Sitting in Atlanta Airport

wywoody Said:

Lefty Said:

wywoody Said: My goal wasnt to personally install. But when I got much beyond that, I realized my goal wasnt to spend my time putting out fires, managing egos, fixing below-par work and being a constant safety nag.

This is the biggest problem with most employees. They thing the things you listed are not part of running a business. They think that installing is 95% of the business. With that attitude they think that they are the most important part of the business. They think the business owner is just reaping the rewards of the installers hard work.

What you stated is you were looking to reap the rewards of the installers without running a business.

You qualify as running a business. I would dare to say that you are just providing yourself with a good paying job and you hire help to get your job done. And there is nothing wrong with that. Actually that is what is great about this country. Anyone can do that if that is what their goal is.

Projecting a little of your inner Elizabeth Warren there, Lefty? (you didnt build that business.)

Ill admit to shortcomings in my people management patience, but I refuse to allow others to define whether I can run a business profitably, legally, ethically dedicated to uncompromised quality of the end product.

I also have a good memory. I recall pictures of a steep church reroof with 6-8 workers with 0 safety equipment at a height that could bring felony charges for the company owner. The sheer disregard for the workers safety and the stupidity of posting it astonished me. I still remember my thought when seeing it That idiot has no business running a business.

I started out in the roofing business just to create myself a good paying job. I hired people to get my job done. That lasted 20 years. The last 15 years my goal changed. It is now to create a company that provides the best service in my area for my customers , the best place to work, and a company that can run without me. I have accomplished that before I joined RSI.

About that church roof, at the time that was accepted practice. If you would have picked pictures I have posted since then, you could not call me an idiot. Since then everyone wears a harness unless we set up the safety rail system on shingle roofs. I have seen some roofers in our area use harness's, but I have not seen any use the safety rail system.

Success breeds resentment. It always has, it always will.

While we are all free to define "success" in our own way, the individualism common to the roofing business, where roofing "companies" are often started by people who had trouble working with others, for others, or in many cases weren't even hire-worthy to most upper level corporations, organizations like RSI will always be despised by the general masses in the roofing business. It's just what it is.

What I know about Lefty Holencik is this: 1. He came from nothing. 2. He built the most recognized and respected residential roofing company in his market (which is a fairly large market, and has been verified by public opinion polls) 3. He built that company by doing things most people in the residential market say "can't be done". Like using real employees instead of subs. Paying exceptional health and retirement benefits, bonus programs and utilizing a strict point-system for discipline.... all before having anything to do with RSI. 4. He doesn't spend his money foolishly. 5. He researches every major decision he makes, and usually seeks trusted counsel before doing so.

IMHO, if Lefty Holencik joined RSI, the facts are far different than what one would gather by reading this thread. Doesn't mean there aren't bad apples in, and viable examples of the above, to be found in RSI, but I'm willing to bet a lot more than a month's worth of pay that RSI offers an education worth paying for, a blueprint worth studying, and roadmap on how to get there, if your definition of success goes beyond "Working for myself and putting on the best damn roof possible".

It's also my experience that most roofers are about 1/2 as good as they think they are, and don't recognize real quality when they see it, because they've never really been exposed to it in the workplace. I think the bulk of the people that participate here are exceptions to that rule, as most people willing to share their wisdom and experience have taken the time to actually learn something. But Lefty Holencik is nobody's fool. Even if the only words he ever said about RSI was "It's a good organization", I would take that word over a 100 examples to the contrary.

Richard Kaller got villified for the very same reasons. Very few roofers have what it takes to swallow their pride and pay-the-piper to teach them what they think they can do better for themselves. And that's a fact you take to the bank. I tip my hat to Lefty and Jesse for (my own paraphrase here) admitting they had gone as far as they were able with their own skill set and joining an organization that enables them to collectively share what works and doesn't. You can't sell ethics, you can only teach them by example. I am willing to bet that the Holencik's have as much of an impact on RSI as RSI has on them.

Go get'em Lefty.

GKRFG Said: I also enjoyed Kallers input. I would love to hear you take over the role. B)

lefty can speak for himself, but as I understand the program, members sign confidentiality statements. What you will get from RSI members is recruitment, not teaching. They pay a lot of money for what they get.

