Stories from the roof with guest Erica Reed - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editors Note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Erica Reed of Elite Construction. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast. 

Intro: 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, and I am back again for a Stories From the Roof episode. I'm so excited because I'm here with my friend Erica Reed from Elite Construction, and I'm so excited to hear your story, Erica. So welcome to the podcast.

Erica Reed: Thank you for having me.

Megan Ellsworth: Absolutely. So let's dive right in and have you just introduce yourself. Tell us about you and your career a little bit.

Erica Reed: All right. My name is Erica Reed, and I'm originally from Tampa, Florida. Moved to Illinois about 10 years ago, and that's how I got into the industry. I am the vice president of construction operations for Elite Construction Solutions.

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing. Wow, Tampa to Illinois, that's a weather change.

Erica Reed: It was crazy, but it was worth it.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I feel like I would prefer Illinois. It's too hot in Florida.

Erica Reed: Yeah, exactly. That's why I moved.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. So how did you get into roofing? Tell us the nitty-gritty details.

Erica Reed: Oh, so my background has always been in law enforcement. Started out in probation. I was a probation officer for the State of Florida.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: And then I moved on to investigations. I left there in 2014, became an investigator for the State of Illinois. And then, I wanted a change. So I still love law enforcement. I actually am an adjunct professor, so I still teach criminal investigation courses, courts services management and law enforcement operations and report writing.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: No wonder you're busy.

Erica Reed: Very busy. But as a kid, and even when I was in law enforcement, I would like to drive around and just look at different houses. But for some reason I was drawn to the roofs. I don't know what it was about the roofs, and then the exterior, different designs. If I would see a house and it was all a beige color, in my mind, I was trying to redesign that house, like what would I put on that house to make it look good?

So I had the opportunity to get into construction, after kind of being burnt out a little bit on the law enforcement side. And I just started looking around, and I saw this ad on the famous Craig's List.

Megan Ellsworth: Hell, yeah.

Erica Reed: The ad didn't even talk about roofing. It was for 1, 2, 3 Exteriors, out of Downers Grove, Illinois. And it was like, "Do you want to have fun? Be in the field? You want to travel?" It was kind of like that. I still didn't know what I was getting into, but I applied for it and it was the best decision I've ever made.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: That's how I got into the business, Craig's List.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. The roofs were calling you.

Erica Reed: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: They said, "Come, help us."

Erica Reed: "Come, come, please."

Megan Ellsworth: "You want to be in roofing." So can you tell us a little bit about how your career within 1, 2, 3 Exteriors Elite and how it's evolved?

Erica Reed: Well, I started out as, once again a sales rep. So I was doing hailstorm, windstorm claims. And for me, I think that when you are interested in something, you want to become the best at it. It's like if you like a football team, you know your favorite football player, all the stats about that player, you know what high school they went to, their full record. So I felt that if I was going to get serious about the sales industry part of construction, that I should know everything.

So sales rep for about two years, and then after sales rep, I moved up to become the first female general manager in the company's history. Yeah. And so after that, I was general manager for about four years, became the first female regional operations manager. And then moved up to vice president of operations. But during the whole time, being new to the industry, I'm a natural researcher. You get that from getting your master's degree, is research, research. So all I did was research the industry, look at different trends in the industry, roofing trends, materials, videos. I was doing training, that people didn't offer. I just went and I sought out that training, and paid for it myself, to just become better at what I was doing. And now I'm here.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. Oh my gosh, that's incredible. I just think it's so special that you were the first female operations manager. That's huge. And what a trailblazer you are.

Erica Reed: Yes, thank you.

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

Erica Reed: Taught me about roofing? I would say myself.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Erica Reed: A lot of Roofer's Coffee Shop, the classes you guys offer, the training you guys offer.

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome.

Erica Reed: Communicating with different manufacturers. I go, going to their training sessions. My manager that I had at the time, Jeremy Workman, but he taught me more on the sales side. And then the basic components of roofing. But I learned a lot, and I'm glad I'm on the operations side now. I learned a lot from my crews as well, the people that have been installing roofs their whole lives. I was on the job sites as a sales rep, trying to learn to see where does this nail go and what was the appropriate procedure to install siding the same. So I did DSI training. And basically any training I could go to, I went to. And that's kind of how I learned.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. I love that initiative. Eager and willing to learn, that's all you can ask for. So what would say has been the most valuable lesson you've learned, either through your career or specifically about roofing?

