How This Virtual Roofing Company Is Disrupting the Industry

Quentin (00:15.494)
Welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Quentin Edmonds, better known as Q Edmonds. And today I’m joined by some people I’ve been chatting with a little bit, and I’m sure that you’re going to enjoy hearing from. Today I am joined by Brenton and Jeff Nelson, who’s been making serious moves in the virtual roofing space. You heard that, the first virtual.

I’m roofing company. And so I am so glad to have you two gentlemen here today. How you feeling today?

Brenton Nelson (00:50.67)
Great, how are you doing, Quentin?

Quentin (00:50.738)
Great, how are you doing, Quentin? Man, I’m doing good, I’m doing good. I’m so excited to have y’all and I’m so excited for you to tell our listeners about your approach to this virtual roofing company. I said business is a company and listen, I don’t wanna give all the sauce away because I want y’all to talk about it a little bit more, but I just wanna dive in. And so if you don’t mind, know, people may not be familiar with you and what you do.

So if you don’t mind, give us a short version of what’s your main focus these days. And also tell them what markets you’re operating out of.

Brenton Nelson (01:31.032)
well so i guess the simplest way to say what we do we sell roofs we’re most likely to idaho but the roof resource is a franchise so it’s all of michigan, lot in texas, montana, new jersey, tennessee it’s growing every month so by the time this launches who knows it might be everywhere

Quentin (01:31.45)
So I guess the simplest way to say what we do.

sell roofs.

Brenton Nelson (02:03.238)
And how we do it virtually is we’re able to take satellite photos of someone’s roof, get the measurements that we need from that. And we’re able to provide a proposal within 24 hours. Oftentimes we can get a proposal out within four to five hours. And so, you know, those realtors, those investors out there, they need to know, hey, what’s my roof going to cost? We can get that to them very, very rapidly. We also do that with very small markets, very small margins.

Quentin (02:07.698)
roof, get the measurements that we need from that, and we’re able to provide a proposal within 24 hours. Oftentimes we can get a proposal out within four to five hours. And so, you know, those realtors, those investors out there, need to know, what’s your roof going to cost? We can get that to

We also do that with very small margins. Oftentimes people consider us kind of a scam because we’re coming in so low. But we’re not a scam. We’ve 99.5%, five-star rating. We’re keeping our customers happy and providing good service. I love it. I love it. You know what caught me also when we talking about how the no-hag will price it, what you tell them is what they get, correct?

Brenton Nelson (02:33.87)
Oftentimes people consider us kind of a scam because we’re coming in so low. But we’re not a scam. We’ve got a 99.5 % five-star rating. We’re keeping our customers happy and providing a good service.

Brenton Nelson (03:00.142)
That’s correct. There’s never going to be a $10,000 off if you act now. The price is the price. It’ll be the same price next month.

Quentin (03:00.752)
That’s correct. There’s never going to be a 10,000.

The price is the price. It’ll be the same price next month. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. And I’m sure customers are going to love that too. Straight to the point, integral. They know what they’re getting. They know loopholes. That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful. And listen, I mean, actually in this format, you know, that’s a wonderful thing because everybody doesn’t have that approach. Everybody doesn’t have that approach. It can be something in the fine print. But yeah, that was yesterday’s price. You know, you ain’t letting them know. Like, no.

This is what it is straight up front. And so that’s, that’s a beautiful thing for people to have that kind of comfort and, and, you know, not to worry about wicked hitting them on the back and some type of balloon payment or something like that, you know? So that’s, that’s incredible. That’s incredible. And so the virtual roofing company, let me ask you this, you know, we know there, there are some, some threats, right? Like some things with traditional roofing companies.

So for you guys, what is it that keeps your machine running smoothly? What is it about you that able to operate the way you’re able to?

Brenton Nelson (04:11.278)
So some of the threats or one threat in particular is a lot of roofers, they don’t do an attic inspection prior to the install. It puts the customer at risk because once you tear off somebody’s roof and you determine that you need new decking, that customer’s in a bad spot. They have no choice but to put that new decking on. The cost of their roof may have been $10,000. Now they’re being sold. That is going to be $15,000 to $18,000 because we have to put a new deck on.

