There are two types of commercial roofing. The first one is what many people think of when they hear the words "commercial roofing" they think of a roofer stripping their roof to the baseboards and starting over. However this process can take a lot of time and it will generally cost a lot more money.
The second type of commercial roofing is called a roof coating. A roof coating is a more cost effective solution then starting from scratch because all you are doing is cleaning off the original surface and putting on a new one, kind of like painting.
Sadly, commercial roofing like any other trade is starting to thin out. There are many struggles that come with the trade of commercial roofing, and today I will share them with you and how to get around them.
If you clicked on this post because you have kicked around the idea of becoming a commercial roofer but you don't know where to start I will try to give you the basics on what you need.
If you are just a local business owner and are just looking for a commercial roofing contractor you are in luck my friend because I will also be providing a trusted and highly favored commercial roofer in Virginia.
Why Commercial Roofers Struggle
The number one reason roofers in general struggle is not because of taxes or material cost it is usually the employees. A great deal of the time roofing contractors don't properly train their employees which leads to work that is half done or just overall less quality.
If you plan to start your own roofing business make sure you properly train your employees by taking them to roof training seminars and conferences.
Another problem is that roofing contractors are not able to get sales, because most people don't want to admit that their roof is in sorry shape. And most roofing contractors just don't know how to advertise and get results.
How to Find a Trusted Roofing Contractor
When looking for a roofing contractor you want to make sure they are worth your time. One way of doing this is to read reviews, and if there are zero reviews, well there is probably a reason for that.
The number one way to find a roofing contractor is to have one given to you so you don't have to waste time looking for one.
Eric B. Mast Enterprises LLC is a Trusted and highly favored roofing contractor among the communities of the eastern half of Virginia. Specializing in customer service, on time job completion, and staying within the existing quote, Eric and his team will assess the condition of your roof and fix it pronto.
Eric Mast is partnered with Conklin to bring the people of Virginia the famous Conklin roofing systems. If you don't know who or what Conklin is I will explain. Conklin is a commercial roofing company that back in 1977 invented acrylic roof coatings, these coatings worked so well that they had hard time keeping up with the demand so they hired a bunch of roofing contractors to take their brand to the corners of the USA.
Expenses Of a New Roofing Contractor
If you plan to go into the trade of commercial roofing there are some things that you are going to have to have get in order to be ready for your first roofing job. Number one. You will obviously need a truck and possibly a trailer to get you and the roofing materials to the job site which will cost you around 20,000 on the low end for just the truck.
The second thing you are going to need is a dumpster to get rid of all the roofing materials that you dispose of. You can do this two ways, either rent a dumpster ($350) or buy a dumpster ($3,000) it all depends on what works for you. If you choose to rent a dumpster you wont have to lug it around but you are also paving that amount of money per week. Or, if you buy it you have to figure out how to get it to the job site. Your choice.
A Marketing Plan For Commercial Roofers
When becoming a new roofing contractor a marketing plan can be overwhelming and tiresome so let me tell you what to do.
Many people think that the only way to advertise is to get stuff into people's mailboxes but the sad truth is that all of your advertisements will most likely be thrown away, i mean think about it, do you read your junk mail? Nowadays everything is online so that means almost everything you do must be online in order to get any results.
The first step in gaining on online presence is to get a website, this will give people the feeling that you exist, so that's good. Once your website is built you have to "advertise" that website by either SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or Google or Facebook ads to generate traffic to your site and eventually make money.
Remember that when you start a business you have to remember that it's not going to be easy, so don't just give up it will eventually be successful but it will take some time.