By Emma Peterson. 

You do not choose the roofing industry; the industry chooses you! 

Recently, The Coffee Shops’ crew members Karen Edwards and Megan Ellsworth had the opportunity to be interviewed about their journeys in the roofing industry. Karen didn’t plan on working in the industry. She shared in her interview that she started working in marketing and found herself at a lumber and building supplies company. That was her first taste of the contracting world, which would eventually lead her to meeting Heidi J. Ellsworth, and the rest is history.  

Megan, who is our multimedia manager, spoke about how her journey on the roof began in a baby backpack carrier, but she never saw herself working in the industry as an adult. But low and behold, Megan found herself returning to the industry as an editor when the first RoofersCoffeeShop podcasts released and has now fallen in love with the community.  

The interviews were conducted on the Roofer Reflections YouTube channel. Each video is hosted by Tats Nakagawa, Castagra’s CEO, and puts the well-deserved spotlight on roofing industry professionals. They interview people from all areas of the industry and discuss what drew them into the workforce, what they’ve learned over time, the trends they are seeing and everything in-between!  

Specifically, Karen and Megan’s interviews are a part of a specific series titled “Women in Roofing (Roofer Reflections).” This series takes the time to highlight the women who are pacing trails in a traditionally male-dominated industry. The guests are all passionate about their work and dedicated to making the industry more inclusive and accessible for all.  

Watch the entire interview with Karen to hear about how a marketing job turned into becoming g a leader in the roofing industry.  

Watch the full interview with Megan to hear more about coming into roofing and growing into her role as RoofersCoffeeShop’s multimedia manager.  

You can also check out the larger Women In Roofing (Roofer Reflections) playlist to hear from other women in roofing. 

The Coffee Shop crew recaps the RT3 meetup and Roofing Alliance and NRCA ROOFPAC events at IRE 2023.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of a conversation the Coffee Shop crew had after their RT3 meetup, ROOFPAC and Roofing Alliance events. 

Karen Edwards: Hi everyone, this is Karen Edwards and we are going to download on Monday, the day before the IRE started. So first of all, stop whispering, second of all we went to the RT3 meet up at SRS Distribution this morning and it was fantastic. So I’m gonna start. I thought it was fabulous. We had some amazing discoveries. We’re going to be bringing you all some fantabulous things. And then I would love to hear from my colleagues. Heidi, Megan, Lauren, let’s talk about today. It’s Monday, the show hasn’t even started yet and we are here one day ahead of time. Heidi, what do you think today? 

Heidi Ellsworth: I thought RT3 was amazing. We were at the SRS Headquarters. And we started out with a tour that was I mean, totally impressive. Counting the tech center and then going into the innovation lab, and the having Patrick Garcia spoke to us about the innovations of SRS which I mean seriously, the stuff that they’re doing with bots and artificial intelligence and lockers. I mean, you name it. It’s just so impressive. I loved it. I loved it. I thought we had some great conversations, some excellent discussion and then tonight, or I mean then when of course, you had to set up the booths. Right? So we’re still working on that. The ROOFPAC was incredible. I mean, people were at the ROOFPAC. They raised so much money. They sold six suit jackets. 

Karen Edwards: I know, the NRCA lined sui. Yeah. They are so fun. And they sold for like $2,700 a piece! 

Heidi Ellsworth: I know. I was like I wanted to, but it didn’t happen. Yeah, I’m telling you. It was so cool. And then the students, the students we met from Clemson and Cal Poly and Bradley, Texas A&M. CSU. Oh yeah. It was just a great night. Don’t you think? 

Megan Ellsworth: This morning, I did not go to the RT3 meetup, but I went to the National Women in Roofing brunch, which started with yoga led by Mandy McIntyre, which was so rejuvenating, and then you had a roundtable discussion about their book this year, which is titled Divinely Queer. By Jennifer Miracle-Best. But it was a really beautiful conversation just by like there was queer people in the conversation non queer people. People from all sorts of backgrounds just sharing their experiences and it was really beautiful and there were tears shed. And it was like, a really awesome, powerful, like super powerful. It was a really great way to start the day. And I shared some experiences and it was just like, really awesome. And then we set up the booth. 

