Kendall Ekerson - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Kendall Ekerson from Simply Affordable (SA) Roofing. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Megan Ellsworth: Welcome to Stories From The Roof, the podcast that brings you tales from the most unexpected vantage point, rooftops. I'm your host, Megan Ellsworth, and on this show, we'll ascend to the top and explore the world through the eyes of those who live and work above. Join us on this unique journey as we uncover the stories, perspectives and histories of roofing contractors. Let's begin our ascent onto the roof.

Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at rooferscoffeeshop.com. Back again for a Stories From The Roof podcast episode. And I'm here with Kendall Ekerson from Simply Affordable Roofing. Hi Kendall.

Kendall Ekerson: Hi. Thanks for having me.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, we're so excited. You've been a part of the RoofersCoffeeShop family for what feels like years now, and I'm so excited to get to learn more about your story and share your story out with the world.

Kendall Ekerson: Thanks. Yeah, excited.

Megan Ellsworth: So, let's just dive right in. Have you introduce yourself and tell us a little background on you.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, so I am Kendall Ekerson and my husband and his business partner own Simply Affordable Roofing or SA Roofing. And we started back in 2021, the end of 2021. So still new but not new to the industry. I work a lot on the back end with marketing. So my husband is Christopher Ekerson, his business partner is Brandon Smith, and then Brandon's wife Nalani, her and I do a lot of the back end stuff and she worked on the website. We both do the social, making all the nice things look nice, making SA Roofing look nice. And yeah, it's just been a great journey and we've had a lot of fun doing this. And let's see, it's kind of the whole other duties as assigned as well is what I do. Just now I was just posting for a job and so HR and accounting, things like that, so.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, wow. It's so cool that it's truly a family business and it's not just one family, it's two, which makes it even more special.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, it's been fun to do the whole friends and work thing, so it was, -

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. That's awesome. So how did you fall into the roofing industry?

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, so I was trying to think. So I've been in roofing officially probably about 20 years. My father owns a commercial roofing business and I started when I was in college, so once I was 18, doing some phones and helping out here and there, a lot of like administrative stuff when his current receptionist had gone out on maternity leave. So I kind of started there, but it's kind of like if you go back, I mean, my grandfather, uncle, my dad all owned a company at one point together too. So it's definitely been in my blood.

When I was younger and trying to earn money, I mean, my dad would have me come and sweep the shop and clean the bathrooms and file papers during the summer and things like that. So kind of just grown up in this world. I remember my dad would come to career day in high school and talk about how lucrative this world of roofing is and why it should be on your career path, if that's something that you want to look at. And I remember going up on roofs. And on the whole take your daughter to work day, I tried going with my mom. She was a nurse. That lasted one year. And then I went with my dad a few years in a row. So yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that seems, I mean, I'm not a blood and gore kind of person, so roofs seem way more appealing than that.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, I tried. It's not me.

Megan Ellsworth: Not your vibe. I love that. And I mean, coming from a roofing family, it's so fun to be able to take interest and joy in something that the rest of your family does too. And I love that he came to tell everyone about how great roofing is at your school. That's so cute.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. He was really proud of himself because he did it for my older brother as well, and he'd bring in a giant can of mastic and he's like, "Do you want me to show you how to turn this into a paycheck," kind of thing. And memorable for a lot of us.

Megan Ellsworth: I'm sure. I'm sure. Amazing. So tell us a little bit about your roofing career, kind of adding onto what you just shared and how Simply Affordable got started.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, so 2004 is probably when I started working more regularly at the family business and then met my husband there as well. So he knew my uncle who was working there and he came in when he was 18 and learned all about sheet metal and he kind of came up through the ranks through sheet metal. And so we yeah, we met there, we started dating. So it's been very much ingrained in us and in our relationship too, which I'm like, we could go a whole path down that one, but let's see. I'm trying to remember when, sorry, years or 2015. 2015, we started talking more and more about succession planning and what does this look like? And I joined the NRCA FEI program. So National Roofing Contractors has a Future Executives Institute, and that was great. It's one thing that I recommend anybody who's in roofing and is in a higher leadership role wants to advance, wants to succeed a business, that sort of thing. It's a great program.

