Spearheading Business Growth with Hannah Smith

Pete: Hey, everybody. Welcome back the Roofr Report. I am your host, Pete McKendrick. And we continue throughout the year here. We've done our Roofr of the Month, and we've had some just phenomenal guests on getting some backstory on their business. And this one's going to be no different. We are joined by Hannah Smith of Smith Rock Roofing out of North Carolina. And super excited to have you on, Hannah. I've heard Nothing but good things about you guys from our partnership team. I know you guys came to us through our ABC partnership. That's kind of how you were first introduced to Roofr, I believe.

And, um, just heard some outstanding things about you guys and the business that you have going on there. So, very excited to, to get to chat with you here today and talk a little bit about Smith Rock and, and what you guys have going on. So, welcome.

Hannah Smith: Awesome. Thanks so much. We're looking forward to it. We appreciate you guys having us on.

Pete: Yeah, so, like I said, Hannah and Smith Rock are our Roofr of the Month for October. And that's been a great series. We've been able to showcase some of our roofer champions, but also just some roofers that have done some incredible things in a short amount of time with their business.

So let's get into a little bit Hannah, just, um, how long have you guys been in business? What's the makeup of your company? Just kind of, give the listeners the lowdown on a little bit on Smith Rock.

Hannah Smith: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, we have been, we're entering into our ninth year of business. Um, my husband started the company. Um, so I don't get the credit for that. I was along his side though the whole time. So, um, So I was in the background, like pushing him forward, like, yeah, let's do it.

Let's start a roofing company.

Um, we were, we were pretty young whenever we got started with it. Um, so I was in culinary school actually. And he was coming out of landscaping and he had worked in the construction industry with his uncle and his uncle done, um, a lot of roofing and kind of showed him, well, being in that, he saw the real need for honest contractors.

Not saying his uncle was, Don't get me on that one. Um, he really learned a lot from his uncle, but, um, he, he saw the need though, because there, there were so busy and, just stretched then because of the fact that people don't trust people anymore because they're, they're not honest. Um, and so that's kind of how the whole idea blossomed of starting the company.

Um, so yeah, we started like I said, this is our ninth year. Um, and I came in like I said, always been kind of nervous. Like the cheerleader. Um, I heard someone call it the women that dream filter. Um, so whenever their husbands come to them with all their crazy ideas, they filter them out and help them refine.

Um, so I've kind of been in the background doing that for a long time and decided About a year and a half ago to come on full time and right at the time that I came in full time was whenever, you have a bunch of men running a roofing company and like the the proposals going out and the numbers and I'm like, like, I immediately have an anxiety attack..

I'm like, this is not going to work. We cannot do this. And so, I come in and I've done my own research and found Roofr and was like, oh, this is going to be great. And, um, my husband was a little hesitant to take the jump and then the ABC pilot came out and the rest is kind of history from there.

But, um, but yeah, it was it was a big jump for us with me coming in full time and kind of reinventing the wheel. Um, and so we we made it though. So, that's kind of a cut. Where we started and kind of where I'm at with the company now, and of course my husband's still involved in the day to day procedures.

Um, and so, so yeah, that's kind of a quick analogy, I guess.

Pete: Nice. What is the makeup of your company like as far as like how many employees do you guys have? You said you're in your ninth year of business, so obviously you guys are pretty established now. And so what's the makeup of like your employees and what type of business are you guys doing? Are you, mostly retail. Are you guys mostly insurance? Like what, what are you guys tackling there?

Hannah Smith: Yeah, so, um, it's been an Interesting dynamic because we don't have a ton of, I guess, data to kind of go back to source. But my husband's focus when we started was to grow the company slow. He never wanted to get in over his head. He's always been a very cautious approach to things. Um, so we've been very slow in a sense.

So we're relatively pretty small to be in our ninth year. Um, we have three sales guys, um, an office manager. Um, we have two project managers and then me and my husband involved in the day to day. Um, and then we're obviously actively hiring. Um, and so we're constantly trying to grow. Um, but we do primarily, whenever I came on, it was all residential, honestly.