Heidi Ellsworth: Where did you go to brunch? 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh I didn’t go to brunch because we had to go set up. That was booth time. But um, and then the Roofing Alliance party was really fun. And meeting all the teams and I talked to the CSU team and I said, I’m rooting for you guys. So yeah. 

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, rooting for Cal Poly. But I want them all, but I’m just saying we’re going with our region’s right now.  

Megan Ellsworth: CSU! Yeah! I also really liked Bradley University. Victoria from Bradley. Fellow redhead. Really cool femme energy I really liked. 

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, watch. She’s gonna win presenter award 

Megan Ellsworth: I hope so. Lauren? 

Lauren White: So I got to go to RT3 this morning too. And we got to tour the SRS Distribution Center headquarters, which they just rolled our recently and built and it was phenomenal. I mean, just the facility itself. The way that they think of their employees and we go to see the guitars from all the previous concerts and they were also signed and it was very cool. Yeah. And just got to see people like the day-to-day work stuff because it was a Monday so people were there in the office and everybody was very wonderful. Had very good discussions about what to do with technology in the roofing industry and how to further promote and integrate technology into the roofing industry. Then then ROOFPAC was great. It was it was packed. Packed. Yeah. 

Heidi Ellsworth: I hope they were happy with the turnout. 

Lauren White: Yeah, the silent auction, live auction. Having a good time supporting the industry. I mean, some of the things for the live auction. I mean, there were lobsters, there were vacation days, there was National Women in Roofing had a package for the DEI committee education which I thought was a very cool and unique not unique, just different thing. I think different offerings for a live auction, as opposed to here are your 24 lobsters for the year. Yeah, very different. There’s all ends of the spectrum. And then we went to the Roofing Alliance and we go to be part of the coin toss slash selection of what time they were going, who was going next. 

Megan Ellsworth: When? Yeah, Wednesday. 

Lauren White: Yeah and the teams were there and they’re all very excited and just the energy there supporting them was great. And yeah, so then we had that event and everyone’s wonderful seeing just people from ROOFPAC coming to the Roofing Alliance event, you know, they’re around the same time so it was fun seeing everybody supporting both different spectrums from Political Action Committee community to student competition and furthering the industry. And now we’re back home in our time together. 

Heidi Ellsworth: I know I thought it was a great day. Tomorrow morning we’re going to start at 8 a.m. and we’re going to be ready for the booth. We’re going to start interviews on the soundstage. We actually have two booths. We’re in 9309 and 9533. Which is super cool. So you can find this in both places. And yeah, I think this week is going great.  

Everyone: We’ll see you tomorrow! 

Tune into our YouTube channel for live coverage from IRE 2023! 

MCS Influencer Haley Iselin says having a follow-up system with manufacturers can help ensure a timely delivery. 

Editor’s note: The following consists of a conversation between MCS Multimedia Manager Megan Ellsworth, and Metal Roof Specialties’ Vice President Haley Iselin. 

Megan Ellsworth: All right. This is for July, and it is, how do you work with your metal manufacturers for timely deliveries? 

Haley Iselin: So for us, and we're in distribution, so we work closely with contractors and also do-it-yourselfers to get the metal that they need for their customers or their own projects. And something that we do with all of our orders is we have a system in place of regularly following up with the manufacturers, checking in on orders, and making sure they're on time, they're still on schedule, and then getting updates as we get closer to that anticipated delivery date on exactly when people can expect their order to deliver or to arrive. Because sometimes it's hard to demand of others to provide information, we take it upon ourselves to do that follow-up. 

And sometimes we feel like we might be somebody's pain in the butt, but we feel like it's worth it for our customers and the people that we're working with to be able to provide that information. So we follow up with that. Particularly with some of the contractor customers that we work with, who on a regular basis are placing orders, and especially some of the ones that are newer to the metal offering, one of the things that we like to work with them on upfront and we're happy to help people with as they are entering that market is helping them learn the difference in ordering metal versus ordering composition. Because metal, most of it is being produced for that order and it's not something sitting on a shelf. And so being really accurate upfront and making sure we have enough supplies, so that when they get their delivery, it's complete, they have what they need is so important. 

