Roofing Success
The Roofing Success Podcast is a show created to inspire roofing contractors to achieve optimal success in their roofing businesses. The host, Jim Ahlin, is the co-author of the book, "Internet Marketing For Roofing Contractors, How to TRIPLE Your Sales and Turn Your Roofing Website Into an Online Lead Generation Machine", and Co-Founder of Roofer Marketers, the Digital Marketing Agency for the roofing industry. On each episode, Jim will be sitting down with industry leaders to talk about their processes, the lessons they learned, and how to find success in roofing.
Roofing Success
Why Growing Too Fast Can DESTROY Your Roofing Business (Lessons from a $30M Company) with Curtis Eshghy
What if your biggest dream—building a wildly successful roofing company—is actually your biggest risk? Curtis Eshghy scaled his business to $30M+, but along the way, he learned some hard lessons that almost took him down. In this episode, he shares the dangers of rapid growth, the leadership mindset shifts that saved his business, and how you can scale smarter—without losing control.
Curtis reveals:
✅ Why hiring too fast can backfire (and what to do instead)
✅ The #1 leadership mistake that turns success into chaos
✅ How to protect your business from becoming a "house of cards"
✅ The key to keeping your team motivated and your company profitable
Most roofers think more sales = more success. But if you’re not careful, rapid growth can destroy everything you’ve built. Watch this now and learn how to grow with purpose, keep your company strong, and create a legacy that lasts.
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What if your dream business is secretly a ticking time bomb? Curtis SG's journey reveals the dangerous mistakes entrepreneurs make and the game-changing mindset that saved him from disaster. In this episode, curtis takes us on a masterclass in leadership, growth and the art of stepping back to see the big picture. He shares the tough decisions, personal evolution and strategies that helped him create a legacy company built to last. Curtis is more than the CEO. He's a builder of dreams, both for his business and for the people within it. With over $30 million in annual revenue, curtis has redefined what it means to grow with purpose and lead with heart. From staffing 150 installers to learning the value of balance over relentless growth, curtis has mastered the art of scaling without losing sight of what matters most. Get ready for actionable insights and inspiring stories. Curtis doesn't just share his wins. He shares his playbook. Let's jump in and learn how to grow smarter, lead better and dream bigger.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Roofing Success Podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm Jim Alleyne and I'm here to bring you insights from top leaders in the roofing industry to help you grow and scale your roofing business. Chicago land's finest. Curtis Eschie how are you, brother Good? How are you doing, jim? Good, man, good to see you again, good to have you back on the show. It's been a long time. The first conversation that we had was about building a strong foundation in your roofing business. You were already a roofing contractor top 100 a couple of years. It was about two years ago, I think, when we spoke last and we did an episode you know and built your company to 25, 30, maybe 30 million in revenue. You haven't stopped, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's been keeps going.
Speaker 1:It keeps on going right Like the vision is big. Let's start off with that. Let's start off about the vision. What was your vision? What was your vision in those early days? Did you, were you in those early days? Did you have any thought that you were going to build something, a company with 250 employees and you know? Did you ever think of that?
Speaker 3:Not necessarily to that scale. I always had a vision, I always had a dream of building something that you know leaves a legacy and that I could kind of pass on to you know, family members and you know close friends and my daughter and that vision has matured I would say I wouldn't say it's changed has matured, and knowing where you become the asset and not the liability is something that you know. The past two years have really, you know, helped me identify within the company, within myself, within, you know, maturing as a, as an adult, as you know, um, I think that kind of by the knowledge, experience and the ability to take a step back and watch things, not you know, you get a different perspective. So if you're playing football, for example, right, and you're an offensive lineman, the vision that you see is directly in front of you and, and that's kind of what your focus is is, you know, making that block or making a tackle. When you take a step back and now you're the coach, right, you're watching it from the sideline and you get a different perspective.
Speaker 3:You start, start to be able to see, you know, maybe five or six different players at one time, when you're the offensive coordinator or you're the GM and you're sitting in a skybox and you're looking down, you get to see the whole field and I think that that's kind of with with the help of the people in the company, with all these you know, all these people's hard work and dedication it's given me the ability to have a different perspective and that perspective becomes the ability to make tough decisions, and a lot of those tough decisions are to kind of save everybody. You know, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it's a decision you don't want to really make, something that takes you a while to sleep on. I think that you know that has been where I become. The best suited asset was being able to play all of those positions and work my way up into being able to see the field as a whole, and that's something that you know. Like I said before, I thank everybody here in the company to allow me to mature and grow into that role.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what? What do you think the importance is in learning all of the positions and how much do you have to play each position? Like, do you have to really be on the field in every position in your company to really, or do you think that, like you can, you can learn how to coach someone right, because coaching is different than playing a lot of times? What's your thoughts on that? It definitely is.
