# Need help with trying to keep it all under control



## my94ttz32 (Oct 30, 2014)

Ok a little info about me
Im a small roofing company that started off subing in 2005 . Business was very slow and i got tired of chasing my money and not working much so I decided to open my own company in 2007. I worked a little more and made better money but it was still slow. Well I lived in a small broke town and my business did grow but, very slow only making about 10-20k more a year. 
Well in feburay of 2014 I moved to a new town that has about 20,000 more people than my old broke town.( im only about 40 minutes from my old town) Well business has grown over 140,000 this year alone. I still do business in my old town and some in the new town and all inbeween. 
Ive hired a litte better help from my new town.They do well but are not completely consistent... but they are not that bad. I have 5 guys and my self. I have small attendence problem where one day this one may be out and then the next day this one may be out. But this is about the best help ive found so far. But for the most part its not more than two or three only once a week but, its random.
More on me I do the selling ,signing , problem solving etc.
But at times I cant do it all. So Im wondering what kind of help and support do yall have to make your job not a complete night mare at times. I hate it because im pissing customers off by not making estimate and not able to call some back. I say I blow off or waste 30% of what comes in. And im sure those customers do not say good things about us not showing up. ANd i dont want to be that company. 
A lot of things can not be done with out me. I do not want to sub out at this time. SO how do you run your in house crew. What other employess do you have and what do they do?

Thanks in advance!


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## 1985gt (Dec 21, 2010)

my94ttz32 said:


> A lot of things can not be done with out me.



That one line says it all. You have to be willing to let some of the control go. Fine the best most stable guy on your crew and work closely with him. That way you can leave to go do the estimates. That or train/hire someone to do your estimates.


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## Seabreezeroofing (Oct 15, 2014)

Work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Never stop.
http://www.seabreezeroof.com


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## ReubenD (Sep 22, 2014)

As soon as you become an actual company, you have to decide what your role in the company is going to be. You cannot be standing on a roof and sitting at a kitchen table going over an estimate at the same time, but both need to be done at the same time or there will not be job to go to when the one you are working on is done. 

You need to do a serious and honest assessment of your personal skill set. Are you the best roofer in your team or the best businessman and estimator? Even if you could honestly say best to both- at some point you will need to trust somebody to do some part of it. For me, I run the business- advertising, marketing, sales, and some estimates. I know I cannot do it all so have to let others do some part of it and that usually means mentoring somebody and paying them well enough to earn loyalty and trust. Then you have to trust them. 

Congratulations on making it long enough and doing well enough to have this problem- it is actually a good sign.


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## SophiaM (Nov 10, 2014)

I think ReubenD's answer is complete and there is nothing to add here but one thing - it's always that way when things become "business". It's already management of people and processes rather than doing actual work. Sometimes it can go bad sometimes good, but eventually you'll end up with the right people beside you and processes that let you effectively manage your time. Here is an article from which you can make your own conclusions. - https://hbr.org/2009/05/why-teams-dont-work/


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## CompetitiveEdgeMetal (Nov 9, 2014)

My aunt found that picking one day of the week (Saturday) to do all of their estimates was the best way ran a very successful business for 22 years and never had the issue you're having I'd suggest trying that and see how it works


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## Maxon100 (Feb 11, 2015)

Most small/medium size companies like mine and yours have these same problems. To start off the problem with workers not showing up is going to happen because they're either hungover, have family issues, or like most... drug problems. The best thing to do is find good employees and pay them *GOOD. *Go out of your way to make sure the workers are happy and they will show up every single day. As far as people getting mad at you because you promised to bid there roof but you are too busy to actually get to there house.... There is a very simple answer to this and we use it all the time when the "fall rush" comes. Have another roofing company that you can give referrals to(make sure you ask them first) and when you get the calls but can't do there job refer them to that other company. People really appreciate this because you're not wasting their time and you have another company for them to contact. :thumbup1:

http://stormproofroofing.org/


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## jalfonso2367 (Aug 5, 2015)

When it comes to my in-house i have a firm who handles any of my clients that our past due and/or are not complying on what we agreed on contract. They basically go after my money that i consider past due... They deal with all my headaches and i wont have to worry about going after my money when i do know i have someone i can trust. i'll leave you his contact info below. hear them out. I went through the same issue you are going thru. but it takes time and effort to have everything all stable!

Martini, Hughes & Grossman
Contact: Eddie Selva
Phone: 561-665-7794 ext 103
Email: [email protected]


Thank you. Blessing Y'All


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## Merge (Oct 22, 2015)

google a new company man, you re waisting tiome


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## Severe Weather Roofing (Nov 5, 2015)

I highly recommend reading The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. You need to learn how to build a strong team, and consistently optimize your operational processes.


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