A career built on passion and perseverance

By Dani Sheehan.

The best part about the roofing industry is that if you have passion and work hard, you can go as far as you want.

The path to a fulfilling and successful career isn’t always clear. College is often presented as the default route, but for those who struggle in traditional academic settings, skilled trades like our industry offer incredible opportunities. In a recent episode of People Make Roofing, co-hosts Luke McCormack of Roofing Talent America and Heidi J. Ellsworth of RoofersCoffeeShop®, sat down with Doug Duncan, president of Nations Roof Illionois and chairman of the board for the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). Doug’s journey into roofing really proves how hard work, perseverance and passion can lead to a thriving career – even when the path isn’t initially obvious.

Doug’s father owned a commercial roofing company, and as he openly admits, he found himself begrudgingly working for the family business when he realized school wasn’t for him. “I wasn’t always really thankful and grateful that my father owned a roofing company at the beginning,” he explained. “I didn’t see the opportunity. I didn’t see the career path.”

He started working in the warehouse during summers and was paid in hot dogs. “And if I did a good job, I’d get extras – maybe a tomato or a pickle,” he laughed. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but it introduced him to the industry’s tight-knit hardworking community – which remains unchanged all these years later. He shared, “What has not changed in this industry is the genuine type of people we have, the generosity. I remember that back from when I could first remember, the people were just really heartfelt people and always have been. And today is still that same type of person that is attracted to roofing.”

When his father passed away suddenly in the 1990’s, the family business struggled. “There was no succession planning there, unfortunately. We were just a bunch of roofers without the business side of it, and my older brother really tried to keep that together, but he didn't have the skills to do that.” He tried to start his own residential roofing business, but he also lacked the business skills and instead applied for an operations manager position at Nations Roof. He got the job, but the transition from working on roofs to working in an office wasn’t easy. On his first day, he even managed to answer the fax machine instead of the phone! In his current work with NRCA, he mentors others on how to work through this transition because it was so impactful to him.

Now, 20 years later, not only is Doug the president of Nations Roof, but he is proof that success can be achieved regardless of the starting point. He shared, “It has been a career beyond my wildest dreams. This was not the path I thought I was ever going to take. But all the different parts of roofing that I worked through, and I just kept plugging away. I had my doubts. I don't have a college education – how am I going to own my own business? But the best part about roofing that I will always look back on is that you just have to have some passion, hard work and you can go as far as you want to.”

His story is just one of many that highlight the incredible career opportunities in roofing. Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to hear more about the importance of mentorship and how Doug continues to give back to the industry.