Sitting in Atlanta Airport

My problem with RSI has nothing to do with whether one of their roofing company templates and business plans works or doesn't work. It is the business plan that RSI uses for themselves I have a problem with.

They promise life changing improvements.

They demand confidentiality.

They have big, happy meetings where everybody touts their success.

Yeah, I've seen that business plan, it works for lots of things, multi-level marketing, Ponzi schemes, dumping timeshares, religious cults.....

Now, we used to have a regular poster here, a nice kid named Kyle. If I remember right, he had built himself a medium-sized residential company, but realized he had to drastically change it because most his labor was subcontracted. His situation was probably an ideal one to use the services of RSI. He stated they offered different business templates and he chose a cartoon-themed one.

I say good for him and I wish him well, but I couldn't help but notice that he quit hanging out here, almost like he had been told to avoid places that are negative to RSI.

Yeah woody we had a local plumbing company sell out to an outfit like that. They used to remodels and plumbing services. They did well. The owner wner sold and the plumbers left the company

GKRFG Said: I also enjoyed Kallers input. I would love to hear you take over the role. B)

lefty can speak for himself, but as I understand the program, members sign confidentiality statements. What you will get from RSI members is recruitment, not teaching. They pay a lot of money for what they get.

A couple of months ago, a radio ad prompted me to do a little research. There was a local plumbing company that was bought out by a national holding company of service-type companies. (Terminex is one of their holdings).

After being acquired, this plumbing company quickly evolved from being an all-around plumbing company to more of a roto-rooter type company. Their radio ad touted that they could unclog your drain for $99. Now, I occasionally do home service calls for about that, but that is only for widows that I feel sorry for and I was curious how a big company could do it with all their overhead.

It turns out they can't. They don't hire experienced plumbers, they train their own. 2/3rds of their training isn't even plumbing, it's high-pressure selling. Their service reps are not paid hourly. They get a flat rate of $20 for each service call, then a commission on the upsell. They push hard for using the video scope for looking at the clog, which adds $199 to the $99. They push hard at sewer line replacement at a rate 2-3 times what other plumbers charge.

If you read reviews on this company, they are filled with people that paid $3-600 just to make them go away.

Now, in the boardrooms of RSI-types or MBA classrooms this model might be considered an ingenious way to get and grow business, but for me, I'll pass on moving "up to that next level".

GKRFG Said: Lefty, Thanks for the post. I believe that you have built up a great business over the years. I also believe that you have managed to find the right kind of people and that to do right by yourself, your business and your people that now is the time for the company take another step.

disclaimer: BTW- I have absolutely no talent for conciseness :)

I say this because this is where I would like to see my business go and I have always thought that the biggest obstacle to improving my company is ME. And I would wager that is true of everyone of us. No matter what your goal is. Few of us in this trade have a business background and there comes a point where lack of knowledge is the wall to climb. There are not a lot of resources to find that type of knowledge. I applaud your decision to take this step and look forward to hearing anything you might want to share.

For the Lone Wolves the problem is not knowledge but eventual physical limitations.

I also enjoyed Kallers input. I would love to hear you take over the role. B)

Lefty, Thanks for the post. I believe that you have built up a great business over the years. I also believe that you have managed to find the right kind of people and that to do right by yourself, your business and your people that now is the time for the company take another step.

disclaimer: BTW- "I have absolutely no talent for conciseness" :)

I say this because this is where I would like to see my business go and I have always thought that the biggest obstacle to improving my company is "ME". And I would wager that is true of everyone of us. No matter what your goal is. Few of us in this trade have a business background and there comes a point where lack of knowledge is the wall to climb. There are not a lot of resources to find that type of knowledge. I applaud your decision to take this step and look forward to hearing anything you might want to share.

"For the Lone Wolves the problem is not knowledge but eventual physical limitations."

