Building your contracting business’ foundation

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how to unlock success in the industry at the roof estimating master class! 

Delivering accurate and consistent estimates is key to fostering successful roofing projects, but that is often easier said than done. In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Karen Edwards sat down with John Kenney of Cotney Consulting Group to talk about how contractors can improve their estimating skills at his comprehensive in-person training courses.  

John, who has over 45 years of experience as a contractor in the industry, is hoping the estimating training will help others in the industry develop strong foundational skills and avoid mistakes he saw or experienced in his time working. He explained, “You've allowed me to make the mistakes so that I get to transfer that information over to you, so you don't make the mistakes. And anyone who has ever come to any of my classes or has seen me speak on estimating, that's why I always say it is absolutely the foundation of your company.” 

The first of these training courses happened over the summer in Florida and was a great success. John hopes to carry that energy into his upcoming training on October 22 and 23, also in Florida. This training will be broken down into a similar structure as the previous one, which featured a classroom-style environment. John went into more detail, saying, “I split each day into what I consider two parts. I like to do the first part of the day as instructional. We go over profit margins, we talk about the real nuts and bolts education part that you need to understand before we get into the afternoon session that's hands-on. I've set up different exercises and actual takeoffs and different scenarios of commercial low-slope and steep-slope roofing, and we work on those together each afternoon.” 

He made sure to emphasize that this training, while more advanced, can be beneficial to individuals in all parts of the industry. He explained, “What you're going to get out of it, regardless of what position you're in, as long as you understand what roofing is and what we do and you understand the makeup of putting an estimate together, you're going to have labor and all the different things, you're able to take this workshop and you're able to get knowledge out of it to take back and work.”  

Read the transcript or Listen to the episode for more about the importance and challenge of roof estimating!