Speaker 3:You also know when. You have to know when to identify someone that is more skilled or more talented than you at a certain position as well. Your ego can't get in the way of what's best for the company or or what's what's going to help our growth, because maybe I can tell you right now proficiency when it comes to using a software. I may not be that guy. I may not be the day-to-day you know, a million phone calls and problem solving over and over and over again. That may not be where I'm best suited. Over and over and over again, that may not be where I'm best suited. So, really identifying people's strengths and keeping them focused and empowering them to elevate through whatever position it is that they are in the company, I think that you know myself not necessarily having to play every position, but kind of, in the growth of a company, you, you, you know you want to kind of start out at the bottom and kind of work your way through stuff and then when that next guy comes and he this, you know, he's better than me, you know what I mean. He's better than me at closing, you know, let him kind of take that responsibility of teaching others how to close. Right now.
Speaker 3:I felt like you know, when I was knocking doors, you know, five, six, seven years ago I was great at getting people to open the doors. My partner, kevin, was a master by getting the closing done. So once I kind of identified that it was, it was an easy transition to say, hey, kevin, I need you to teach this part. Right, and I'll teach this part. And then another individual came in and they showed me hey, maybe they're better at opening than I was.
Speaker 3:Okay, so now moving out the way to allow them to kind of, you know, grow and whatever works you know or whatever knowledge they have or what's working, let them kind of share that with the rest of us. And in that process everyone's kind of moved up. You know, like the Kevin is the VP of the company now and it's just the constant. You know being able to take, you know, three steps forward, two steps back. Kind of analogy is you know, you get out there, you try things out. Either they work or they don't, but either way you kind of have to take that step back, realign and then actually get out there.
Speaker 1:That different viewpoint is really important. I've heard it. I heard, I listened to an interview. There's a big marketing guy, his name is Alex Hermosi, and then Dave Ramsey, the finance guy. Yeah, alex was interviewing Dave and Dave was talking about his entrepreneurial journey and how, like entrepreneurs, if entrepreneurship is a maze, entrepreneurs, business, you know, small business owners man, we're we don't care where the maze goes Like we'll go under a wall, over a wall or through a wall if we need to, right, we're like we don't. The strategy of how to get through the maze isn't what we're concerned about. We're concerned about getting out of the other side.
Speaker 1:Right, and he said that there was a phase in his place in his business, that his business had gotten to a certain level where he started having to hire a lot of people that were smarter than him, the MBAs. He called them right, like the you know, know the, the finance guys and the you know the real strategic operations guys. And, and he said they it was like what he learned from them is that they, they look down at the maze, they go all right, take three steps and then make a left, take four steps and make a right. And he said those people taught him how to get that viewpoint like you're talking about, to get up in the stand above the stands and watch the game get played and kind of be more strategic in in what you're trying to do. But he also had to teach them that we're getting to the other side, no matter what. Definitely that's right and there's this balance there. Right, there's this balance and I'm sure you've had to find some balance in that. Right. But what are, what is, what were some of those situations that you've run into?
Speaker 3:We were discussing before starting that, that labor force. Yeah, you know, it was it, it it was a great.
Speaker 1:Let's explain that.
Speaker 3:For a second, explain what you did so so we we were, we were mostly um subcontracting all of our workout to, um you know other roofing companies, you know labor force type situations, um we actually staffed and hired about 150 installers. We bought, staffed and hired about 150 laborers.
Speaker 1:About 150 installers. Right, like this is. This is what I want. I want people to understand. Like this is an I want. I just want to highlight the enormity of the undertaking. So now go ahead, sorry.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of stuff that went into that and it was a big investment from the company. And we also purchased four gutter trucks and machines and staff that side of things as well and it was a great situation and a great learning lesson for the company and for, like I was saying before, kind of get in there and try things out and then you can come back and then put it together correctly. It's really important that when you are building something, you are building it with the right people and's desire and love to actually grow something and be a part of something. And I feel like sometimes, when things get too big or when outside people kind of get involved, their intentions may not be the same as the core values of the company. And you go through stuff.
