Stories From the Roof- Dave Hoyle- PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Dave Hoyle You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello, this is Heidi Ellsworth, RCS partner. And we are here today with Roofer's Coffee Shop, Stories From the Roof. This is a very special podcast because what we are doing with our Stories From the Roof are we're asking 12 questions that help us get to know our contractors, the wonderful roofing contractors throughout the U.S. and Canada better. And this really was a vision of Vicki Sharkles. She's been asking these questions for a long time. And today I have the pleasure of visiting with Dave Hoyle from Cherry and Hoyle Roofing out of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, our neighbor. So Dave, welcome to the show.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, thank you so much for having me, Heidi. This is really exciting.

Heidi Ellsworth: I am so excited. Sierra in your office reached out to us and said, "Hey, we want to be a part of this." And with this just launching into Canada this last year, really with our classifieds and everything, I was just thrilled. I'm so excited to get to know you better.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, likewise, Heidi really looking forward here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Awesome. Well, why don't you tell everyone out there a little bit about yourself and your company to get us started?

Dave Hoyle:  Yes. Well, thank you. The company name is Cherry and Hoyle Roofing. My grandfather started the company in 1953, shortly after the war. He worked as a carpenter and a contractor in Toronto and then started to develop into the roofing world and wanted to branch out towards the west end here into Oakville because he saw a growing community. Being a third generation, it's a long history; being born and raised in Oakville. I'm very proud to help support my community and my neighbors and offer them a great service with a great roof.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's great. I love that. I came from the trades too. My dad was a general contractor and there's just something special about the families, right? And what you're doing.

Dave Hoyle: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, okay, then. Let's get into our 12 questions because we're really going to learn a lot about you, Dave. So watch out.

Dave Hoyle: All right.

Heidi Ellsworth: The first question is who taught you to roof?

Dave Hoyle: Well, being a heritage company and like I said, being a family business, roofing was the coffee talk. It was the dinner talk. I started off as a young boy, helping out my family on job sites. I was really side-by-side with my father and he truly showed me the ways.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. That's cool. That's cool. I remember those talks around the table too. It's amazing how much you learn.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: So speaking of that, what was the most valuable lessons you've learned about roofing?

Dave Hoyle: I think truly the most valuable lesson is that there is no room for error because if there's an error, there's a leak and it truly taught me to start something 100% and complete it 100%.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. You're right because if you don't, it's going to come back and it's going to hurt people too so that's great.

Dave Hoyle: Yeah. It always comes back and it's always about casting the proper image and the professional image. So that's what really resonates with me is doing it right start to finish.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. That's awesome. On that same lines, what was the most valuable lessons you learned about being in business?

Dave Hoyle: For being in business, my family has truly taught me: Be respectful, use your manners, and listen. The customers are telling you about a problem they have. They're a little bit nervous. They're maybe not expecting it so they're in this kind of anxious mode. So it's all about respecting, honoring what I'm doing, and truly listening to what they want done.

Heidi Ellsworth: Very cool. We talk about that all the time, know your audience and understand them and be there for them. So I love that. What was the best thing you ever did for your business?

Dave Hoyle: The best thing, I think, was truly being 100% dedicated. Being a young boy, having a roofing business in the family, at the end of the day, I still wanted to try other things and other careers. Working here as a young boy, you say, "Okay, I want to go to college and I want to try this and that." But after trying a few things, knowing my family business, I was very proud to come back to the business and be 100% dedicated to my family.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great advice too because there are so many generational families and I know a lot of roofing contractors out there who say they want their kids to go to college or a vocational school or go try some other things and bring that experience and come back. So I love that. Yeah.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, likewise.

Heidi Ellsworth: Now, you know what, and this is not one of the questions but I just have to ask, now what's the next generation coming up in Cherry and Hoyle?

Dave Hoyle: I've got young children and as much as you say, "We'd love to see in the business", I want them to create their own path too. Me forging forward and trying my best to be successful, I feel very confident that the business will always be here and it will always be an option later in life, down the line to see if it's something of an interest to my children. But I want them to just establish their own goals and drive in life too.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. That's where I'm at with our kids too. I love it. In one word, how would you describe the most important trait in an employee?