Quentin (04:11.836)
So some of the threads are what?

Quentin (04:16.21)
Stay tuned.

Quentin (04:22.287)
because once you tear off somebody’s roof, and you determine that you need new decking…

customers in a bad spot. They have no choice but to that new decking on. The cost of their roof may have been $10,000. Now they’re being sold at $15,000 to $18,000.

Brenton Nelson (04:41.23)
We try to protect our customers. So we do an attic inspection beforehand. And so we know we’re going to be pretty close to the price we offer is going to be the price, the final price. A lot of our competition doesn’t do that.

Quentin (04:42.642)
We try to protect our customers. do an attic inspection beforehand. So we know we’re going to be pretty close to the price we offer.

Quentin (04:56.578)
Absolutely. That’s great. I mean, that’s awesome. What is it about you? What keeps everything kind of moving forward for you guys? Would you say? Especially, and you know, because there’s so many different things going on, right? So what’s some of the secrets of your stars that keep things kind of consistent the way that it’s going?

Brenton Nelson (05:22.178)
You know, I’d say one big thing for us that our customers really liked is just the non-pushy approach to everything. Have you bought a roof recently, Quentin?

Quentin (05:22.684)
You know, I’d say one big thing.

Quentin (05:33.298)
Yeah. Yeah. I have not, sir. I have not. But I know I’m going to when I need to, but I have not. No.

Brenton Nelson (05:42.969)
I can tell how it usually goes for people. If you opt on Google and look up your local roofing companies and call and say, I need a roof, within a week or something, they’re probably going to come out and visit your house. Most of the time, they’re going to be at your house in your living room talking for two to three hours. They’ll be pushing, they’ll be warranties and higher class shingles.

Quentin (05:50.95)
I need a room.

Quentin (05:58.332)
Most of the time they’re gonna be if you’re out in your…

Quentin (06:05.572)
and they’ll be pushing and they’ll be, you know, more enthusiastic and higher class shingles and not for a while they’ll just be confused.

Brenton Nelson (06:11.598)
And after a while you just be confused about what you’ve been trying to buy. You know, for us it’s really simple. 15-20 minutes zoom call. This is our best price with the best shingle. If you choose a lower quality shingle or a cheaper shingle, then you get your roof cheaper. It’s reflected in the materials. And our customers, they really appreciate that. They love that about it. There’s no big, you know, if you don’t buy today or read…

Quentin (06:16.114)
You for us it’s really simple 15-20 minutes zoom call. This is our best price with the best shingle If you choose a lower quality shingle or cheaper shingle then you get your roof cheaper. It’s reflected in the materials And our customers they really appreciate that they love that about it. There’s no big you know if you don’t buy today or you’re gonna miss out on all the potential savings. It’s just you need a new roof. This is the

Brenton Nelson (06:40.844)
you’re gonna miss out on all the potential savings it’s just like you need a new roof this is the best best price we can get you with the best quality it’s up to you if you want to do it or not but

Quentin (06:46.002)
best price we can get you, with the best quality. It’s up to you if you want to it.

Again, another thing that we offer that I don’t know that anybody else does is we allow our customers to pay directly through the manufacturer for the product. The reason we do that is too cold. Number one, it’s transparent. They know the cost of the product because they paid for it. But number two is it’s their product. So when that gets delivered to their home and there’s extra, they can return it and give it for you.

Brenton Nelson (06:55.234)
The other thing that we offer that I don’t know that anybody else does is we allow our customers to pay directly to the manufacturer for the product. The reason we do that is twofold. Number one, it’s transparency. They know the cost of the product because they paid for it. But number two is it’s their product. So when that gets delivered to their home, if there’s extra, they can return it and get a full refund.

