How Dennis Cardona gets roofing customers without a storm

Dennis And I can hear a guy actually waving and screaming and saying, "Hey, I need help." We turn around and he was like, "Hey, can you guys help us with the roof?" At that point, it was an opportunity for me to take on, even though I didn't have the experience.

Dennis I appreciate you for having me on board, man. It's nice being on your podcast.

Dennis It is. It started with a project. It started with many projects, actually, to begin with, since I was little. My background, I'm from Honduras, very hardworking parents. We immigrated to the U.S., legalized our paperwork and everything. While we were in high school, actually, I was 15, 16. I never had the opportunity to have the vacation that every high schooler would have. My vacation was going to work with my dad. He had a company that he was painting, completely remodeling. So that's how I started gaining the experience. I transferred all that into my future. So what I did, I graduated from college, but I was the type of man that I didn't like to sit on an office. I wanted to go ahead and proceed and pursue my dreams of actually being an owner at that point. But yeah, it started like that. And then from there on, we just keep going and going and going slowly.

Dennis We're storm chasers also. We chase a lot of hurricanes. So what we did is we door knock a lot. It was funny because two of our guys actually, they were getting down to door knock. I was actually the last one to get out of the truck, and started door knocking. And I can hear a guy actually waving and screaming and saying, "Hey, I need help." We turn around and he was like, "Hey, can you guys help us with the roof?" At that point, it was an opportunity for me to take on, even though I didn't have the experience. But I knew that if I can put enough effort to it and find the right resources, I could get it done. And we did it. I kid you not. We did took a loss on it. I didn't know how to measure the roof. I didn't know how to order the material. But that did open the door for me. And that's what I'm blessed for. Because that's where we're at now.

Dennis Man, to be honest, it's been challenging because at some point as a roofing contractor, you cannot depend just in chasing storms. It gets a little tough out there. There's a lot of competition.

Dennis So with the storm restoration, it has helped us grow. But I realized that if I wanted to build a company that could actually thrive for the next 20 to 30 years, we couldn't depend entirely on the weather. So storms create opportunities, but they aren't something you can really control. I wanted to create a business where we could generate opportunities consistently, regardless of whether a storm came through or not. Retail roofing allowed us to build stronger relationships with homeowners who are proactively investing in their properties. For me, the transition into retail isn't about leaving the storm restoration behind. We're going to continue doing it. But it's about building more diversified sustainable company that can succeed in any market at this point.

Dennis The biggest shift is understanding the retail roofing. You have to create a demand instead of waiting for the demand to come to your door. We're focusing on building our brand, strengthening our online presence, generating referrals, developing relationships, and educating homeowners about the value of their roof. A lot of homeowners don't realize they need a full replacement until they start experiencing problems. Our responsibility is to help them understand their options before those problems become expensive. We're also investing in our salespeople training and customer experience, because marketing might generate opportunity, but trust is what closes the deal at this point. Our main goal is trying to get close to the homeowner. We do have boots on the ground, marketing, cold calling. You want to go ahead and trigger all those aspects because at the end of the day, you have to do everything that you can to be able to promote your brand.

Dennis My biggest advice would be is to stop building your entire business around the next storm and start building a brand that homeowners trust year round. Based on my experience, retail roofing requires a different mindset. You can't just sell a roof on damage. You have to learn how to communicate value, explain quality, offer solutions, and give homeowners a reason to choose your company over the competition. Invest in your people, train your sales team correctly, build a strong reputation, take care of your customers, and don't be afraid to invest in marketing and systems.

Dennis Oh, man, that's a big one right there. Well, my vision for Xtreme is bigger than where we are now. We already expanded our operations beyond Texas into markets like Oklahoma and Colorado. And now we're actually working with Arizona. Phoenix got hit. I mean, the whole state got hit at this point. And I see tremendous opportunities to continue to grow. Our focus moving forward is training our retail division, expanding our commercial roofing operations, developing great leaders within our organization and building systems that allow us to scale without sacrificing quality. That's one main thing that you want in your company, quality over quantity. You want to make sure you provide the best quality, the best service. If you do not do that, then at that point, you're probably going to end up failing. I just don't want to build a successful company. I want to build an organization that creates opportunities for employees, provides stability for their families, and delivers an exceptional experience to homeowners. To me, the reality is success isn't just measured by revenue or how many roofs we can install. It's measured by the reputation we build together, the people we develop, and the impact we leave behind. For anybody that's actually listening to this, I do put myself out there. If they want to reach out, I'm more than happy to help them out. The main key is to make sure you have your structure correctly. And know how to invest your money. Make sure that everybody's happy. And I promise you, your company will grow.

Dennis TikTok, yes, sir.

Dennis Yes, sir. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. God bless you, my man.