We didn't do any commercial. We did commercial, excuse me, but we didn't do any insurance work. And that was just kind of a daunting task for my husband, whatever. He's like, I ain't got time to deal with the adjusters and all that junk. And, um, so when I came in and brought in a little more patients and, like, hey, we can, this is definitely realistic.

Um, we kind of jumped into that scope of things. And then we had a really great storm, like three weeks after I started. Yeah. So, whoo, broke me in right there. Um, and so our, our business last year was probably, I would say close to 50 50 insurance and retail. Um, and so if we were to factor in, I would say, half and half retail.

And then maybe about 10 percent commercial. So we've really started to kind of break the sill in on, on the commercial this year, um, with everything that we've done. So

Pete: Yeah. Well, I like the fact that you guys have kind of grown slowly, right. And kept it where it's manageable and that you guys felt comfortable running it. I think that, obviously when we start out, especially if you find success early on, it's very easy to kind of get in over your head and, Commit to too many different things and I know that you guys have you guys always done I know you guys do a bunch I was reading a little bit about you and you do A number of different trades, you do like windows and siding and gutters and besides just roofing Have you guys always done that or have you guys did you guys start off doing just roofing and then? Kind of evolved into those or those something that you tackled from day one

Hannah Smith: yeah, it's always been, um, a skill set of my husband. So, whenever we started, it was, um, he, he was doing everything, um, which is so crazy. We, we laugh about it often, we'll be sitting on our porch homewinding from the evening and we're just like, remember whenever you were out roofing right now and just laughing about it.

But it kind of. It all unfolds because you're out at a job and someone has a roof done. They're like, Hey, anybody do the siding job? Or, I need some new gutters hung. And so it was always something that was a skill set. So, I guess the long answer is, yeah, we've always focused on all of these scopes of business and we've just, refined and grown those aspects of our business over the year, um, to be able to focus on not only roofing, that's our bread and butter per se.

Um, we are a roofing company. Um, but you know, we, we also have Really focus on windows, and gutters, and siding, and chimney caps, and all of the above.

Pete: Yeah, I like that. And I think something important that you said in there is that it was kind of always in your husband's wheelhouse to do all that, and I think that that's one of the things that, talking to some of the other roofers here that have gone through Roofr the Month and that, we've been able to have conversations with is, I think it's one of those things that you kind of like, you walk a fine line, right?

Because it's, you get out there and you're doing the roof and the customer's like. Hey, could you take a look at my windows? Can you take a look at what's happening? You

know, but if it's something that you're not necessarily comfortable with, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble, right?

Hannah Smith: Right.  

Pete: I know that's a mistake that plenty of roofers that I know have made, where they've just said Yes, because obviously in the beginning you want the work, right? And so it's very easy to just say yeah, we're in let's you know, let's go for it But it's gonna come back to haunt you eventually if you don't feel comfortable with it not in that wheelhouse of things that you overseeing and understanding.

So, um, so yeah that worked out for you that your husband knew that stuff well and he was able to kind of manage those jobs. So, um, but yeah, interesting that you guys are just getting kind of fresh into the insurance side of things and have seen that much of, luckily enough out of storm and um, Have found success in that as well. Nine years in now, like you guys have more or less seen it all at this point, right? Like, I'm sure you guys have experienced

your fair share of craziness, over the nine years. What, what has been some of the bigger challenges that you've met along the way with Smith Rock?

Hannah Smith: I mean, apart from just properly scaling, I would say, and knowing like the appropriate times of like, Okay, it's time to bring on that next salesperson. Um, we've been very, very fortunate , we've had a lot of people that we really trust, that's really experienced in the industry come to us looking for jobs. And so, we kind of always had that wheelhouse of people. Um, and, and bring on. And so because of that has helped us to stay really close. Close knit as a team. and that's something we've been very fortunate, but as far as like obstacles is knowing the right time to bring them on and without getting, too far over heads.

