Starting your own business can be life-changing. Therefore, take your time and research the business opportunity before you start.
In this post, we will go over the steps to start a roofing business, followed by a collection of resources you can use now and when your business is up and running.
Let’s get started with the step to consider.
Steps to Start a Roofing Business
1. Make Sure Running a Business Is Right For You
Running a business isn’t for everybody. For example, someone might be good at roof repair and enjoy doing the work but unaware of what it takes to manage and run a small business.
Naturally, you can learn, but you must be sure this is what you want. Running a business is different than having a career. There’s a lot more responsibility, and small business owners work many extra hours.
For more see, Business Startup Considerations.
2. Research
Business Research
The more research you do about your business, the better off you’ll be. By being informed, you can make better decisions. There will be less second-guessing, and you will be less likely to doubt yourself.
One of the most important steps you can take is to talk to experienced people in the business. There are various ways of doing so. The link below goes into detail with all the things you can do to get the right information.
I suggest you spend some time on this exercise, which will pay off in the end.
See An Inside Look Into the Business You Want To Start for the details.
Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is one of the most important parts of running a business.
With a thorough understanding of your target audience, you’ll be able to make adjustments to cater to your customers effectively.
For more, see, How To Understand Your Target Market.
3. Setup Considerations
Have you given any thought to how you’ll set up your business?
Below are a few questions you may want to answer:
- Are you thinking of a one-person operation?
- Will you be focused on roof repair or new roofing?
- Will you focus on commercial or residential roofing?
- Are you considering a large-scale operation with multiple crews working simultaneously?
- Will you operate from home, or are you thinking of a commercial location?
- Will you have a warehouse to store supplies and vehicles?
There are many ways to set up a business; when you have a vision in mind, it will be easier to start.
Naturally, as you’re doing your research, you may come across an idea that is a better fit, and that’s OK but as a starting point, figure out what type of setup you want.
4. Choosing The Right Business Location
Your service’s location is important in choosing where to locate your business. If you’re in an area with no demand, then there’s no use setting up operations.
On the other hand, if you select an area where the market is saturated, it will be difficult to gain any market share. Therefore, ideally, you want an area where there is demand and the competition is at an acceptable level.
For more, see Choosing The Best Location for Your Business.
5. Choose a Business Name
The name you choose today is the name you’ll have for as long as you own your business.
Business names rarely change, and you will probably spend thousands of dollars marketing your business, so you will not likely change your business name.
Take some time now to decide on a name that is appropriate, catchy, and available for registration.
For this important step, see How To Register a Business Name.
6. Register Your Company
It’s important that before any activity takes place, your business is legal and registered.
There are many different structures you can use to set up your business, and depending on the size and type of operation you’re considering will determine what type of business structure you’ll need.
For example, if you’re a one-person operation starting from home, it would make sense to start as a sole proprietorship. Then, when the business succeeds, you can always switch to an LLC or a corporation.
For all the details, see How to Register your Business.
7. Create Your Corporate ID
A corporate ID contains many components such as a logo, business sign, business cards, website, stationary, promotional items, etc. your corporate identity is the face of your business and must have a professional design.
You don’t have to have the complete package right away. For example, you may want to start with business cards, a logo, and a business sign, then complete the other components as necessary.
See A Complete Introduction to Corporate Identity Packages for more.
8. Estimating Your Startup Cost
Estimating startup cost is a step you want to take your time on.
If you estimate too high, your business venture might look risky, and you could jeopardize getting a business loan or investors.
If your startup estimate is too low, you could run out of money before you open your doors to the public. And running out of money is a tough situation because if you don’t secure the funding necessary, you could end up losing your total investment so far.
In addition to startup costs, you’ll also want to look at monthly expenses. You should do your best to keep your monthly cost as low as possible, especially during the startup phase. Many businesses close their doors prematurely because they run out of money, and the lower your cost, the lower your chances of closing your business.
For more, see, Estimating Start-up Costs: Are you Missing Anything? Also, see, Business Expenses To Consider.
9. Writing a Business Plan
You will want to have your business plan in hand and ready to go during the early stages of planning.
A business plan is your roadmap and is a crucial document when applying for financing. A financial lender will not even process your loan application without a professional business plan.
There are many options for creating a professional business plan, such as starting from scratch, hiring a writer, or using a template. You can learn more from our article on How to Write a Business Plan.
10 Set up Your Banking
You’ll need to consider what bank you will work with and set up your account.
I think it’s more important to focus on a good relationship with a banker than the bank itself. When you have a good relationship with a banker, they can be very valuable to your business.
A banker can help with loan applications and offer valuable financial advice. They can also help you if you’re in a financial bind. However, without developing a good relationship with your banker, you’re just another customer to them, and that’s not their fault. It’s up to you to work on developing a good relationship.
Your bank account has to be separate from your personal account so you can track your finances and effectively file your taxes. In addition, it will be easier to track profits and losses with a separate account.