I also enjoyed Kallers' input. I would love to hear you take over the role. B)

Question for Lefty:

You seem to want more than just running a business. Is the next step "creating a brand" in reference to why a customer would choose your company over another. I believe once you have a "brand", what ever it may be, price no longer is the dictating factor in a customers purchasing decision.

wywoody Said:

A successful roofing company owner that joins RSI, is like a gourmet chef trying to get a McDonalds franchise.

No, I just want to make an honest living. Call me utopian.

Lefty Said:

wywoody Said: My goal wasnt to personally install. But when I got much beyond that, I realized my goal wasnt to spend my time putting out fires, managing egos, fixing below-par work and being a constant safety nag.

This is the biggest problem with most employees. They thing the things you listed are not part of running a business. They think that installing is 95% of the business. With that attitude they think that they are the most important part of the business. They think the business owner is just reaping the rewards of the installers hard work.

What you stated is you were looking to reap the rewards of the installers without running a business.

You qualify as running a business. I would dare to say that you are just providing yourself with a good paying job and you hire help to get your job done. And there is nothing wrong with that. Actually that is what is great about this country. Anyone can do that if that is what their goal is.

Projecting a little of your inner Elizabeth Warren there, Lefty? (you didn't build that business.)

I'll admit to shortcomings in my people management patience, but I refuse to allow others to define whether I can run a business profitably, legally, ethically dedicated to uncompromised quality of the end product.

I also have a good memory. I recall pictures of a steep church reroof with 6-8 workers with 0 safety equipment at a height that could bring felony charges for the company owner. The sheer disregard for the workers safety and the stupidity of posting it astonished me. I still remember my thought when seeing it "That idiot has no business running a business."

My story has gone from starting out installing, getting off the roof selling the product and company, buying a Franchise, taking on a Contractor partner, buying and flipping houses while running roofing business, selling off all assets of the roofing business except my license, becoming an independent insurance adjuster maintaing my roofing Lic. Assisting former customers with quality roofing and repairs using a Lic. Sub who worked for me as an employee before getting his Lic. The insurance job keeps me well during storm season along with roofing repairs and reroofs in between at my rate. I let all the total roofing contractors fight tooth and nail for their work. I am truly independent of employees very low overhead and a very nice living. Diversification has worked well for me. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

Lefty Said: You will be confronted with ideas that may be hard to digest.

I'd like to think I could accept wild idea's, but I'm as hard headed as the next guy. When I came back to roofing from being a computer networking consultant, I had a lot of ideas that I was afraid to even speak of because I'd be breaking routines. Turns out that a few of the ideas greatly improved our game.

I've also spent a lot of time thinking I might be the lone wolf type in the future, because of employee troubles. 2014 proved to be pretty decent, and I hope to make even more progress in 2015. The lone wolf approach is looking less like my future every day, but it's always a possibility. I know that if I ever have 15+ employee's again, it will be completely different than last time.

The Dude Abides.

There's definitely something to repetitious & communal positive thought, (for lack of a better term). It's been proven to work time & again.....i.e. "prayer", is one of the basic examples.

twill59 Said: I was in a national organization at one time also. Quite a few, (as in the majority) of the successful contractors were using illegals to the MAX. I was very shocked. Not what I expected at all.

I never heard them complain Illegals, Subs, OSHA, the government, either.... :dry:

Funny how that comes-to-be.....

;)

wywoody Said: My goal wasnt to personally install. But when I got much beyond that, I realized my goal wasnt to spend my time putting out fires, managing egos, fixing below-par work and being a constant safety nag.

This is the biggest problem with most employees. They thing the things you listed are not part of running a business. They think that installing is 95% of the business. With that attitude they think that they are the most important part of the business. They think the business owner is just reaping the rewards of the installers hard work.

What you stated is you were looking to reap the rewards of the installers without running a business.

You qualify as running a business. I would dare to say that you are just providing yourself with a good paying job and you hire help to get your job done. And there is nothing wrong with that. Actually that is what is great about this country. Anyone can do that if that is what their goal is.