Samantha Schock - Finding Your Way into Roofing - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Samantha Schock, of J Reynolds, a Tecta America company. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Speaker 1:
Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Megan Ellsworth:
Hello. Welcome back to another Roofing Road Trips. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at rooferscoffeeshop.com, and I am filling in for Heidi today with Samantha Schock with J Reynolds. Hi, Samantha.

Samantha Schock:
Hi, Megan. I'm so excited that we're doing this. Thank you. I've been wanting to do this podcast for a long time and I think it's important for people getting into this industry, so let's get the word out.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yeah. Let's do it. Tell us a little bit about yourself [inaudible 00:00:41] what your title is, what you're doing?

Samantha Schock:
Oh, got you. Well, lots of good stuff. So let's see, a little bit about me. Born and raised in New York, moved to California. Pretty much my entire family's in the music industry. So my mother's a music publicist for Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. My dad, when he was alive, was Billy Joel's manager. So I'd go backstage and I would have the headphones on. It was really cool. Yeah, yeah. I had a very exciting childhood, definitely different then roofing. My step-mom was in the music industry as well. She still is.

So in terms of brand partnerships, and she actually kind of taught me a couple of things. My 20's really helped inspire me today. But grew up in California, worked in sales my entire life. My dad was a natural born sales person. I consider myself to have that gift to gab, which I'm lucky that I have, and my work ethic from my mom.

So roofing has been just an awesome opportunity. I was hand selected to work for Tecta America. And then recently I started working for J Reynolds, which Tecta America just acquired. So really exciting stuff going on.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's awesome. That's so wild. I love that you went from a total entertainment family and now you're in roofing and you're loving it. That's fabulous.

Samantha Schock:
Oh, yeah. And I'm such a girly girl, by the way. We were just talking about this too, and I'm such a girly girl. So that's a part of, I think, why this is important is anyone can go on a roof. It's just getting into that right industry. I mean, I was in aesthetics before, and this has completely changed my life. So instead of selling skincare, I'm now selling major roofing systems, TPOs, single ply, mod bit you name it. So everything and anything in roofing.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's awesome.

Samantha Schock:
Yeah. It's cool. It's really cool.

Megan Ellsworth:
I love it. So how did you hear about your career in roofing? How did you stumble into this industry?

Samantha Schock:
That's actually a really good question. The industry found me. So I was working at a dead end job, and I think we've all been there where you're just nine to five, not really doing what you love, going home, pulling your hair out at the end of the day. I had started putting my resume on LinkedIn. And Andy Carr, who's the national cooperative purchasing manager for Tecta, hand selected my resume from LinkedIn. He knew I had no roofing experience whatsoever, but he just saw something that he felt would click.

So him and Jeff McMenamy and Jim Phillips, they started the corporate purchasing program and they hand-selected me, even though I had no roofing experience, to be in this guinea pig role and to learn and to have this opportunity to learn roofing. So that's when Tecta America found me and they hired me, and it's been a crazy ride ever since. I've learned more in the past year than I think I've learned in any career in my life.

Megan Ellsworth:
Wow. That's awesome. I love to hear that. So you're in cooperative purchasing. That's exciting. And you're in this new role. Also exciting.

Samantha Schock:
Yeah, J Reynolds is the best. So by the way, I'd like a huge shout out to them. Matt Skipper, who's the CEO, is a self-made man. So just being able to work with the best of the best just kicks ass. It's amazing. And learning different techniques and sales techniques. It's really cool.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's great. I love it. Well, I know that you're a part of National Women in Roofing. How did you find National Women in Roofing and what counsel are you part of? Tell us a little bit about that.

Samantha Schock:
Yes. So I am a part of the recruitment committee. It's actually a crazy whirlwind story. So when I was getting into roofing, I had had this interview. It was with CEI Roofing, so it was with Tecta America. I knew absolutely nothing about roofing. Andy Carr had went to me and he just mentioned National Women in Roofing briefly during the interview process. So I was like, "Okay, I wonder what I can find out about National Women in Roofing."