Dave Hoyle: I would have to say loyalty. I was a young employee too once upon a time and I was working with heritage employees that were a part of the company here. And it did matter to me to show up every day. It did matter to the company for me to work a little late; to come in on a Saturday to finish a job. It's so important. And I would advise anybody in any career really, be loyal.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is so true. And it kind of goes both ways, the loyalty to your employer and the loyalty to your employees.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, agreed. Agreed. It's definitely a two-way street.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love that. So do you belong to any associations related to your business in Canada?

Dave Hoyle: Well, in Canada here, we have the WSIB, which is our work place safety and it's a government agency that we have to abide by the laws and the rules of practicing safe construction. So we're part of the WSIB and we're part of another organization called the HSSA. So that's all in reference to working safe. That's a very important value to the company and it's a strong ethic that I hold. It's all about working hard and working safe.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. And so are those associations something where you're going to national trade shows or is it online? How does that work for you?

Dave Hoyle: They're government based. They are online. They are a part of the programs here in Canada. Not so much in the trade show reference but it's the rules that we have to apply to and comply to for proper workplace safety.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay. I love this one because I'm really excited to hear what you're going to say. This is number eight, just so you know. We're on the eighth question of the 12. So who was the best boss you ever had and what did they teach you?

Dave Hoyle: Right. So growing up, I always did roofing as a summer job but I did branch out to the grocery store and I worked with the hydraulics company. I did have great bosses in every path I took. I had great teachers as well. But I want to pull out the dad card here because my dad was just something else to me. He really took his time to show me the ropes and the way to do things correctly and he kept me on that even road. So I'm just very honored that I've got a father that was willing to do so and I was there to listen and learn.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. And is your dad still involved in the business a little bit?

Dave Hoyle: No, he's happily retired now. He's put his years in. We talk every day. Deep down inside I feel he still misses it but he's put his years in so he's got to unwind a little and relax and enjoy some other qualities of life.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's excellent. I love that. I'm all for that one, I tell you.

Dave Hoyle: That's awesome.

Heidi Ellsworth: So what makes you smile when you think about your job?

Dave Hoyle: Really when it comes to the roofing career, it's amazing how interesting it is with the customers. When I deal with the senior citizen, I sit down with them, I talk with them, and I get to know a little bit about their life and what they've gone through in life. Dealing with a senior, going from war times to today, of seeing a Tesla drive down the road is amazing to me to see; to listen to a younger generation talk about their career, where they're working big business in Toronto, maybe with the stock markets or with a trading company. It's so interesting. So that's really, when I think about that question, that's what really resonates with me about making me smile.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is excellent. I love that too. That's why I like talking to you, Dave. I love meeting people and hearing all the different things that are happening in our world. So many interesting folks.

Dave Hoyle: Well, that's it. I'm smiling right now having this conversation so it's great.

Heidi Ellsworth: Me too.

Dave Hoyle: Fantastic.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. So if you were going to do it all again, what would you do differently?

Dave Hoyle: Well, to me, that was a little bit of a question to think about. As much as following in my forefathers' footsteps, I do like to create a little bit of my path. But once again, it's a well-oiled machine that's spinning so I don't want to alter it too much. But if anything, I look back and I wish I dedicated myself a little bit earlier in life, knowing that I'm here to support my family and be a part of it all.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is cool. I have to tell you, Dave, that's a hard question for me too because I wouldn't change much. I'm pretty happy. Yeah. I know.

Dave Hoyle: Yeah. That was basically all I was going to say so I had to think about it a little bit deeper here.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. Okay. So for all the new young people who are coming into roofing, what are some of the tips for those starting out, both on the roof and in the office, just overall?

Dave Hoyle: I think the most important thing is to learn all that you can. To a young person that's starting out and they're trying to navigate the industry and trying to navigate their career, is this something they want to do, at the end of the day, they can do whatever they want, however they want, but it's all about learning all that you can and absorb as much as you can and never be close-minded. We live in a great big world and to have an open eye to it all is the best position to be in, I feel.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, I do too. And especially with everything that's happening in roofing, there's so much new technology and new products, new things that owners need. We've kind of seen that a lot of the younger people who are coming in are actually a little bit ahead of that. What have you seen with that?

