The Roofer Show

Dave Sullivan
  • 4.9 (142)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

If you’re a Roofing Contractor looking to grow your business, make more money, and have more free time this is the podcast for you. Your host Dave Sullivan has been a successful roofing contractor for over 30 years and he shares the good, bad, and the ugly of his experience in contracting. Each week Dave interviews the industry’s top experts to pull out their best business tips and strategies that you can use to take your business to the next level. Get the answers to the questions you have to the day to day problems you face in the “real world of construction” from those that have been there and done it. Whether you have a shop of 1 or 100 there’s something here for you.

  1. 3d ago

    501: He Built a $20M Roofing Company. Here's What He Learned Selling It

    What does it take to build a $20 million roofing company—and what happens when you sell it? John Buxton built Legacy Roofing into a $20 million roofing business with 130 employees before selling to private equity. In this episode of The Roofer Show, John joins Dave Sullivan to share what he learned about growing a roofing company, building business value, and preparing for a successful sale. Whether you're running a $1 million roofing company or a $20 million operation, these lessons can help you build a more profitable business that doesn't depend entirely on you. In This Episode, You'll Learn:Why revenue alone doesn't determine what your roofing company is worth.What private equity buyers look for when purchasing a roofing business.How EBITDA, profitability and clean financial statements affect business value.Why accurate job costing and strong systems matter.How to build a roofing company that operates without the owner.What contractors should understand about earnouts, equity rollovers and cash at closing. Dave's TakeawayBuild your roofing business like you're going to sell it someday—even if you never do. You'll have a more profitable company, more freedom and more options when the time comes. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BYSMA Support Running a roofing company shouldn't mean doing everything yourself. SMA Support provides virtual assistants who help roofing contractors handle customer calls, scheduling, follow-up and administrative tasks so owners can spend more time growing their businesses. Learn more: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport ProLine CRM A roofing company becomes more valuable when it has systems that don't depend entirely on the owner. ProLine helps roofing contractors manage leads, automate follow-up and track sales activity so opportunities don't fall through the cracks. Learn more: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Promo code: DAVE50 (where applicable) FREE 2027 ONE-PAGE ROOFING BUSINESS PLANWant to build a more profitable roofing business that doesn't depend entirely on you? Download Dave's free 2027 One-Page Roofing Business Plan and start mapping out your revenue, profits, people and priorities for the coming year. https://theroofercoach.com/plan ABOUT THE ROOFER SHOWThe Roofer Show helps roofing contractors make more money and have more free time. Hosted by Dave Sullivan, a former roofing contractor who built and sold his own roofing company, the show focuses on the business end of the roofing business. Website: https://theroofercoach.com

