Category Archives: Business

How long do roofing companies stay in business? The answer to that question may shock you. After all, when you look up roofers in your area on Google, you are guaranteed to have no shortage of choices. However, the sheer volume of roofing companies currently in operation in any given city in the United States belies the average lifespan of companies in this industry. 

The average roofing company only stays in business for four years. As a consumer, this may not seem important to you; but it is just as important to you as it is to anyone considering becoming a roofing contractor. That’s because experience matters when it comes time to choose a roofing contractor. So, whether you are a contractor, prospective contractor, or consumer, you should be concerned with the question: how long do roofing companies stay in business?

In the following post, Roofer’s Guild will show you why. So if you are a roofing contractor with the ambition to make it past that elusive 4-year mark, we can help.

Does Business Age Matter?

The simple answer is yes. It absolutely matters how long your roofing company has been operational for several reasons that concern both the consumer and the contractor. 

Inexperienced Pricing

In one way or another, it all boils down to experience. This point, however, has to do more specifically with how a new contracting company prices jobs. Many people don’t realize that roofing has a slow season in most regions of the United States. A seasoned roofer will know how to price jobs so that their company makes it through those quiet months.

A newer contractor may offer lower prices for a roofing job, but that may only be because they haven’t been around long enough to know that they need to retain enough earnings to carry them through the slow season. 

You may still be wondering why this matters as a consumer. For example, let’s say you hire a roofer in the summer to build your new roof. The company has been in business a couple of years and just happened to give you the lowest bid. Now let’s say there’s a problem with your roof that arises in the following January.

Unless the roofer you hired was wise beyond their years, they might not even be in business anymore. The fact is that many new roofing companies fail during the slow season because they didn’t price jobs prudently. So that warranty you got from your roofer in the summer will mean nothing if the business doesn’t last past the winter. 

You will be left high and dry – or in the case of a leaking roof in the winter, high and wet. 

Local Inexperience

Being an experienced roofer is essential. More specifically, however, you need experience with your local market. Not every region of the country deals with the same kinds of roofing problems as others. For instance, some of the most common roofing problems entail intense UV rays deteriorating roof shingles. 

While on the other side of the country, the most common problems have to do with hail storm damage in Florida. Where a roofer has experience is vital to the contractor and the consumer. 

A roofing company may have been in business for 20+ years but have only been operating in your local area for one or two years. So if they lack the expertise to address your problems, it may be a regional ignorance.

On the other side of the coin, as a contractor, your foray into a new market may cost your company if you don’t have specialized experience. 

As a consumer, you have to ask how long the company has been in business; but how long they have been in business in your area. As a contractor, you have to carefully weigh the pros and cons of breaking into a new market. Hiring local roofers could be a way to negate this danger, however. 

Experience Talks

Last but certainly not least, it matters how long a roofing company has been in business because it speaks volumes to the quality of their work. Think about it; would you hire a company that has been in business for 50 years or 15 years to build your roof?

Experience matters because the longer you’ve been in business, the more consumers will perceive your company as one of quality. Longevity speaks to a commitment to quality roofing work, good customer service, and responsibility. However, building trust and credibility takes years to establish.

That’s not to say that there aren’t any good and new roofing companies. On the contrary, the roofers, who are now considered 50-year veterans, started in year one, just like the latest contractors on the market. Still, a lack of experience requires the consumer to take a more considerable risk.

Bonus Point

Experience can matter from a digital marketing standpoint too. For example, it can be challenging for new companies to get enough online reviews for customers to feel comfortable pursuing their services.

Online reviews go hand-in-hand with consumer trust. Most consumers read at least four online reviews before deciding which product or service they should use. Unfortunately, the fact is that newer roofing companies may not be able to get enough reviews to sway first-time customers. 

Marketing Experience Matters, Too

If we have impressed anything upon you in this post, we hope this simple sentiment is that experience matters! Here at Roofer’s Guild, we have vast digital marketing experience in the specific market of roofing. How long do roofing companies stay in business? The answer to that could be the difference between an effective and ineffective digital marketing strategy. 

Roofing is a safe bet if you are looking for a career. The roofing industry has steadily grown over the last five years. On top of that, it is projected that it will grow by another 3.8% over the next year. So it’s easy to see why a career in roofing is such a tempting prospect to so many people. 

The need for roofers isn’t going away any time soon. So whether you are a youngster trying to map out a career path, looking to change your career or a consumer who will require roofing services shortly, it can help to know the answer to the question, “how much does a roofer charge per hour?”

What Impacts How Much Roofers Charge?

If you are a consumer in need of roofing services, your invoice will reflect many different factors. It’s not just about how much a roofer charges per hour; it’s also about the availability of materials, the complexity of the work, the type of roof you have, and more. Here are some of the factors that could affect pricing:

• Geographic Location: If you are in an area where supplies are hard to come by or need to be transported from a long way, your invoice could be pretty high.
• Job Danger: Did you know that around 50 roofers die on the job each year in the U.S.? Roofing is one of the most hazardous trades, and contractors usually factor this into their pricing scale. 
• Materials: The price will also depend on what type of roofing material you want. Asphalt shingles are among the cheapest materials, while slate and cedar shake tend to be the most expensive. 

