Veteran First Roofing: Don McKee from B.A.N.A. Roofing & Solar

‍Pete: Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the roofer report. I'm your host, Pete McKendrick, and I am excited again to, to be here with our Roofr of the month series. This has been just a fantastic series for us throughout the year, got to meet some great roofers and, and get some inside looks into some tremendous businesses.

And, we've got a great mix. I mean, we've had some brand new businesses, some people that have broke off and started some new businesses, some more seasoned businesses that have, you know found success and and some of the trials and tribulations that they've gone through which has been great And excited today to be joined by Don McKee of B.A.N.A. Roofing and you guys are out of oklahoma, correct?

Don McKee: Yes, Davis, Oklahoma.

Pete: nice. So, very excited to have you guys on today and and Congrats on being the Roofr of the month and for november and excited to have you You join us and and talk a little bit about the business

Don McKee: Thank you. Thank you.

Pete: So Don, give us a little bit of background on B.A.N.A. Roofing. How did you guys come to be?

How did you personally get into the roofing industry? We always joke that, roofing is not something that you, you wake up and say, I want to be a roofer. So, all of us have some very colorful stories of how we ended up in the roofing industry, I think. So, what's your backstory?

How did you how did you come to be in roofing?

Don McKee: It's kind of a long story. I got into sales back like 2007. Come out of an asphalt. I used to lay asphalt and run heavy equipment and things like that. Um, my brother, he taught me. He's been in sales since he got out of the Navy. And he, he, he says, Don, people buy from people they like and they trust. And you're a likable, trustable guy.

You really should, try getting into sales. Um. Make a lot better money and a lot easier on your body. So, I got a job selling mobile homes in 07. Did that for about 7 years. I worked with a guy that came through. We had a lot of sales people come through there. One of them came from the roofing business. And he talked about how much money there was in the roofing business and how good it was. And he just kept on and on and on. And so, that kind of piqued my interest. Um. Fast forward a few years, I moved to the car business, and I sold a guy that owned a roofing company a pickup. He liked the way I took care of him, the way I followed up, and he started recruiting me to come work for him. about a year later, I left the car business and went to work for him, working out in the Dallas metro area.  

Pete: rest is history, huh?  

Don McKee: Yeah.

Pete: Now talk a little bit about your background. Now you guys are a veteran owned company, right? At B.A.N.A. Roofing,  

right? So talk a little bit about your background there and and how you took that, and parlayed it into what you guys are doing at B.A.N.A. Roofing.

Don McKee: I served in the Army back a long time ago, back in 89 to 92. Long time ago, I was young. Served during Desert Storm. I was over there for what would have been, my senior year. Because I quit

school and joined the Army. So I was over there instead of here going through prom and graduation.

I was sitting in a big sandbox on the other side of the

world. It helped shape me into who I am today. You know what I mean? Very proud of my military service, proud to serve this great country.

Pete: Yeah, it's great. It's funny that you mentioned that because I was just, at the RCAD event in, in Texas. And I was flying out of Dallas, flying home. And there was a group of soldiers there that were obviously flying somewhere together. There was about six of them. And I was looking at these guys and thinking, man, they are young.

I think, man, they are young. They look like babies, right? Like just unbelievable. I couldn't believe they made me feel very old. So, so,  

Don McKee: I was very young. I got out of the army and I still wasn't old enough to legally buy a beer.

Pete: Yeah, that's crazy. Right. Incredible. Incredible. But yeah, I'm sure that plays a huge part in the person that you are today. Especially being that young, right. And, and going through some of that stuff. So, um, so, obviously now you own B.A.N.A. Roofing. So at what point did you make the transition from saying, you're a sales guy, you're finding some success and you're like, you know what?

I think I could do this for myself.

Don McKee: I worked after Hurricane Irma. I followed, I worked for a guy, went down to Florida, did a bunch of roofs down there. I really Learned the roofing industry, in Florida. Um, they say it's the toughest place in the country to roof. If you can

do it there, you can do it anywhere. So I kind of cut my teeth down there and really learned, learned the business.

Um, but the guy I worked for down there, I went to high school with him. And, um, we got caught up with all the storms down there and came back home. And he wanted me to continue selling roofs for him here in Oklahoma, but he didn't want to get a license, he didn't want to He just wanted to bootleg and kind of run again and not do things the right way. And I just decided I didn't need him. I was just pulling in most of the business. I was doing all the work and I just decided I'd start my own

Pete: I like it. So tell us a little bit about B.A.N.A. Roofing. How, how many years have you guys been in business and how big of a staff do you have?

