Honoring Hispanic Heritage in Roofing - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Eric Gonzales of Crewmaster, Amparo Sancen, Tupac De Le Cruz and Minnie Robles of Johns Manville. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Intro: Hello everyone. Welcome to Coffee Conversations. Today we are talking about Hispanic Heritage Month. As you can tell, I am not Heidi. I am Megan Ellsworth, and Heidi sends her regards. She's feeling under the weather, so I am filling in. And I'm so excited to be here chatting about Hispanic Heritage month with all of my friends. Today's Coffee Conversations is sponsored by Johns Manville and we just really want to thank Johns Manville, thank you Minnie, for being here, for sponsoring such a great conversation. They are a leader in the industry, so we're glad to have them as a partner. So before we do anything, I want to introduce our amazing panel of experts and professionals in the industry. And, Eric, if you don't mind going first, just tell us a little bit about you and your company.

Eric Gonzales: Yeah, wonderful. Thank you very much. My name's Eric. I'm originally born in Dallas, Texas. I've been in the roofing industry since I was about 13, since I was 18 in business for myself. And I'm involved in the industry in many ways. More than anything, I am a roofing contractor, a roofing subcontractor, but today I'm here willing to share more about Crewmaster, which is my roofing directory that's helping power the labor industry and the roofing community with a specific focus in the Latino-Hispanic community.

Megan Ellsworth: That is so amazing. We're so happy to have you. Thank you for being here.

Eric Gonzales: Thank you so much.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay, next is Amparo. Can you say hello and introduce yourself for us?

Amparo Sancen: Hi, my name is Amparo. I'm from Mexico. I'm in the roofing industry around 15 years now, and I feel so proud to be a Latino woman in this industry. And for me it's amazing to be on this Coffee Shop and share some of the experience that we have and learning from the other ones.

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. Thank you, Amparo. Next, Tupac, can you tell us a little bit about you and your company?

Tupac De Le Cruz: Sure. I'm from Costa Rica. I've been in the industry for 20 years. I'm a first generation and we do commercial in the Southeast, anywhere from Texas to Florida.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing, amazing. I hope you're doing okay with Hurricane Milton right now.

Tupac De Le Cruz: Absolutely.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And last but certainly not least, Minnie, can you say hi and tell us a little bit about you? Oh, you're muted. Hold on.

Minnie Robles: Sorry. Technical difficulties there. Good morning. I'm Minnie Robles with Johns Manville. I'm the territory rep for Arizona. I've been in the industry a little over 20 years and I love what I do, so I'm glad to be a Hispanic in the roofing industry and helping others come join us.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. It's amazing. One last time, I just want to thank Johns Manville for sponsoring this Coffee Conversations and let's dive into our topic here. So I would love maybe Minnie for you to start, can you share a little bit of your personal journey into the roofing industry and how your Hispanic heritage has influenced your career?

Minnie Robles: Sure. So I fell into the industry by accident. I think a lot of us fell into the industry by accident and I'm really glad I did. So I was a single mom of a little boy and the banking industry had taken a hit and that's where I worked and I was still young, so I saw that there was an opportunity to work for a roofing contractor. They needed somebody that was bilingual that was able to communicate with their employees. So I was like, "Eh, I speak Spanish, I'll be okay."

And I started my journey as a receptionist at first, and it was very easy with the support of a lot of people that were around me for the company I worked for to move relatively quickly and then moving to distribution. I think the need, I think it's nationwide, but in Arizona, the need for someone that was bilingual that was able to communicate with not just the contractor but with employees and with the people in the industry themselves. I think being able to connect in your own language and share the same traditions and share the same values, I think was very helpful for me and it helped shape my career in the industry.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Tupac, do you have any insights to share on how your Hispanic heritage has influenced your career?

Tupac De Le Cruz: Yeah. Well, when I started in construction, I realized... Well, I wasn't a construction degree guy or anything like that, I was more finance. And I just happened to met a roofer in college, graduating with my last semester and he said, "Hey, would you come work for me?" And I said, "Sure," without really knowing what I was getting into. And then I started working for his business and I became very passionate for the roofers that were doing the work. It's very hard work to do. Their stories are very inspiring and I just fell in love with it. And of course we connected because you had people anywhere from Mexico all the way down to Panama and everything in between. And these guys are truly making the things happen for us. At the end of the day, we're running businesses, but they're the ones doing the hard work.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely, absolutely. Amparo, I'd love to know your take on this question. How has your Hispanic heritage influenced your career?

