Building roofs and relationships: Talking about growth, grit and the power of peer support

By Jesse Sanchez.

In an industry built on structure, this company focuses on what holds it all together: connection, process and trust.

In a field dominated by bids, blueprints and bottom lines, Tracey Donels is building something less visible but just as critical: community. As the founder of Service First Solutions, Tracey sat down with Megan Ellsworth at The Coffee Shop Sound Stage during the International Roofing Expo (IRE), sponsored by SRS Distribution, to talk shop — and what it takes to grow a thriving service and maintenance business in commercial roofing.

“This is our fourth year as a presenter,” Tracey said. “Easily the best first day yet.” The energy at this year’s roofing expo reflected not only the evolving industry, but the rising demand for a segment too often overlooked: repair and maintenance.

Tracey, a 16-year contractor turned business owner, launched Service First Solutions to help others do what he had mastered — scale service departments from the ground up. “It’s a different animal than re-roofing and production,” he explained. “Most building owners think they only need a roofer when the roof is leaking and when they need a new roof. We can also help them save money or in turn make money through preventive maintenance.”

Central to Tracey’s approach is collaboration. Through service-focused peer groups, Tracey facilitates monthly virtual meetings and in-person strategy sessions with roofing contractors from across the U.S. “Sometimes it’s just to vent,” he said, “It’s amazing once you get enough people in the room you get four or five or six people that all have the same problem and then you get the momentum going and then you get the discussion going and then we start solving each other's problems.”

Peer groups aren’t just about troubleshooting — they’re about inspiration. This year’s group visited Beldon Roofing in San Antonio, where owner Brad Beldon and president Danny Mendes opened their doors for a behind-the-scenes tour. "He took care of us," Tracey said. "Brad Beldon and his president Danny Mendes answered every question we could have possibly had... gave us cards, gave us a swag Yeti cooler."

At booth 25100, Tracey and his team fielded countless questions from contractors curious about standing up or scaling their service offerings. The answer, he says, isn’t just in sales — it’s in systems. “If you can fix a person's problem, do it quickly with great customer service, they're not going to care about the price and they're always going to come back to you. No one fires a service provider that does good work, and they like.”

Watch the full interview to learn more about how Tracey Donels is helping roofing contractors scale smarter, build stronger service departments and turn industry challenges into opportunities through collaboration and connection!