So I looked into their meetings. I actually snuck into their meetings because [crosstalk 00:05:19]. I snuck into that just to learn whatever I could. The best part, I remember the first meeting I went and got one of those pink hard hats. I still have it to this day. It's the funniest thing. I won it and it was just such an amazing experience and I was like, "I have to be a part of this community. I have to be able to contribute and learn from these women who were lifelong friends."

Paula Felix call me directly. I just looked at her. She works for Aspen Roofing and she was just perfectly beautiful, perfect, put together working woman. I'm like, "This is who I want to be like." So anyway, she brought me in. She called me and was like, "Hey, Sam. I know you're sneaking into national roofing meetings. Do you want to be a part of this committee to bring new blood in?" And I was like, "What? She's calling me? This is so cool."

How did I go into sneaking into these meetings to actually being a part of the national recruitment committee? It can happen.

Yeah. It's a crazy story. So now I actually have the company paying for my national roofing committee membership. So it's kind of cool.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's great. I love that your company is paying for it. And that just goes to show that they're super supportive and that's what we need. That's what we need [crosstalk 00:06:44] little bit.

Samantha Schock:
Yeah, yeah. I've come from not having a career or to having an exponential, amazing, life-changing career that I never thought could have even existed. Of course, with National Women in Roofing it's like you have a new group of friends and you're learning roofing knowledge and education and volunteering at events. It's ever-changing and the industry is molding. There's more millennials and there's more people getting into it and it's just incredible to see the transition.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yeah. Any words of wisdom for a young woman, maybe your younger self, coming into the industry or looking for their dream career or career in general? What would you say?

Samantha Schock:
I would say probably branch out to as many people as you can. On LinkedIn, reach out to CEOs. Reach out to the main corporate contacts that you can find and just ask them to coffee or write them a message and say, "Hey, look, I'm looking to pick your brain. How do I get into this industry?" And just go for it.
I have to tell you, how funny is this. I reached out to the CEO of Methodist Richardson and he wrote back on LinkedIn and it was like, "I'd be happy to meet with you." This is the main honcho for Methodist hospitals. Anything can happen. You just really have to just put your feelers out there and utilize social media. It's such a great tool. Utilize brand partnerships and really just sky's the limit. Law of attractions, go for what you want.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yes. I love that.

Samantha Schock:
If I can do it, and I'm not perfect, anyone can do it.

Megan Ellsworth:
Why should more women get involved in roofing?

Samantha Schock:
Well, I think everyone should get involved in roofing, men and women. I feel like a new generation would be great getting into this industry. I think that with roofing there's so... It's a billion dollar business. It's a billion dollar business and there are so many avenues to succeed. So you can go into HR, you can go into roofing sales like myself, you can go into [inaudible 00:09:06]. there are so many different paths and so many different levels and resources.

It just took Andy Carr believing in me to have this position that's changed my life, and I was a guinea pig. They never really hired someone who didn't have any roofing experience. But to have that opportunity was life-changing. How do you explain that? you're literally going everyday back and forth from your own job and you're like, "I'm not liking my life. I have no career." To a year later you're like, "Oh my gosh, I work for one of the best companies in the world." The sky is the limit.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yes. The sky is the limit.

Samantha Schock:
It's funny, when I was looking... And this is another reason why I wanted to do this podcast. It's a shout out to you and Heidi because when I was looking at interviewing for roofing companies, I had no resource. I was looking online like, "Where should I look?" And I'd found a podcast with Lindy Ryan who was the first senior VP at Tecta, and Heidi for Roofer's Coffee Shop, and I had used that as my resource to answer briefing questions.

I just remember your mom was saying how she would go on roofs and take you on her back with a backpack and go on roofs. I just thought that was so cool that there was other women out there that just got their hands dirty and were able to really succeed. It was a great resource for me in getting in, just understanding how this industry works or, oh cool, there's women that are like me. [crosstalk 00:11:00].

Megan Ellsworth:
That's so cool.

Samantha Schock:
Yeah. She put a picture of you and her on her backpack. I don't know if you can find it. Maybe one day I'll find it. She's literally on a roof carrying you in this backpack. It's awesome.

But RoofersCoffeeShop has been a great resource for me, so I just want to give a shout out to both you and Heidi for that because I really think that had a big key part in my interviewing process.