Quentin (07:24.69)
Yeah. Yeah. We’re not bringing anybody else’s material for your job site. It may not match. It’s completely yours. And lastly, the nice thing about being with Manufacture directly is you’ll never get a lien filed on your property. That part. Wow. That’s huge. Yeah. Because there’s quite a few people out there, they’re working online and credit with Manufacture. And if they don’t pay their bill, you can get a lien on your property.

Brenton Nelson (07:24.822)
It’s theirs. We’re not bringing anybody else’s material to your job site that may not match. It’s completely yours. And lastly, the nice thing about handling a manufacturer directly is you’ll never get a lien filed on your property.

That’s huge because there’s quite a few people out there. They’re working on line of credit with the manufacturer And if they don’t pay their bill You can get a lien on your property even though you paid for that one even though you paid the roofer

Quentin (07:53.65)
Even though you paid for that, even though you paid the roof. Yeah. Yeah. So, no, we just try to protect the customer in every way we can.

Brenton Nelson (07:58.656)
So we just try to protect the customer in every way we can.

Quentin (08:06.192)
You know, I absolutely love that. that’s what to me, that’s what’s comes, that is what’s shining through is you’re trying to do things with integrity. You’re trying to protect the customer. You’re trying to make sure the customer, Hey, no, everything upfront is to me, the word, and I wrote this down. The word that I see with you guys is education. You’re educating the customer as they go forward. may not seem like it, but you’re giving them information. You’re letting them know, Hey, there’s no hassle.

You can get the materials yourself. So for me, that’s the word that stands out and that I hear as an undertone is that you’re giving the customer information that’s valuable, you’re kind of educating them. That’s what I’m hearing. Yeah. But the other thing is get the material at our cost, you know, and we’re a nation.

Brenton Nelson (08:48.514)
Yeah, but they get the material at our cost too. And we’re a nationwide franchise. We get the lowest tier of pricing. So it’s another benefit to the customer.

Quentin (09:01.298)
Absolutely. I love it. I love it. Thank you so much, Mr. Jeff. I appreciate it so much. Now listen, now every operator I know, they have a moment where things kind of get real, right? A deal goes sideways, something happens, something get blown up. At times you had to like move, like pivot quickly. Like you might share one of those moments where things kind of didn’t go the way y’all was expecting you had to pivot.

Brenton Nelson (09:29.166)
Well, actually, this kind of comes before the roof resource, but my son and I, Bretton, we flipped homes for quite a few years, and we still plan to keep doing that. We really enjoy that work and investment. But one of the things that we found was that the cash flow was really, really tough to maintain. Sometimes you’re fat with money, and sometimes it’s so lean you’re wondering how you’re going to put gas in your car and pay for it.

Quentin (09:34.77)
homes for quite a few years and we still

Quentin (09:54.826)
So one of reasons we went into the franchise community was to be able to smooth out

Brenton Nelson (09:55.506)
And so one of reasons we went into the franchise community was to be able to smooth out our cash flow. And we found what we found, what we believe to be the best franchise out there in the roofing industry. The roofing industry is typically ripe with really high margins. And we just found a way that does it differently, where we can save the consumer money. We feel good at night and all that. Hey, look, we did a good job today. Nobody got screwed. And

Quentin (10:03.41)
We found what we believed to be the best franchise out there in roofing industry. The roofing industry is typically ripe with really high margins.

And we just found a way that does it differently where we can save the consumer money. We feel good at night and all, hey, look, we did a good job today. Nobody got screwed. And we make a little bit of profit, but they save thousands of dollars. It’s just good for everybody. The win-win.

Brenton Nelson (10:24.206)
We make a little bit of profit, but they save thousands of dollars. It’s just good for everybody. It’s a win-win.

Quentin (10:33.414)
Yeah, no, absolutely. That’s kind of stuff people kind of don’t talk about enough. that approach, your approach to me, especially with the franchising, with your integrity, to me it seemed like that’s what would keep you, this business is to have staying power, right? I believe your business is going have staying power because of your approach. And I think this is what separates people kind of from like, that’s dabbling in it and from people that’s kind of doing things long-term. And so.