Amparo Sancen: Well, [inaudible 00:06:39] we are Latinos and we take the advantage to be Latinos and know the labor side and we know how hard we work. And this take me for me, a huge advantage because I always introduce myself like, "Hey, I'm a Latina." If they don't want to give me the job, either way, I'm going to be in your job site because we want to bring the crews to your home. That's one of the advantage that I'm always use to be that Latina, to be part of the crews, when I start my business back selling like my roofing company, because I was on the subcontractor site, I use to be Latina and to be part of the crews and bring crews to the other companies. That way they feel like, "Oh, okay, I choose her because she already have the best contact with the Latinos." I use that part and that's amazing. Sometimes we think being Latino, that's less, but if we're Latino, we know the power of the work that's taking advantage.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. I love that we know the power of the work. That right there is a really good little tidbit. Absolutely. Eric, how has your Hispanic heritage influenced your career

Eric Gonzales: Yes, well, I, actually a third generation roofer. So my grandpa came into the US from Mexico in the 1990s and started roofing. And so it went down into the family. As we know the roofing industry when it comes to the labor industry, a lot of the people who actually perform the labor are Latino, Hispanic. So it was something that I grew up in and as I was growing up, I was a person that liked business entrepreneurship in general. And I was like, "Well, hey, the family business is already roofing labor crews. How about I get in there and I learned everything that they've learned up to now?" And so that's exactly what happened and I took off with it. So that's where my impact comes from, where I already started because of my family in the industry.

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing. I love that. Family is really everything. So that's beautiful. So I would love to know each of your take on how Hispanic culture has contributed to the roofing industry in whole, historically and today. So maybe Amparo you can start and also if you ever want to answer in Spanish, feel free. That is totally an option.

Amparo Sancen: For me to bring my Latino culture to the business that made me feel like a family. That's something I always pushing. And every time that I have the opportunity to talk with the other markets, say, "Hey, just know our culture because we are really family," and that's what we was talking before, like, the dance, the parties, we really enjoy to be a family and that make warm your business either way. If you are working on the field, you make them feel like a family. That's how you get better results. That's one of my tips that I always use. And [inaudible 00:09:50] we bring now to our business and my daughters, we use on our business like a family.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah. I love that your daughters work for you 'cause I work for my mom. We love family business. So maybe Tupac you can answer next. How has Hispanic culture contributed to the industry and continues to contribute?

Tupac De Le Cruz: Well, I think in my opinion, there's no secret that 80% or more of the workforce is Hispanic. And for many years Hispanics, were trying to be introduced into the industry as the new generation of business owners. And I think we're in a point today that a lot of the NRCA diversification and configuration of diversity includes Hispanic women, millennials, Gen Zs and it's pretty interesting to see what it looks today and what it used to look like 16 years ago when I started getting involved. And Hispanics are just gaining track. I mean, sometimes we put ads to hire people and we just cannot find anyone but a Hispanic to apply for it and it's pretty interesting.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Minnie, Eric, any thoughts on this?

Minnie Robles: I think to piggyback off of Tupac, he's absolutely right. So before when you thought about roofing, you thought about a Latino doing the labor portion of it, doing the installation and doing the cutting of the shingles, the cleaning of the job site. But we're moving up in the ranks. Our hard work, our perseverance and I think the hard work that was instilled to us by our family and by our culture itself, I think it's leveled us up to be the owners of companies to be in the C-suite of corporate world. It has enabled us to be a territory manager or a regional manager or a district manager. I think as the younger generation is coming up in our industry, I think we're making a name for ourselves and paving away for ourselves. Like Eric is a third generation roofer from immigrant grandparents. I am a first generation... My kids would be first generation Americans, but my son is also in roofing. And I think a lot of that has to do... He's seen where we are all reaching and he knows that he can go a little bit further.

Eric Gonzales: Yeah, I definitely think the Latino community, Hispanic people in the industry are getting more comfortable within the industry and we're starting to see that, hey, the hard work that we're putting on doing the actual work, doing the actual labor, we can actually put this into the contracting side, into the primary side and we're going to get fruits of our labor. I think the other thing that's helping a lot too is the new younger generations who are starting to get access to a lot of the resources that are available in English for the roofing community. And so we're deciding to bring all those resources back to the Latino community. One of my biggest drives is just to think if my parents had the access to some of the resources that I have nowadays, who knows where I would be in the roofing industry?

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Amparo Sancen: And I'm think so right now it's a huge opportunity for our kids like Eric's parents, I know them. And when every time that we stay together, I feel like so proud to see my daughter, Eric, we was working so hard on different ways, but now everything is on their hands now, the life change for them. It's more opportunities.

Minnie Robles: We're setting it up for them to hit.

Amparo Sancen: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Amparo Sancen: So we feel good to be part of that, just pushing the next generation to grow on good way.