And I feel like this is such a cliche thing that everyone says, but you know, being able to appropriately positioned your value with clients and to steer away from the chuck in a truck. A clerk that comes in and bids you 200 under a square and you're like, how do I compete with that?

Um, that's, I think that's the most cliche. Everybody says that you're always gonna have them. But, apart from that, I mean, it's just the seasonality. I think of the business and where we're at too. Um, is probably, which then again, I mean, it's, it's blessing in disguise. So, it's, it's really, Blessings, curses, here, there.

Um, you have from where you can't do roofs here whenever it's in the winter and it's really cold winters. And you don't know if you're going to have a really cold winter here because we're in North Carolina. So, it varies. And, it's good though on the opposite side that we offer window replacements and sidings because we're not held back by weather for those seasons.

And so, it's, it's good. It's all just a balancing act, if I'm being honest. I think that any business owner is gonna say that. It's just, you gotta roll with the ups and the downs. Um, but, to pinpoint exactly a strong pain point, I mean, they all are in a way. And so, keep rolling with it.

Pete: Yeah, no, I think that, it's a, it's something that you touched on there that, it does come up from time to time is that, Hey, you're a new business and potentially you're being undercut. It happened to me. I had a landscaping business and I had a guy that was like a weekend landscaper, come in and undercut and there's no loyalty there.

Right. Like if, if someone will mow your grass for 10 cheaper, like their customer's going to do it. Right. So, it was like, how do you kind of stay true to your values and stay true to your price? And. Show you, show the value to the customer. Um, it was really interesting. I worked with a roofing company early on in my career of being, working with roofing companies at another CRM.

And I said to them, I met with this company and they said yeah, we're one of the most expensive in our area. And I said, well, how do you guys do that? Like, how do you stay competitive? And they said, cause we own it. Like we go in and we own it. We, we tell the people straight up. Right from the very beginning, we're probably the most expensive quote you're going to get. But here's why, right? This is the reason why we're the most expensive. We have better, we're using better material. We have better crews, our people have been with us longer. Our quality control is better.

Like all these things, we're going to support it better afterwards. Our warranties are better. All these reasons why, and I thought that that was one of the, The smartest things that I had heard in a long time, from a contractor say like, Hey, I'm not negotiating on price at all. Like my price is my price and here's why my price is my price.

And, I think early on, it's tough to, to do that, and, and realize not every customer is going to be the right customer for you, but that's cool that you guys figured that out early on and. Cause it's very easy to fall prey to, like, like you said, the Chuck in a truck who's undercutting you by a little bit.

And you're just like, eh,

we could drop the price and win this job. Right. But is it really worth it? So, um,

Hannah Smith: sure.

Pete: I mean, um, who would you say, I try to ask everybody this who would you say was probably early on your most important hire?

Hannah Smith: Um, Our most important hire

Pete: Besides you, of course.

Hannah Smith: I was all of a sudden  

Pete: that was obvious. That's obvious, right? like you were the most important hire, but, but besides you, who else was the most important hire?  

Hannah Smith: our vice president, or he serves as like our vice president leadership. He's been with us throughout the whole the whole startup of the company and growing and through all the tough times when, you're getting started and you're like, man, wish we had a roof this week, back in year one and two and.

Um, he, Caleb is his name. Um, and he is just like our top sales guy. He is just everything for the company. Um, he's not scared of any heights, any roofs. The customers love him. Um, he was definitely, I think, the most important piece of our team that we brought on. And, as we've grown the company and shifted our focuses and everything, He's just, he's jumped right in.

He's been a team player. He's helped establish the culture of our company and helped us pour into it and grow it. And, through the seasons of life and the different changes of having babies and buying houses and, coming with new offices and all this good stuff. He's really, he's been the one that's kind of stood the test of time.

He's been with us since the beginning and we look at him as a mentor. Pretty much an equal partner in everything that we do. And so he was definitely, definitely our most important. And you can't, you can't pay. Um, I mean, I guess he would say you can, um, but you really put a price tag on someone that really gets, you always hear people say, no, one's going to care about your business the way that you do.