Erica Reed: The most valuable lesson is just to always be a business person that works in the business of roofing. But I think building relationships with, not necessarily just your peers that you work with, but your manufacturers, your suppliers and respecting your crews, is very important to me. The value that they add to the industry and how important their work is, I think having respect for your crews and treating them people, is the most valuable thing I've learned. The results you get from treating them like people and making them feel special and a part of the company, you get a lot of value out of that.

Megan Ellsworth: That's so true. That's all any of us want, is just to feel a part of a team, included, supported. And yeah, I love that. So if you were to go back, to the beginning of your career, would you do anything differently?

Erica Reed: The beginning of my career, I'd probably go into roofing before law enforcement.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: I would have majored in construction management or something. I would've definitely gone here first.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: This has been so rewarding. For the first, when I got into this industry, for the first time in my life, I was happy to get up and go. And then I liked, we worked alone, I was an independent contractor in the beginning. But I liked being able to just structure my day for what was best for me and for my customers. And that was the best thing by far, just waking up and there's no stress. It was like, "Woosa, who's going to work today."

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Oh, wow, that's inspiring. I love that you would go right into roofing. That's awesome.

Erica Reed: Yeah, I would, in a heartbeat.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, that's so cool.

Erica Reed: Yeah, I love it.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. What's the best thing you've ever done for your career or for your business?

Erica Reed: The best thing I've ever done is develop other people up under me. So being in construction, there's not many females, so all of my employees are men. I just acquired one female from the Indiana company that we own.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: Crystal, she's fabulous. But they're all young men. And for me to see where they started, and develop these young men and put them in management positions and see them changing from, "woo, party guy," to businessmen, that's the most rewarding for me. And then, the value that we give to our customers, to be able to give our customers a different perception of the roofing industry as a whole and give them the opportunity to work for a great company, that's also something that I love about the industry and the company.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love that too. And bringing more women in. Because, we met at National Women Roofing Day this year.

Erica Reed: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: And it was so great to see you and meet you there.

Erica Reed: You too.

Megan Ellsworth: And hopefully there'll be even more people from Elite next year. You never know.

Erica Reed: Yes, yes, there will be.

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

Erica Reed: Communication. That's it. You just have to be able, and I say communication, not necessarily the trait, but a part of that trait is to give and receive information. And if we don't have that in our industry, everything falls apart, because there's so many moving parts in this industry. Now that I'm over construction operations, just watching a job go from meeting a customer, to a contract signing, to checking the job in, ordering the material, delivering the material, getting it to the crew, getting the install done.

If we don't have communication, everything breaks down. So just being able to listen, receive information and then give information, is the essential to this industry. And the more companies we buy, we realize that some don't have that. And that was the breakdown, which is why a lot of companies don't last more than five to eight years. And we've been around 17, going on 18 now. But that communication is a big part of it.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. Yeah, it's huge. Going off of that, I would love to know any pieces of advice or tips or tricks for people that are trying to help their business and their employees communicate more efficiently?

Erica Reed: I would say as a leader, if you're on the top C-suite, listen to your people. I've worked in, when I was in college, I would work a summer job for a different corporation, whether it be AT&T or Microsoft or something. I've done Bank of America. A lot of times it was people at the top making the decision, it was the VPs and the CEOs making the decisions, but they didn't include the people of under them, that are actually doing the job every single day.

And I've had the experience of doing the job, from the ground up to where I am now. So for me, it's important that you listen to your people, right? Let them have some input on changes in policies and procedures, and find out what works for them so that we can cater to them. Let's not just make the decisions from the top down. Because when you do that, you have people that are unhappy, they don't want to work for you, you have a high turnover rate. And the way you prevent that is listening to your people and making them feel like they are a part of something bigger. They're not just a worker.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. That's great advice. So who is the best boss you've ever had? And what did they teach you?

Erica Reed: I'm going to say Mike Brian was my best boss. He's still my boss, he's the president. He taught me to challenge him. That's what he did.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I love that.

Erica Reed: He'll say something, was like, "Challenge me. Feel free to challenge me." All right, I'm going to challenge you. Right? But because of-

Megan Ellsworth: You don't have to tell me twice.

Erica Reed: Yeah. But because of who he is, he instilled the fact that, don't forget, we are business people who happen to be in the business of construction. And when you put that out there, it makes you conduct yourself in a different manner. When you're knocking someone's door, don't knock the door with paint all over your clothes, because that's what people think of people in construction, right? We're just blue collar workers, and we don't have manners. And I've heard it all, all the misperceptions about us. So he basically taught us to always be aware of how you're perceived, how you present yourself.

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So the next question I have for you is, what makes you smile when you think about your job?