Eric Gonzales: Yeah, I think it's extremely important to recognize what Amparo said and also recognize that they as our parents have done a big sacrifice and we have to take advantage of that. We definitely have to take advantage of that and thank them for their sacrifice. And I think the best way to thank them is by succeeding in the industry.

Amparo Sancen: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that. I love that so much. So kind of going off of that, maybe Eric, you can answer this first, how has mentorship in the industry played a role in shaping your career? How important is mentorship?

Eric Gonzales: Yeah, I think mentorship is extremely important. I think I owe lot of success nowadays to always seeking mentorship. There's a lot of people that have the competition concept wrong, and I think that always seeking mentorship can help you get years ahead. A mentor really can give to you everything they've learned throughout all the years. And somebody having the proper idea of being able to identify that and being able to take advantage of that, that's what helps you advance much faster. So to me, it was always an honor to be able to have a mentor, to have somebody who's willing to share with me their knowledge. When you think of a mentor, you got to think of about a book. Somebody probably took a year to write a book and you come in and you can read that book in seven days. So you're able to acquire that knowledge and that's one of the things that we have to keep consistently in mind. How can I acquire knowledge faster?

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Maybe Minnie, how has mentorship affected your career and how important is it, especially in the Hispanic community, in the industry?

Minnie Robles: It's one of those things where you think you don't need it, right. 'Cause when we're young, I mean, I started in the industry when I was very young. I was like, "I can do this on my own." And then I come to realize there was a lot of people along the way that kind of took me under their wing and taught me everything that they knew because they understood that we were the next generation, that we were the next generation to teach the next generation. So I've come to find that mentorship is extremely important in every aspect, whether it's be how to figure out your work-life balance, 'cause as roofers we're always working. We can't drive down a street without seeing a roof. Not only just how to figure out work-life balance, but maybe you're having trouble with a roof system that you need more education on.

And I think being able to have a large network of not just one mentor for everything, but having a network of mentors for different areas and aspects of your life, I think that's extremely important in growing your career. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have great mentors, if I didn't have people that looked out for me or people that said, "Hey, you know what? You're doing it this way. Try it this way." And I think as we grow in our careers and the longer we are in it, looking back, we see all those people that helped us put those stairs so that we could climb that ladder.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely.

Amparo Sancen: I want to add something on that. I think so right now, the Latino community, they are changed their mind. They're looking for have a mentor because before they think they don't need to, they know everything. But now we see the life change, every year we see different movements just because we're more open to have more mentors.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's great. Tupac, anything to add?

Amparo Sancen: That save us a lot of time if we have good mentors.

Minnie Robles: A lot of time and heartache, that's for sure.

Amparo Sancen: Oh yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Absolutely. Okay, so I'd love to hear what each of you has to say on how can roofing companies create a more inclusive work environment that celebrates Hispanic heritage and other diverse backgrounds? Maybe Tupac, you can hit this one first.

Tupac De Le Cruz: Yeah. At our company, what we do is, first of all, we recognize that we are Hispanics. So it's a Hispanic founder, Hispanic, a lot of the workforce, a lot of millennials and women are in our managerial position. So that's pretty cool.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's awesome.

Tupac De Le Cruz: We let them plan around those activities. And we plan around Hispanic holidays too. So if there's a holiday that they celebrating in such country, then we'll try to celebrate that too because they are important for us and we want to keep it inclusive.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Amparo, how do you all make an inclusive work environment for all cultures?

Amparo Sancen: Just we celebrate. We have to make them feel proud to be Latinos. First, if we make sure we have that culture to be proud, that want to help us just to integrate with another culture, that way they can see we are Latinos and we can join our culture... Either way, we have to celebrate our Hispanic days on our different countries because we have a different people from different countries, we have to join them. That way we can feel so proud to be Latinos.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Minnie, maybe from personal experience, how has companies you've worked for made an inclusive environment?

Minnie Robles: So one of the things that obviously over the last 20 years, there's been... I have been a minority, not within the workforce, but within the office setting. And I think being able to make Spanish training manuals, Spanish brochures, Spanish magazines. I think being able to incorporate a different language in not just your safety training, but in your office manuals and in your guides for your C-suite. I think being able to incorporate another language into your corporate world actually helps a lot to become a lot more inclusive.

I know for me personally, it was people trying to learn Spanish. They would sit there with me and say, "Okay, well how do you say this?" And some days I'd come into the office and they'd be like, "Buenos dias, Minnie, right?" So it's not just about having the manuals and saying, okay, you are a Latino. We recognize that you're a Latino. We're going to celebrate Mexican Independence Day or Cinco de Mayo. But it's more of incorporating their culture into your everyday work life. So I know these guys would joke with me and be like, "Oh, is Minnie going to speak Spanish all day today and not allow us to speak English?" So I think being able to communicate with somebody else, even if you don't know the language, but making the attempt, I think that's a big part of being a little bit more inclusive.