And then we're not having to place another bunch of orders and delaying their project more and more and more. So there is this piece upfront that we really like to be able to sit down and work closely with those installers and contractors, making sure we understand their project. We can help them make sure, again, they have the extras that they need. But we don't want them to have tons of extra. That doesn't make sense on a cost standpoint for anybody. But making sure they have enough, so they're not running out and delaying that project. So that's that other piece to the deliveries is making sure they have what they need upfront because that stuff isn't going to be available in an hour to go pick up at your local store. So that preparation part is also huge in metal, especially compared to some of the other products out there. 

Haley Iselin is the vice president at Metal Roof Specialties. See her full bio here.

MCS Influencer Haley Iselin says specializing in metal roofs opens a world of opportunities in roofing. 

Editor’s note: The following consists of a conversation between MCS Multimedia Manager Megan Ellsworth, and Metal Roof Specialties’ Vice President Haley Iselin. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay, so this is June's question and it is why is metal a great segment of the roofing industry? 

Haley Iselin: So I think that metal is a great segment of the roofing industry. For a lot of reasons. One of those being for contractors who are looking to expand what they currently offer. Metal is a great opportunity with some good margins. So there's opportunity to make money when selling metal roofing. And there's a huge demand for it. That portion of the roofing industry is growing every single year by percentages.  

So there's a lot of people out there that want metal. And also if they're interested in it and it turns out not to be something in their budget, at least you're offering it and then have some other things you could probably turn back on. But again, the demand for it is so high. I think that is a great reason to offer it. I think some of the contractors we've seen work with it, have a dedicated crew though, and that may be a challenge for some, but I think it's important that the skill level that's required to do metal really well is different than other roofing. 

And so finding the right team to do that and being prepared before it becomes part of their offering is also important. It's definitely an art. It's a skill that not everybody has. We see a lot of carpenters do really well with metal, as opposed to sometimes a roofer who's done a lot of other types. So it's just something to know going in that it is a very specialized. It's not dealt with. It's not ordered, the same as asphalt or composition. There's a lot of differences, but really great opportunity there.  

Some of the things that are most attractive about it to people, it's kind of checking every box, I guess. The environmental factors that people are interested in, the longevity, aesthetics of metal roofing, the sustainability, all those things are things that people are getting more and more interested in and metal solves. So it’s really, really great to offer metal for everybody. 

Haley Iselin is the vice president at Metal Roof Specialties. See her full bio here.

RCS Influencer Anna Anderson says toxic traits in employees are usually present before they start working in your company. 

Editor’s note: The following consists of a conversation between RCS Multimedia Manager Megan Ellsworth, and Art Unlimited CEO Anna Anderson. You can listen to the podcast or read the transcript below. 

Megan Ellsworth: Hello everyone, back again here at RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Megan Ellsworth, and I am chatting with Anna Anderson about this month's influencer question which is, how do you deal with toxic employees? I'm really interested to hear what you have to say, Anna. 

Anna Anderson: Well, toxic employees are a hot topic regardless of what business you're running. By the way, I apologize, it is a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much, Megan. 

Megan Ellsworth: Likewise. 

Anna Anderson: Our company does EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, and what we find is first you need to... Toxicity doesn't just happen within your company. Usually there's something within that individual, it's already toxic prior to coming. Not always, but generally that toxicity already is there. In the interview process, asking questions about prior employment, understanding is there baggage that's maybe coming with them, and listening well to the responses that come out of those team members. A lot of toxic employees we've found don't align with your company's core values. When you have those core values clearly defined, it gives you the ability to, in our case, we say, "Here's our core values; family, vision, empower, excel. What do those values mean to you as a team member or as an individual?" 

Anna Anderson: They're not even part of the Art Unlimited family at that point. They then share with us what that value means to them at their core. And it gives us the ability to say, "Okay, they don't even know our culture, they don't know who we are. Does that align? Does family align with how we view family and how they view family?" Because these are big words. 

Megan Ellsworth: Right. 

