproofing
Michelle Boykin and Curtis Sutton - Rackley Roofing
Trent Cotney - Cotney Construction Law
McKay Daniels – National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)
Thea Dudley – Pocket Protectors, LLC
Heidi Ellsworth – RoofersCoffeeShop®
Rudy Gutierrez - Shell Roofing Solutions
Mike Hicks - Hicks Industrial Roofing, Inc.
Jordi Lopez - Sage Roofing
Christian Madsen – Madsen Roofing & Waterproofing
Wendy Marvin - Matrix Roofing
Mandy McIntyre
Chelsea Oesch – Beacon Roofing Supply
Mike Pickel - Texas Traditions
Ashley and Seth Pietsch - Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc.
Jennifer Stone – National Women in Roofing (NWIR)
Marty Stout - Go Roof Tune Up

For more information or to read recent RCS Influencer blogs please visit our RCS Influencers page.

About RoofersCoffeeShop

As an award-winning website and online community, RoofersCoffeeShop is committed to being a roofing professional advocate by supplying consistent information, education and communication avenues for all roofing professionals, and especially contractors, while promoting the positive growth, education and success of the roofing industry overall. Visitors to the site continue to find excellent opportunities for sharing information while participating in important ongoing conversations concerning new technologies, safety and the overall roofing trade. From the rooftop to the board room, RoofersCoffeeShop is “Where the Industry Meets!” For more information, visit www.rooferscoffeeshop.com.

The Deductible Dilemma and other Insurance Horrors – Part 2

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 14:00:00 PST

By Thea Dudley.

Where does the law leave a roofing company trying to compete within what is fast becoming the new norm?

There are more than those two grim choices we discussed in Part 1 of upholding the law and losing jobs because homeowners don’t have the cash or losing jobs to other unscrupulous contractors. Take a proactive approach by educating yourself and your company on tools and options that you can offer your customers. Once you have those in place you can roll them out to your customers taking the pain away before it sets in.

The average homeowner is not aware that a “create, rebate, gift card, etc.” falls under fraud. Educate your customers on the law-keeping them, and you, legal by offering them solutions that allow you to keep the business, add to your credibility and that gives you a leg up on others who might not be so honest or knowledgeable as you.

Here a few things to help your roofing business build that bench strength to set you apart AND stay legal:

Include a reference to the law in your state on your credit application, contract or proposal. This puts the information on the table and opens the door to the conversation about how to LEGALLY solve it. HB2102 requires this to be part of the contract and is specific right down the size of the font.

Once the deductible conversation is started you can move into solution offerings:

Traditional Bank financing - Homeowner goes to their bank and applies for a personal or small home improvement loan. Your homeowner often can work with their bank to make this happen fairly quickly with good credit. Pro: The money is there with no work on the contractors’ part. Con: The customer has loan paperwork and credit check to pass.
Have a few consumer finance options for your homeowner - Greensky Financial, On-Deck, Lendkey Technologies and Financeit all offer various options that you can either steer your customer to independently online or as an offering of your company (get yourself set up with one of these companies in advance). The process is the same as a bank with some variance in costs and interest. Pro: Once you pass the customer on the discussion is between the financing company and the customer. Con: Customer needs to complete the loan paperwork and pass a credit check; rates may be higher for customers with credit challenges.
Offer a payment processing service. This is a newer offering in the finance arena for our industry. On a very basic level, it works like a credit card processing service. FMD- FundMyDeductible is one and the only one catering to our industry. For a small fee, the company collects a monthly payment from the customer of the roofing, insulation or other trade and then passes it to the contractor taking the pressure off the contractor to collect and giving the homeowner a vehicle to pay monthly and provide proof to the insurance agency. Pro: No loan paperwork, no credit check, creates a revenue stream from monthly payments to the roofing company, not managed by the roofer. Con: No credit check.
Revisiting the insurance policy. Although not helpful at the time of getting a new roof, the homeowner can go back to their insurance company and inquire about other options to help reduce the out of pocket in the future. An increased premium rate for a lesser out-of-pocket deductible is one option. They can also inquire if their insurer offers deductible insurance. A separate policy that covers the deductible. Pro: Less or possibly no out of pocket. Con: More insurance and insurance premiums.

Loan size is the greatest challenge for the homeowner in this situation. It may not be economically feasible (or worth the effort) to get a loan for a few thousand dollars, making the payment funding option really attractive.