Don McKee: We started in 21. We got licensed in April of 21. Right now I've got two salespeople, an office manager, a repair guy, and myself.

Pete: Nice. Yeah. So you guys are running pretty lean and

Don McKee: Yeah,

Pete: have been in business for a while.  

Don McKee: out of my garage into our, our physical location. We've got a, it's about a 800 square foot office with a 3, 200 square foot warehouse in the back. So we've got room to, room to grow. Um, we moved into this in November of last year. So about a year.

Pete: Very cool. Now. So you, um, as you guys have been growing, what type of work are you guys doing? Are you doing retail work? You do an insurance work, a combination of both.

Don McKee: It's a good combination. The first two years it was, I was doing everything by myself. I mean, I had Sold everything, scheduled everything. I brought on my first 1099 sales guy last year. And, um, we had a lot of storms locally and the business, it took off. We went from just almost 700, 000 in business in 22 to just over 2, 000, 000 in 23.

It was a big jump and that growth came with some growing pains, I'll just tell you.

Pete: Absolutely.

Don McKee: But, we're figuring it out.

Pete: Yeah. What do you attribute the growth to? Was it just a, good timing in the market or, did you guys  

change something internally?  

Don McKee: Well, a lot of it, we had a lot of stores right here in my hometown. It's a place that I grew up, I've lived here since 1979, off and on. So I know, it's a small town of about 2, 500. I know just about everybody. Um, and they know we're going to take good care of them.

So, we

Pete: Nice. So you guys, you guys rely a lot on word of mouth and referrals and things like that for your business.

Don McKee: Facebook, word of mouth, yep, yep. We do a lot of Facebook advertising. We, we, we're pretty well known on Facebook locally.

Pete: Yeah. Nice. We, we often talk in, in some of our masterclasses and just internally about this concept of being, the neighborhood roofer, how do we become like that guy, and, and I think you touched on it right from the very beginning, is you gotta be trustworthy, right?

You've gotta be somebody that, that is trusted. We, I often say, in my presentations, I've got, I've got a guy, if I want to take my kids to the doctor, they've got a physician that they go to every time. Right. If I'm taking my car in for repairs, I've got a guy for that, that I trust.

Right. And he's the same guy. He's getting my business every time, and I think we kind of overlooked that fact in roofing. We kind of go in and, pump out a job and head on to the next one and kind of, that's it. We don't, don't plan to interact with that customer ever again. And then.

In this case, like you said, so much of your business is coming right in your own backyard and, having that relationship and continuing that relationship and being that guy that they can rely on and trust and recommend to their friends is a huge part of your success.

Don McKee: It is. It has been. We've, we've got a lot of roofs at our local lumber yard. We, we, we, I don't buy from a big supplier. I stay right here. Try to keep as much of our money right here at home as possible. Our lumber yard, since I've started business, has hired three or four more people to help keep up with, with our work. So that's, that's, that feels good to help knowing I'm creating jobs besides my business. I mean,

with, with my business. My supplier. Um, and they, they recommend us all the time. We get, 10 or 12 roofs that are directly referred from them every year. So,

it's pretty hard to beat.

Pete: Nice. Now I saw you guys like to do some stuff in the community, right, as well. Um, talk a little bit about some of the stuff that you're doing locally in your community to help. Obviously creating some jobs. That's a, that's a fantastic one. I don't think a lot of people realize that they can have that kind of an impact, right?

If they work local and stay local. But talk about some of the other stuff that you're doing locally out in the community.

Don McKee: I'm part of Beyond Brotherhood. It's a veteran 501c3. I'm the treasurer for the group. Um, our, my business does a lot of sponsoring. Sponsors a lot of our events with, with Beyond Brotherhood. That, that's a big part of The Murray County community, Beyond Brotherhood, is very well known. Being a part of that has been a big boom for our business. We sponsor golf tournaments with the schools. We try to be involved in a lot of things. My kids are in the band, so we're sponsoring things with the band.

Pete: Nice.

Don McKee: The football team, we're on their broadcast, so we just really want to be a part of the community. There's a leadership Murray County class that I've recently joined. Just want to be part of the community and help our community grow.

Pete: Yeah, I love that. Now talk a little bit about the name, right? We talked just briefly about it before we started recording the podcast, but talk about your name, where you came up with the name and the reason for it. Cause I think it's a great, a  

great topic,  

Don McKee: get into sales, people ask you what's your why? Why do you want to get into sales? Why do you want to make a lot of money? My kids. I enjoy schooling my kids. I enjoy, taking trips with them, doing a lot of things with them. B, Adrian, Nate, and Abigail, and the four kids, and spell them B A N A.