    501: He Built a $20M Roofing Company. Here's What He Learned Selling It

  2. Oct 27

    500: I Sold My Roofing Company and Didn't Like the View

    After 30 years in roofing and 500 podcast episodes, Dave Sullivan shares how a one-page roofing business plan gave him the freedom to travel and enjoy his family, and what he didn't plan for when he finally sold his company. Plus, get his free 2027 One-Page Roofing Business Plan. In this episode about building a roofing business plan around the life you want, Dave Sullivan celebrates 500 episodes of The Roofer Show by telling his own story. It started with a reel from Tommy Mello of A1 Garage Door Service, standing in front of his bucket list map, asking people to share their favorite spot in the world. Watch it here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc1NVylEhX7/ Tommy's got a bucket list. Dave's got a been-there list. Growing up in the family roofing business, Dave watched his father stay chained to the business and never get to enjoy the retirement he'd dreamed about. Dave was determined to do things differently. With help from a business coach, a One-Page Business Plan, and the right people and systems, he built a profitable roofing company that ran without him. He spent a month or two at a time in Maui with his family, checking his "Maui Report" of KPIs each morning over coffee. Then life threw him a punch in the mouth. Health problems meant he could never get on a roof again, family circumstances changed, and an opportunity to sell came sooner than expected. After selling the company, he discovered something he hadn't planned for: he missed the people, the culture, and the sense of purpose the business gave him. That led to The Roofer Show, coaching roofing contractors, and 500 episodes. In this episode, you'll learn: Why every roofing contractor needs a One-Page Business Plan, and why the planning matters more than the planWhy Dave never wanted to be the biggest roofer in town, just the most profitableThe Three-Legged Stool: Sell Work, Do Work, Keep ScoreThe Two-Week Vacation Test, and how it turned into months awayHow the "Maui Report" let Dave run his company from the beachAlways be recruiting, always be training, always be retainingHow a spring carnival for employees' families became his best recruiting toolWhat Dave learned from selling his roofing companyWhy having a purpose matters just as much as financial success CHAPTERS00:00 Tommy Mello's bucket list map 02:47 Show intro 03:10 500 episodes and the lessons that cost me 04:59 "What do you want?" The question that changed everything 07:10 Plans are worthless, but planning is everything 09:41 The One-Page Business Plan walkthrough 11:56 Not the biggest, just the most profitable 12:23 The Two-Week Vacation Test 13:24 The Maui Report 14:45 Thanks to ProLine CRM 15:36 Punched in the mouth: vertigo and the people I loved 18:38 Selling the business 20:59 Getting to the top and not liking the view 21:41 500 episodes and a new purpose 22:57 Thanks to SMA Support Services 23:45 Your free 2027 One-Page Roofing Business Plan 24:18 Thank you, John DeLaurier 24:54 Don't wait to put pins in your map FREE DOWNLOAD: 2027 ONE-PAGE ROOFING BUSINESS PLANStop reacting to everything happening in your roofing business and start building a company that supports the life you want. Get the free planning guide and fillable worksheet: https://theroofercoach.com/plan Take an hour, work through the plan, and identify your three most important priorities for the coming year. Then send it to Dave. He'd be happy to take a look and offer feedback. WORK WITH DAVE SULLIVANRoofing Business Mentoring Get personal guidance from someone who's built and sold a successful roofing company. Dave helps contractors improve profitability, understand their numbers, build better systems, develop their people, and create a business that doesn't depend on the owner for everything. https://theroofercoach.com/mentoring/ Roofing Business Health Check Not sure what's holding your roofing company back? Dave's Roofing Business Health Check identifies problems in your sales, operations, profitability, financial management, and leadership. Walk away with clear priorities and a practical action plan. https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORSProLine CRM Manage roofing leads, estimates, customer communication, and follow-up in one system. Stop letting profitable opportunities fall through the cracks. https://theroofercoach.com/proline SMA Support Services Chris Diroll and his team help roofing contractors with inside sales, customer follow-up, administrative support, and implementing systems that free up the owner. https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport A SPECIAL THANK YOUTo John DeLaurier, longtime co-host of The Roofer Show, former coaching client, and co-founder of The Roofer Mastermind. John joined Dave for a couple hundred episodes while building, rebranding, and eventually selling DeLaurier Roofing before becoming a co-founder of ProLine. And thank you to the guests, roofing contractors, coaching clients, and listeners who have made these 500 episodes possible. ABOUT THE ROOFER SHOWHosted by Dave Sullivan, The Roofer Coach, The Roofer Show helps roofing contractors build more profitable businesses, improve roofing sales and operations, understand their numbers, and create more freedom in their lives. Website: https://theroofercoach.com/ Don't wait until you sell your roofing company to start enjoying the life you've worked so hard to build. And when you finally get to the top of the mountain, make sure you're going to like the view.