And that's true with the exception of this guy. Um, Caleb cares for our business the way that we do. Um, and so that is something that we do. Something that I feel like has really helped take our company to where we are today. And so,

Pete: Love that. That's really cool. Yeah. Cause I think it is a challenge, right? Like you said, when you're adding people, not only knowing when to add them, but who to add, right? And, and finding those right people is such a challenge and Yes, when you get a person like that, then obviously, they

can make a huge, huge difference in the company itself.

So, at what point did you guys add tech to the business? And what would you say was some of the most important tech? Like, obviously you guys have come to Roofr here since you came on, but even prior to that, like, what, When did you guys say like, all right, we need to get a CRM or, we do need to employ some tech in this thing and, and try to streamline it a little bit.

Hannah Smith: Yeah, so, that was, I remember being part of the conversations and stuff. I had, a full time at the job, or a full time job at the time. But, I remember being part of the conversations and they were just like, We, we can't keep up. Like, I forgot about this person. I forgot to call this one back. And then, they're like, we gotta do something. they're pushing the panic button over here. Yeah. And, , so our office manager brought to us, some software, CRM stuff and was like, Hey, let's just like at least start with this. So, I remember vetting a few different programs and, um, I think we ended up settling on like, Monday. As a CRM, which I don't even think is like the appropriate use and the full extent, but it served the purpose that we needed it to.

Um, and then using scheduling., and so all that was, that was our two probably most critical things. It's, it's actually so embarrassing looking back at, I'm like, how did we operate a company this long? Which we've seen way worse. In the industry, right? I mean, you see like the piece of notebook paper and the purchase, like, can you price match this?

And they come up to you with a piece of notebook paper. We weren't that bad. But, we had these like crappy quote orders that we were, we just made a template online. I think, um, our sales manager was using like Pic Monkey, and was going on there and making these templates and would like print 'em out for our sales guys and they'd fill 'em out and like, sometimes they'd forget to take a picture of the quote that they gave to the customer.

As in, the embarrassing conversation of, like, Hey, can you send me a picture of that quote I gave you? Um, so, like, these really fun growing pains. Yeah, that was exciting. And then, taxes in here. Like, where's that quote? Where's that job? But, anyways. Woo! We made it. anyways, so Yeah, that was some of the first tech that we brought on in.

Like, we thought, like, man, we're doing it now. And then, I came on and, like, really started digging into, like, day to day Ops and was like, oh my god, we're not doing it, guys. Um, we gotta change this up. But, yeah, that was, um That was kind of, and that was, if I had to guess, that was probably year two, two to three, somewhere in there that they really started to like, hey, we can't keep up with this anymore.

Like, we need to, some type of software, something to keep up with something, and then just struggled I think we implemented a couple at a time, and then year, like, five, six, was really, like, getting painful again, because it's like, this isn't working.

Pete: Yeah. Nice.

Hannah Smith: that was pretty much where we started implementing the technology, um,

Pete: like that. Yeah, no, it's definitely a challenge to do. We often talk to contractors and we're like, knowing when to pull the trigger on something like a CRM. Like obviously a CRM is a fairly large investment for a lot of contractors to make, like you said early on. And you're like, we don't know when our next job's going to be.

Right. So it's like, do we spend the money and get a CRM or something like that? But you know, so it is tough to kind of gauge when's the right time to employ that stuff. Um, it's funny that you said the proposal piece because That's one thing that we always tell contractors is like, Hey, if you don't want to go the full route of bringing a CRM on, because maybe you don't think you're big enough or busy enough at this point, still use a proposal tool, right?

Still,

still be competitive by having the ability to, to quote really professionally and to quote really efficiently cause that could make or break winning jobs. And, and that's obviously, what do you need most in the beginning? So. Um, we often will tell them, Hey, if you're going to adopt anything, adopt a proposal tool early on.