So that's I decided that would, that would work. BanB.A.N.A.Nstruction is how we started. Now we're doing B.A.N.A. Roofing and solar. Um, we we're working on getting into the solar game, but,

um, banner is, is, that's my four kids Bea, Adrian, Nate, and Abigail.

Pete: Love it. Now, are you guys mostly doing, at this point, are you mostly doing roofing? You said you're breaking into solar. Are you guys doing other things, gutters, siding, any of that kind of stuff?

Don McKee: Oh yeah. We do gutters. I got a siding job going in Elmore City right now. We do, we do gutters, we do siding. Um, we other things, if, if I feel comfortable, if I've got somebody that, that, that I feel comfortable doing it and, we'll, we'll give it a shout.

Pete: Yeah, I like it. Yeah. We, we often talk with companies cause it's like, I think that's a tough thing upfront to balance, right? It's like you, if you're not necessarily comfortable, like you said, finding somebody that's comfortable that you can work with or you having a really good understanding of it is crucial to the success of adding those other trades.

And, and I think it's very easy, we talk about, especially early on in a company, it's very easy to just say yes, right? Because, You're there and the person's like, Hey, can take a look at my sliding or my windows, it's easy to just go, Oh yeah, we can do that. And then you realize you get in over your head.

I've  

been there and done that in, in my past lives, but but yeah, it's I think that that's a huge part of it. Like you said, if you, if you feel confident that you have somebody that you can trust, that's comfortable handling that kind of stuff, then it's a little bit easier to take it on.

Don McKee: Yeah, yeah. In the winter time, the weather doesn't allow for as much roofing, so it's nice to be able to do a few other things.

Pete: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Helps you guys get through the winter and not have to close the doors or, or slow down to the point of losing anybody. Right. So, yeah, having that being in an area where you do have some substantial winter, it's nice having that being diversified a little bit.

So. Talk a little bit about how you guys have grown and some of the things that you've experienced. Like, what are some of the. Biggest challenges you think you've, you've faced so far as a, as a roofing company.

Don McKee: People. Just different personalities. The staff I have now is not the same staff I had a year ago. I mean, it's, it's, it's learning... managing people is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. . Being the boss, and I tell people, listen, whenever they come to work for me, this is my first rodeo. I've never done this before. Bear with me, I'm still learning how to be the boss. I mean,

I'm not so arrogant to think I know everything. I'm open, I'll listen to everybody and then, take all the information in and figure out how to make the best decision for us and the homeowner and everybody else.

But, it's, it's, it's been challenging dealing with different personalities and um, Um, just different people.

Pete: Have you found  

it easier to hire people that have roofing experience or people who do not have roofing experience coming in and learning the business along with you?

Don McKee: people I've got right now, none of them had, they, there's people I know from beyond brotherhood, from car sales. I grew up with the guy, we went to high school together. He's, he's right now my best sales guy. Um, but he sold cars for, 15 years. So he, he knows how to sell, but he didn't know anything about roofing until, until he got here.

So,

Pete: Nice.

Don McKee: it's, it's been a challenge training, cause I do things my own way. So, and trying to create a system and a process that's duplicatable that, that anybody that can come in and with any sense can learn. Um, that's been the challenge and that's

why we're still, still putting that system together.

Pete: Yeah. I think, obviously I think that's something that A lot of businesses, a lot of reefing companies run into, it's something that we preach. I'm a big process guy and systems guy. I've worked on the CRM side for now almost seven years. Right. So, dealt a lot with companies and their systems and processes.

And I think it's something that, it, You have a process, right? Like you have a way of doing it, and it's a matter of, can you relay that process to someone else? And is it a process that someone else, if you go and get a guy who was a car salesman, could he learn and be successful in that process?

Or do I need somebody that has 15 years of experience in roofing? Right. So obviously, um, obviously you've, Built some type of a process that, maybe you're fine tuning it, but you must obviously have a process that's duplicatable and, and allowing these people from outside of the industry to come in and be successful.

So they're it's gotta be a pretty solid process if they're able to do that. You guys are standardizing some things because it's they're learning quickly, right?

Don McKee: Right, well the Roofer CRM has helped and then with company cam and the Roofer between those two things and then a couple other little things, I mean being able to create moving your deal from here to there and following that process has helped.

Pete: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I think that that's a big part of it, right? If you're able to kind of standardize that operation a bit. Now it's easy to bring somebody and, we always joke. I remember asking a guy one time about. Where he found his employees and he said, Chick fil a, he said, I go to Chick fil a because they have great customer service and I just look for the most eager person there.