Speaker 3:You, you know you it's like riding a bike. You know when you're a kid, you know you get on the bike, you fall off the bike, you get back on the bike and you know, eventually you can still fall off the bike eventually. But you know you become a more proficient, you know rider, you, you have the you know foresight to make sure I stop and I look across both sides of the street so I don't get hit by a car. Um, sometimes we get very excited. You know especially the personality type I have. Usually when I get into something I go 199 percent into it. Um, and most of the time it works out right, and if it doesn't work out, at least I get taught a really good lesson at the end of it, and that kind of as much. As as much as it may not look like that to other people, that's probably the most important part of the process is is the understanding you get from taking chances. You know playing it safe will never get you anywhere. You know you're going to be in the same place as you were 10 years ago if you're just playing it safe. And I've never in my life, you know, kind of been a super safe individual. I've kind of I like to push the limits, I like to push the capacity of. I like to push the limits, I like to push the capacity of people, I like to push the capacity of the company and a lot of, a lot of people here, a lot of my partners and employees and friends, they're like slow down.
Speaker 3:The beautiful part of this year was me internally getting to a place where I could say, hey, sometimes it's not necessarily just about going up, but it's about finding that sweet spot right. What's the difference between becoming a $70 million company or being a $100 million company? It's really not that much. And if it's going to cause so much stress on your personal life, your personal relationships, the people in your business, you're overworking them. They're not enjoying coming to work anymore. That might not necessarily be the formula for a long lasting situation. The formula for a long lasting situation, um, so balance 2024, my focus has been on balance and um, kind of knowing where you need, um, where you need people, right, and kind of where you realizing where you don't need people.
Speaker 3:Um, I spoke to a guy he owned a huge factory in Mexico and he was talking about how his, like, his main foreman was a guy from over there and kind of that. That individual's vision of being was how many people could he employ. It wasn't about the money, it was about how many people could he staff. And we had a long conversation about it and there is a value in that, right, there is a strong value in that, especially when you're building something, you want to keep going, keep going, keep going. You kind of need every as much energy as possible around that.
Speaker 3:But when you get to a certain point you start to realize you know, maybe this one person is doing three people's jobs and those other two people are kind of just sitting on their ass Right of just sitting on their ass right and you have to kind of make certain decisions, because if you're going up you've got to create that balance, you know. Then there has to be kind of a lob diminishing, right. The lob diminishing is you can, you can keep going, and then you might end up in the stars, right, or you can kind of figure out what works, what's actually needed. Are there people that maybe we're not giving enough gratitude or appreciation to, because they're covering multiple other people's situations and they're kind of taking the rewards of someone else's hard work? So, like saying before, when you get up in the, in the skybox, or you get up in the, the gm section, you start to see the game a little different.
Speaker 3:And, um, I had an opportunity to kind of take a step back for a few months and kind of really watch the game from from up there, and I I made some really good decisions, I think as a company that strengthened our foundation and protected the company. It's very important that I protect this, and I was having this conversation with somebody the other day. I said I've got 250 employees right. If I get in the car and drive down the street and get in a car accident, I'm risking 250 people's lives, right? Not saying that it's any different than if someone who isn't responsible for 250 people to do something like that, but I have to think about those 250 people in every action I make in my life, because if I don't, I'm jeopardizing all of their hard work, all of their energy, everything that they've put into this, by kind of being selfish. So making sure you go out, take an Uber home. That's just what you got to do. You can't get behind the wheel, you can't make these decisions, you don't have the ability to take those chances anymore and I didn't know where it was getting to as a company, because I'm still a younger guy.
Speaker 3:You start to realize you have to minimize your liabilities. You have to minimize your liabilities and you can't be so available for certain things and certain conversations because, as unfortunate as it is, it's a dog world out here. I mean, I think I had somebody trying to pretend they were me so they could trademark their company the other day and somebody called the office and was talking to katie and it's just like these, these things that you don't really think about start to occur when you get to a certain level. Like my dad says, you know, when I was getting larger, he's like you know, you're gonna be under the microscope, you pretty soon, and everything you do is going to be monitored, watched, judged, and whenever anybody finds a weakness, they're going to try to exploit that weakness. So, strengthening the armor 2024, making sure that we minimize our liabilities and we, you know, have a vision for moving forward.
