Whether it is a business, house, government building or even a school, every structure requires a roof. Since roofs do not last forever — they normally last for around 15 years — professionals in the roofing business have a consistent flow of work. Furthermore, after installation, roofs require regular maintenance and inspection.
If you think about starting your own roofing company, but do not have a clear idea of how to go about it, read on for a detailed guide on how to bring your vision to life.
Define Your Business
Before you start your own roofing business, you need to define each aspect of the business you have in mind. If you want to have a successful roofing business such as Irish Roofers, then capture the following details when describing your roofing business:
- Name: First and foremost, you need a good and memorable name for your new business. The name must define your business, and also be memorable enough, ensuring that customers easily find your business and even refer it to others.
- Location: Defining the location you intend to serve with your new business helps identify the target market, potential customers, and competitors.
- Target Market: Potential customers for your new roofing business include local homeowners, contractors, and businesses among others. To set the most suitable work policies that match the needs and preferences of your customers, it is important to identify your target market as early as possible.
- Choosing a Niche: To make your business stand out from the rest, you need to settle on a service niche. Choose from a long list of options when settling on a niche for your new business. These include commercial and residential roof installation or roof repair and/or replacement.
Setting Up Shop
Now that you have a clear idea of the business you want to start, get the ball rolling by setting up shop.
- Start by Forming a Legal Entity: Setting up your business as a legal entity comes with a few benefits. For starters, you avoid being held personally liable in case someone decides to sue the business. Secondly, you get to maximize your operational success and financial opportunities. When forming a legal entity, your options include an S-corp, LLC (most preferable) and sole proprietorship.
- Get an IRS Registration: Next up, you need to register your new roofing business with the IRS. This registration gives you an Employer Identification Number that is also used for paying taxes.
- Get a Company Bank Account: You need to have a bank account to receive and make deposits, monitor company expenses, pay salaries, file taxes and plan a company budget. You also need to get a line of credit, a bank card and checks when opening a bank account.
- Business Insurance: Insurance coverage is necessary to safeguard your business from the many risks it faces. A single lawsuit can wipe out your business before you even embark on your first project. To ensure that your business is properly covered, get general liability insurance, worker’s compensation, sub-contractor liability insurance, umbrella insurance, vehicle insurance and professional liability insurance, among others.
- Licensing and Permits: You need the necessary licenses and permits to operate a legal roofing business. While these requirements vary from state to state, you generally need a state contracting license and local business permit to operate your roofing business.
- Bookkeeping and Accounting: You are legally obligated to maintain accurate accounting records. A smart investment would be a roofing contractor software to help you track your cash flow. You should also strongly consider looking into a bookkeeping and accounting firm.
Assemble Your Equipment
You need to have some roofing equipment when starting your roofing company. Some of the basics include a truck, ladder, roof rack, nail gun, safety harness, shingle hatchet and other hand tools, among others.
It is worth noting that your equipment requirements vary with the type of roofing services you intend to provide. Normally, commercial roofing services require more specialized equipment than residential roofing services.
Assemble the Right Team
In addition to having the right equipment, you also need to assemble the right team of suppliers and roofing professionals. This ensures a high degree of customer satisfaction on every job.
- Hire Professionals: Always hire professionals when setting up your roofing business. This way, you access their rich knowledge on industry secrets and tricks that you might take longer to learn.
- Choose Your Suppliers: To provide the best roofing services, use the best roofing supplies from the best suppliers. When looking for potential suppliers to partner with, focus on those offering the best prices and a line of credit.
- Outsource Whenever Necessary: Working alone is quite stressful. Whenever you feel overburdened, consider outsourcing parts of the roofing work to qualified sub-contractors. This way, you always deliver the best project outcomes.
Lead Generation
For your roofing business to succeed, you need to make sales. And, to make sales you need to consistently generate leads. For this, you must:
- Hire a Marketing Agency: Start by hiring a marketing agency that primarily deals with the marketing of roofing businesses.
- Sort Out the Branding: Branding is essential to the success of your business. The right brand sets your business apart from the rest and propels it to success. Some important branding elements to never overlook include a properly branded website, colors and logos, vehicle graphics, uniforms, brochures, letterheads, and business cards.
- Promote Your Business: The growth of your roofing business is highly dependent on your business promotion efforts. Use a variety of tools to promote your roofing business including yard signs, door hangers, Google Search Ads, Google Display Ads, direct mail, and SEO, among others.
Always Keep Improving
By following the above guide, you are able to start a roofing business. However, for the best chances of survival, it is important that you keep improving every aspect of your business as you go.
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