And so that really kicked into gear, me and my husband starting those conversations of like, okay, if we do take over the family business, what does it look like? What are the conversations we need to have? And along the way you learn that I thought a family business going from one generation to another, is it just a give me, it just happens. It's not the case. It's actually the opposite, is that it takes a lot more. And I had heard a statistic that 30% of businesses actually have a chance of going from the first generation to the second. And then,-

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, wow.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, so then once it transfers to that second generation, it's only another 20 or 30% that will transfer again.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Kendall Ekerson: So, when you see these third and fourth generation businesses, that is a huge, huge feat.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And then I've been in a few classes since too, and they've talked about the succession and in the last 10 years how things have changed. And the boomer generation, they had a different pathway and they've built these amazing businesses. And so to get that generation that then pass along has been really hard because it's so ingrained in them. It's a part of who they are and it's not just an easy sell, it's a hard thing to do. So that ultimately led to ours didn't work out. Our story, it didn't work out. We didn't take over the family business. But fast-forward, it's like that's what was meant to happen though in our lives and in our story.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And it's been amazing. You kind of saw the writing on the wall of this is not going to work, so what do we want to do? And me and my husband started talking of like, well, we want our own business. We want our own roofing business, which is just weird to think about, I think sometimes, especially growing up like a little girl, you're not expecting to do that. And then talking with our friends, Brandon and Nalani, and they were wanting something new too. And we had met them through church and then we had worked with Brandon a lot over the years, kind of in and out of roofing too. He had a coatings business.

And so it's like everybody's pieces coming together. We felt like we kind of had a leg up of, there's a lot of contractors I feel like I run into that were former roofers that thought, "Hey, I can do this." And they can, they can do it. It's just sometimes it takes more resources of like, I need to hire an accountant, I need to hire an attorney, I need to hire like all the things. And we do hire those, but on a very minimal basis because a lot of our backgrounds, we've come up through different areas and know some of more of the behind the scenes.

And I think that's definitely come to our advantage. And that's where we came up with the name of Simply Affordable because we knew that there was a need for affordable roofing, but not just in the sense of money, but also time. So if we could do things a little differently and make it simple because roofing's not hard, you just have to maybe explain it or understand certain things. And so that's where we came up with the name of Simply Affordable. And it was kind of a joke at first of we just need a simple name. Like how about this? But it's like, yes, yes, that works.

Megan Ellsworth: I love that.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah
 

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. And I think, I mean, obviously Simply Affordable, that's like so intriguing to customers and homeowners being like, oh, that sounds great to me.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: So, who would you say taught you about roofing?

Kendall Ekerson: Definitely my dad to begin with, a few things here and there. And then my husband. I mean, I went out and I'd show up on different job sites to, oh, I'm going to take some bottled water over to, oh, look who's here.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, I didn't know you'd be here.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. So and it was good. And I think he took pride too to be like, "Come over to this machine, I'm going to make you do this and put some gloves on and carry the ladder and strap it down." Those sorts of things. So I think he,-

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: But also, I mean, National Women in Roofing, Harness & Heels, like those groups have been so good to teach things. And because I definitely don't have the hands-on pieces. I've got the behind the scenes, the marketing, the business leadership, that sort of stuff. And so the specifics of materials and things has been huge from those groups.

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. Yeah. And I mean the business side is just as important if not more, so. You got that going for you. What is one of the most valuable lessons you've learned about roofing or just about business throughout your,-

Kendall Ekerson: I think a lot of people forget about their roof or take for granted kind of thing. I remember a big eye-opener is just seeing how the proper roofing system can support your whole building as a whole basically. Like it,-

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: Certain little flaws that you think, oh, it's this or it's that. And it's like, oh no, it's something that happened up in the attic space that was caused by not the proper ventilation or it's these little things that I think that was what was most surprising is how, yes, it's just roofing and it's not rocket science situation, but at the same time it's like, wow, the littlest pieces can make a big difference.