    500: I Sold My Roofing Company and Didn't Like the View

  3. Oct 16

    499: $10 Million Roofing Business. Less Than 20 Hours a Week

    Review On Apple Podcasts Follow on Socials Get This Episode What if you could build a $10 million roofing business, make good money, and work less than 20 hours a week? Scott Tibay of Rain Stoppers Roofing did just that. But his original goal was to build a $100 million roofing company. So what changed? In this episode of The Roofer Show, Dave Sullivan talks with Scott about building a profitable roofing business, changing priorities, and creating a company that doesn’t depend on the owner being there every day. Scott is a former coaching client and member of The Roofer Mastermind. He shares what he’s learned about growing a roofing company, marketing, building a strong team, and deciding what success really looks like. In This Episode: Why Scott changed his $100 million growth goal.How he built a roofing business that allowed him to work less than 20 hours a week.Why more revenue doesn’t always mean more profit.What roofing contractors should know about private equity.Lessons from rebranding to Rain Stoppers Roofing.How SEO, organic marketing, and branding support business growth.Building a roofing company that can run without the owner. Ready to Build a More Profitable Roofing Business?If you’re working too many hours and wondering where the money is going, Dave’s Roofing Business Health Check can help you identify opportunities to improve your profitability and get your time back. Learn more at https://theroofercoach.com Thanks to Our SponsorsScott uses both ProLine and SMA Support in his business. ProLine helps roofing contractors manage leads, estimates, sales follow-up, and customer communication. ProLine CRM SMA Support helps roofing contractors with phone answering, lead follow-up, CRM management, and day-to-day operations. SMA Support Remember, it’s not how much you make. It’s how much you keep.

    499: $10 Million Roofing Business. Less Than 20 Hours a Week

  4. Oct 10

    498: Why More Sales Won’t Fix a Broken Roofing Business

    Your roofing company is doing millions in revenue. You're selling jobs, keeping your crews busy, and working harder than ever. So why isn't there more money in the bank? And why can't you take a two-week vacation without worrying about the business? More leads and more sales aren't necessarily the answer. In this episode of The Roofer Show, I sit down with John DeLaurier from ProLine and Chris Diroll from SMA Support to talk about what really makes a roofing business profitable. All three of us have owned roofing companies, and we know firsthand what happens when sales, operations, and financial performance aren't working together. It comes down to three things: Sell Work. Do Work. Keep Score. When one of those legs is weak, the whole business suffers. What You'll LearnSell Work: Why speed to lead, better proposals, and consistent follow-up can produce more sales without spending more on advertising.Recover Lost Opportunities: How to turn open estimates and neglected prospects into additional revenue.Do Work: Why clear responsibilities, better handoffs, and consistent processes matter as your roofing company grows.Keep Score: The financial numbers every roofing contractor should understand, including close rate, gross profit, job costing, cash flow, and the quick ratio.Protect Your Margins: How I discovered a consistent 5% to 8% material-cost problem through job costing.Avoid the Growth Trap: Why growing from $2 million to $10 million in revenue won't solve a business that isn't profitable today.Get Your Freedom Back: How to build a roofing company that can operate while you take a two-week vacation. The discussion comes back to one important question: What's really holding your roofing business back? Before you hire more people, buy more software, or spend more on marketing, you need to identify the problem, fix it, measure the results, and keep improving. That's how you build a roofing business that's profitable, predictable, and doesn't depend on you for every decision. Not Sure Where Your Roofing Business Is Stuck? That's exactly why I developed my Roofing Business Health Check. We'll look at your sales, operations, financial statements, job costing, and cash flow to identify what's holding your business back. You'll receive a written Roofing Business Health Record and the three priorities I'd focus on over the next 90 days. You can see a sample Health Record and schedule a free 15-minute introductory call here: https://theroofercoach.com/healthcheck Resources MentionedThe Roofer Coach and Roofing Business Health Check ProLine CRM SMA Support The Roofer Show About the GuestsJohn DeLaurier, ProLine John is a former roofing contractor who now works with ProLine, helping roofing companies improve their sales processes, customer follow-up, and CRM reporting. Chris Diroll, SMA Support Chris is a former roofing contractor who now helps roofing businesses improve their operations, accountability, administrative support, and processes so owners can focus on growing their companies. About Dave SullivanDave Sullivan spent more than 30 years as a roofing contractor, built and sold a successful eight-figure roofing company, and now helps roofing business owners improve profitability, cash flow, and operations through The Roofer Coach and The Roofer Show. The Roofer Show: Helping roofing contractors grow their businesses, make more money, and have more free time.