Eric Gonzales: And to add to that, I firmly and blindly believe that in the next 10 years, there's going to be a huge shift in the industry and it's going to be a shift that's going to be Latino-led.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I completely agree. We just attended the ExpoContratista and it was so fun. And I am actually also trying to learn Spanish. I took four years in high school and I'm buffing up my memory of Spanish, Espanol. But it is so true, Eric. I think that is such a good point with especially NAHICA, Latinos en Roofing, LIRA, all these different amazing organizations and associations that are becoming such a huge part of the industry. And like Tupac said, the NRCA DEI Initiatives and Committee, same with National Women Roofing, the Latina Council. I completely agree. Eric. Eric, how has your company made an inclusive work environment for all people?

Eric Gonzales: Well, one of the things that I've done in my company, my company has been a mix of obviously Latino, that's my root, but one of the things that I can highlight is that a lot of the people who are from other cultures that work for my company are people that I've met throughout college, high school. So you have that mix where I have that root and I already have those people that helped me out. And then I created this other root with going to school here in the US, going to college, actually the vice president to one of my companies, she's not a Latino, she's inclusive into my company. And I just like to be a well-rounded person. And I think it's very important for the culture to be well-rounded, especially when you're in business, you talk to all types of people. So it's good to be well-rounded. And I think more than anything, the way you can add value to your team, it's by exposing them to other cultures and working with other people that's not necessarily tied to their culture or where they come.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I completely agree. And all, like you all said celebrate, celebrating Hanukkah, not just Christmas, celebrating Dia de Los Muertos, not just Halloween and all these different things, really small things that your companies can start implementing today. And then also, like Minnie said, having different languages in your brochures and all of your copy on your website is huge as well. Okay, Tupac. Tupac has to leave in just a few minutes, so I want to get your wisdom on this next question. Since you are such a huge part of the National Roofing Contractors Association and the DEI Committee, what initiatives or programs have you seen in the industry that have successfully supported Hispanic contractors and where can we grow? Where can we continue to grow?

Tupac De Le Cruz: Yeah, I think the first thing that I will do to advise to somebody is get involved. There's so many people, so many backgrounds, so many potential opportunities for mentorship. And then NRCA has developed these educational programs like Track and Pro certification in Spanish, and they're truly great products and they're available, they're inexpensive and they open a window of opportunity for people that are not necessarily exposed to it.

So I highly recommend that just get involved in it. I mean, you never know who you're going to be sitting right next to and that person can open a huge world of options for you. And I attest that as a personal testimony. I mean, the people and my friends that I have there today have been incredible mentors throughout my career.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. Amparo, I'd love for you to share about the Latinos en Roofing Universidad since that is a great brand new initiative and program for Hispanic contractors in the industry.

Amparo Sancen: Well, we see that a lot of the Latinos, it's a huge need to have somebody that can support them, they can help them help. But the Latinos, we like to take our hands and show us exactly what we need to do. But I'm [inaudible 00:26:40] on the Latinos en Roofing University, and we are part of the NRCA University too and they have so much opportunities, a lot of knowledge. They have a lot of knowledge. And Tupac say something, right, when you're in one of these organizations, you don't know who you sit next to. And I sit next to Tupac and I learn so much from him on the past event and be part of the NRCA and the Western state. I grow so much. I grow so much and see all the opportunities. They are there from over I think like, Western State, more than 50 years, NRCA for more than a hundred years.

And where we are, where we was the Latinos, searching for information, searching for knowledge, because we don't know these huge organization. They are there. They already have all these troubles that we have on the past. They already passed. They already have everything there. That's what I just love to be part of this organization. And still I'm part with Tupac with the Hispanic side to promoting and help and bring more Latinos to this beautiful organization because we're going to grow more. That's why I want to have everything on Spanish, that's what we launch all Latinos en Roofing University. We do trainings every day in Spanish or webinars. That way we can really there and support the Latino community. I think so I was need that one, years, 10, 12 years ago. That was a huge impact now. But I learned so much from all of these organizations.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, amazing. Minnie and Eric, are there any other initiatives or programs in the industry that we haven't touched on that you know of that are really trying to connect with Latino contractors?

Minnie Robles: So I know National Women in Roofing has obviously all those initiatives. We have our DEI initiative. I sit on the board of National Women in Roofing as co-chair for the DEI committee with our new NWIR, Hispanic Latinas in Roofing, our Hispanic council, that has changed the perception a lot of what we do as Latina women in Roofing. So we're not just women in Roofing, we're Latina women in Roofing. And I think having those conversations and being able to talk to each other in our own language and mentor each other as Latina women, I think that is one of the most important things that, it makes you feel secure, it makes you feel safe and it makes you realize that there are male mentors in the Hispanic community that would be willing to help you as well. So I think the national Women in Roofing, we are doing a fantastic job in trying to become inclusive and bring all those Latinas together.

