Starting A Roofing Business After A Hurricane Takes More Than Hustle with Reed Brown, Roof Rangers

0:00Reed Brown:Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:58Reed Brown:All right, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Reid Brown with Roof Rangers. Reid, thanks for being here. How are you doing today? Doing great. Excited to be here. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No problem at all. Yeah, we're excited to have you. So let's go ahead and jump right into things. So for those of you who may not know it yet, you know, who are you? Who is Reid Brown and what is Roof Rangers?

1:28Yes, well, hello everybody. I'm Reed. I am first, most importantly, a husband and a father to two beautiful little girls. I've got a two-year-old and a one-year-old, so that pretty much defines my life just about now. And Roof Rangers is a local residential and commercial roofing contractor. We service the Greenville, the upstate area, Greenville, South Carolina, and Myrtle Beach in Charleston.

1:57Reed Brown:Nice, nice. So that's a nice area there. That's really up and coming. So, Reid, you know, let's get into things. So real talk. Is there something about running a business that people think is amazing, but it's actually complete BS when you hear it? well before i started running a business what i thought was pretty amazing was from the outside looking in it seemed pretty simple the team everybody did their roles and therefore the owners at a previous employer that i worked for seemed everything seemed to run pretty smooth but what i've learned that is complete bs is that this is not a nine to five i am on call 24 7 and And at any given point, pretty much needed to be able to answer a question for the reps, check on a job as far as the production goes, running materials, doing everything.

2:52So it's a nonstop lifestyle for sure. Okay, okay.

2:58Reed Brown:Now, what would you say or have you ever had an exact moment where you realized, you know, this thing could either really work, this business, or it could completely blow up in my face and I lose everything? I've never had the mindset that it would blow up in my face, but I've had doubts probably like any business owner. There's hard days, long days, 12-hour, 24-hour days. Being a contractor, we mobilize, so we go anywhere in the state of South Carolina. The driving along with the computer work and everything can catch up to you just like it could to anybody. But at the end of the day, we manage well.

3:35We have a great team that supports everybody in every role that's played here at Roof Rangers. So with that, I'd say nothing crazy outstanding.

3:45Reed Brown:OK, OK. Now, have you ever, you know, when did you actually start your business? Yes, we officially opened the doors in 2024, October of 2024, to be exact. until we're 2024. So right after, right after Hurricane Helene. So good on you for making a negative for most people into a positive. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. That was a really cool experience yet. Probably not the, it could be, it could be debated whether it was a good or a bad time to start. We, we definitely jumped off the diving board into the deep end there, but it worked out well.

4:26It Okay.

4:28Reed Brown:Now, how did this past winter, you know, you know, this past winter, we got a lot of snow here in the Carolinas, very cold and snowy winter, a lot of ice and stuff like that. Did that affect business at all for you? Yes and no. We had some people call with some specific situations due to that. But for the most part, everybody that we were servicing at the time and had to put off due to the snow for installations and people we were working with that had open claims were all everybody was pretty safe and no big complications because of it. Everybody seemed to make out pretty well. Okay. Awesome.

5:05Awesome.

5:06Reed Brown:Now, what would you say was the most stressful moment you've had as a business owner? Like a, you know, how am I going to get through this type of moment? Personally, for me, it would probably be some of the municipality aspects to things as far as permits go for particular jobs. That might be a little unique compared to our everyday work that we're more used to doing. Okay. Okay. Now, have you ever thought about quitting? oh you know i would probably be lying if i said no but at the same time that just isn't an option once we started this we're we're here to stay and my family depends on it and so does my partners as well so i think it's important that we just get through the hard days and keep moving forward we're gonna have them but we're also gonna have good days too so enjoy them while you get them and And just keep your head up and keep emotion out of everything in order to get through those hard days and keep a level head.

6:07And it's worked out pretty well.

6:10Reed Brown:Okay. Okay. Now, you said your family, you know, everybody you have working for you depends on you. You know, what would you say as far as, you know, I know that's kind of a deciding factor, but you could always go back to a nine to five, right? And work for another roofing company. No, I don't. I don't think that I could. One thing that I pride myself on with Roof Rangers is it is ours. So we have the ability to service the way that we see fit and to make the calls that need to be made in order for a customer to be handled correctly in any situation. and I think that the way we carry ourselves on job sites and everything definitely takes the detail and kind of control that we have over the situation being, you know, the owners and being in charge and being able to lead and guide everybody so that way we put out a good service and something that's, you know, going to be received well.