And I asked him if they want a job. He goes, because I know they've got the customer service experience. I just need to teach him roofing.  

He's like, and if I trust my process, then they can just slide right in there and find success. If we train them, right? So. But I want to ask you, there's a question that I've been asking everybody because it came up in one of the first podcasts that we did with Roofr of the month.

But what do you think was your most important hire to date? Right? Like who, who did you hire that you're just like, man, thank gosh I hired that person. I could not live without them.

Don McKee: My repair guy. I used to have to use my sub crews and they come from Oklahoma City. So they charge me, a trip and everything. And I've just been able to take little repairs and just become that person's roofer. And having somebody local to be able to do all that has been huge. Just having, I've got a young guy named Riley. He and I have known him for years and he used to work for another roofing company. So he's done a lot of roofing and he does a great job on repairs. He does, he's a very good, just kind of a general carpenter. He can do a lot of different things, siding, roofing, um, a lot of different stuff like that. He's been, he's been very beneficial.

Pete: Yeah, that's interesting one, cause a lot of people will say like, oh, my office person or, my accountant or somebody like that. But I mean, and I think that, for roofers, the, the repair aspect of the business is overlooked a lot of times,  

right? Like we, we think like, we've got a crew, let's just go reroof some houses, right?

Like, we're not worried about, you Some small jobs, but you made a really good point right there saying, that's how I kind of become their roofer, right? Like  

I can go in there and do a minor repair. And now, a year, two, five years down the road, they need a roof. They're going to remember that you guys were there and helped them out with the repair.

Don McKee: a lot of business, starting off with a little repair and then you know, you do an inspection to find out there's enough damage there to file a claim, and you end up with a roof replacement off a phone call that was for a repair.

It happens all the time.

Pete: Yeah. I mean, it's exactly, it happened with my brother not that long ago. My brother lives out in Pennsylvania. He called me, he said, I need a roof repair and they ended up having to re roof his entire house once they got out there and take a look at it, but it was just a phone call that started on a small repair and turned out to be a pretty good size project for the roofer that did it.

But it's yeah, it's, I think it's something that gets overlooked, especially early on, like, especially by roofers that are, in the first couple of years of business. It's a great way to one, have a pretty decent income, right? Like I've seen guys that are You know, a pretty substantial amount of their income off of repairs and maintenance type of work.

And and like you said, and how many of them you can parlay into a full roof replacement. It's yeah, that's interesting. That's, that's the first time someone said they're a repair guy, but I like it. I mean, it, it definitely, that's an impactful person for sure.

Don McKee: Beats the heck out of me out there, doesn't it?

Pete: Yeah. Yeah. So what does the future look like for, for B.A.N.A.? What are you guys looking to do in the next couple of years? Um, what's, what's the plan? What's, what's the the five year plan look like for B.A.N.A.?

Don McKee: Just keep on the pace we're on. We've been growing pretty rapidly the last couple of years. Like, maintain that, you know what I mean? And just, just keep taking care of our homeowners. Our homeowners become our friends. I mean, as often as not, they become our friends. We, we, of course, we live in a small community.

You see them at Walmart, you see them at the grocery store. Um, we've developed a very good reputation for, for taking care of our homeowners. I, I want to continue that and, and, and build on it. And, um, grow this thing into something that can take care of my family for generations.

Pete: I like that. And it's something that we preach about is that customer experience, right? And if you can kind of start with the idea that we're going to offer this world class customer experience, all the other kind of, all the other things, the tech you use and the process you build and all this other stuff kind of falls in line behind that, right?

With that theme in mind. And what are some of the things that you guys are doing to, to really make sure that you're offering that best experience to the customer?

Don McKee: We use, we use the catch all system, and, and that's, that's been great. Just having the QR codes on it. It's got, we, we share it with our local lumberyard. We've got their, their logos on there

as well, T. H. Rogers.

Um, one of the things, I mean, the day before a build, we'll go up into the attic, if the homeowner has content, has their Christmas tree, their stuff up there.

We're gonna put painter's cloth or drop cloth, something to protect that stuff. Just, that's just, it's not a big deal, but it is a big deal, you know what I

mean? We go back several times and roll the magnet after, after every time it rains. We'll go back, I mean, we got somebody just running around rolling magnets on, on yards after every rain. Um, like I said, still not a big deal, but it is a big deal. The homeowner, the neighbor sees us out there. They see the pickup pull up and a guy get out and start running the magnet. We'll take a picture and send it to the homeowners. Hey, we got a couple more nails in there. Saved you from a flat just, just trying to give them, let them know that we care.