Erica Reed: Making people happy. I did not realize how important putting on a roof was. The house foundation is important, but the roof is so valuable, because we protect families, their lives, we protect their possessions. And people don't look at it as something that's that important. And the beauty of it is, when you can take someone's house and tell them to go to work and say, "I got this. Trust me, I'll make sure it looks great when you get back. When you get home, if you come before I'm done, it's going to like a bomb hit your house. But trust me, it's going to be beautiful when it's done."

I've had people call me and say, "Erica, I'm pissed off at you." And I'm like, "What?" "I can't find my house," because now it's a totally different house, right? That's the fun part of the job, and that's what makes me smile.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, I love that. That's a great answer.

Erica Reed: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh gosh, I love that. Okay. Any tips for people starting out in their roofing career journey?

Erica Reed: Yes. Do your research. Don't just take what you're learning at your company for face value. If it's important to you, you will do the research. If it's important for you, when you're starting to date someone, to find the best and coolest date spot and you can go do research on that, it's important to you to put the time and the energy into the business, to develop yourself, to pay for a course or attend training or do some research.

And I think a lot of people forget that, research is important in the industry. And then keep up with industry trends, go to the shows, attend Roofer's Coffee Shop Podcast, free knowledge, right? Join the R Club. There's a lot of information that's out there. And no one in this business, no matter how new you are or how old you've been in the business, how long, you should never say, "I don't know. I'm not aware of that. I didn't know those changes," because the knowledge is everywhere. It's all over the place.

Lots of agencies, it's YouTube, the suppliers, your manufacturers. Go to ICO, go to GA Up, tell them, "I need training. I want to train my people." So that's my advice. Learning should be forever, always be learning and developing, because things change every year. Well, every six months things change. Even the pricing, the materials, colors change. Know that stuff. That's important.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's so true. Things really do change so rapidly, especially in this industry and in construction, materials, building styles, trends.

Erica Reed: Yes.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's great advice. I love it.

Erica Reed: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay, last question. I can't believe we've done it. How long have you been following Roofer's Coffee Shop? And what's your favorite thing about RCS?

Erica Reed: I've been following Roofer's Coffee Shop for at least five years now. The best thing about... Yeah, my president, Mike, who is my boss, he was on Roofer's Coffee Shop a while ago. It was when we first started Elite Claim Solutions-

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yeah.

Erica Reed: ... he was on Roofer's Coffee Shop, talking about Elite Claim Solutions. Now I'm one Roofer's Coffee Shop, talking about Elite Construction. So yeah, so it's been a while. The best thing about it is your enthusiasm, and Heidi's enthusiasm for what you're doing. And you guys are everywhere. Every time I'm at the IRE, there's Roofer's Coffee Shop.

Megan Ellsworth: Aw.

Erica Reed: You're at the Builder IBS, you're there. And then the content is always different. And then, it's meaningful content, right? You want to know about metal roofing, go to Roofer's Coffee Shop. So I register for podcasts often, and I may not be able to attend them, but my fireflies attends them and gives me a breakdown on what was talked about.

But I also, every time I get a notification, I send it out to my team so that they can attend and they can get additional training and development. And then the website, also your website, the R Club, being able to put job ads up and see who's looking for companies to acquire. I just recently saw that and was pretty shocked. Somebody was like, "I want to sell my company." Let me reach out to them. So that's important also, because you guys are really, you deep dive into the industry and you're helping us in so many ways. And I think the content is valuable, so thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. I could cry right now. That's so nice.

Erica Reed: We appreciate you.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow.

Erica Reed: More than you know.

Megan Ellsworth: Aw, that is so kind. Wow, what a glowing review.

Erica Reed: I'm thinking about, what do my guys need to learn? Metal roofing. Okay, Roofer's Coffee Shop, what's on there, watch these videos, attend this.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Erica Reed: Yeah. So we love it.

Megan Ellsworth: That is so great to hear. Wow. Thank you so much, Erica.

Erica Reed: You're welcome.

Megan Ellsworth: Well, this has been a blast getting to know you a little bit more, and hearing your story in roofing. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Erica Reed: You're welcome. Thank you for having me.

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, absolutely. So everyone out there listening, you can learn more about Elite Construction, all of their subsidiary companies on their directory, because they are an R Club member. And you can find their standard directory on RoofersCoffeeShop.com. And you can also find them on R Club map. So if you're a home and building owner out there listening to this, you can also find them, in case you are in need of any roof repairs. Thank you again, Erica. This has been wonderful.

Erica Reed: Thank you. And you have a good day.

Megan Ellsworth: You too. Amazing. All right, thanks.

Outro: 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 to learn more. Thanks for soaring with us on Stories From the Roof. We'll catch you on the next one.