Win Big at FRSA! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Todd Farr from EVERROOF. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast!

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Heidi J Ellsworth: Welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from Roofer's Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we are talking today about education. The best kind of education. I'm talking roofing education.
What is out there for roofing professionals to help continue their education to really understand roofing dynamics and fundamentals and technology and all of these great things.

So, we invited our friends from EVERROOF, Todd Farr, to come and talk about the importance of education. Todd, welcome.

Todd Farr: Thank you, Heidi. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me on. We're definitely honored to be part of this program.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I am so excited to have you here today. Love this topic. This is something we're very passionate about ourselves. So before we dive in, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about you and what you do with EVERROOF.

Todd Farr: Sure, yeah. My name is Todd Farr. I'm the National Sales Manager for EVERROOF Products. We're fluid applied coatings for the commercial world. Silicones, acrylics, urethanes, primers and mastics. Mostly for roof restoration.

We're a division of General Coatings under the larger umbrella of Polycoat USA. So I think we have 11 different companies in our entire organization, but I'm focused on the commercial roofing world.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. You have such a great organization, Todd. I just love everybody there. Family-run business.

Todd Farr: Yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, it's such an amazing culture. With that culture, and as I look at it, and one of the things that we've done working with you and everyone there is you are committed to education and to continuing education.

With General Coatings you did so much with the RCMA on their educational programs. And now today we're here to talk about your most recent initiative and as a contest on Roofer's Coffee Shop to give away one class of the new Clemson Roofing Alliance certificate classes.

I'm so excited about that. Todd, I mean, education is so important and EVERROOF, all of your company, are so committed to it on so many levels. Can you talk about the importance of education with the culture of EVERROOF and Polycoat? All of the companies.

Todd Farr: Absolutely. We believe that education is the cornerstone of everything. That's where it starts. Our founder was highly educated, the family's highly educated. All of our team is educated.

We believe there's not enough education going on in the roofing industry. So we're more than excited to be part of this program with the Roofing Alliance and Clemson University and Roofer's Coffee Shop.

This is literally a business in the box. If you take this course seriously it will yield results for you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It will. I have to tell you; I was just at the Roofing Alliance with a member of your team at that meeting and this new certificate program from Clemson University is so amazing.

And the fact, I love that you all came back and said, "Hey, let's do a contest. Let's give one of these classes away so that people can really see how great it is."

And then we're going to actually interview the person who takes the class Todd and see what they think, right?
Todd Farr: I love that. I love that. That is perfect because this curriculum that they teach in this course it's not taught just out there like every day. When you join a company, they just throw you right in. So to have this mastery of this curriculum is just an amazing opportunity for anyone in the industry.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It really is. It really is. And so we're going to talk more about this contest and how people can apply, and we already actually have a number of people who have sent in and want to get onto this.

But first, let's kind of talk about the Clemson University classes. Let's kind of get everybody up to speed on that. So the Roofing Alliance through their funding funded Clemson University many years ago to start developing classes in roofing.

And so, right now, if you're a student going to Clemson University you can take three roofing classes and get a certificate for that.

They wanted to get that out to the professionals like you said, Todd. So let's talk a little bit about the classes. You've looked through them. What do you think? And maybe tell everybody a little bit about them.

Todd Farr: Yeah, absolutely. One of the sections is understanding diverse roof systems. They take you through all the different roof systems so you can understand those well.

That's important when you're going and speaking to these building owners that you are educated on the different types of systems and you can call them out.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: That's going to put you far ahead of your competition. Also, mastering blueprint interpretation is another section. That is so important. When the consultants and the architects send you these plans and say, "Hey, this is what it's calling out for. We need you to bid on X."

You need to know how to go through those blueprints. And they don't always point out where the roofing section is and what you need to know. They just hand you the big stack of blueprints. So in this course, learning where to go, how to read them, it's time efficiency. That is gold. I can't tell you how valuable that is.

Safety protocols. Roofing is one of the most dangerous industries out there, and we all need to put safety as a priority. That's just going to give you longevity in the industry.

Those are just a few of the curriculum topics that I noticed in this first section. There are two other courses in addition as well, and I personally suggest those.

I looked at the curriculum and it's literally business in a box.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: Roofing is definitely something to take seriously. I heard some guys talking about how much commission they're making on their big commercial roof deals, and I got to tell you they're making more money than anyone coming out of college.

If I was at Clemson University, I would take all three of these courses hands down. If I'm a roofer, I would take all three of these courses hands down.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: It will yield fruit for you guaranteed.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It is really cool. And so just to kind of get everybody out there are three courses that you can take now to get a certificate, and the first one is Roofing Fundamentals.

The second one is Roofing Management, to Todd's point business in a box. I love that. And course three is Roofing Business Principles and Leadership.

But what we're working on right now is giving away that first Roofing Fundamentals.

Todd Farr: That's right.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So, a lucky winner is going to get to have that class at no cost and it's valued at $895 per class.

Todd Farr: Absolutely. And really the true value is 10X of that.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: But it's amazing. If you're coming to FRSA, definitely drop your card in. Let's get your name in the hat. Let's get you winning one of these for sure.
Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. I mean I just love this idea. This really came, it was your guys's brainstorm to do this. I think it's brilliant.

I do want to say too what's really cool is that when you finish the class, you get a certificate that has both the Clemson paw and the Roofing Alliance logo on it for your wall, which I think is really cool to be able to get that.
So let's talk a little bit about some just in taking the classes, Todd, you do have some requirements.