Eric Gonzales: One of the initiatives that I'm doing with my directory, Crew Master, is I am collecting the information of all of the Latinos in the labor industry and to be able to help them find more work, more projects nationwide.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's incredible. I think that is such an up and coming initiative and what a cool directory. So congrats

Eric Gonzales: Yeah. Now with technology advancing, there's a lot of new ways that a lot of these Latino laborers, Latino contractors can get projects. And so that's one of the things that I'm focused on doing, helping them be better at acquiring projects so they can stay more busy and obviously them staying more busy allows them to grow more in the industry.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely.

Minnie Robles: Yes. Quick plug, shout out to Lorna, who is the chairwoman for National Women in Roofing Latina council she's amazing. So just want to-

Megan Ellsworth: She is amazing.

Minnie Robles: ... send her a shout out.

Megan Ellsworth: Shout out Lorna. We love Lorna. Okay, so Tupac before you have to leave, what is a story in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month that has inspired you within the roofing industry? Oh no, you're muted.

Tupac De Le Cruz: Like I said before, when you see these guys working, it is truly inspirational. Roofing work, whether it's a steep slope or low slope is very hard work in the summer times, high temperatures in the cold months, super, super cold temperatures. And they're out there, and we have to respect those guys because at the end of the day, we can be the pretty faces of the company, but those are the guys that are making the difference and those are doing the hard work. And I have tremendous respect for the crews and I get along with most of them and I try to mentor them as best we can because they need also some of our strengths as well. I would say respecting the labor force is one of the things that we do the most.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I would love to ask a follow-up question. How do you respect the labor force? What are some ways you go about showing them that they are cared for?

Tupac De Le Cruz: Okay, first of all, we do what we say we're going to do. Most of the times I get great crews that they said, "Hey, I worked for XYZ Company and they told me that they were going to pay me on Friday," and they didn't get paid or that they were going to get paid X amount of money and they only got paid half of it. And you see a lot of this happening and unfortunately there's people taking advantage of the workforce. They don't know contracts, they don't know the importance of having a written statement saying, "Hey, I'm going to do this for X amount of money and I'm expected to get paid on X date."

And a lot of these crews unfortunately are unsophisticated and they have the good faith of doing something for something else. But on the other side, people just take advantage of them. And I try to teach them. They don't have much financial acumen, so we try to help them, hey, not necessarily go and buy a car with a credit card because you're going to pay a fortune in interest rates. Try to see if you can save some money and pay cash. And same thing with trailers. If they buy a double white trailer and they pay 30 plus percent interest per year and all they're being sold these on the low easy payments. And I'm like, "Guys, you're going to pay five times the amount of that trailer, try to save a little bit more and just buy cash." So its just simple stuff, how we try to mentor them.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, mentorship goes back to that. Yeah, go ahead, Eric. Any stories that inspire you?

Eric Gonzales: Yeah, I was going to say the story that inspires me is just literally the story of my parents coming to the US, being able to give me a living, being able to clothe me to help me get through school, providing me with all the resources that I needed, supporting me throughout college and just supporting all that journey. I think that's one of my biggest commitments. My parents and I owe everything to them and I owe the success, aside from me, ultimately to give it to them.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. Tupac, I know you have to go. Everyone, thank you, Tupac, so much for being here.

Tupac De Le Cruz: Thank you-

Amparo Sancen: Thanks, Tupac.

Tupac De Le Cruz: And I appreciate this moment to talk about the Hispanics and the Hispanic heritage.

Megan Ellsworth: We love talking about it.

Amparo Sancen: Bye.

Tupac De Le Cruz: And to everybody I have to go join another call.

Megan Ellsworth: All right, thank you, Tupac. Minnie or Amparo, are there any stories that inspire you that make you think of Hispanic heritage?

Amparo Sancen: Well, Tupac made me think I was one of those years ago. That's what I tried to learn, but I always have to have looking for have a good mentor, that way they can teach me, because a lot of people, they take advantage, because you're there, you working for somebody and they take advantage, that's what I try to now help and support and teaching them on the right way how they can do business, because I already was on that situation where everything that Tupac say I was on the side. Just because you try to grow, you don't know, you don't have a manual, how you start a roofing business, you don't have a manual how you be a subcontractor, you make a lot of mistakes on the past.