7:11Roofing is a messy business. It's we're right on top of people's houses and we're taking we're taking all this material off around all these beautiful flowers. And we had a lady with tulips who wanted to do the roof right during tulip season. And I tried to get her to just push it off a week or two because tulip season doesn't last long. But she insisted. So being the owner, I was able to come up with an idea that worked to protect that and act on it. And therefore it worked out. Whereas if I was working for someone else, I might not be able to make some of the decisions or go to certain routes that I feel necessary to make the job progress.

7:55Reed Brown:Yeah. Yeah. No, I like that. I like that. That's good. That's good insight for other entrepreneurs who, you know, maybe listening, who thinking about that's kind of why I followed up with that question. You basically are like, you know, I can't go back to working for somebody else. That's just not an option at this point. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that. I love that. So what would you say is a mistake you made early on that cost you either serious money, time or reputation for your business? That's a good question. I'd say probably just being a little happy-go-lucky about some things, thinking that everything can be figured out easier than maybe some situations have come across to where they haven't been as simple.

8:41It's a very fast-paced business. A lot of the decisions that need to be made, it has to be quick and on the spot. So I think just getting around, learning from being a sales rep to being the owner, now the decision maker, just trusting the team to make the right calls as well when I'm not around.

9:06Yeah, nothing too elaborate in that sense. Okay, okay. Okay.

9:12Reed Brown:Now, what would you say is something about you personally or something that in your personal life that had to change in order for your business to grow and scale?

9:22Definitely emotions. I've learned a lot about just needing to take emotions a little bit out of business. However, that's what I think makes most entrepreneurs unique is the sense of how much they care about their product and their service that they provide. But you also have to take care of the company and protect the company as well. So sometimes I'm at the beginning, I was a little easy to correct a mistake or something that might not have been our fault, but it was due to not planning well enough in the beginning as far as the right photos or covering something of a little stronger in a certain area just to make sure that everything goes correctly.

10:09Okay. Okay.

10:11Reed Brown:And this next question, this is hypothetical, but let's say if someone shadowed you for a full day or let's say even a full week, you know, they shadowed you, went behind you and kind of watched everything you did for that full week. What would you say would surprise them the most about how you operate your business? about how we operate well we're owner operated so most of the situations that come about and the customers that we deal with are meeting the owners

10:46Reed Brown:okay okay so you think that would surprise them the most is just being able to meet the owners Yeah, I've worked for another company before and seen a lot of other roofing companies. And I think that a lot of people rely solely on their teams and reps, but I've felt very good about being integrated into everything and being a part of each process as we go. So I would say that definitely sets us aside from some other companies. Okay. Okay. Now, what would surprise them most about how you operate? Like, let's see if they shadowed you specifically and kind of how you handle the business every day for a full week.

11:27Reed Brown:What would surprise them most about how you operate the business, would you say? Probably just my attitude. I just try to have fun. This job was fun to me from the moment that I got into it. of course the pressure of being an owner can you know kind of get to you every now and then but at the same time just attitude is really important just trying to make the most fun out of every situation yeah no no i i totally agree with that because i say this all the time that you know we spend more time at work than we do with our own families right and it's like if i mean doing that and if you can't have a little bit of fun while you're at work you know what i mean that's that sucks.

12:06Reed Brown:I mean, it just sucks to live your whole life and just be miserable, right? To work at a place and it's miserable every day and people can't have fun. It's nice to have a little bit of a good time, even at work, right? Absolutely. You spend your whole life there, so just have a little bit of fun while we're here, you know what I mean? So I think that's awesome. So let's talk about numbers without getting too specific since you've been in business now. What is it, about two and a half? You're going on almost what? No, that would be almost two years here this October. We'll be around in two years.

12:37Reed Brown:Yeah, yeah. Two years here coming up this October. So what would you say, when would you say was the moment or the time? Was it six months? Was it the first year? What would you say was the turning point where things started to scale and you became profitable and started to grow? It definitely took us a good three or four months to get our footing and And just the standard operating procedures of everything, creating those SOPs and changing them.

13:10It's a good question. I feel like I could elaborate more on that, but I don't have anything at the moment.