Speaker 3:We opened a few new offices North Carolina, charlotte and we got rid of a few offices and the things that work you know we're working and the things that don't seem to work. You don't got to just keep something around for an ego reason or to say I got seven offices or because, at the end of the day, it's a revenue based system. Right, you want to see how much money do I put in and how much can come out. Right, so you know that money could be spent in other areas. We've recently, you know, invested a lot into outside marketing. We have billboards around. You know all the major expressways now around the city. We rebuilt our website with Spectra AI SEO-based system. We've, you know, grown substantially when it comes to the amount that one individual salesperson is actually, you know, closing and and sealing in.
Speaker 3:I think this year we had over 23 million dollar producers, um, so that's a nice bulk of our business comes from our core group and that's really important when you have a business Right, because if your business is all over the place and you haven't really built that core group of individuals who can sustain the business, it becomes kind of scary, it becomes very fragile.
Speaker 3:And you know I'm blessed to have these guys around and you know their hard work doesn't go unnoticed. And you know we recently just had our. You know, every year we do a company Christmas party and it's, you know, something that I really take pride in. So this year was amazing, something that I really take pride in. So this year was amazing. There'll be like some recap videos on our website or on social media. You know everybody had a great time and the camaraderie there was, you know, next to none I've ever seen. I mean it was very that's the word I'm looking for very touching to me as a person and it's something that you can kind of take a step back and say, damn, look what we built.
Speaker 1:It's amazing. I think you said a lot of things there that I'd love to kind of go a little bit deeper on. One of them was the concept that I feel like a lot of people don't. They don't treat their business as a as as its own thing, as its own, like the reason it's an LLC or a C right, like it's its own entity for tax purposes. But we don't treat it as its own entity that we want to keep alive and thrive and help grow and feed and nourish.
Speaker 1:But when you get to that level, what I heard and you can tell me if I'm off or not, but it sounds like when you started to have that realization that man, this is something that is outside, it's not just Curtis anymore Not that it was ever just Curtis. It hasn't been just Curtis for a long time. You've had a great team for a long time. But it's beyond you and the team even. It's beyond that. It's its own, like there's a it, it, it really has its own existence. And what I hear from you is that in that realization or in that moment of that, those thought processes that you started to understand or contemplate risk reduction yeah, is that along those lines and not just risk reduction in terms of you know, do we have the right liability policies and who's going out to which job site and what's going on there, and you know, do we have, you know, are we OSHA compliant for this or that? Like not just that, but risk. You reduce the risk in your own personal life and that's personal development.
Speaker 1:Right there and I've been talking about this recently I'm like on the entrepreneurial journey. Is is like the epitome of a personal development journey. Right, like it's. It's a crazy thing. So, risk reduction I want to go back to the hiring of the, of the labor force here in terms of that, because in the hiring of the labor force that you did, that, you took on man, you added a lot of liability, you added a lot, you know, from an OSHA compliance standpoint, you we were talking a little bit off camera about things that you had to learn around foreign labor and and and all of these types of things. What were the, what were the like the biggest lessons that you learned? That now you've you can kind of turn into risk reduction in the you know as, as you move into the, into this further.
Speaker 3:I think it was. There's a saying I don't know this thing, but it's something like spend a dollar to make a penny or save a dollar, something like that when make a penny or save a dollar or something like that, um, when, when you look at things from a different perspective, you get to see them in a different light, right? So you know the the things that we've learned and that I've personally learned is that I agree, like we were talking about before, personal development, development, stuff like that. Also corporate development and how to keep your company safe.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of things out here now and a lot of people and situations where people are looking for an easy come up or for looking for a way to benefit from something that's that large. Now, and you know, like we were talking about before, you know, when you're a smaller company, your risk factors are a little lower when you go and put billboards on the side of the expressway or when you do all these things. Now you become, you know, this target, kind of yeah there's a guy here in Minnesota, curtis.
Speaker 1:His name is oh, why did I? He's a realtor and now his name just escaped me really fast. But he has so many billboards around town that there are Facebook hate groups.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly so. It's like finding that balance and kind of removing yourself from some of the decision-making factors of the company as well, of healthy for the company. Allowing people to really own their position and, you know, live and die with the decisions that they make has been something in 2024 where I've allowed to happen. I used to get involved and try to save things and then eventually it ended up happening either way. So, like I said before, taking a step back and allowing things to play out, allowing kind of situations to either excel and when they do excel you put some gas on it or to kind of, you know, drizzle out and don't give it, you know, resuscitation. If it's not working, let it die, right. If it's not, it's like holding on to something because you just want it personally, not so much that it's even beneficial, it's up and down.