GKRFG Said: Lefty, Thanks for the post. I believe that you have built up a great business over the years. I also believe that you have managed to find the right kind of people and that to do right by yourself, your business and your people that now is the time for the company take another step.

disclaimer: BTW- I have absolutely no talent for conciseness :)

I say this because this is where I would like to see my business go and I have always thought that the biggest obstacle to improving my company is ME. And I would wager that is true of everyone of us. No matter what your goal is. Few of us in this trade have a business background and there comes a point where lack of knowledge is the wall to climb. There are not a lot of resources to find that type of knowledge. I applaud your decision to take this step and look forward to hearing anything you might want to share.

For the Lone Wolves the problem is not knowledge but eventual physical limitations.

I also enjoyed Kallers input. I would love to hear you take over the role. B)

Question for Lefty:

You seem to want more than just running a business. Is the next step "creating a brand" in reference to why a customer would choose your company over another. I believe once you have a "brand", what ever it may be, price no longer is the dictating factor in a customers purchasing decision.

wywoody Said:

A successful roofing company owner that joins RSI, is like a gourmet chef trying to get a McDonalds franchise.

No, I just want to make an honest living. Call me utopian.

My story has gone from starting out installing, getting off the roof selling the product and company, buying a Franchise, taking on a Contractor partner, buying and flipping houses while running roofing business, selling off all assets of the roofing business except my license, becoming an independent insurance adjuster maintaing my roofing Lic. Assisting former customers with quality roofing and repairs using a Lic. Sub who worked for me as an employee before getting his Lic. The insurance job keeps me well during storm season along with roofing repairs and reroofs in between at my rate. I let all the total roofing contractors fight tooth and nail for their work. I am truly independent of employees very low overhead and a very nice living. Diversification has worked well for me. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

Lefty Said: You will be confronted with ideas that may be hard to digest.

I'd like to think I could accept wild idea's, but I'm as hard headed as the next guy. When I came back to roofing from being a computer networking consultant, I had a lot of ideas that I was afraid to even speak of because I'd be breaking routines. Turns out that a few of the ideas greatly improved our game.

I've also spent a lot of time thinking I might be the lone wolf type in the future, because of employee troubles. 2014 proved to be pretty decent, and I hope to make even more progress in 2015. The lone wolf approach is looking less like my future every day, but it's always a possibility. I know that if I ever have 15+ employee's again, it will be completely different than last time.

The Dude Abides.

There's definitely something to repetitious & communal positive thought, (for lack of a better term). It's been proven to work time & again.....i.e. "prayer", is one of the basic examples.

twill59 Said: I was in a national organization at one time also. Quite a few, (as in the majority) of the successful contractors were using illegals to the MAX. I was very shocked. Not what I expected at all.

I never heard them complain Illegals, Subs, OSHA, the government, either.... :dry:

Funny how that comes-to-be.....

;)

wywoody Said: My goal wasnt to personally install. But when I got much beyond that, I realized my goal wasnt to spend my time putting out fires, managing egos, fixing below-par work and being a constant safety nag.

This is the biggest problem with most employees. They thing the things you listed are not part of running a business. They think that installing is 95% of the business. With that attitude they think that they are the most important part of the business. They think the business owner is just reaping the rewards of the installers hard work.

What you stated is you were looking to reap the rewards of the installers without running a business.

You qualify as running a business. I would dare to say that you are just providing yourself with a good paying job and you hire help to get your job done. And there is nothing wrong with that. Actually that is what is great about this country. Anyone can do that if that is what their goal is.

Wywoody, I would have to use a different password. I hear that all the time.

If the only goal I had was to personally install. Your model would work for me too.

Mike H, Thank You

You saved me a lot of time and money by letting me use your drug policy as a basis for my own drug policy. Your advice on this forum and privately helped me immensely to get my company to where it is today.

Who was the guy that had an all women roofing crew. I think his name was Dave Chewhoveth. I have hired a few women. They were excellent workers. One died otherwise she would still be with me. She came into my office and said "I need a job and if you hire me you will not regret it." She was not lying. I never regretted it or any of the others.

I will have women roofers working for me again. Hopefully this year.

Lefty,

After our talk in VA, it made me wish there was a commercial version of the same.

May all your goals be set so high that it would take a miracle to hit them, but I hope you come darn close. I know it won't be from lack of effort if you don't.