Keys to success

Whether you are starting a new contracting business or have been operating one for years, it is important to analyze your business practices and look for ways to improve them. Professional Roofing spoke to five NRCA members to learn their secrets to operating a successful business: Chris Jurin, president of Jurin Roofing Services Inc., Quakertown, Pa.; Bob Kulp, founder and owner of Kulp's of Stratford LLC, Stratford, Wis.; Steve Little, president of KPOSTCompany, Dallas; Tim Rainey, co-founder and president of Supreme Roofing Systems Inc., Dallas; and Nick Sabino, president of Deer Park Roofing Inc., Cincinnati. Their approaches to business, though different, all stress the same message: Teamwork is essential.

Business matters

The backbone of any successful business is the knowledge and efficiency tactics of a leader and his or her team. To run a profitable and effective contracting business, a leader needs to understand operations management, maintain a strong and transparent relationship with stakeholders, have up-to-date legal knowledge and consider using consultants to gain a third-party grasp on his or her business.

In terms of operations management, each contractor interviewed understood the importance of managing overhead costs, keeping current with financial situations, and figuring out efficiency tactics to reduce waste and overlap. Kulp takes inventory of essential items in his warehouse and calculates financial data monthly. Little believes it is best to look at job costs weekly and overhead costs multiple times per month. Rainey takes things to an even more focused scope by conducting daily reports to manage material and labor costs.

"Our over and under budget line items are monitored and studied every day to learn and see where we can improve upon our bidding process," Rainey says.

Jurin's key to operations management is the warehouse manager who makes sure everything is stocked and everyone receives the materials they need as quickly as possible. Jurin believes the quintessential aspect to keeping costs down is to remain in a specialized sector of the roofing industry.

A business' stakeholders consist of company employees and those giving advice from higher positions. Kulp's team believes in complete transparency to keep a strong relationship with stakeholders.

Kulp says: "We have no secrets here; we have an open-book management [philosophy]. We share financial data with employees so there's no mystery."

Jurin agrees there is a "negative impact when you shut down the lines of communication."

Sabino also believes in full transparency and trying to keep everyone involved in the growth of the company and its profitability; in Deer Park Roofing's case, the most transparency is with upper management and key people on the team. Rainey follows a similar pattern of providing different levels of transparency throughout the company; he believes each employee is a stakeholder, but there needs to be a more defined level of transparency in information as one moves up through the company.

KPOSTCompany takes its relationship with stakeholders to the next level by hosting a strategic partner dinner each year. The company brings in its strategic suppliers, attorneys, accountants, bankers and their spouses for a dinner to honor and thank them for their support.

"These are the people we are strategically building business with, and we're in the trenches together no matter what the outcome," Little says.

Staying abreast of legal knowledge in terms of contracts, practices and building codes allows successful businesses to make smart project decisions.

For example, Sabino creates PowerPoint^® presentations for his team to teach them legal matters, editing and customizing the information to fit the needs of his company.

He says: "All good leaders are good teachers; anything I learn I'm going to teach to staff members."

Team management

Although having a business background is important for understanding how a successful business works, the practices cannot be implemented without a strong sense of teamwork. A leader only is as good as his or her team, and these companies understand the importance of team management, cohesiveness, and keeping their teams safe on worksites and in the office.

Kulp believes he does not necessarily need to enforce any team practices and instead conducts weekly management meetings with "a light touch" and an understanding the team is striving to achieve the same goals.

"We're more like a big family," Kulp says.

Sabino says: "Teamwork is not something you can coach or measure, but you can feel it. You need to feel how people are working together."

Rainey believes vertical communication is critical, with every person understanding his or her job and what is expected of him or her. However, he believes when team members are not performing at expected levels, it is important to "coach them up."

Safety practices

Once a team knows how to work together, a strong roofing crew needs to understand the importance of protecting crew members. Kulp's of Stratford stands by a "mandatory and promoted" safety philosophy, conducting monthly company safety meetings and promoting ongoing spot-checking processes.

Deer Park Roofing creates fun incentives for its team to practice safety. The company started a "Safety Prevention Day" this year; each month, every foreman is required to take a picture of a hazard he or she eliminated or prevented. The winner of the photo contest receives a small gift card to various retailers.

Sabino believes the safety contest helps foremen keep safety in mind. He says the contest is carrying over into everyday operations with foremen asking: "What hazards are around me?"

Similar to Deer Park Roofing, KPOSTCompany likes to reward its crew for safety; however, one person is not singled out. Rather, a team as a whole will receive recognition with apparel or gift cards. A collective team's consequences goes for discipline, as well; even if one person slips up on the job, the entire team is required to sit with KPOSTCompany's safety officer and review what went wrong and retrain for a particular incident.

Supreme Roofing Systems stands by its tagline of "Safety is not a requirement; it is a commitment." Rainey says safety practices should be enforced from the top down.

"If your owners or superintendents are not involved, why should the rest of the field workers care?" he asks.

Supreme Roofing Systems' executive management team demonstrates this commitment by attending mandatory 6 a.m. weekly safety training meetings. Supreme Roofing Systems also has started a new practice of focusing on what was almost an accident and taking corrective measures to ensure the incident does not happen again.

Risk management

Risk management involves more than just reducing risk on job sites; it also extends within the office. Kulp's team conducts insurance and loss-control analyses to stay abreast of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and insurance requirements. Little runs his company "like a football team." He has multiple "coaches" acting at different operational levels within the company to ensure all risks are being covered.

Rainey's team places an intense focus on risk management. He says: "Risk is not just in the field, it is in every phase of this business, from purchase orders, to the vehicles driven to cutting checks."