Todd Farr: Oh, absolutely. So it appealed to me. I mean, they give you 60 days for each course, you know, 60 days. It's online. It's self-paced. You get two tries to pass it.

Basically they're just handing it to you and say, "Hey, just pay attention. Follow the system and you'll be good to go."
And the fact that they're giving you that certification is... That's gold as well. You can put that in your brag book as you go to see clients and they'll see that.

The whole thing is definitely valuable. I would definitely take it serious because those that do will find themselves making more money.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I know.

Todd Farr: Probably from the things that they learn from these courses.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Exactly. Exactly. And you do get two tries to pass it.

Todd Farr: Yes, yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: But you do have to pass it. And I think it's at 70%, I think. We could confirm that. But-

Todd Farr: Yeah.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I'm actually going to be taking it here. My goal is to do July and August as my 60 days, Todd, and take this class because I've just heard such amazing things about it.

And I think it is so incredibly important for the industry right now to be able to show people outside the industry when they're coming in that we have this amazing onboarding into the business.

And also to help other people even look at creating their own businesses. I mean, we want the next generation to want to be in roofing.

Todd Farr: Absolutely. And I'm going to do the same, Heidi. I'm salivating right now to take all three, you know, and so... I'm right there with you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it.

Todd Farr: Yeah, it's fantastic. I mean, there's also another group too. You've got residential roofers who have always wanted to break into commercial roofing.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Right.

Todd Farr: These are the perfect courses for that.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: Even if you're a residential roofer and you've built a successful business in that segment, come to the FSRA. Throw your card in for this and get this amazing education.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I think it is. And I love that, the thought about residential because one of the things that we're learning through this labor shortage of everything that's going on is it's one thing to recruit and get people into the industry, but then we have to retain them.

We want them to stay because we always say, "Once you're in roofing, you never leave roofing." But those first couple months are so important to be able to have roofing contractors, manufacturers, distributors have this kind of class where it can be offered to new people into the industry or, like you and I, people who've been here for a little while where we can take that class, I think is really important.

And we've never had this before. So I mean, I just love that the Roofing Alliance funded this and really put a priority on working with Clemson. And then Clemson has just been so amazing.

Todd Farr: I agree. I agree. It's really amazing how far things have come, and I wish this would've happened years ago, you know?

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: That's why I'm chomping at the bit here to take all three of these courses.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. And the first course that we are giving away is Roofing Fundamentals.

Todd Farr: That's right.

Heidi J Ellsworth: But then people can go to the Roofing Alliance website. It's under education, the Clemson Certificate program if you just look in the navigation. Plus, of course, it's on the directories of Roofing Alliance and  EVERROOF.

But you can kind of see... sign up. If you're an NRCA member, you're going to get a discount. If you're a Roofing Alliance member, you get a discount. But even without a discount, this is worth it so many times over.
And I kind of think, Todd, I have a feeling that this is going to start making some differences on resumes too where you can say, "I have the Clemson paw."

Todd Farr: Hands down. This is, I mean, this is going to be a standard in the industry.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah.

Todd Farr: I mean, you talk about law firms giving favor to lawyers that went to Harvard and Yale and whatnot. This is like the Harvard and Yale of the roofing industry, this education, I feel like just off the curriculum, what they're covering.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I know.

Todd Farr: It's just stuff that's not openly discussed, a lot of it. So, it's great.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, it really is. So let's talk just a little bit. We know you're going to have the giveaway in the booth.

Todd Farr: Yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: We also, if you go onto all our sites, Roofers Coffee Shop, Coatings Coffee Shop, you're going to see ads for this giveaway. You're also going to see it in the EVERROOF directory.

So you can enter the contest online before you go to the FRSA show-

Todd Farr: Yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: ... or you can go to the Roofers Coffee Shop booth, which is out in the lobby of FRSA, sorry. Or to EVERROOF Booth. So tell us a little bit about what else is going to be in your booth at FRSA.

Todd Farr: Yeah, we're going to have a number of our team there in the booth. Happy to answer any questions. The biggest thing that I'm excited about is we're doing a special show pricing.

If you come to our booth and you have a commercial project in mind for June and July, I'm going to give you special show pricing that beats any of our other pricing.

Come and use the code word "show" and ask for myself, Todd Farr. And we're going to give you a special show discount on any of your projects that you have going on for June and July, which is huge, you know?

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. You can get a chance to win a free class from Clemson and you get show pricing for your commercial projects.

Todd Farr: That is correct.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Perfect.

Todd Farr: Yes. Yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Booth number?

Todd Farr: Our booth number is 220. 2-2-0.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. And we're going to be out in the lobby, so when everyone comes in, we're going to be right next to the silent auction. But we're also, Todd, going to have you and the team coming on our soundstage, which we're going to be live broadcasting from FRSA show.

Todd Farr: Oh, that's great. I'm looking forward to it for sure.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I can't wait. I can't wait. Everybody out there, seriously, these Clemson classes are amazing and they are funded by the Roofing Alliance who is bringing so much to the industry. And through EVERROOF, you have a chance to win one. So, Todd, thank you so much.

Todd Farr: Thank you, Heidi.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Ah, I love it and I'll see you in Orlando next week.

Todd Farr: Yes, ma'am. See you there.

Heidi J Ellsworth: We will see you there. Please, everyone check out the EVERROOF directory to get all the information you need on this contest and everything else, including everything they have at the show, all these great products.

So be ready. We'll see you at FRSA. Please check out all of our podcasts under the RLW navigation. Under read, list and watch look for Roofing Road trips or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and set your notifications.

We'll be seeing you soon and next time on Roofing Road trips.

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