The Roofr Report

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Aug 2026

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Join our host Pete McKendrick as we bring on seasoned guests with hands-on experience to offer their insight on topics like roofing, technology, and entrepreneurship. Brought to you by roofr.com.

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September 1, 202629 min

Staying Lean, Winning Retail, and the 60 Second Response Time

Owen Atherton almost became a doctor. Five years into a pre-med degree and college baseball career, back-to-back injuries and a new marriage forced a hard pivot. A teammate got him into roofing sales. Three years later, at 23 years old, he launched Rocket Roofing out of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Owen breaks down why he walked away from storm and insurance work entirely to go all-in on retail roofing, and the cash-flow math that made the decision easy. He gets specific on his marketing stack — direct mail, Facebook ads, yard signs — and the "snowball" mentality of showing up in front of homeowners every 30 days without fail, no matter how busy the crews get. Owen also talks candidly about the financial risk of investing in marketing before the business could really afford it, why networking and referral partners quietly outperform cold leads, and how staying deliberately lean — no early hires, no bloated overhead — is the whole strategy behind hitting his revenue targets. In this episode: • From pre-med and college baseball to roofing sales • How discipline from athletics translates to running a business • Choosing retail roofing over storm/insurance work for cash flow • The marketing stack: Staying consistent every 30 days • Betting on ROI: Marketing spend before you can "afford" it • Why referral partners and networking pay off years later • Staying lean: hiring only when there's a real bottleneck • The goal: $750K this year, $2-3M next year, $10M in five years

August 17, 202647 min

Referral Partners and the New Rules of Marketing (with Michael Stearns)

What if your best referral partner isn't a past customer at all, but your pool guy? That's one of the plays Michael Stearns of Ascend brings to Pete in this episode. Michael runs a marketing agency built around custom websites, SEO/AEO/GEO, and Google Ads for roofers. He doesn't sugarcoat where most contractors go wrong: chasing lead volume instead of understanding what it actually costs to land a customer. Michael breaks down the difference between "tag team trades" (HVAC, plumbing, landscapers) and "power partners" (real estate agents, property managers, insurance agents) — and why the second group can feed you leads before a homeowner even knows they need a roof. He also gets into how AI search is changing what "ranking on page one" even means, and why the roofers showing up in ChatGPT results are the ones getting cited as trusted sources, not just optimizing for keywords. In this episode: Why cost per acquired customer matters more than raw lead count Tag team trades vs. power partners — the referral network most roofers ignore Using real estate agents and property managers as a built-in lead source How to actually show up when homeowners search on ChatGPT, not just Google A simple system for batching a month of social content in 90 minutes Where the roofing industry is headed after a slow start to the season

August 1, 202636 min

60 Billboards & Zero Middlemen: How Ken Conrad Built a $20M Roofing Company

Ken Conrad didn't grow up dreaming about roofing. He dropped out in the 10th grade, never got a GED, and spent his early twenties getting doors slammed in his face in Oklahoma City. 18 years later, he's running one of Tulsa's biggest roofing companies — projecting $20-21M this year, in a market with 8,000-10,000 roofers all competing for the same jobs. His approach? Cut out every middleman he can find. Conrad's Roofing private-labels its own nails, felt, sealants, and pipe boots. And they're currently designing their own shingle. Add 60 billboards driving 40-50% of his calls, a "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance and onto cash, and a customer experience philosophy borrowed straight from Disney World, and you've got a company that looks nothing like its competitors, on purpose. This one's for any roofer who's tired of competing on price, chasing insurance checks, or waiting on a distributor to tell them what they can and can't do. In This Episode: • Why the name "Affordable Roofing" became a liability • "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance • Vertical integration and private-labeling your own materials • Billboard strategy that doubled revenue overnight • The most integral hire Ken ever made (hint: it's his wife) • Ken's "Disney World" philosophy on customer experience • Advice for anyone starting out in roofing today

July 16, 202644 min

Roof Coatings First: How Salus Exteriors Broke Into Commercial (with Juan Rodriguez)

Sallas Exteriors didn't jump into commercial roofing headfirst. They started with roof coatings. And it changed everything. Based out of Houston, Juan Rodriguez and his team launched in early 2024 as a residential outfit. Commercial was always part of the five-year plan. They just got there a lot faster than expected. How? Roof coatings. Acrylic, silicone, and a local manufacturer relationship that meant materials showed up when they needed them, not weeks later. That low-risk entry point taught the crew how to evaluate a roof, understand NDL warranties, and eventually graduate into TPO and modified bitumen. Now they're chasing high-rise and mid-rise multifamily work, still lean, still small, and still winning against companies ten times their size. This one's for any residential roofer eyeing the commercial side and wondering where to even start. In This Episode: • Why roof coatings are the lowest-risk way into commercial work • Acrylic vs. silicone — and when to use which • How manufacturer partnerships (and NDL warranties) win jobs • The cost of underestimating material and labor on commercial bids • Why referral partners matter more in commercial than residential • Competing with commercial companies while staying lean