Megan Ellsworth:
I had no idea that you listened to that and you came across it and it helped you so much. That's the dream for us. I'm so glad. That's awesome.

Samantha Schock:
Yeah. Well, thank you guys. I mean, if it wasn't for the podcast I would have not had that resource to understand different questions in roofing, or what I was going to be asked, so it was really cool. Then working for the same company as Lindy Ryan was awesome.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's great, that's great. Well, do you see yourself maybe going into any other areas of roofing? Are you loving the sales? What are you seeing for the next five years [crosstalk 00:12:10]?

Samantha Schock:
That's such a great question. I really see myself retiring and having a longevity career within Tecta. Sales has always been my forte. I am a natural born salesperson. So I think I'd be doing a disservice to myself if I wasn't in sales. However, I would love to one, grow the cooperative purchasing program division pretty successfully within the next four years. I have a goal for myself and I have a goal for the team. So that's something that's really important to me.

And also teaching and mentoring women that are looking to come in this industry. That's what it's all about. Teaching them in how to be successful in different sales tactics. So that's really what I want to do.

Megan Ellsworth:
Oh, yes. I totally see that happening.

Samantha Schock:
[inaudible 00:13:07]. And that's the thing, going back to Andy Carr, gosh, he's like the best sales person I've ever met in my life. He started working on a dairy farm to now being a $19 million salesman. Again, the sky's the limit. You can do anything in this industry.

Megan Ellsworth:
That's great. That's great. Well, thank you so much for chatting with me today. Do you have any last words?

Samantha Schock:
I would probably say, last words would be what Tecta cooperative... What their cooperative purchasing program is and just a little bit about Tecta because I think that that's really important. So Tecta America, their cooperative purchasing contract program, which is... And we actually partner with the NCPA, which is the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance. What that is is it can be utilized by state and local governments, educational, healthcare institutions, nonprofits, and what it does is by utilizing that contract, we help facility managers and government entities reduce costs and streamline processes related to new construction, maintenance, preventative maintenance. We basically help them with the competitive bid process pre-negotiated, which is great.

And then the reason with Tecta too, why to go through us, which is so important is because we are an industry leader and we have a proven track record of high quality work. We are one of the largest roofing contractors in the United States. So that's the best part about Tecta, and with over 75 locations, we are rocking it. So we're growing, we're rocking.

And on top of that, we have the ability to self perform jobs at any magnitude, complexity. And that's what we do. We're here to help service repair and install the complete envelope system. So that's what we do, that's what we are.

And then key benefits of the cooperative contracts is we pre-qualify contractor services for these projects start and delivery dates, and we have confidence through ethical and transparent procurement practices. It's all really cool and it's all developing and growing.

Megan Ellsworth:
I'm so happy that you guys have been continuing to develop and grow in this tough year as well. That's really impressive.

Samantha Schock:
Oh, yeah. It's been one of those tough years, but I think that being able to maneuver around that... Roofing is an essential business, so that's another great thing about this industry is that even through COVID, even through one of the toughest years we've had ever, who would have thought a pandemic would have come up? This has really been an essential business for everyone. That's great. There's no turnover. It's awesome.

Megan Ellsworth:
Everybody needs a roof.

Samantha Schock:
Everyone needs a roof. You're obviously right about that. Everyone needs a roof. Yeah, that's pretty much it. But yeah, I would love for any women getting into this industry to contact me. Samantha Schock at Tecta America. Call me anytime. Know that there's a resource out there, know that there's training, know that there's someone who believes in you and that even though you're stuck right now, if you're in a crappy job and you just want an outlet, call me. I'm always here because you never know. You might be the next big shot in roofing.

Megan Ellsworth:
Yes. Well, thank you Samantha so much. This was super eyeopening and I just love your story of how you found roofing. That's just so great. So thank you for sharing and coming on today.

Samantha Schock:
Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth:
All right. And for everyone listening out there, thanks for listening to another Roofing Road Trips. My name is Megan Ellsworth at the rooferscoffeeshop.com. And please make sure to go check out our website and listen to other podcasts. We have Roofing Road Trips, Stories From The Roof, Coffee Conversations, all sorts of good stuff that you can check out. Have a great day, and we will see you next time.

Speaker 1:
Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.