How Ricardo Regalado Muñoz built Northwest on referrals
Ricardo Regalado Muñoz and his brothers started Northwest Building Supplies in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2012. Today they run three companies: Northwest Building Supplies, with locations in McKinney and Dallas, Northwest Roofing Solutions and Northwest Custom Homes.
Their first roofing job walked in the door. A customer came in to order roofing materials with no crew he could trust, so Ricardo offered to take care of the installation as well. The customer was happy with the roof and recommended Northwest to his family. A few years later they made a builder the same offer, materials and labor together, and that became their first builder contract.
In this episode he explains why they started installing roofs, what selling supplies taught them about materials, how they won their first builder and why their work comes from referrals instead of door knocking.
In this episode
- The customer who became their first roofing job
- Welcome to Up the Ladder
- Northwest: three companies, two locations
- They started roofing to control the quality
- Selling supplies taught them which brands are best
- Their first roofing job walked in to buy materials
- Your job speaks for you
- Built as a family
- Focus on quality and be honest with customers
Transcript
Lightly edited: filler words and false starts are taken out, and everything else is as it was said.
Ricardo One customer tried to place an order for roofing materials, but he didn't have a crew. So I thought, you know what? I might be able to help you out.
Aaryan Hello, everyone. Welcome to the very first episode of the Up the Ladder podcast, where we talk to successful roofing owners about how they built their business. I'm your host, Aaryan. And today I have with me my guest, Ricardo, with Northwest Roofing. And him and his two brothers have built Northwest Roofing Solutions, Northwest Building Supplies,
Ricardo We have three companies. Two locations with Northwest Building Supplies, one in McKinney area, one in Dallas. And we have Northwest Roofing Solutions company. And we also have Northwest Custom Homes. We build homes from the bottom up.
Aaryan And just so you guys know, Ricardo moved to the United States at some point. So even if the English is broken, they have built a very successful roofing business. So there's a lot to learn from him. Thank you so much for being here, Ricardo.
Ricardo Thank you, Aaryan. Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you.
Aaryan Northwest originally started as a building supply company.
Ricardo Yes.
Aaryan And not as an installation company. So I wanted to understand, how did you guys get into the roofing business, and how did you guys start the building supply?
Ricardo So Northwest Building Supplies start as a building supply company run by three brothers, because we saw an opportunity to provide better quality materials with affordable prices and service directly to contractors in our area. That's how we start Northwest Building Supplies in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2012.
Aaryan Gotcha. How did you guys get into roofing?
Ricardo So we transition from selling roofing materials to install a roof ourselves, because we want to have direct control over the quality, the final installation, and better serve our customer from start to the finish. So instead of just provide their materials, we offer the full service.
Aaryan What lessons did you learn from selling supplies that most roofers that have never done that don't learn?
Ricardo The difference with us is when we learn which materials are the best in the market and the quality of each brand. So that's why when we start doing the roof, we know exactly what's the best option for our customers. So we just show them the difference between other companies that they install B-grade shingles. We just offer the best quality materials on their own projects.
Aaryan You guys primarily work with builders for most of your projects. How did you win your first builder? What keeps builders coming back build after build?
Ricardo One customer came by to our office and tried to place an order for roofing materials, but he didn't have a crew or a roofing company that he can trust. He asked us for some recommendation, right? So I thought, you know what? I might be able to help you out, because I already knew a couple of roofers who installed the shingles. So I thought that it was a good idea to, instead of offer just building materials, we can provide the labor and try to do the best for our customers. It was my first client that I end up doing the roofing and provide the materials. He was really happy with the project when we finished. So he start recommend us to family members, and that's why we create our own clients.
Aaryan For referrals.
Ricardo Just for referrals.
Aaryan Was he a home builder?
Ricardo He was a homeowner. And then after a few years, we met a builder, and we offer the materials as well, and the labor. That's how we get our first contract with a builder. And he was really happy with the project and how we handle the list of the materials, the timeline on the project. At the end, we save him a lot of time and money. We create our builders community that works with us.
Aaryan Like a network.
Ricardo Like a network, yes, correct.
Aaryan As you said, you've grown mostly on referrals. You don't do any door knocking or anything like that?
Ricardo No, no. Not for the moment.
Aaryan What do you think makes you guys different, that you can purely just go on referrals?
Ricardo I think that the best way to get your clients, and they always refer to you, is the job and the quality that you do on each project. You always have to be honest with your client. That's the most important thing. You always be referral to different person, because your job speaks for you.
Aaryan What's it like building a company with your brothers?
Ricardo It's easy in our case, because we always have a good relationship. So we start this business as family, and we still together, growing, because we always share our difference, and take the better decision on each project. My dad, he's always involved with us as well.
Aaryan Last question. So as a successful roofing owner, what advice would you have for someone who's starting a roofing company today?
Ricardo So for anyone starting a roofing company today, my biggest advice is to focus on the quality craftsmanship, to be absolutely honest with their own customers.
Aaryan Awesome, thank you so much. I appreciate it, brother.
Ricardo You're welcome.
Aaryan Thank you guys for watching. Hopefully this was valuable. If you're a new roofing owner, take this advice, learn from this guy. And see you guys in the next one.
Ricardo See you. Bye. Thank you.
About Up the Ladder
Up the Ladder is a podcast where roofing company owners tell the story of how they built their businesses: the first jobs, the hard years, the hires that worked, and what they would do differently. It's hosted by Aaryan Gupta, founder of Zentora Digital Marketing, a roofing marketing agency in Dallas.
Own a roofing company and want to tell your story on the show? Email [email protected].