So, so it's funny that you mentioned the, the proposal templates and, not being able to kind of keep track of that

Hannah Smith: Yeah,

Pete: on. Yeah. I

mean, I've

Hannah Smith: guys are,

Pete: kinds of stuff.

Hannah Smith: our guys are a lot happier that we have those two because I'll stay off their backs. Um, because We came to Roofr probably three months after I started and I'd already looked into Roofr, but we just weren't ready to pull the trigger because I was making all these changes coming into the company.

My husband was like, can we just like pump the brakes a little? He's like, you're scaring the, you know what out of me? And I'm like, okay, fine. So we started building out our templates on like, I think I built it on like Apple Pages or something. And they looked really good. I was really proud of myself.

And I actually had. unknowingly like mimicked a Roofr proposal that I had seen and I didn't know it was a Roofr proposal and I had mimicked it and I loved it But I still was like really on the guys because they weren't uploading like after they sent the proposal they weren't like uploading it to the CRM, so I'm still having to go like track it down and Since we've got the proposal tool now, it's like I just jump on there and BAM.

It's right there. Everybody can see it And they they like it Because I don't call them every, every 20 minutes. Hey, where's this proposal? So it's been, it's been really, really helpful for us.

Pete: No, it's good. And I have, have you guys seen an improvement in just the amount of time that it takes to do things? By going, that route, obviously, like you said, the time you're obviously for you, it's been a huge time saver because you're not having to chase people, right? Even for the guys, like you said, the guys are starting to really adopt it and like it, are they seeing a big change in their day as far as the time it takes to do these types of things?

Hannah Smith: Oh, insanely. Yes, like a million times. Yes. Um, they, I think we timed it. I'm just like an average proposal being able to jump in, upload the cover photo, Go through and make the changes because I already have all the templates built out for everything and just our standard re roof. Um, and I think we timed it the other day if it's just like a Standard re roof they can go in and upload the photo Revise the pricing off the site The measurement report that we've already have pulled, um, give the upgrade option to a pro or a better quality shingle, get our upgraded manufacturer's warranty and change the name and send the email in less than two minutes.

Pete: Wow,

Hannah Smith: Yeah, this is insane. And so to

say that it's given us back days, months, and at some point, probably years of our business. It's so true. Like I'm the biggest advocate. For Roofr, for the proposals, for all of it, and so we, it's changed everything for us.

Pete: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So what are you guys looking to do in the future, right? Like, what's the future hold for Smithrock? Um, you guys obviously have done really well there locally where you're at, and now you're getting into the insurance side of things a bit. What are you guys looking to do, let's say, in the next couple of years with, with the company? And what's ultimately the goal for Smithrock?

Hannah Smith: Yeah, so that's a excellent question. Um, it's a scary question, um, but it's exciting. Um, so we have tremendously grown in the past year, so we're still, um, catching our breath from that, um, but as we look to the future, we'll see. Obviously, we want to continue to grow. So it's nothing, nothing major, I would say, um, for, for our growth goals is just to continue to scale our business to become more profitable.

And I think that in the next two to five years, we'd like to open up at least another one to two locations possibly. And so. So, we fully intend for this to be a legacy business. So we plan for our son if he's interested to be able to have our business one day. And so we are very much so looking forward to seeing him grow in our company.

Me and my husband both were brought up entrepreneurs. And so to be able to raise our children that way, will be very exciting for us. But apart from that we have a huge focus on impacting the community. so we have been impacted by a lot of people in the industry. And so in, our goals, they all tie into how we affect the community.

And so we have a new charity that we just launched called Shingle for Sneakers. And so we would love to see that just really, really take off. We donate a pair of shoes for every roof that we do. And so, we are, Very much so. Looking forward to seeing that grow with the company. And to just continue doing what we're doing and get better and better at it.

And so, we're never too smart to keep learning. And so, I say that was probably our, our long term goal.

Pete: I love it. I mean, I love the community aspect of it. We, we often talk about, being that roofer that neighborhood roofer Joe Hughes from contractor dynamics talks about being five mile famous.

Hannah Smith: Yep.