Building relationships

What many contractors know is you simply can't focus only on the internal aspects of a business but you also must build upon outside relationships. The most regarded businesses are strategically networking to broaden their relationships and create opportunities for future growth and symbiosis within the industry.

Customer relationship management is key to growing a company with the help of satisfied customers. Kulp's of Stratford has a process to make sure every mark is hit with customer relationships—from the time the team gets the first call from a potential customer, the company is sending follow-up emails and making telephone calls.

"We don't let customers wonder whether we are taking care of them," Kulp says.

Deer Park Roofing places a significant emphasis on following up with customers.

"We want to call them instead of them calling us. We don't want customers to see us as 'out of sight, out of mind,'" Sabino says.

Because of Deer Park Roofing's emphasis on customer relationships, all company growth comes from customers and services without any form of advertising.

Supreme Roofing Systems focuses on having a "real, face-to-face" relationship with customers.

"In today's environment with emails and texts, personal relationships easily are lost over time and the message often is misunderstood," Rainey says. "It is so important to pick up the phone, or better yet, go out and see the customer. It's back to basics."

Despite contracting companies seeing each other as competition, the importance of networking cannot be emphasized enough; the roofing industry is a group of peers that can offer advice and even projects to each other when everyone works toward the same common goals. Networking has been a personal goal of Jurin's, who reaches out to friends throughout the U.S. to communicate about similar problems.

Sabino focuses on networking with alumni and development offices at his high school and university. As a result, Deer Park Roofing is awarded every roofing job needed at these schools. Deer Park Roofing gives back to the schools by sponsoring their sports teams.

Sabino's philosophy is: "Good networkers always will be successful. It is something a successful contractor always should be doing."

Rainey also understands the importance of networking.

"Trade shows don't give the same kind of bang for buck as memberships and affiliates do," Rainey says. "Networking is a tool to meet and socialize and build relationships that one day may turn into a partnership, and you can put together these kinds of groups through affiliate memberships."

Adapting to surroundings

Even with the hardest working team and strongest relationships, a business cannot be taken to the next level without demonstrating knowledge of the latest technology and implementing it in the workplace, working toward having sustainable goals in a time of ever-increasing environmental advocacy and having a sense of social responsibility for the surrounding community.

Contracting businesses need to use technology to create more efficient and effective processes for their projects. Kulp's of Stratford uses GPS devices for fleet management of its team of trucks and FCS Software Solutions Ltd.'s information technology services for facility control and client-accessible project management.

Jurin Roofing Services heavily relies on technology in the field, providing all technicians, field personnel, superintendents and sales representatives with iPads; this helps provide them with real-time feedback for costs. The team also uses Dataforma, web-based construction management software, to be able to drive information for ongoing projects and maintain historical data.

Deer Park Roofing focuses on the increasing role of technology and uses Dataforma and smartphones. Crews use their smartphones to upload pictures immediately to the software management system, and customers are provided with a log-in portal allowing them to see what projects Deer Park Roofing has completed.

"Our new software system makes customers' and employees' lives a lot easier," Sabino says. "Looking for physical files is dated; it makes it difficult to warrant a project if you can't find the paperwork."

KPOSTCompany also understands the importance of technology in the roofing industry. All foremen in KPOSTCompany's roofing, service and waterproofing divisions have iPads to conduct daily reports, submit time cards and send project information. The team also uses smartphones and multiple software programs for accounting, customer relationship management, service department management, detailed assessments, time-keeping and daily reporting.

As the green trend continues to grow, it is important for contractors to have a stance on sustainable efforts. For example, Jurin Roofing Services makes recycling a regular practice, encouraging as much of it as possible. The team practices sustainable methods by recycling PVC membranes and insulation boards. Deer Park Roofing recycles metal and shingles from projects, earning money back from the metal recycled. And KPOSTCompany places an emphasis on a number of recycling programs internally and externally, even receiving recognition from manufacturers' recycling programs.

Supreme Roofing Systems took sustainability to the next level by establishing Supreme Green five years ago. The company sector has installed many solar and vegetative systems. Rainey hopes this will help roofing contractors stand out for sustainable jobs.

"Roofing contractors don't have the best reputation for environmentally friendly roofing; customers usually look to electricians and landscapers first to do these kinds of jobs, so we had to specialize in this to create the right, knowledgeable people," Rainey says.

It also is important for businesses to remember to give back to those who support them—their surrounding communities. Supreme Roofing Systems makes the commitment to give back to the same 15 charities each year along with one reroofing project. And Kulp's of Stratford recently installed a roof system on a local women's community center and was recognized as Business of the Year in 2012 for the criteria of community involvement.

Jurin Roofing Services also gives back to its community's local organizations, such as the conservancy foundation, local sports teams, the local Boy Scout troop and an organization dedicated to orphan relief.

"We look for a lot of opportunities to contribute," Jurin says. "You become a more respected member of the community when issues come up and you are more active."

Deer Park Roofing stays involved in its community by doing whatever it can for the city, whether it is participating in parades or volunteering and offering space for an animal vaccination event.

"We want the community to know we are a local and permanent business," Sabino says.

The company also hosts an annual charity golf outing to support children's arthritis; this works in the company's favor because it invites many of its customers while also raising money for a good cause.

KPOSTCompany commits to participating in a minimum of two community service projects each year. The company brings in its supplier community to do some kind of roofing program each year. KPOSTCompany also supports a local Bear Drive, a holiday endeavor that gives away teddy bears to children in need. (To read more about philanthropy in the roofing industry, see "Acts of kindness," page 20.)

Different approaches, similar results

Although each of these NRCA members approach their businesses from different perspectives, it is clear they all are operating successful companies. This proves there is no one right way to approach business, and by comparing methods with peers, everyone can learn how to make their businesses stronger.

Sarah Perkins is Professional Roofing's editorial assistant.