Dave Hoyle: Yeah, because with roofing, we've got this old world and new world meeting together so we've got some old world copper work and traditional slate tiles. And then we're getting into the new world where we're looking at metal products. We're looking at synthetic products. So it's quite a range but ultimately it's all about learning what you can because everything kind of blends in together if you're working on an old church with copper panels that still reflects into the new world with new metal pre-pave and steel panels. And you get to learn all those little tips and tricks and when you go back to a repair job to fix something, you get to see what that other person did to create all that. So it's always a way to step and learn.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I love that. I love that. This is number 12 but you know what, Dave? I'm going to probably lie to you because I'm going to ask you a couple more questions after the 12th one just because I'm curious.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, that's great. That's great.

Heidi Ellsworth: But for the 12th question, let's say, how do you stay motivated to keep moving forward?

Dave Hoyle: Really when it comes down to it, in Canada here, we got a little more of a seasonal operation because we sometimes get a harder winter. But for the most part, it's such a high-energy field. I'm dealing with customers. I'm setting up the guys. I'm going to jobs and do the estimates. I'm working with the sales team. I'm working with an in-house team. That's a huge motivator because I feel the responsibility of having everybody in my team on my shoulders a little bit so that's what keeps me driving forward. When it comes to roofing products moving into the future, I see some great innovative products which is a high interest of mine. So I find it's very fascinating. It's very interesting. I look forward to getting up early in the morning and putting in a really hard day to always push forward.

Heidi Ellsworth: Ah, I love it. That is awesome. Okay, so for everyone listening, those were our 12 questions and we're going to be asking other contractors these same 12. But before I let you off the hook here, Dave, tell us just a little bit about your business as in residential, commercial. What's your favorite products? Just give us a little bit of your focus in the roofing industry.

Dave Hoyle: Yeah. Once again, we always stay strong through a family business. We do both commercial and residential product so we're into a lot of flat roofing. We're into residential shingling. We're very strong with the CertainTeed product. I feel the CertainTeed shingle is an amazing shingle. So we've signed up with the Master Shingles Program. We're working with a company called DaVinci where it's a synthetic slates product so we're stepping forward with that. And we're really strong with those products. We still do some copper smith thing. We do a lot of metal work. I've got heritage employees that are working with younger employees to kind of truly teach them the right ways.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's great. That's great. So I know between you and Sierra, you've been on the Roofer's Coffee Shop and we're getting into Canada so what can we do? What can we offer you up there in Canada a little bit more on our site? We would love some advice.

Dave Hoyle: Yeah. I think looking over your site, it's very well laid out. It's an easy read. You can navigate through it very well. I liked seeing names like Suprema. Here in Canada, we're strong with VELUX Skylights. We do have IKO Canada. GAF has penetrated in the market. Malarkey has penetrated into the markets. So we have tons of new products. We've got established products that are innovating. There's quite a variety. So I see it all with your website and I think you're moving in all the right direction for the Northern market here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Excellent. Well, you got to keep sending us stuff so that we can... We want to write up some of your jobs. We want to know what's happening. I love the safety perspective that you just talked about. We have our safety on this site but maybe we can get some more from what you're doing.

Dave Hoyle: I would love to be a part of all that. This is very exciting for me and I'm really happy seeing this and I'm excited to tell other roofers that I've known very well in town about all this and get them enlightened and informed.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is awesome. And I do want you to know that we'll call out to certain CertainTeed and DaVinci. They're both on the site too, so that's awesome.

Dave Hoyle: Oh, that's great. Yeah. Very exciting. Very exciting.

Heidi Ellsworth: Dave, I have to tell you, thank you so much. This has been great. I love it. And we're going to keep doing this and we're going to stay in touch with you, our Canada connection. So thank you. Thank you for answering our 12 questions and thank you for being part of Story From the Roof. And most of all, thanks for sharing your wisdom. We really appreciate it.

Dave Hoyle: Thank you so much, Heidi. This has been an absolute pleasure and I can't speak highly enough of the Roofer's Coffee Shop and I just truly appreciate the opportunity. I feel being the third generation, it's great to actually cast my voice out into a podcast like this. So I'm looking forward to our relationship and very excited about communicating in the future here.

Heidi Ellsworth: That will be great. Perfect. Thank you so much. Have a great day. And everyone, please listen to all our Stories From the Roof on the podcast under the read, listen, watch initiative on our website, along with Roofing Road Trips from Heidi and the Heidi and Vicki Show. So there's all kinds of great stuff to listen to, to entertain you all about roofing all the time. Have a great day and thank you.