Megan Ellsworth: Agreed. Agreed. And that's so interesting. The more I learn about the whole building envelope, it's crazy. The roof, I mean, someone said it at National Women Roofing Day this year recently, that without a roof you have nothing. So it's so true. This question's kind of fun because everyone's answer is so similar in the sense that everyone believes in the choices that they make. But the question is, if you were to go back and start at the beginning of your career, what would you do differently, if anything?

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, that is hard, right? Because it's the different things, mistakes or whatever that have led to where we're at.

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly. Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: I think a big piece... So I grew up really shy and quiet, and that's one thing that I wish I learned sooner, is that when you do keep things in or you don't talk about certain things, like it's just going to take that much longer for it to come out.\

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And communication's not great, and communication is huge. And sometimes it's not always easy, but pull the band aid, whatever. So I think the communication, I wish I was better communicator from the beginning, I think would be my...

Megan Ellsworth: I like that. I think a lot of people would relate to that as well. Everyone I feel like could be even just a little bit better at communicating in an efficient kind way.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: So, what is the best thing you've ever done for your business?

Kendall Ekerson: I would say just being involved with the NRCA and going through that FEI program. It's a game changer, not only in the sense of the classes, which I mean, you've heard me shout that from the rooftops as those classes are great, but the people that you meet. And a person that, well, a couple of people that come to mind that are just in my backyard, that is Wendy Marvin is in Vancouver, and Lisa Sprick is down in Corvallis. And those are two owners, powerhouses, amazing women who we could potentially be competition at any point. We usually don't cross paths, but it's like they have nothing to hide and everything to give. And I would not have met those women if it wasn't for being involved in these organizations. And I mean, and shoot, there's a lot of people too, so if I didn't say somebody and they hear it, like ugh.

Megan Ellsworth: It's like your Grammy acceptance speech.

Kendall Ekerson: I know. It is. But yeah, I mean, I guess getting involved in organizations, I think a lot of people say like, oh, it's just wasted money, it's wasted time, and it's like it's not. It's not.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. It's so important. So important. Okay, I'm going to throw a curve ball at you Kendall and just see. So how has Simply Affordable Roofing used Ruby to up your game in recent years?

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, I mean, I had heard of Ruby for a few years, and the last place I was at, it was like, we need to implement this because I think a lot of people go away from, oh, I don't want a service. I don't want an answering service. I want a real person. It's like it is real person. And with us being small, we tried a phone tree situation, so it would get somebody, but it was usually one of us running around on our cell phones and it wasn't the proper, hello, you've reached AS Roofing, how can I help you? It was a, "Hey, it's Kendall, or Hey, it's Chris," or no answer at all. And it's like, we can't keep doing this.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: So, it's such a great service for I think, big corporations because it also, we all know that labor is an issue.

Megan Ellsworth: Big time.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. So it's a great service for that. They're so professional. They're so nice. Whenever they, because they'll call you first before, at least ours is set up, that they call you first before they transfer anything through, and they're just,-

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, nice.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. And they're always so nice and professional and they'll weed out certain calls because I get all the marketing and sales calls. So there's certain ones that they've kind of picked up on and they help weed through that stuff or. And they never turn anybody away, but they'll like, okay, we're going to take a message. And then their online portal is super easy to go into and work. And the whole process is great. They're also, I mean, they're a Portland based company.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And when I was actually working for a nonprofit, they gave away their space for us to use for meetings too. So there's a heart there, which is really cool.

Megan Ellsworth: That's so great.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Funny story, actually, I went to college with the sister-in-law of one of the marketing people at Ruby, -

Kendall Ekerson: Oh, okay.