Speaker 1:It's a growth. How many of those things were you holding on to A lot Going into? Last year there was a lot of them.
Speaker 3:There was a few, there was a few, there was a few. You know there's a few ego things too as a young man that you try to put into different categories, but a lot of it has to do with you know certain personal qualities about yourself. So I feel like, as your company is growing, you should also be mentally maturing with your company, or it's going to outgrow you, right, yes, and hopefully it does Right, because you have the minds of a hundred beautiful, a hundred beautiful lines and you only have yours. So sometimes, when it does start to outgrow you, knowing when to take a step back, knowing when to seek the right help, knowing when to reach out to, like you were saying, like that other company like the NBA, saying like the that other company like the nba, that, yeah, reaching out to people who kind of have been through these situations before and can help guide the company, um, to the, to whatever the finish line is that we're we're trying to get to.
Speaker 3:You know, I heard earlier you said um, you said that you sold your, your company, to what was it? Job Nimbus, job Nimbus, yeah, yeah. So like I doubt, when you started it, that was like what you was, that your vision. When you started, did you even think that it would go there, or it?
Speaker 1:would be there. No, you just want some customers, right Like. You just need some customers. That's what you start out wanting, right Like you start out wanting some customers wanting to pay your bills. That's what you start out wanting to do. It evolves, man.
Speaker 1:One of the things that you said there was allowing people to, to, to live with the mistakes that that were made in their, in their, in owning their roles is what I'm hearing. And and not not stepping in to save it, but what you and not not stepping in to save it, but what you also said is not stepping in to save it because, even a lot of times, even when you stepped in to save it, things still went wrong. Right, like, so, my goodness, those are growth moments. Right To learn. Like, wow, I can't, like, I may have the ability to step in, I may have, I want to step in because I want the best for the situation, whatever it is, but it may still end up going. You know, it may change direction a little bit, but it may still end up not being resolved in the way that we were hoping for, not being resolved in the way that we were hoping for.
Speaker 1:Definitely, what have been some of those lessons of, of, of, of helping people become those leaders that they need to be, because they they, because your team has to grow, too right, the difference between 25 million and 80 million. There's there's leadership. Uh, there's leadership growth, not just in Curtis, I would assume. How's the team grown? Have you made any intentional efforts to help them grow? What are some of the things that you've been doing? A?
Speaker 3:lot of times the people who have, you know, kind of taken these leadership roles on, like we talked about before, started at the bottom right, so they kind of went through each position in the company. I mean, like the guy who runs production now he was in sales, he was in accounting, he was in supplementing. Now he's in production. Right, he was something else two years ago, last year I think, he was in a different position. So being able to have a full understanding of the thing allows that person to be so much more efficient and understanding and he can understand, he can see the problem and it may not be the problem that's in his face, it may have been something that happened three months ago in a completely different department and he knows how to fix it. He knows how to solve that problem without having to go and find somebody to solve the problem for him.
Speaker 3:So I think that just the evolution of a company, right people eventually, and you keep them around and you kind of move them around and let them, you know, grow and learn and and go find things out and come back to you and say, hey, this is what I found out, you know this. If we do it this, this this way. You say you know they, they would. There's things that you would never be able to find out unless you came from, uh, you know, supplementing department. Oh, you know, we can get more money for this, this and this is something we're doing on every job. Let me go let Amber and supplementing know this, because they know that we're not doing that Right. So you know, the natural growth and evolution of a company is a beautiful thing. I mean, it was hard for me to hold back tears at the Christmas party just by watching something.
Speaker 1:I think those are. Those are those moments when you're looking around the room and you see that and you see the relationships that have been built, you see, like there's a whole, it's. It's a. It gives you an, even a whole different perspective. It's like it like because you're not looking at the game that's being played, you're looking at, you know, you're looking, it's it's everyone's families and it's everyone's everything and everything together. Man, that's a. I can imagine I've never had 250 people, right, like I've never had a company with 250 people or led a company with 250 people. But, my goodness, man, looking around the room must have been pretty cool. What were? Tell me a moment, moment like, tell me a moment about that, like when you saw, like you know what were some of the moments where you were like a little choked up um the camaraderie between the people there was was really something that, uh, there was was really something that, uh, it's hard to even talk about.