But I'm thinking so that mistakes help us be better in support or crews because I was one of those on one day and everything that Tupac say that's true and that's still happened on these days as well. That's why I love to work with Eric because we have the same passion. We have the same struggles on our family. Maybe he doesn't have too much on his, but he know what his dad has on the past and that's what we support our community just because we want to let them know, "Hey, we are here. We already know where you struggle. Let us work together."

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. That's really beautiful. And I know we've talked about it before, Amparo, that like people taking advantage and scammers too. So brutal with taking advantage of people with the language barrier and all that stuff. So looking out for that and that's when mentorship really plays a part. Minnie, go ahead.

Minnie Robles: I think as Eric said, I'm quite a bit older than Eric I'm sure, but I think my dad came to the United States, he only had a third grade education and as Tupac had mentioned how people liked to take advantage of them. And we as Latinos, we come with this sense of work ethic where we are not done until we're done. We are not finished with the job until we're finished with the job. And I think a lot of people do take advantage of our Hispanic community because we have that work ethic because they know that we're not going to be done until we're done and they're going to pay us the same amount of money. It doesn't matter how much we're working or how much we're not working or how much more effort we put into what we do than somebody else. And I think being able for us in the industry that have been in the industry for a while, that have learned those hard knocks, that have gone through those situations, that have gone through all of these things that were not good for us.

If we can prevent this happening to somebody else, I think it is our duty and it is our responsibility as Hispanics and as people in the industry. I think it is our responsibility to help mentor those people that are either just coming into the country or people that are just getting into the industry. I think it definitely is our responsibility to help them guide through that because just as Eric said, if my parents had what I have now, the story would be much different, but it also wouldn't make us who we are and it would make us work as hard as we've worked to be where we are at.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, well said.

Amparo Sancen: And it's really easy right now talking about that situations that we have in the past, but when you are in the middle of that situation, when you have to cry in the silence when nobody see you, because how you going to tell, like, example, on my point, I have really bad one time that I was crying, I take a shower maybe two or three times a day, not because I want to take a shower, I want to cry, but that's the only reason that I can cry in the bathroom and just get outside with my daughter, with my family like nothing happened. Make up ready, nothing happened, but inside I have to cry because how am I going to tell my family, "Hey, they don't want to pay me. They don't pay me. And it's a lot of money."

How I can talk to your family. I know I was so mentally strong all the time that I have to say, "Okay, this is over. I'm not going to focus on that situation. I'm going to move on and just figure out these three more months how I'm going to resolve the problem and make more money that way I don't show my daughters, 'Hey, we don't have money.'" When you are in that situation, it's completely different. Right now we're talking and it's cool, but when you are there, it's there and it's mental, it's draining you. But how you going to tell your kids, "Hey, we're not going to have Christmas because this company doesn't pay me." That's why I'm here, just because I already have that situation one time and my family know months later what's gone on. And everyone say, "Why you don't tell me?" Say, "What I'm going to say? That somebody took advantage of me? No, I'm not going to say that to you. You see me. I'm so strong. I never focus on that situation."

That's why I feel so proud to be Latina and just working. Like, right now on this storm in Orlando, I know it's going to be a lot of companies, they're going to take advantage of the crews, but if I'm there, I'm going to be close to there, nothing going to happen, because I'm going to be there support. Nobody going to happen again the same that somebody did it to me one time.

Megan Ellsworth: Yep, yeah.

Amparo Sancen: And I have to be quiet just because I just think money or reputation. And for me, the reputation was better. And on these days I just say, "I did it right," because money came to me just because I still save the same company, the same people that trust me, but that wasn't their fault. What happened, I have to take my responsibility, say, "I want to still working," and gain bad reputation is really bad. That's why we figure out, money or reputation and I'm still working. And I have a great reputation on the business just because I do everything right, until they don't pay me, the other people.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah, wow. And I think Amparo, that's what makes the Latinos en Roofing University so powerful because you've had these experiences and you're working from that prior knowledge to help educate future people starting their businesses and going into this great industry so they don't get taken advantage of and it's so, so important. I had love to go to the next question, which is, how does representation in leadership, like, how does people seeing you, Amparo, owning a company, starting an association affect the overall inclusivity of the industry and growth of the industry seeing Latinos and Latinas in leadership positions?

Amparo Sancen: [inaudible 00:41:49] just because everything that what happened on the past that made me strong and that made me just be there to support and say, "Hey, one of the things that I'm [inaudible 00:41:59] that's what happened." If the people see us together, they don't take advantage. That's what was think. Let's be together, let's join this journey because we love roofing. I'm going to stay in roofing all my life, what I'm thinking. I'm going to just stay together with everyone. Nobody going to take advantage of us just because they know we are with the right people. Like example, I have a lot of attorneys, they're my friends, I have a lot of public adjusters, a lot of people that are on their business for a long time and they know if I'm asking for help and support, they will be there. Now I feel like, "Okay, I'm here, but I'm not here by myself. I have my whole community. We need your support." And that that's how this game change just because if you have right people next to you, you help a lot of people.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Eric, how does having Latinos and Latinas in the leadership level of companies affect the growth and inclusivity of this industry?

