Page 14 - Compass Issue 3

And I was a hard worker. I was motivated and pragmatic. myself. We celebrated our 10-year anniversary this past
I thought if I can make this kind of money doing this December.”
new age high-tech stuff, there has to be something even
better.” PartnErSHiP gonE Wrong
Bill left that wonderful job to take a position with an Four Seasons Roofing would not be a sole proprietorship.
electronics distributor. The job turned out to be a bust. Bill took the step into entrepreneurship with a general
The company failed to be completely truthful about the contractor, whom he felt he could trust. It seemed the
opportunity and his client list. Bill almost immediately perfect partnership: Bill would handle estimating, sales,
started job searching. and serve as the project manager, and his silent partner
A friend recommended that Bill should go to work for would manage the finances and provide leads from his
some building materials wholesalers he knew. “I didn’t other company.
really care for it either, but my job was calling on roof- For three years, the agreement worked well. “Then
ers, carpenters, and contractors. A couple of commercial the economy tanked,” Bill said in an understandable huff.
roofers said, ‘Hey, I think you’d be good at this,’” Bill Unbeknownst to Bill, his partner began siphoning mon-
remembered. “I went to work for one of them as a sales- ey from their company to cover the general contracting
person/estimator. I loved it. That was 30 years ago.” business’ shortcomings. Legally, he could do it. Eth-
ically is another question that brings about a different
Bill goES into BuSinESS answer.
Hard work and commitment are two attributes Bill A buyout existed after their fifth year in business. “In
greatly values and has exemplified throughout his career. between that fourth and fifth year, there was a lot of
When he started in the roofing game, as he explained, pressure on me to produce work and revenue because my
“he went all in.” partner needed the money. To make a long story short,
“I made a commitment to the industry. I would work we took on more work than we could handle and we lost
with guys on the weekends for free. I just asked that they $280,000,” Bill shared and sighed. “When it came to dis-
teach me what they were doing. I knew how to estimate, solve the partnership, I was owed $130,000. If things
but I didn’t know where the numbers came from,” Bill went reasonably well, it should have owed him $150,000.
said. “I did that for a number of years, soaking up as That’s how much money he had siphoned.”
much as I could.” Bill estimated he maybe recouped 25 percent of the
The Michigan economy in those days proved fickle at money owed to him. Something else of note also trans-
best and absolutely unforgiving at its worst. Everything pired at this time: “That’s when I heard from RSI.”
hinged on the automotive industry. Bill could never
count on any type of job security. “Your company would Bill goES to ProFit day
lose two or three automotive contracts, next thing you Bill received in the mail the promotional materials so
know, you’re getting laid off,” Bill explained. “For sales- many other Success Group International members have
people and estimators, it was a vagabond existence.” opened over the years. They promised beneficial in-
“I went to work for a gentleman and I thought it would formation and the idea of realizing untapped potential
be a long-term deal. He was more interested in volume if only he would attend a Profit Day meeting. “I said
than quality roofing. When we had a big rainstorm, the to myself that I had to go. I had been doing this long
call-backs were so bad, he wouldn’t come into work for enough. I knew there was money to be made, but I didn’t
a day or two,” Bill chuckled heartily. “He’d leave me to know how to do it consistently,” Bill said. “Hard work
take the calls and the complaints.” and honesty is not enough.”
“At that point, I said to myself, ‘You know what? For- Bill’s Profit Day was on an August day in 2012. He re-
get this. If I’m going to get his much grief and have called a mix of emotions as he sat in the hotel conference
my reputation tarnished, I’m at least going to do it my- room and listened to the presentation be delivered. SGI
self,’” Bill laughed once again. “I went into business for preached the many pluses of residential service, and “I
didn’t know residential,” Bill stat-
ed flatly. “It was an immediate
Deanna Dytri concern… but the numbers they
were talking. The money that
members were making. Okay,
they had my attention.”
That Profit Day would be the
first time Bill would meet eventu-
al friend and fellow RSI member
Kelly Good of Good's Roofing
from up north of him in Burton,
Michigan. “Kelly was there as a
testimonial,” Bill recounted. “He
started talking, and he seemed
like a normal guy. Not flashy.
He’s a guy who grew up putting
shingles on and we had similar
stories. I thought, ‘Okay. If he
can do it, I’m guessing I can too.’
And I signed that day.”

14 THE COMPASS | Issue 3 | 2017