If the name of the game is customer service set yourself apart from the pack finding practical solutions to offer your customer (outside of finding a generous relative or rolling the dice on an accounting sleight of hand hoping it stays under the radar) is a great way to do it.

No one is excited about having more laws to have to incorporate into our businesses, but the laws are here and appear that they will keep coming and be enforced so finding a solution is imperative. To quote Teddy Roosevelt “Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” Stop whining, start solving.

For those of you wondering, I did move into that house, for a greatly reduced price to cover the cost of the new roof!

Get more industry news and information delivered to your inbox when you sign up for the RCS Week-in-Review enewsletter.

Thea Dudley is an expert credit and collections officer, having spent 30 years in the construction field working for contractors and distributors. See her full bio here.

The Deductible Dilemma and other Insurance Horrors – Part 1

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 14:00:00 PDT

By Thea Dudley.

Insurance companies are cracking down on waived deductibles.

My husband and I recently had the joy of revisiting the home buying process. Endless paperwork, countless back and forth and finally the home inspection report. Among the assorted list of issues was noted: “needs new roof.” Ok, I am in this industry, so it should be no problem getting the house reroofed quickly and for a reasonable price.

I should mention it’s a beautiful house with lovely variances in roof elevations. In other words, a roofer’s nightmare with its multiple pitches, steep elevations and many dormers. We requested the owners put the claim through their insurance (it happened on their watch) and we would pay the deductible. Problem solved.

Or so I thought. They had to admit they had already put a claim through their insurance and spent the money elsewhere. No real explanation and frankly it sounds like a “they” problem and not a “me” problem.

I pointed out that equaled insurance fraud, regardless of the reason so how were they going to make it right. Before you think me heartless, I understand life doesn't always go the way it should, and circumstances come up but making your problems someone else’s doesn't make it go away. Listing your house for sale and pretending you didn’t know there was an issue is at the very least a lie by omission. If you did the crime, pay the fine. Put “needs new roof” in your listing and price accordingly or list a roof allowance in the price. Double-dipping is not going to fly.

While we are discussing fraud, let’s talk about deductibles. If I, as a homeowner, reap the benefits of a reduced policy rate in exchange for a higher deductible it is up to me to pay the piper when I have to use the policy. People have found creative ways around deductible payments, often with a little help from their friendly neighborhood roofing company.

Which is the slippery slope of committing fraud in the form of the insurance deductible? Here is how it has evolved: Roofer quotes the homeowner a price for the roof. Homeowner turns the quote into their insurance carrier. Insurance company cuts check to homeowner (or roofing company or mortgage company) less the deductible. All good so far? That is until the roofer issues a “credit or concession” to the homeowner’s account which happens to be in the exact same amount as the deductible. Coincidence? Unlikely.

As insurance companies wised up, the slope got a little slicker. Insurance companies often ask for proof of deductible payment before issuing the check for the remainder. The roofer has the homeowner issue two checks, one for the deductible amount -with the word “deductible” noted on the check and one for the balance of the reduced rate, thereby reflecting the “reduced rate.” Now there is proof to the insurance company if the roofing company ever gets audited.

As mentioned, life happens and the average homeowner often does not have an extra $1,500.00 - $3,000.00 or more to shell out for a new roof. They may forego getting the roof replaced or take the money and run. Roofing companies not wanting to see a sale slip through got creative and somewhere between the roofing company and the homeowner came up with some creative ways to “help” each other.

The slippery slope continues. Colorado, Florida, Texas and Missouri all have legislation on the books with varying degrees of repercussions – all holding the contractor, specifically roofing contractors, accountable. Florida made it a felony. Texas (who has had a law on the books for 20 years - HB2102 clarified the language as it was previously ambiguous). It has strong advocacy supporting and pursuing it and is now a class B misdemeanor with possible jail time and fines. Missouri listed it “an unfair business practice” which means we will all be watching to see how this plays out in the courts.

For you super creative types out there, “credit” for the deductible is described in almost all versions of this law as “an allowance, rebate, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, referral fee, or other monetary value for any reason.” So, there is no playing fast and loose with the meaning of that.

Where does that leave a roofing company that is ethical, working to stay within the law and still keep business? The choices of upholding the law and losing jobs because homeowners don't have the cash or losing the job to a less scrupulous company are not attractive.

Join us for part two – solving the dilemma.