Pete: And so that community piece is such a big piece. And I think more contractors should take advantage of it and be part of it.

Because if we all do it, think of the impact we could have. I know some of the reefers that I'm friends with, some of the events that they've, latched onto or the, that their team has come up with that they're doing some of the charitable work they're doing. Like, it's just unbelievable the impact that they're having in their small communities.

And, um, so that's awesome that you guys are doing some stuff like that and, and giving back, and it, and ultimately it helps, right? Like, because, now, like you said in the beginning, contractors don't necessarily. not necessarily a trusted group, right? And so that's really what you guys started your company on.

And, and it's things like that, that really get the community to buy in and trust you and, and builds that relationship with them that you guys are, that neighborhood roofer, you're that person that they know they can come to and, and trust to get quality work done. So that's, that's awesome. A question for you really quick, because it's something that we've been talking a lot about here at Roofer. And amongst myself and some of the contractors that I know is, the industry as a whole focuses a lot on sales, right? Like there's a lot of organizations out there and events out there to help boost sales and get more sales in the door.

And how do we get more leads and stuff like that? And, I feel like as a roofing community, we drastically overlook production. And so what are some of the things that you guys have done to balance? Like you said, you guys had a banner year last year, you had that storm. So obviously you guys got a, a ton of an influx of a ton of business. Um, what are some of the things that you guys have done at Smith Rock to balance that relationship between sales and production and, and not fall behind or not have things slip through the cracks?

Hannah Smith: Yeah, so, whew, goodness. That's that's a fine line, right? So, I mean, you always want to be at that point of where you have this exponential growth that you see. Um, but like you said, how do you, how do you keep that balanced? Um, so that's really all falls on my husband. Um, so I try to keep my hands off of that side.

I try to keep ourselves team, lit up and excited and, making sure we're handling everything. I wish that he was able to join us today because he's the one that really handles that all so, so beautifully. Um, we have quite a few careers that we use and I know that he was able to With that growth, bring on people that were more dedicated just to solely working with us and not outside of the industry.

We're all in the industry of subcontracting for the most part and um, being able to have crews that are exclusive just to your brand and that aren't necessarily working with anybody else that you can bring on in housekeeping. Um, I think that was, that was huge for us is being able to have those exclusive crews working only for us in house, um, to keep the production flowing smoothly and kind of building with the growth that we were seeing on the sales side of things.

Um, but, but in more depth, that would be something that I would let him handle because it makes my head start spinning. I'm just like, I don't care how the sausage is made. I just, just make it. Yeah.

Pete: I love it. Well, I think this has been fantastic. Like, obviously you guys have found some great success and really excited for you guys and excited to have guys as Roofr of the Month for October. And glad that we could get you guys on here to, showcase the business a little bit and chat. And so thank you, Hannah, thank you for joining us. And, um, excited that we could that we could showcase you guys and excited to be able to be along for the journey. Roofr obviously loves working with our contractors, and supporting you guys as best we can.

So we're excited to be on the journey with you guys at Smith Rock, and see you grow and see you continue to find success.

Hannah Smith: Well, thank you. We have definitely, y'all have been a game changer for our business and we are super appreciative for the relationship and just how quick you guys are to, to listen to us. Um, and so that's one thing that I always try to sing y'all's praises of if I get a chance. Anytime that we have any type of issue or a question or concern, you guys are always very ready to listen and quick to reply and actually hear people out, which I think is really, really big in this industry is everybody wants to be the expert.

We make the joke too many chiefs and not enough Indians. But, um, yeah. You guys are very quick to listen and try to find a solution and help. And so we're excited to partner with someone like you guys in the industry. And I look forward to the growth and to see the new things coming up. Good.

Pete: Yeah. Well, thank you. And thank you everybody for listening in today and hearing a little bit about Hannah's story and Smith Rock's story and everything that they got going on. And, um, if you guys ever need some roofing help down in North Carolina, you know who to look for. So, thank you guys for joining us and we will see you next on the Roofr Report. Thanks, everybody.