    498: Why More Sales Won’t Fix a Broken Roofing Business

  5. Sep 28

    497: More Roofing Jobs, Less Profit? 12 Essentials to Fix It

    Stop cutting your roofing prices. On a job with a 30% gross margin, a 10% discount means you need 50% more jobs just to earn the same gross profit. As you look at this year’s results and plan for next year, I walk through 12 essentials for a more profitable roofing business: pricing from your costs, following up with prospects, protecting profit in production, and keeping score. Pick the one or two you need to work on first, then use the free One-Page Business Plan to put your priorities on paper. Free One-Page Business Plan: https://theroofercoach.com/plan SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/sma/ ProLine: https://theroofercoach.com/proline/

    497: More Roofing Jobs, Less Profit? 12 Essentials to Fix It

  6. Sep 18

    496: Why Your Roof Repairs Aren’t as Profitable as You Think

    Roof repairs can look very profitable until you add up what they really cost. Dave Sullivan breaks down roof repair pricing, hidden costs, the right customer, repair operations, and the numbers contractors need to track to know if their repairs are actually making money. EPISODE DESCRIPTIONRoof repairs look profitable. A $600 repair. A couple hours of labor. Maybe $75 in materials. Looks like easy money, right? Not so fast. What about the cost of the lead, answering the phone, scheduling, drive time, the truck, fuel, insurance, trips to the supply house, documentation, billing, collections and callbacks? There may be a lot more money tied up in that repair than you realize. In this episode, I break down what it really costs to run a roof repair business and why you can’t price repairs based simply on how long your technician spends on the roof. I also share what I learned building a commercial service and maintenance operation that eventually did about $4 million a year. In this episode: Why repairs need to be treated as a separate businessThe hidden costs contractors often missWhy I won’t give you a magic price for a roof repairHow to determine what you need to chargeHow to identify your ideal repair customerWhat repair customers are really paying you forWhy repairs need their own sales and service processHow repair customers can become future reroof customersWhy a good production roofer isn’t automatically a good repair technicianThe numbers you need to track to know if repairs are actually profitable Repairs can be a very profitable part of your roofing business. But don’t do them just to keep everybody busy. Know why you’re doing them. Know what they cost. Charge enough to make a profit. And keep score. Not sure where the profit is going in your roofing business? Start with the Roofing Business Health Check. We’ll look at the whole business through the three things every successful roofing company has to do well: Sell the Work. Do the Work. Keep Score. We’ll identify where you’re making money, where you’re leaking it, and the three things I’d focus on over the next 90 days. SPONSORSProLinetheroofercoach.com/proline Promo code: DAVE50 SMA Supporttheroofercoach.com/smasupport Further Listening Episode #478, the service/repair truck episode Episode #490, Why Your Roofing Company Has Plenty of Work—but No Money

    496: Why Your Roof Repairs Aren’t as Profitable as You Think

  7. Sep 13

    495: Where Did the Cash Go? 5 Cash Flow Mistakes That Can Kill a Roofing Business