Speaker 3:It's crazy.
Speaker 1:Friendships, right, and yeah, if I like, if I remember right, you went, you know, your whole your whole time in business. You've really, um, you've, you've, you've employed a lot of close friends, family members, things like that along the way, so that that that must be something that's important, Definitely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then just seeing people who have taken an opportunity and turned it into something that was beautiful in their life, in their life, it's the most rewarding thing in the world to see somebody where they were five years ago, see where they are today, see where they're at today. There was a situation I think it was Salesman of the Year they carried him in a chair to the stage. It was just people were happy for him, for genuinely happy for another person's success, and that's, you know, honestly, what it's all about in life.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, how did, how intentional was the creation of that culture? How much of that culture just just came to be?
Speaker 3:much of that culture just just came to be. Um, I would say the majority of it was intentional. You know, I, I I never liked to. Uh, structure was always difficult for me. Right, normality was always difficult for me. To say you can only play this game this way was always difficult for me, you know.
Speaker 3:So I've tried to make it a point to kind of be more of an unorthodox style of company um, younger company, kind of second chance type company, um, and I mean it worked out, you know, and kind of my greatest personal satisfaction is kind of being able to say that. So you know, the worst thing in the world for somebody to say is I told you so. But I'm going to say I told you, so you know. And that's kind of where I get to smile. I don't have to say anything beyond that. You know, because I told you so you know, third grade teacher or you know whoever right.
Speaker 3:Sometimes you have to take those small battles. You have to take some stuff personal to help you overcome it. Maybe show yourself, if you can't find it in yourself to want to do it for yourself. Sometimes take those small battles in life and by the time that battle is done, it won't be about that person anymore. It will be about your self-development, self-development. And when you get there you'll look back and say, man, I'm glad I kind of used that for you know, uh, something to accelerate my growth. But it's not. The reasoning isn't the same anymore so that's right, it becomes unimportant.
Speaker 1:But but it but it was a great source of fuel. It was exactly but you get to use that fuel.
Speaker 1:that fuel burns was exactly, but you get to use that fuel. That fuel burns out, right, like after you don't need that fuel forever. But but a lot of those early, you know, maybe early life things that happened to you, taking that and and, uh, yeah, being like, yeah, yeah, this is. Look look at me now you know like there's a, there's something to it, but then also in the ability to give someone else an opportunity, that that and then and then being able to to tell them look at you now, yeah, right, like that's kind of.
Speaker 3:that's really what it's about. It's like, you know, like I mean, it's almost unreal. You know, the story is almost unreal, the, the, it's, it's just life.
Speaker 1:There was a point in our business, curtis, where I was talking to my business partner before we. There was a point in our business where I was looking it was. I started saying the numbers, like we'd run through our numbers and uh and I and I, uh, they didn't sound real to me, almost Right. Have you had that kind of experience, like when you guys are talking about your revenue for the year? Does it all to me? It felt. I felt more connected to the numbers when they were smaller. Yeah, like they meant a little more, right, and then as the numbers got bigger, I felt more disconnected from the nut, like, from the, the enormity of it, right, like it then. And we didn't get to your size, but like it. Just.
Speaker 1:There was a point where I was like, okay, it doesn't even make sense coming out of my mouth, like when you're talking about you know 80 million, you know what's that, you know monthly and you know what I mean. Like what are you doing? Like six million a month, like what's that's crazy. Right, like or to from from the beginnings, right from the beginnings. It's like you know to be, like you know. You probably remember the year you hit six million or five million, right now you're you're doing now?
Speaker 3:you have months. We're not quite at $80 yet Not to $80. Okay, we're a little bit under that.
Speaker 1:But still, what point did you have you had that? Did you ever get to a point where you're like is this? Even I've got to pinch myself? Is this real life? Like, does this? You know?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean it's, it's a you know I, I look at it and it. The thing, though. The thing about it is, though, is with more comes more, that's right. Responsibility comes more, bills comes, moreibility comes more bills comes more, liability comes more. So that was kind of you know it's. I mean, last week, I think, we brought in one point five million dollars, right, which is awesome, you know. I mean it's like you know it was the Christmas party week, it was my birthday. I'm like this is this, you know it was, it was the Christmas party week, it was my birthday. I was like this is you know, it's all gone?
Speaker 1:It's all went to ABC and beacon. That's where it goes.