Eric Gonzales: Well, like I said earlier, I think that the roofing industry is in a big shift. In the next 10 years, it's going to be Latino driven. So one of my goals within my company is obviously to create more Latino leaders because that's what it's going to take. Leaders are the ones that create the change and not only create it, but maintain it. So we definitely need to put a lot more Latinos in leadership positions in the industry. And it's up to people like me, like Amparo, who are getting involved in meetings and stuff like that to find those people, guide them, lead them and make sure that they succeed and mentor them more than anything. And I blindly think we're going to be seeing that. And I think that after seeing that this industry is going to shift a lot and it's going to shift a lot to having a lot more benefits and us seeing a lot more Latinos win in this industry.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, Minnie and I mean, you're in a leadership position at Johns Manville and you kind of spoke to this a little bit earlier, territory managers, Latinas being in the C-suite, so can you talk to this a little bit?

Minnie Robles: So I think we always talk about the glass ceiling, right. I think everybody talks about getting to that C-level suite, being the owner of a company, working as a CFO, as a CEO, as I think leadership doesn't just encompass the C-suite. I think leadership encompasses starting Latinos in Roofing, it's starting Hispanic Council, starting a mentorship program. I think leadership from the Hispanic community is not just coming from the C-level suite or not coming from the positions of power. I think leadership comes in being able to pull someone else along with you. And I think as Hispanics, I think a lot of us are doing that. I think a lot of us are not just being leaders in our position at work, but we are being leaders as positions of, even if we're roofers, even if we are a salesperson, even if we're an inside counter person, I think we become leaders as we help somebody else grow in this industry.

So as we grow, I think somebody else is able to say, "I want that job and a Hispanic has that job. I can do that job too." And I think it just opens a world of possibilities of we're not just your labor force, we're the leaders in the industry. So I think that that is something that will, like Eric said, make a shift in the industry for all of us to be inclusive and everybody to have the fair shot of being in that position, not because they're Hispanic, not because they're a different race, but because they belong there.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, yes. That, that.

Amparo Sancen: Minnie is a great inspiration for a lot of Latinas that are looking for a job, and be where she is, she inspired a lot of Latinas. They say, "Oh, if Minnie can do, I can do." Minnie, you're a role model for a lot of Latinas.

Minnie Robles: Well, thank you, Amparo. That means a lot to me.

Megan Ellsworth: That's so sweet. Yes, agreed. I couldn't agree more. So going off of that, maybe, Minnie, you can start this one. What advice would you give young Hispanic professionals entering the roofing industry today?

Minnie Robles: Ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions. As Latinos, we have a lot of pride and we have a lot of, "If I ask a question, I'm going to look dumb." Ask the question, find somebody that you're comfortable with. Find somebody that's not going to belittle you or make you feel small because you ask a question. Ask the question, whether it's, "What's a two-inch nail?" Or whether it's, "How do you install a whole tapered system?" It doesn't matter what the question is, ask the question. Don't be too proud to not only ask the question, but to accept the help.
And I think us as Latinos, a lot of times we're afraid to ask for the help. We're afraid to ask the questions. We're afraid to take the help because we feel like we're incompetent. So I think if I could give somebody any advice is ask the question, take the help.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that. Eric?

Eric Gonzales: Yeah. My advice is the following. First more than anything is find a mentor [inaudible 00:48:00]. Find somebody who's doing what you want to do, learn from them, study and add your touch. When you add your touch, that's how you operate in your essence. When you operate in your essence, you don't compete, you dominate. The next is study personal development. Success comes from who you become as a person. It flows into all other areas of your life. Practice leadership, practice sales more than anything, a lot of people have the sales concept wrong. Sales is not about selling the product, but it's about selling yourself to reaching your goals and objectives in life, whether it's in your personal or business life.

Megan Ellsworth: Well said. So true. I love that. When you work in your essence, that really spoke to me. I think that's really important for everyone. Amparo, do you have any advice?

Amparo Sancen: Advice. One of the advice that I know a lot of people right now they told me, but in the past, if somebody was told me, "Find the knowledge, get the right people, connect with the right people and just learn as much as you can, always be open to learn, willing to learn." That means a lot. If you learn, you stay with the right people, you grow.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And join Latinos in Roofing, join NRCA, join National Women in Roofing, join your local councils and associations, regional associations. Get involved and make yourself heard and known because we all deserve to be heard and known. So last question as we wrap up here, looking ahead, we've kind of touched on this a little bit, but what are some tangible steps a roofing company or any company in the roofing industry can take to foster diversity and inclusion moving forward for Latinos and all sorts of different people? Minnie, maybe you can take this one first.