Megan Ellsworth: Sarah. And we found out at the Roofing Contractors Association Trade Show of Washington last year. And what a small world.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, well, I mean, you're yeah, you're an Oregon girl like I am. I mean, it's just, there's some really great companies that have come out from here, so.

Megan Ellsworth: It's so great. We love the Pacific Northwest. We love Oregon. So we love Ruby.

Kendall Ekerson: We do. We love Ruby.

Megan Ellsworth: So, we're going to take a quick little commercial break. This episode is sponsored by Ruby. Thank you Ruby for sponsoring Stories From The Roof.

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Megan Ellsworth: So, in one word or a small sentence, describe the most important trait or characteristic of an employee or a coworker.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. I feel like I'd have to go back to the whole thing that I wish I would've known or could have changed. I'm very big now on, sometimes we might not say it right or we might not know exactly the words to say something, but sometimes just saying something avoids future conflict. And so it's, I mean, me and my husband will go through this too of like, okay, this might be a weird conversation or an awkward conversation, but it's like, I just need to get out that there's this issue. And it's like, oh, okay. Yeah, totally. Rather than sometimes there's things that people will sit on or you have the, kind of the chatter behind the scenes or you end up in kind of this gossip spiral. And I don't know, I feel like there's so many ways to, it's like if you just say something. Sometimes it's not easy to say. Sometimes I think we worry a lot about how people are going to react or we worry about hurt feelings and, which is great. But at the same time, by not saying something, you might cause more harm down the road.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, exactly.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, I like people that are just open and communicate and moving on.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Ugh, yeah. Yeah. I feel like that is something that everyone needs to remember and not get so in our heads and upset with ourselves or not wanting to say something or upset with other people because you haven't said anything, so that's so true. What a great answer.
Kendall Ekerson: And I'm definitely the people pleaser, so it's,-

Megan Ellsworth: Me too.

Kendall Ekerson: Preaching to the choir and, -

Megan Ellsworth: Me too.

Kendall Ekerson: And you get the response. There was a real running around of what it means when you're a people pleaser and you just see a message that just says, okay. And it's like, oh, you're mad at me. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, that's so relatable.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. Yeah. But it's okay. We're going to talk about it.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, yes, yes. Talking about it in 2024.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, there we go. I like it.

Megan Ellsworth: So, this one is fun. I love this question. The best boss you ever had taught you what?

Kendall Ekerson: Yes. What's coming to mind is, so I took a hiatus from the family business and went to work at a nonprofit. And my boss there, I'd known her because I was already a volunteer, and she just did so much. And she still does do amazing things, and it was so fun to work with her. And there were times that it was really hard, but also she was one of those that like she would just tell you how it is. And there were days where it was like, oh, man, just kind of like, Ooh, but you can't learn, you can't grow, you can't change without having that feedback.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And so that's where it was just so good because you always knew how everything was going or if something needed to happen over here or go here. And she made it such an open and welcoming environment too. So then you would feel safe when you would have conversations that maybe weren't great. And then you would also have so much fun with those people too. And you bonded with those people so much more too.

Megan Ellsworth: Aw. That's amazing.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: What a great boss to have too.

Kendall Ekerson: She was good. Yeah. And now we're still friends.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, good. Good, good, good. I love that. And I think, yeah, again, open communication in 2024. It's a theme now. I love that.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you pick up on a theme here.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I love it. So what makes you smile when you think about your job?

Kendall Ekerson: My husband and my family. I know, I feel like it's so cheesy, but,-

Megan Ellsworth: I love it.