Anna Anderson: It does give us some visibility to how do they look at their life? And then when they're within the Art Unlimited family, that's where it gets bit stickier. You're not going to lie and say we haven't ever had toxic employees. But I think the one key thing is you do need to make sure from an EOS perspective, you're doing the following: you're hiring well, you recognize that there is a component that you just sometimes you do have to let people go, but you're reviewing their performance, you're rewarding their performance. And in that reward, you're also recognizing it, so your team doesn't just see you dealing with toxic team members. But they're also seeing you honor and recognize and reward, because trust me, those rewards that roll out in private, everybody knows about it. Those pieces from an EOS perspective are critical. So again, they're higher, fire, review, reward and recognize. When you get those pieces down, you've got great things happening. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. That's really cool. Could you repeat the higher, fire, just for everyone? Because that I think is so important and that's a good little nugget for people to take away. 

Anna Anderson: Yeah. So higher, fire, review, reward and recognize. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Anna Anderson: And when you have that toxic team member always make sure that when you're dealing with that issue, we look at it and we say, "You know what? We love people. And people are sometimes good people, they just have a lot of crummy stuff they're dealing with that." 

Megan Ellsworth: Totally. 

Anna Anderson: They don't know how to process. And the pandemic is a perfect example. We have great people. You have great people and life just dealt them with some bad cards. So is that toxicity a result of something? Do you need to, in some cases, we've said, "You know what? This might not be the right place for you right now. We love you, but it's time to part ways." We don't just say, "Hey, it's over. Grab your stuff or it's packed. Here's the door." We say, "You know what? We have learned a lot. We hope you've learned a lot. And we hope that at some point we can reconnect." We recognize it's not going to be, you're not going to be happy with us, but you know what? honoring someone in that process and saying life happens and maybe they are truly toxic and they've let something just fester for so long. You can't change someone that doesn't want to be changed. I feel like a lot of times people just say, "Well, they're toxic. Get them out of here." 

Megan Ellsworth: Totally. 

Anna Anderson: Sometimes we need to just say, "Life's been really hard. How can I help you?" And help them on that journey. We found some people were still really good friends with that we... And one person came back into the team after they had gone through that toxic moment and found out they needed to remove some people from their life and we weren't the result of the toxicity. And it's a great relationship now, but it won't only have been possible if we had said, "Hey, we love you. We honor you and we want you to be the best person you can be. And a full-time job is just not that. You need to live your life and address some things." And we gave some opportunities for a development and they were like, "Wow, I can't believe you did this for me because I've been kind of a jerk." 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Anna Anderson: But sometimes you just don't know how to cope. To lead in love, to honor people and recognize they do have gifts, it's just not the right fit. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. I love that. That is so well said and so important, especially now that we've all been through like this traumatic two years with the pandemic and things are always moving and always seem a little unstable. I love that leading with love and honoring people. That is so well said, Anna. So true. 

Anna Anderson: Yeah. You know what? One person, actually we've done this a couple of times, we've recognized that they needed a reset, like a life reset. They weren't toxic. They were just overwhelmed. And we said, "As a leadership and management team, what's the reset for this individual?" We were able to roll that out for that individual. They were like, "Am I losing my job? What's happening?" We said, "No, you've had just a lot on your plate. Let's do a reset. We'll see you at this point. Feel free, get these pieces in place." And an amazing team member is now in a very healthy place. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Anna Anderson: So some of those stories like just look at it through a different lens. And there's always an opportunity for that individual to thrive. 

Megan Ellsworth: Love it. So well said. Thank you for talking with me today. Any last words that you want to leave with the contractors out there? 

Anna Anderson: I think the key things that we drilled in on hold true to us and our growth. Our growth has been significant, but if we stay true to our core values, we use those core values as our hiring lens, and we're also using that to release people through the higher, the fire, the review, reward and recognize, if you do those things and you check in on a quarterly basis, you check in and you have those annual reviews and you document all of that career path planning, succession planning, like all those pieces are in place, you're going to find that toxicity is going to be rare and you're going to have a really healthy workplace. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's so great. I hope everyone took notes during this because there was some really great nuggets here of wisdom and advice. Thank you, Anna. Very well said. 

Anna Anderson: Thank you so much. 

Megan Ellsworth: And we will see you next month in May. 

Anna Anderson: Sounds good. 

Anna Anderson is the CEO of Art Unlimited. See her full bio here.