Minnie Robles: I'm thinking.

Megan Ellsworth: Throw you in the fire.

Minnie Robles: Make your documentation in other languages. Have people that speak other languages. So shout out to Arlene, our HR generalist, our HR manager for Johns Manville who the moment I connected with her, I connected with her. We started speaking Spanish to each other. And sometimes when you speak your own language, you're a little bit more comfortable and it made me feel welcome. So have somebody that speaks their language, have all the documentation in their native language, have mentors available for them. A lot of times we forget that as companies, we need to start our own mentorship program. Yes, there's a lot of associations that have mentorship programs. I think every association, I know the Arizona Roofing Contractors Association does, I know LIRA does, I know Latinos in Roofing does, National Women in Roofing does. But does your company have its own mentorship program? And would that be beneficial to your employees, not just within the company, but can you bring somebody else in? Right. Maybe one of your vendors, maybe one of your suppliers. I think that that would be extremely beneficial.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah. and also to add onto that, joining an association, is there a barrier to entry? Can you pay for their membership? With National Women in Roofing the membership follows the person, not the company. Absolutely. And if you can't start a mentorship program in your company, how can you foster that for your employees outside of the company?

Minnie Robles: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Amparo, any tangible steps or advice for roofing companies or companies in the industry to foster inclusivity?

Amparo Sancen: Well, one of the things is join all these beautiful organizations that I love it now to be part of them, Western State, NRCA, National Women in Roofing, they have a huge opportunities and we have a great mentors there. But one other thing that I love to share, and we are doing this just with everyone on the office, everyone that was work with us, we try to get that mentor. Any skills they have, we try to buy another, make them feel better. Maybe another activity, another training. We have different trainers in our office and they have a specific sample for [inaudible 00:52:54]. We do the marketing. We bring somebody can be better or pay another train that way they can be better for themselves. One day they leave my office, they're always going to remember, "Oh, I grow because they support me." We believe on them, but I think so make them grow your team. That's going to be better for you and for the whole team.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I love it. Eric, any tangible steps people can take in their companies?

Eric Gonzales: Oh, I think it's important to recognize if you're a roofing company owner and maybe you don't speak Spanish or anything like that, it's important to recognize that, as we've been saying, a lot of the work in the roofing industry gets done by Latino or Hispanic, so I think it's very important to recognize that. And I think it's also very important to recognize that the more people who are Latinos or Hispanics that you add to your company, the better you're going to be able to build connection with those people doing the work. The better connection you have, the more efficient product you can deliver and the more your company can grow.

When you cut that bridge in communication, because you have a lot of people who speak the same language as the people who are actually helping you deliver the work to your client, I think that's a way to exponentially grow. And just to keep in mind that the Latino population is growing a lot in the US due to different reasons. One of them could be considered political. So keeping that in mind, being able to notice the trends and starting to practice that inclusion is going to lead to a lot of people having a lot of growth because you recognize the big shift that's happening in the industry and when you embrace that shift and your company's going to start operating in its essence as well.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love it. Working in your essence. Well, I just want to share... Oh, sharing the wrong screen. I just want to share and show the Johns Manville logo again and say thank you. Stop laughing at me. Thank you Johns Manville for sponsoring this episode of Coffee Conversations. Thank you all so much for chatting with me today. If there's anything you want to say, like a quick quip in Spanish, I'd love that for all the Spanish speakers out there, Eric, Mini and part of any Spanish.

Minnie Robles: Amparo, I'll let you go first.

Amparo Sancen: Okay. [Spanish 00:55:20] National Women in Roofing, NRCA, Western State [Spanish 00:55:30].

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. Si.

Amparo Sancen: [Spanish 00:55:42].

Eric Gonzales: [Spanish 00:55:45].

Outro: Muchas gracias. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone out there, go check out the Johns Manville directory on rooferscoffeeshop.com to learn more. Also, go check out the Spanish sub-site, the Roofers Coffee Shop in Espanol sub-site, we just launched it at ExpoContratista last week. And you can find all articles in Espanol, articulos, podcasts and all sorts of different webinars that we are doing in Espanol. So please go check that out. And also, please join us for the next Coffee Conversations. It's going to be not next Thursday, but the Thursday after, October 24th and it's sponsored by Tremco WTI and it's talking about second-chance citizens, so how to hire people that are coming out of jail and prison and looking to remake their life and join this great industry of ours. So check that out. Thank you all so much again, and we'll see you next time on Coffee Conversations.