Opinion requested

For any of you who have been in roofing business for awhile or longer, what would be your advice , in one sentence or less, to someone who is just getting in? Or what word best describes anything and everything you have ever done to get started, keep the door open, and still continue ?My advice would be start young enough, and never retire. My one word would be " two actually, "bloody knuckles".

Start off with knowing your numbers, surround yourself with people who are smarter in areas that you don't know so well...

Great post Lanny. Wish I had half that advice to give....great post.

No joke TomB this is not out of comic books . Morality can be controlled . http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/brains-moral-compass-shifted-magnets-study-finds/story?id=10243784 This lends credence to the information about electrical appliances and magnetic fields . Very interesting the idea that there are multiple systems for morality you can selectively target and impair one at a time out side the will of the person.

Check your moral compass, if your a decent/honest sort, get out while the get'n's good!

I've tried to get out of this business but it just keeps coming back to me. The Sicilian connection is just getting off the ground. We met in Washington DC last month a blast and formulated plans. The newest interest roofing is an LLC with a young guy who has ten times the energy I have . That is one of the first ingredients ? 1 Start young. 2 Customer service 3 Customer service 4 Did I mention Customer Service.

Great post lanny

Thanks for that nice post Lanny. It was more than one sentence but who's counting?

---I used to tell my son, "Stay in school or you'll end up a roofer." He roofed for me for about 5 years and then announced, "Dad, I'm going back to school." ---Roofing can be quite simple. Very repetative and you can specialize in a narrow market and actually do well with hardly any knowledge. I know roofers who do comp only and never more than 6/12. They know what they know but what they do does not require much. ---I started with a nail belt and a few hand tools. Imagine any other trade with such a limited need for expensive tools. I roofed for years out of a '65 Chev. I owned NO trucks. I took out the back seat and easily hauled what few tools I needed. ---I have a friend who took 6 hours to bid a small bathroom remodel. I can bid almost any roof in under 10 minutes. 9 minutes to measure and 1 minute to multiply... ---Roofing requires to formal training. In fact, in our state NO training is needed at all. Put up a sign and you are in biz. Get a phone number and you are in biz. Now obviously the more you know the better your chances at success. But you can hire competant people to do it all if needed. ---Very little money up front is required. You can lease a vehicle. You can pay your insurance premiums by the month. You can be up and running with very little investment and acquire things as time and money allows. ---I think roofing has some big advantages over most all the other trades. A roofer may not have the prestige "an electrician" has. But I have made more money than most electricians. And I hardly work more than 20 hours a week. ---Everybody has a system that has worked well for them. I am talking about those who have lasted for 20+ years in roofing. As easy as it has been for me I have seen many come and go. I know roofers who make 1/4 mil or more every year. They have a system. ---2 of my former employees started their own company and in their 2nd year grossed over $300,000. Their third year they quit. I sat down with them trying to get them to keep going. I felt like they were young and ambitious and could be grossing 1 mil or more soon. I hated to see them quit. Well, the bottom line was that they hated roofing. They liked working for me but hated being the boss. I had no answer for that. ---Roofing isn't for everyone I have learned. Some have no physical ability to kneel, bend over, pick up a bumdle, and all the other physical labor that goes into roofing. And some of the biggest strong guys I have known could not handle the bending over. 2 weeks into roofing and their back goes out. End of roofing career... ---I have worked for many contractors who do everything but NO ROOFING. They don't like heights...they cannot work all day on a roof...they cannot bend over and lift...so it leaves me with a trade where I don't have to compete with many except other roofers. I have had homeowners who wanted me to install the roof but to save money they wanted to tear it off. I can make that work. In almost every case they say, "We are glad we did it but we will NEVER do it again." ---I have no quickie one sentence advice for every prospective roofer because there are so many angles and approaches. Generally I think people should ease into it to see if they can last. That is, work for someone else for awhile. Start small and build. Stay out of debt. Hire an accountant and ALWAYS ALWAYS keep your financial paperwork up to date and in order. Many have gone bankrupt for just that reason. They owed back taxes, back sales tax, late payments, penalties, interest, etc etc. I pay an accountant 3k/yr. I get audited every year by one or another agency. I fly right through every audit because my accountant has all my financials in order. ---More advice...stay within your expertise. Walk away from jobs that may $$$ tempt but are over your head. Or hire an expert to make that job successsful. Stay away from trouble. Stay away from going to court and lawsuits. Stay away from risky situations. When I get a big commercial roof I bring in another company that has done about 500 such jobs. I make less money but I have peace of mind and little risk. I still make great money as commercial jobs can be big $$$. But I am willing to share the $$$ with another for peace of mind. ---I like physical work. Oddly I went to college for 8 years and have a master's degree. But I like working outdoors. Working on a roof with a great view and great weather is inspirational to me. Always another job, a new view, another set of challanges, another part of town, lots of variety...I still think it is fun. I have always wondered why more people don't like roofing. Lanny

Do what jim sez, 1099 your employees. The busiest CONtractors here do it.

They price accordingly and beat the labor on every job, or make the labor take the loss. It is a two headed coin.... :laugh:

When I was young I learned to never cut corners or take shortcuts and fake it because you won't get callbacks (that don't pay) and mainly, when its time to get the check you can't be called on anything. Something still valuable today, that was in 1976. Good luck.

RUN

Learn Spanish :silly:

Find a great sub, then set your prices accordingly so you can profit on each job.

All opinions were great, varied in nature but all seemed to have a common bottom line, Don't go into this business. I agree with all answers, I would never go into it , if had it to do over, but, it is sort of like swimming across a lake 100 feet deep, you get half way across, why turn around, it is the same distance either way , so you have to get to the other side, or drown. I love it though, wouldn't change now, no way.

Mike M. Said: For any of you who have been in roofing business for awhile or longer, what would be your advice , in one sentence or less, to someone who is just getting in? Or what word best describes anything and everything you have ever done to get started, keep the door open, and still continue ?My advice would be start young enough, and never retire. My one word would be two actually, bloody knuckles.

Pretty tall request for a one sentence answer.

Bloody knuckles works if you are actively running the crew as a salesman/bookkeeper/foreman/roofer/contractor. I never lost money when operating in that mode.

But here's the best I can do at the moment: Find a niche that isn't a reverse auction and master it, including the business side of it..