July 1, 202632 min

Changing the Game: 95% Retail Jobs, 100% W2 Employees (with Quintin Wilsford)

E.N.G. Roofing is changing the game. Based out of Waller, TX, Quintin Wilsford and his team are flipping the script on how a roofing company operates. We're talking W2 employees across the board (yes, even the door knockers), hourly pay + commission, and a marketing machine that spans TikTok, LinkedIn, TV commercials, and 1.5M-follower local media partnerships. In just a few months, E.N.G. has grown from ~8 employees to 50+, hit nearly $400K in roofs in a single month — almost entirely retail — and are gunning for $10M this year. This isn't your average roofer story. In This Episode: • How to build a W2 team that sticks around • Winning in a saturated market • Why retail-first beats storm chasing • A multi-platform marketing playbook • Diversification done right

June 1, 202641 min

Repairs, Not Re-Roofs: The Strategy That Built a $2M Business (with Michael Hill)

What if scaling back was actually the smartest move you could make for your business and your life? That was certainly the case for Michael Hill of Boise Roof Repair — a former insurance claims adjuster who walked away from corporate life in 2020 to build a lean, profitable roofing business on his own terms. Michael shares how he carved out a niche in a retail-only market by focusing almost entirely on repairs, and how that strategy created an unplanned (and powerful) long game with customers. Michael also digs into the tools that keep his one-man operation running smoothly, including how a $150/month virtual office changed everything, and how Roofr's automations replaced a patchwork of four different software programs. In this episode: How to play the long game with a repair-first roofing business Why scaling hurt Michael's profits — and what he did about it The power of a virtual office for solo operators (for just $150/month) Using Roofr as a full CRM, from measurements to invoicing Big goals, like Michael building a legacy for his kids

May 14, 202648 min

Market While You Sleep: The Power of Traditional Marketing with Dave from DOPE Marketing

What if the best marketing move you can make has nothing to do with SEO, social media, or paid ads? Leaning on his 17+ years in home service work, Dave Carroll of Dope Marketing gives Pete the case for traditional, guerrilla-style marketing. Listen in to learn why postcards and door hangers are still some of the most effective tools a roofer can use. From reaching customers in unique and memorable ways to staying hyper-local and owning your neighborhoods, Dave’s got practical advice you can put to work for your roofing business right now. In this episode: Creative ways to get in front of customers (QR codes, Christmas lights, and more) The case for print marketing vs. digital for lead quality Marketing vs. branding (and why you need both) Automatic postcard marketing integrations with DOPE and Roofr Plus AI tools, building a hyper-local presence, and more

May 1, 202636 min

"You Don't Find Roofing—Roofing Finds You" with Matthew Marsh

From Disney to the Marine Corps to Roofing. This week, we're talking to our May Roofr of the Month, Matthew Marsh of Eastern Shore Roofing and Remodeling in Maryland. Matthew shares the story of how bad contractor communication led him to start his company three years ago, reaching $700K+ with three trusted crews and a 70/30 roofing-to-remodeling mix. Pete and Matthew discuss everything under the sun: Matthew's background as a carpenter Finding reliable roofing crews The pitfalls of per-square pricing How roofing tech touches every part of the business Growing toward $5M in revenue It's a great story with a lot to take away. Listen in with us!

March 31, 202641 min

Get Your Knuckles a Little Scratched Up: Putting in the Work with Cameron Burns

How'd Cam Burns hit $500k revenue in year one? Rejuvenation, not reroofing, was the spark. On this week's podcast, Pete sits down with our April Roofr of the Month, Cameron Burns of OK Roof Revival in Kelowna, British Columbia. West coast Canucks rise up! Cameron shares how he left 15 years in oil and gas construction to launch a roofing company in late 2022, and went on to acquire Canadian distribution rights with licensed applicators. Pete and Cam get into: How rejuvenation gets earlier leads and builds trust Watching maintenance become reroof jobs High-end offerings (metal, torch-on, Brava synthetic tiles, etc.) The challenges of winter seasonality and ethical rework How tech like Roofr and CompanyCam helps If you, like Cameron, aren't afraid to get your knuckles a little scratched up, listen up for a lot of solid advice for your own roofing business.

March 16, 202637 min

Putting Your Expertise to Work as Digital Content with Phil Risher

This week on the Roofr Report, Pete sits down with Phil Risher to talk about LLMs, return on ad spend (ROAS), and marketing that actually converts. They discuss what works, what doesn’t, and why finding that right balance is so frustrating for so many roofing companies. Phil explains how to stop guessing, start tracking the right things, and build marketing that actually supports your business goals. The shift to conversational AI search Using call data to improve your marketing Visibility, conversion, and re-targeting ROAS reporting and more If trying to effectively market your local roofing business in 2026 feels overwhelming and unclear, this episode will help bring it back down to earth.