Speaker 1:At least I got to look at it for five minutes At least I got to look at it, but yeah, it's a lot of people can't even imagine it, right, and that's where I think it's. I want to expand people's horizons in that thought, not, not not to say, like my goodness, curtis, you're, you're crushing it. Like it's that, I think, are we, like it's unbelievable what, what people can do, like it really is and for everyone listening, that's what I'm trying to get across here is that, like it can like, and it depends on what you want, right, it depends on what you want out of your business too, because you don't have to have a multiple eight figure business, right, like you can, you know you can have a smaller business that's really profitable and you know you can have what you want. But but it you know it, if you're someone that you know, if you have the talent, use your talent. Man like I, I don't know, I believe that you know what it's really about.
Speaker 3:Like we were talking about in the beginning, it's it's about when the people around you are hungry, when the people around you want more you can't it's.
Speaker 3:It's hard to stop that growth. It's easier, it's easier to get there and get bigger than it is to even get smaller, because now they're hungry for growth and you've built 20, 50, 100, 200 people. Now they all want to eat and they all want more than they wanted last year. So just by human nature and by just just the evolution of people, I mean, it's just, it's something that could. It could just keep going, keep going, keep going. And maybe you know it gets to a point where you know certain people step out of the way. You know what I mean. And that's just the, the natural cycle of business as well. And, uh, you know we don't have to get into that topic too much. We could probably do another one and say six months, yeah, that's right, really different, uh, conversation uh, what about the?
Speaker 1:the industry changes, man, like, what are your thoughts on on, on how the industry's changing? And then you know what, how you can best adapt to what, what, what's on your horizon? Because in in entrepreneurship but one of the best things I've heard or ways to describe it is, the wolf is always chasing. Yeah right, like you, you can't stop evolving, you can't stop moving, you can't stop doing so. What are some of the big things, big changes that you see in the industry, that you see may, may disrupt, and how are you approaching them?
Speaker 3:One of the biggest things that I've seen in this industry is private equity money coming in right. How are you going to compete against a $7 billion private equity company that's going out and buying 65 companies, right? 65 companies, right. Let me get real with yourself and let's not, you know, play the uh, yeah who. You know the, the measuring competition that you know with something that's going to hit the ground. You know what I mean. So it's like there is no. You know that's. That's something that I've seen. A lot of you know, even when you were talking earlier. You know your company was purchased by something like that, um, not saying that that's the whole industry, but but how do you how, how, how?
Speaker 1:because we've had private equity in the in the space for four years now, I'm sure they've bought in a few companies in Chicago, in the Chicagoland area. Right, how, how have you seen what, how? What changes do they make in those companies? Is it like I've seen a lot of the private equity companies go really hard on marketing? Like they, their budgets are much larger than yours I promise like yeah, oh, exactly it's like, uh, you know, we go back to sports.
Speaker 3:It's like, okay, the salary cap for you know, that's right. It's like the new york knicks trying to play the you know, uh, college of dupage.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, I mean, I, I've said it I've said it a few times, it felt like over the years sometimes that the minnesota twins were like a farm club for the yankees. Right like as soon as a player would get good enough, they just pick them off with a higher salary, right Like it's. There's that kind of vibe around it, and not that you know the Twins are a professional team, they've won World Series, but it's still like it's so. So what other things are you seeing the private equity companies do that are, you know, encouraging to you and discouraging to you?
Speaker 3:I haven't really seen a lot of discouraging you know, private equity deals or situations. I think that the owners of the companies you know are making some good decisions and kind of knowing that you don't really know what you've built. Until someone values what you've built, either you could say, oh, I've got this company, until somebody kind of puts that stamp on you, you don't really understand what you've built. I don't really have any personal opinions on it. Either way, I know that for the growth and for the um future of cnn construction, I know that eventually things natural occurrences have to happen.
Speaker 1:you're a you're, you're, you're a target for them for sure. Yeah, you know, and and I would assume I if you're, if you're in anywhere in this industry revenue wise, you're getting emails, phone calls, linkedin messages, whatever it is, from people reaching out to have those conversations.
Speaker 1:But they are definitely targeting the companies who have made a name for themselves in an area. Right, that's a prime target. And so how have you thought about that? You know, like, how have you thought about those conversations? Is it a tough one? I mean, you built a family and friends business, right, like I feel like people that have done that have a harder, not a harder, time, but it's like maybe it's not the intention, right, like it's not, or maybe it's not the right thing, or or you would have to make sure that it's the right thing.