I mean, we, we care about their home as much as they do. And we want, we want them to feel comfortable telling their friends, their family, to, to use this.

Pete: I love that. And so, who's managing production for you? Is it, is your sales guy? Is he kind of the, also the production manager on the job  

Don McKee: Well,  

Pete: you?  

Don McKee: job. I, I schedule everything and I, I put the subs, um, my sales guys and my repair guy, that kind of. Team up on making sure that the homeowner, during the day, if I missed a vent or a pipe boot or whatever, they're out there taking pictures for insurance and just making sure everything goes good.

Pete: Yeah, nice. Cause we, we've often, we've been talking a lot lately about the handoff from sales to production and what we're selling and what we're producing and kind of bringing those as close together as possible so that the expectation that the homeowner has is not, missed on the production side.

So, it's really interesting. Now, lately I've been asking a lot of roofers, like, what are you guys doing to kind of manage that? Expectation that's set by the salesman and, make sure that we're living up to what we promised. And so, yeah, so it's always interesting to kind of hear how everybody's doing that.

Don McKee: Right now, my sales guy, they handle everything from, start to finish as far as dealing with the homeowner. And then, of course, they've got me and Riley, our repair guy, for support. He goes out there and sets the catch all up.

Um,  

Pete: Nice. Nice. Yeah. So they know they've got a bunch of points of contact if they, if they do need something and they definitely feel supported. That's, that's good. I like that.  

Don McKee: Our office manager, he's learning to do the supplementing. We've just started doing our own supplementing. Um, we were sending that out, but now we brought that in house. And he's picking that up pretty quick. He's doing really good with learning the exact amount and how to do the supplements.

Pete: Nice. I mean, that's big stuff, right? For a  

small team, that's a, that's big stuff that you guys have going on. So. Nice. Well, very cool, Don. It's been great to talk to you. And it sounds like you guys have a lot of really good stuff going on there at B.A.N.A. And I mean, impressive success here and impressive growth in the last couple of years.

And looking forward to, to Roofr being part of it as you guys grow and excited to have you as our Roofr of the month. I mean, you guys are, are doing a really good job and we're glad that we could showcase you guys and, and showcase you and, and what you've grown there at B.A.N.A. And, and continue to do for the community.

Don McKee: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it.  

Pete: Anything else, like what, what else you got going on in the future? What's the, any, anything crazy? You're going to move into some other markets or grow the business or just kind of like nice, steady growth.

Don McKee: nice steady growth. I really don't want to The growth has been Challenging as it is, you know

what I mean? I've still got a good foundation, but before we grow any more, too much for more. But, um, no, it's the solar thing. We really want to get into it. I'm hoping these interest

rates can come down and make it, more realistic for, for average Joe, because right now the solar deal is, it's, it's cash.

The only ones that it's really a good deal for is the ones that can pay cash for it. So hopefully the rates come down and get that thing going again, and we're able to get in on that.

Pete: Nice. I like that. One last thing for you. What, what would you say has been the most rewarding thing about having your own business and being able to watch it grow and and just seeing the success of B.A.N.A.?

Don McKee: My daughter had a play at school. I didn't have to ask anybody for permission to go watch it. I kind of like that.

Pete: Yeah. Yeah. When you got  kids,  

Don McKee: that's, that's I can say it's, I started this company to, to, to school my kids and, and, and leave something for them. And, um, having that time freedom, I say time freedom, I'm working a lot, but I pick which 60 to 80 hours a week at work.

need to go do something with my kids, I can do it. And that is a huge blessing.

Pete: Yeah, love that. And as someone who has kids, I can appreciate that because they've always got something going on, it seems like. So, yeah, so I can definitely appreciate that. Well, Don, thanks so much for joining us. Congrats on being Roofr of the month. I look forward to seeing the success of B.A.N.A. And watching you guys continue to grow.

And anything Roofr can do along the way to help support that we are always here for you. And look forward to, to seeing what, what happens here with in the future with B.A.N.A..

Don McKee: Appreciate it, Pete.

Pete: All right. Well, thanks everybody for joining us on the Roofer Report. Again, I'm your host, Pete McKendrick.

This is Don McKee, our Roofr of the month for November. Be sure to join us and check out some of our past podcasts as well. This Roofr of the month series has been going on all year and some incredible interviews with some incredible roofers. Be sure to go back and check some of those out if you haven't, and we will see you next time on the Roofer Report.

Thanks everybody.