Advice for the Contractor Just Starting Out

RCS Influencer Charles Antis says that there’s never been a better time to be a roofer.

Editor’s note: Watch Charles answer our question about what advice he would give a new roofer just getting into the business or you can read his response below.

The first thing is to remember that you are a craftsman. You are great at what you do. That's why you're doing this. However, you may not have a business plan. Thirty years into this, I still sometimes have a hard time with that concept. What's your business plan? What is going to distinguish you outside of your ability to put on a beautiful roof?

Keep it simple. Don't become somebody else's guy, where 90% of your work is coming from one contractor. You won't survive. You won't survive the hiccups. Find a way to appeal to a lot of people who are similar to you. So, what do you like? Are you ambitious? Do you like to do good in the world? I'm going to inch toward that because if you can find that cause that is near and dear to your heart, and talk about it, then you can thrive today because this is the world we're moving into. Just being a good craftsman and having a handshake used to be enough. It's not enough anymore. You better have something you stand for and be great at it.

The last thing I'm going to tell you is you better know how to talk about this thing, and you can't do it the old way in the Yellow Pages. You need to get involved with social media. I know it's scary, but it's not scary to your kids or your nephews or your nieces. Get them in there, have them help you with your social media. You can change the world, and you can protect families across this land.

Roofing is the greatest trade. It's never been better to have this trade, and people respect us as we go out and change the world. Protecting roofs, protecting all the things that everyone loves in this country.

Charles Antis is the founder and CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing. See his full bio here.