Kendall Ekerson: Again, to look back on this path and I feel so blessed. Right. We hear that, but it's true. Like to look back. I feel like we can look back on things and just be like, oh man, I wish this happened or that happened, or. Yeah, do I wish that the family business transferred? Absolutely. But the last two and a half years have been so confirming too, because we talked about this is so much bigger than just a business and a paycheck. It's our family.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And we talked about a while ago, before we had kids of what do I want to do? And I mean, my husband's always been so supportive of, you want to work, great. If you want to stay home, great. We'll figure it out. And I am not a stay at home mom. It's so, so good. But I also knew I wanted to be available to do field trips and volunteer in classroom and bring the snacks and do the things.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And this has allowed us to do this. Because I think looking back, I'd probably be in a situation where we would be working a lot and probably have to hire help to help with our family. And again, there's nothing wrong with that, but for us, that's not necessarily what we wanted. And so to be in a spot where I don't have to work full time, and I mean even we were able to take a few weeks off for Christmas and just be our family.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: Do we sacrifice a few things? Absolutely. But we're okay with that. And so the fact that we can do these things has just been also confirming that the path is where it's supposed to be going.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I love that.

Kendall Ekerson: Is that cheesy enough for you?

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. No. Add some more. I love the cheese. Bring it on. That is just so beautiful.

Kendall Ekerson: Well, I would also add that there's a piece of me that feels like, we talk about how sometimes we have to play it small and like, oh, it's no big deal, and it's fine.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And there's times where I'm like, I feel like I need to apologize for being able to do these things. And it's like, no, because this is what we've been working for and this is where it's working out. And it's okay that it's working out and good for you and sharing those, what is it we're supposed to be cheering each other on? And,-

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. From the sidelines. Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: From the sidelines. Yeah. Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love that. No, I think that's what makes roofing so special and the trade so special and having a family business so special. To have flexibility is so great. And to go from one family business to starting your own family business, I think that's pretty cool.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: So, on that note, what tips do you have for new people starting out in roofing? Maybe someone that wants to start their own business.

Kendall Ekerson: I would say to own it and make it yours. There was a lot of times where I would get hung up on, what are you supposed to do? What are you supposed to look like? Whose voice is this? Especially coming from that marketing background, right, everything is a look and feel and voice. And right at first two, because, right, there's four of our voices trying to come together,-

Megan Ellsworth: Right.

Kendall Ekerson: But it's like we kept coming back to like, but it's ours now. Make it fun. Okay, somebody doesn't like this, then that's fine. Not everybody's going to like every social post we do. Not everybody's going to agree with our logo or our blog or. So there's some relief in that, right, of being able to just own it. And you do you.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: [inaudible 00:27:30] because there's so much stress if you're not yourself.

Megan Ellsworth: I so agree with that. And another, a theme from National Women Roofing Day is authenticity. Being yourself. It goes so far.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah.

Megan Ellsworth: Just be you. There's no stress.

Kendall Ekerson: And people know when you're not.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: People know.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. So true. Well, we have come to our last question. That flew by, honestly. Thanks for chatting with me. And this question is, how long have you been following RoofersCoffeeShop, and what's your favorite thing about RCS?

Kendall Ekerson: For so long. I feel like, well, Heidi your mom, I mean, I knew her when she was, I feel like when she was at Malarkey and EagleView.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yeah.

Kendall Ekerson: And I mean, she was one of the first people I reached out to when we said, okay, well, we're doing this ourselves now. And like oh, I feel like, I mean, definitely before podcasts and a lot of stuff. I mean, she was still online, but yeah, for a long time, I guess to wrap that up, a long time. And it's Heidi. She supported us and cheered us on and been such a role model that it's like, why would I not support her and all of you guys and what you do. So yeah, we've been around for a while and plan to stick around for a long time after.

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. Well, we're glad to have you here. Part of this crazy family of ours.

Kendall Ekerson: See, from one family to another.

Megan Ellsworth: Well, Kendall, this has been a blast. Thank you to Ruby for sponsoring this amazing podcast and for sharing Kendall's story and the Simply Affordable Roofing story. And thank you so much for chatting with me.

Kendall Ekerson: Yeah, thank you. It's been great.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Well, this has been a Stories From The Roof podcast. Go to rooferscoffeeshop.com to find more. If you've enjoyed these unique rooftop stories, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss a single episode. Go to rooferscoffeeshop.com, learn more. Thanks for soaring with us on Stories From The Roof. We'll catch you on the next one.