13:19Reed Brown:Okay. Okay. That's fine. I think we can move on then. So what would you say actually moves the needle most in your business right now? You know, some examples, you know, leads. Would it be the conversions that you're making? Would it be the pricing that your team does? Or would it be your team's performance? Or is it something else entirely? What moves the needle most in your business right now, would you say? Yeah, something that we have integrated is offering multiple quotes for any of our retail estimates that come our way. Anybody that reaches out to us or any leads that the reps bring in that are looking for a retail quote, we provide a good, better, and best.

13:59We call it an essential preferred and pro. And that just helps us stay within the market of the higher tier products that people are selling, the mid tier, your workhorse type products, and then your builder grade products as well. Give somebody the option to see all three at one time versus just getting one number and, you know, needing to from there have a conversation about price and changing things. We kind of feel like we build something for every person right off the bat by offering that essential preferred and pro system.

14:36Reed Brown:Nice. Nice. So it's kind of like a personalized quote in a sense. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, that's nice. So would you say is that something that you're doing today that's giving you an unfair advantage over your competitors? I would say that I don't see it very often. And it has helped us win quite a few bids being compared to other contractors that are giving quotes as well at the same time. I see that they oftentimes customers will ask for a small change due to the fact that we are giving them three possible numbers for the project. They give us a little bit more conversation and feedback on what we're providing and what somebody else has offered.

15:23And then we can kind of tailor it based off of what maybe they liked from somebody else but didn't see exactly from us. But they were getting the feeling that they had more options because they were given more on the front end.

15:36Reed Brown:Yeah, I know. I like that. I like that. Now, let's say, you know, because maybe this hasn't happened to you yet since you've started your business. But let's say, you know, have you ever had to make a tough call? Like, you know, for example, like letting someone go or cutting a job or not taking a job because, you know, maybe a customer was difficult or maybe the job was too difficult at the time that ended up being the right move in the long term. I've had all three of those instances so far. I've had to let somebody go. Yeah, I've had to let somebody go. I've had to turn jobs down and we've had to make some tough calls on jobs as well.

16:16Reed Brown:So let's go ahead and get into the specifics a little bit. So, you know, what happened there in that situation with the employee? Honesty is key. We need to be transparent in everything that we do. And Roof Rangers integrity is key. So honoring what you say is really big to myself and Thomas, my partner. And with one of the reps that we had, we just went kind of in a spiral with a certain gentleman and just being accountable and being honest. So we had to cut ties due to that. Okay, okay. And then in regards to kind of the second part there, declining that job, what happened with that job that you had to move on from?

17:06Yeah, well, I don't have a specific one off the top of my head. I mean, I could pick one or two. I've had some instances where some people wanted to go with a lower quote due to finances. However, in their quote, they didn't put a permit for asbestos tear off or maybe didn't want to go with our program as far as the right way to do something. They wanted to take shortcuts and we just can't really stamp our name on shortcuts or provide a warranty for it as well. So sometimes, unfortunately, we have to turn down somebody who's ready to pay some money, but isn't looking to do it exactly the right way.

17:54So, you know, there's cases where it's just not a good fit. Yeah.

17:58Reed Brown:Gotcha. Gotcha. OK. All right. So we're going to head into what's called the quick fire round. So basically how this works is I'm going to give you one word and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business. Does that make sense? And then kind of give me, and then after you give me that one word, give me two or three sentences, kind of a little blurb after it to kind of explain why you chose that. Okay, let's see what you got. All right. First word is success. Money. With success comes money. And at the end of the day, that's what we're doing this for.

18:35We're doing this to provide for our families. So the more successful we are, the more able we are to provide.

18:43Reed Brown:And the opposite of that, failure. Stress. It's stressful to fail, but you have to get over it and overcome and move forward. Burnout. Driving. I do a lot of driving across the state of South Carolina, and I would feel like that's where burnout comes from for me. That's where I see it the most. Now, speaking of that here, you know, let's just take a quick sidebar here from the quickfire round. Do you do you only do South Carolina? Do you do any Eastern Georgia or any North Carolina at all? No, not currently. We would. We've we do have a few projects right now. One in Georgia that we're looking at taking on and a couple in North Carolina, but not as far as marketing there.

19:35Reed Brown:Okay. So you'll go and do the job, but you don't market there. Okay. Gotcha. Correct. Yeah. We don't want to turn down a good opportunity if it seems like a good fit for us. And it was a client that we've worked for in the state as well. Okay. Okay. All right. So back to it. So next word is scaling.

20:00Scaling. Height. But yeah, our goal is to scale to a certain size company and then just try to maintain that. So yeah, I'd say heights.