Speaker 3:I mean I would say, um, I want to get back to one other thing. So you start, you start a company, right, you're selling roofs, right, you're selling roofs to customers. And then you want to grow your company and then you start selling the opportunity to other individuals. And then you get to that next level where now you're selling the opportunity, the product and the function of the company. Now you're selling the brand. Now the brand is on billboards. Now you're selling a brand, you're not selling roofs anymore, the brand is what's selling the roofs. And eventually you get what I mean and it's. It's nice because, um, you know, a lot of the blue collar type guys are kind of getting their, their due diligence. You know what I mean and it's nice to see. You know that you don't have to see it that's a good point, man.
Speaker 1:It's a good point that, uh, you, a lot of people in the blue collar industry, are it? It's a testament to the industries that that have evolved over time and the in the companies that have been built. They wouldn't those, those private equity companies wouldn't be here if there wasn't something special in a lot of these companies. Yeah, that's a. That is really good, a good way to look at it, man, and there's, there's a lot of people that deserve a good check at the end of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there is and you know like the goal is to. You know I'm 38, um, I got hopefully a long life ahead of me and just you know, for 2025,. You know staying focused on our growth. Staying focused on that. You know 20 to 30 percent yearly. You know growing. Staying focused on, you know, quality and craftsmanship, getting back to some of our core values, getting back to some of our things that made us great. You know like let's make America great again type situation. You know let's get to those core. What are the things that separated us from everybody else? And let's get back to that and let's get back to business, so 2020.
Speaker 1:It has to be hard to manage as you scale right, especially when you get into, I mean, what's in, you know, I mean with the number of jobs you guys are doing per month, kind of thing. Right, like to have this, to have the, the quality, and to have with the number of of team members for them all to be brought in on the core values and things like that. Like that's something that I'm sure could get off track easy, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And everybody is a reflection of it as well. So it's like you know, and I have to kind of own that and people have to understand that. You know, like what you're doing is a reflection of the person sitting next to you and the way you deal with that customer is it's not just a reflection of you anymore. Like we were talking about earlier, another 70 sales guy standing next to you, you just made their job harder. Or when you, you know, get into it with an insurance adjuster and he's a POS or whatever, and now we got to go see him again, that's right. Three hours later that day, that's right. You got to deal with the guy who's, like you know, get out of here. You know, you know, I think, taking a step back, I'm glad that you know winter's here. It gives the guys a little bit of time to kind of, you know, just to have a little bit of a break.
Speaker 3:This year has been crazy. I mean we started, we ended in January and started in February, so and it never stops. But you know people need this is an intensive, mentally and physically intensive job. I mean you're dealing with multiple personalities, multiple customers, up and down ladders, on hot roofs, on cold. You know sheets of ice on. You know it's like the most extreme situation that you could, you know, get into. You know I always tell people I say I don't know if anyone ever grew up and said I want to, I want to be a roofer when I get older.
Speaker 1:It's amazing all the stories and all the conversations that I've had. We're getting close to 250 episodes now. It's like the industry finds people.
Speaker 1:It's like the industry finds you and you can't get out, but you don't want to get out because you find your tribe, right like there's, there's a lot of really good people in this industry and a lot of really good people in your businesses and, um, you know, it's really cool man, um, that's awesome. What, looking back now that you've had a chance to to, you know, for the, the, the growth over many years right, you've had the growth over many years. You've had, um, you, you, you kept, we kind of started off. You talked about one of the things that you wanted, what, like you, you're just you mentioned, mentioned you just wanted to want to leave a legacy. Right, like you know, now you've had your stopping points. You've gotten to step back. You've gotten to see the field from a different view. What you've gotten? You got to see that amazing christmas party with all the camaraderie and all the people. You know what is that legacy for Curtis?
Speaker 3:The legacy. There's a lot to do with everyone else around and just kind of some of the memories and the um. I mean, of course I could sit here and say I want to leave, I want to leave the largest roofing company in the country, but it's really about just being able to spend my life with the people that are around. You know, like I, I thoroughly enjoy the people in my company. I thoroughly enjoy the people in my company, like it's not a job for me to come to work or to, you know, go through life standing next to a lot of these individuals. You know, I choose them and they choose me, and that's the legacy.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man. Thanks for your time today. This has been another episode of the Roofing Success Podcast.
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