Hourly Roofing Rate by State 

Keep in mind that the following figures are based on average calculations. Certain roofers are likely to charge more or less than what you see below:

• New York – $30.23 
• New Jersey – $28.49
• Minnesota – $27.74
• Connecticut – $26.15
• Illinois – $26.02 
• Massachusetts – $25.07
• California – $24.54
• Alaska – $24.37
• Hawaii – $23.88
• Rhode Island – $23.48
• Washington – $23.12
• New Hampshire – $22.15
• Missouri – $21.12
• Virginia – $20.78
• North Dakota – $20.27
• Oregon – $20.26
• Maryland – $20.20
• Michigan – $19.58
• Idaho – $19.65
• Arizona – $19.59
• Delaware – $19.57
• Nevada – $19.14
• Ohio – $19.02
• Pennsylvania – $18.72
• South Dakota – $14.70
• Mississippi–$14.95
• New Mexico – $15.02
• Alabama – $15.29
• Florida – $15.63
• Oklahoma – $15.71
• Arkansas – $15.84
• Tennessee – $15.95
• Texas – $15.98
• South Carolina – $16.09
• North Carolina – $16.17
• Montana – $16.47
• Iowa – $16.67
• Maine – $16.91
• Nebraska – $16.98
• Kentucky – $17.27
• Georgia – $17.57
• Louisiana – $17.64
• Colorado – $17.84
• Vermont – $17.88
• Wyoming – $17.92
• Utah – $18.09
• Wisconsin – $18.16
• Kansas – $18.21
• West Virginia – $18.40
• Indiana – $18.47

For more information on roofing and how to get more customers for your existing roofing business, call us here at Roofer’s Guild. 

Starting a roofing business is hard enough. Between launching a roofing marketing campaign, coming up with a marketable name, and drumming up leads, roofing start-ups need a ton of maintenance. In addition, scaling a roofing business can be even more challenging for first-time owners. 

While every regional market and roofing business is unique in its ways, some commonalities will help prepare you for what to expect when you’re trying to scale your roofing business. Keep in mind that there is no universal blueprint for scaling a roofing business. However, if you heed the tips, we are about to outline, you will be giving yourself a great shot at measurable growth. 

Do Good Work

When people ask us how to scale a roofing business, we tell them to do good work. However, the quality of your roofing work will ultimately determine whether you grow as a business or whether you fail. 

That’s because word travels much faster in the digital age than it did just a couple of decades ago. People can go online and leave a review of your company in an instant. So you have to ask yourself, “what will my customers say about my service?”

The effects of bad reviews are measurable too. One study found that 94% of consumers admit that a negative review has caused them to avoid a business. As a small roofing business, you can’t afford to lose out on any customers. The best way to endear yourselves to new and existing customers is to do consistently good roofing work. 

Find a Good Supplier

In the beginning, you may be tempted to go with a smaller supplier because, at the outset, a small supplier is all you need. However, you need a legitimate supplier if you are looking to grow your roofing business. You should find a supplier that will fulfill your material orders reliably as you pick up more jobs. 

Working with a more prominent supplier may cost more initially, but it’s a wise investment. Plus, supplier loyalty usually pays off in the form of flexible payment options, lines of credit, and maybe even discounts. 

Adopt Technology Early

The distinct advantage you have as a roofing start-up is that you can integrate technology into your business processes easier than established companies can. Right now, you are probably a relatively small operation with a minimal amount of orders, projects, clients, and employees to manage. So start integrating technology into your daily tasks right now. 

Business software like Field360 can make it easier to assign your crew to jobs, request payment upon completion, keep track of your fleet, and much more. If you get used to using this type of business management software early in the game, it will be much easier to streamline your daily tasks as they get more numerous and demanding. 

Digital Marketing

As soon as you have the budget for it, you need to invest in digital marketing. Consider the following statistic: nearly half of consumers polled reported using an online search engine to find new businesses and products. 

People are taking to the internet to find home services like roofing companies. However, it’s not enough to plant a sign in your customers’ yards and hope that a bunch of neighbors see it. While grassroots marketing still has its place, digital marketing is necessary if you want to scale your roofing business. Here are some focal points of digital marketing you should be emphasizing:

• Reputation Management: People look to online reviews to help them decide who they are going to hire. Reputation management, therefore, becomes critical for any roofing business. You need to make sure you are present on multiple online review sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Houzz, and Google My Business. Then, you need to maintain a good star rating (between 4.2 and 4.8 stars). 
• SEO: More than half of modern consumers use a search engine to research businesses. That means you need to show up on Search Engine Result Pages. SEO for roofers entails keyword placement, content creation, social media presence, and much more to improve your search engine rankings.
• Website Optimization: Search engines will reward you with higher rankings if you have a fast, responsive, and well-built website. Customers will also stay on your site longer and be more likely to take action if your site is easy to navigate and offers the information they are after. If you don’t have any web design experience, it is worth hiring a marketing agency with design services or a freelancer specializing in website design. 
• Retargeting: Retargeting ads are ads that appear to people who have already interacted with your company or website. For example, you can have your roof replacement ad appear to web browsers who have recently shown interest in roof replacement online. Retargeting (sometimes called remarketing) ads have become an essential aspect of digital marketing and can help scale your small business with increased lead generation. 

Get Help With Scaling Your Roofing Business

Scaling a roofing business requires your company to invest in growth opportunities through marketing, advertising, and more. It’s impossible to perform all related tasks yourself, so you must hire either in-house or 3rd party assistance. We recommend partnering with Roofer’s Guild for all of your marketing needs in 2021. 

Roofer’s Guild is a marketing company for roofers by roofers. We allow contractors to feel comfortable with their marketing campaigns rather than relying on outsiders who don’t understand the grind of the roofing industry. While some marketing firms may have good intentions, they can’t relate to the daily grind of an actual roofer.