You’ll also want to set up a merchant account for those customers that wish to pay you using their credit card.
For more, see, How to Open a Business Bank Account and What Is a Merchant Account, and How to Get One.
11. Get the Funding for Your Operation
In this part of the startup phase, you’ll need to secure the funding to start and operate your business. So whether you’re considering using your own money, investors, or will be looking for a startup loan, now is the time.
One thing to note about banks is that you must have the collateral necessary and a solid business plan for them to consider a loan. Banks would rather lend their money to established businesses with a good track record than fund a risky startup.
Getting a loan for a new startup isn’t easy and takes preparation.
For ideas, see our article, Getting a Small Business Loan.
12. Software Setup
Now it’s time to explore the software you’ll need to help you create estimates and schedule jobs. Of course, you will also need software for a small business, such as an accounting package.
From the links below, you’ll be able to see what’s out there related to a roofing business and packages available for small businesses.
One suggestion is to review the package you’re interested in, especially if it’s not well known so that you’re sure you’re getting a supported program before entering your data into it.
13. Get The Right Business Insurance
You must have the right insurance before you start any activity at your establishment or on a client site. Any incident that may take place without insurance can be devastating. I suggest you speak with an experienced broker who deals in insurance for roofing businesses.
For more on business insurance, see What to Know About Business Insurance.
14. Choose Your Suppliers
Choosing a supplier is an important part of running a business because whether you’re aware of it or not, a supplier has a level of control over your business.
After all, without their supplies, you can’t service your customers effectively. Therefore you want to take the time to research and find the best supplier you can.
See, How To Choose a Supplier for tips and insights.
15. Physical Setup
Layout and Organization
For this step, you’ll want to organize your work area, whether working out of a commercial location or from your home. The more organized you are, the quicker you get things done and the more productive you’ll be.
Your Office Setup
You will require office space for business management, which should be well-organized and pleasant. In addition, you’ll be performing a great deal of work operating your business from your office, so you’ll want to set it up in a way that is efficient for you.
See, Here are Considerations for The Setup of Your Office.
Your Business Sign
Another consideration with regards to your setup is your business Sign. You want one that displays your logo and is appropriate and appealing. Your business sign is one of the first things your customers will see, so you want to make a good impression.
For more, see, All About Company Signs.
16. Creating a Website
Your website is an excellent marketing tool for providing information about your service. For example, you can show before and after pictures of jobs you’ve completed. It can also be used for lead generation, quotes, etc.
When thinking of creating a website, you want one where you register your own domain name and sign up for hosting. That way, You are in full control of your website.
In addition, your website should match your corporate ID, and whoever created your corporate ID may be able to create your website.
For more, see our page on How to Build a Website.
17. Create an External Support Team
An external support team is a group of people that are not on your payroll, but instead, you pay for this group’s services as needed. You can take years to build and work on this step as you run your business.
For example, your team may consist of a lawyer, an accountant, a marketing specialist, an IT specialist, etc.
These people are your go-to when you have problems or need to expand.
For more, see, Building a Team of Professional Advisors.
18 .Hiring Employees
You may be planning to do everything yourself during the startup phase. That’s a good idea if you can keep up because the cost of payroll is one you shouldn’t take for granted. It’s a major expense for many businesses.
However, when business picks up, and you cannot keep up, you will need to hire additional help.
You must hire personnel as needed. Therefore, when it comes to hiring, I recommend only hiring for the necessary positions and hiring the proper individual for the open position.
You don’t want to just fill positions. You want the right person for the job.
For more, see, How and When to Hire a New Employee.
Next Steps to Evaluate
You now have an understanding of the steps required to start your business. Next, let’s look at how you will get customers.
Getting Customers Through The Door
It’s harder to get customers when you first start your business. So now it’s time to consider what you can do to get customers through the door.
We have a separate article outlining tips for getting customers through your door. I suggest you take a couple minutes to browse through it for ideas you can use.
For a list of tips, see our article How To Get Customers Through the Door.
Marketing Ideas
Marketing is an ongoing part of running a business. Without marketing, building a customer base will take a long time.
See our marketing section to spark your creativity for more ideas to market your business.
Pricing
You’ll need to be competitive with your pricing, and to be competitive, you have to understand the going rate in your area. So first, you can get an idea of the roofing cost, and from there, you can adjust your prices accordingly.
See the latest search results for roofing prices and tips for setting your prices.
Profit
Profit is an important part of running a business. Without profit, your business can’t survive for long.
Keep in mind your results will vary. Unfortunately, no one can tell you how much profit you can expect to make, and that’s because Each business’s expenses are different; therefore, you won’t be able to get an accurate estimate.
You’ll be able to tell what your profit is by subtracting expenses from your revenue. To have a healthy profit margin, you must keep your expenses to a minimum without sacrificing quality and productivity.
See, Factors Affecting Business Profit