    A roofing company can have plenty of money in the bank and still have a serious cash flow problem. Customer deposits may already be committed to jobs you haven’t produced. Material bills, payroll, subcontractors and taxes are coming due. And if you’re growing, the cash problem can get worse fast. In this episode of The Roofer Show, Dave Sullivan revisits a conversation with credit and collections expert Thea Dudley and breaks down five common cash flow mistakes roofing contractors make. You’ll learn:The difference between cash in the bank and healthy cash flowWhy your order-to-cash process mattersHow slow collections can turn 30-day receivables into 60- or 90-day problemsWhy billing quickly is critical to cash flowHow to protect your receivables and lien rightsWhy supplier discounts can disappear when cash is tightHow growing too fast can create even bigger cash flow problemsWhy your back office systems have to keep up with sales Having more sales doesn’t automatically solve a cash problem. If your jobs aren’t producing enough gross profit, more volume can actually make the problem worse. Sometimes you have to get above the day-to-day and look at the whole business: What do you have? What do you owe? Who owes you money? And are you actually making money? Roofing Business Health Check: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ ProLine: https://theroofercoach.com/proline Promo code: DAVE50 SMA Support: https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport

    495: Where Did the Cash Go? 5 Cash Flow Mistakes That Can Kill a Roofing Business

  8. Sep 4

    494: Your Roofing Company Made Money. Can You Trust the Numbers?

    An eight-figure roofing company is busy and completing plenty of work, but the profit is not what the owner expects. Dave Sullivan and construction accounting expert Diane Gilson explain how the timing of income and job costs can distort a roofing company’s monthly profit. DESCRIPTIONHow can an eight-figure roofing company stay busy, complete plenty of work, and still wonder where the money went? The owner’s accountant recommends cash-basis accounting. Other successful roofing contractors are telling him cash basis is completely wrong for a company his size. So who is right? Possibly both of them. The accounting method used to prepare a company’s tax return may not provide the information an owner needs to manage the business. In this episode, Dave revisits an important conversation with construction accounting expert Diane Gilson. They explain why a roofing company can appear highly profitable one month and lose money the next, even when its pricing and production have not substantially changed. Diane calls this the gross profit roller coaster. ROOFING BUSINESS HEALTH CHECKAre you busy but still wondering where the money is going? The Roofing Business Health Check examines your financials, sales and marketing, operations, leadership, and systems. Dave identifies the real problems and the three things you should fix first. Learn more and talk with Dave: https://theroofercoach.com/health-check/ IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:The difference between cash and accrual accountingWhy tax accounting and management accounting serve different purposesHow the timing of customer payments and job costs distorts gross profitWhy accrual accounting alone may not completely solve the problemHow percentage-of-completion adjustments match income with job costsWhy accurate estimates and job costing are essentialWhat roofing owners should ask their accountantsHow to determine whether your financial statements are telling the truth This is not an accounting class. You do not need to become a bookkeeper or CPA. But as the owner, you need to understand enough to know whether your roofing company is actually making money. ABOUT DIANE GILSONDiane Gilson specializes in construction accounting, job costing, management reporting, and helping contractors understand their numbers. https://buildyournumbers.com/ TRUSTED AND VETTED SPONSORSSMA SUPPORT Get roofing-trained support for lead intake, follow-up, appointment setting, CRM management, rehash, reviews, and administrative work. https://theroofercoach.com/smasupport PROLINE Manage leads, automate follow-up, schedule appointments, send proposals, and see what is happening throughout your sales pipeline. https://theroofercoach.com/proline Use promo code DAVE50. CONNECT WITH DAVEThe Roofer Coach: https://theroofercoach.com/ The Roofer Show helps roofing contractors build more profitable businesses, develop dependable systems, understand their numbers, and reclaim their time.

    494: Your Roofing Company Made Money. Can You Trust the Numbers?
See All (519)

4.9
out of 5
142 Ratings

About

If you’re a Roofing Contractor looking to grow your business, make more money, and have more free time this is the podcast for you. Your host Dave Sullivan has been a successful roofing contractor for over 30 years and he shares the good, bad, and the ugly of his experience in contracting. Each week Dave interviews the industry’s top experts to pull out their best business tips and strategies that you can use to take your business to the next level. Get the answers to the questions you have to the day to day problems you face in the “real world of construction” from those that have been there and done it. Whether you have a shop of 1 or 100 there’s something here for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Sullivan
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    519
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Dave Sullivan
  • Show Website
    The Roofer Show

You Might Also Like