Yeah, how old is the business?

Brenton Nelson (11:06.126)
I think it was started in 2020.

Quentin (11:06.674)
It was started in 2020. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely see a long road ahead for you guys because of the way you’re doing business. I really, really do. So let me ask you this. What are you most focused on solving right now? Like, are you going to scale things up? Like, what’s the next goal for you guys?

Brenton Nelson (11:27.734)
Yeah, so we bought the franchises actually three areas in the state of Idaho. We started in southeast Idaho and are going to take the whole state on. Because it’s virtual, can do it from anywhere, which is nice.

Brenton Nelson (11:44.376)
So our plan is to grow through the state of Idaho. We are good friends with the guy who bought the franchise in Montana as well. So we think there’ll be some things there that we can kind of synergize and help each other out with.

Quentin (11:57.51)
Beautiful.

No, that’s great. That’s great. Especially, you you’ll have the virtual business running smoothly. You’re looking to dominate Idaho. That’s how I’m gonna put it out there. Looking to dominate Idaho. I’m gonna put that out there. So, you know, you’re looking to make moves. And of course we know the next move you make, it can either compound things or it can really kind of create chaos. And that’s just depending on how you play it. So I know a lot of people that’s listening. They’re kind of early in their journey.

early in their journey, you know, maybe with business development or real estate or whatever, whatever they, you know, service providers. I think they will benefit because we got both of you here. got husband and husband, love, forgive me. I’m sorry, father and son, we got father and son here. So when it comes to like relationship building, have you found that to be integral to your growth? you know, like relationship building, do you?

Do you think that’s something that’s integral to what, cause of course you got franchises, right? So what’s your thought on building relationship, bringing people into the business? How does that help you grow? How does that help your growth?

Brenton Nelson (13:10.648)
You know, I think in a lot of ways the market is changing somewhat where people really, nowadays they rely so heavily on people they know and their opinions that they’ll take their opinion over anything else. You know, because realistically like in the home service business there’s a lot of contractors who aren’t very good.

Quentin (13:11.164)
You know, I think in a lot of ways…

Changes.

Quentin (13:24.476)
Any other

Quentin (13:30.534)
You know?

Brenton Nelson (13:39.918)
And so I think people get leery quite often of paying anybody to do anything on their house because they’re afraid it’s not going to turn out the way they want it to. But if you know the guy or if you’re friends with this person or your friend had them do work on their house, it just, builds a lot of peace of mind for you knowing, Hey, you know, I know this guy or we go to the same church, we to the same gym or whatever. think it really does mean a lot to people.

Quentin (13:40.402)
And so I think people get leery quite often of paying anybody to anything on the house because they’re afraid it’s not going to turn out the way they want it to. But did you know the guy or did you get friends with this person or?

just it built a lot of peace of mind for you. Knowing, hey, you know, know this guy or we could go to the same church or the same gym or whatever. I think it really does mean a lot to people. Just knowing them or knowing their friends or their cousins or whatever.

Brenton Nelson (14:09.122)
just knowing them or knowing their friends or their cousins or whatever but

Brenton Nelson (14:17.208)
Certainly though the networking is important. We’re trying to grow like across the whole state. We’re focusing on one area currently, but I can’t imagine this business would take off if we weren’t out there every day meeting people, taking hands, helping people solve problems. And so yeah, it’s quite a benefit that we bring and we’re glad to be able to do it.

Quentin (14:17.39)
Absolutely. networking is important. We’re trying to grow like across the whole state. We were focusing on one area currently, but I can’t imagine this business would take off if we weren’t out there every day, meeting people, taking hands. Yeah, it’s quite a benefit that we bring and we’re glad to be able to. Absolutely. So listen, so I got, I have a question. So how, did the conversation go?

when you guys decided to partner up as father and son, was it an easy transition, smooth transition? Like who brought it up? How did that come about?

Brenton Nelson (14:57.708)
Well, we’ve been working together for, well, ever since he was born. But in addition to that, like we’ve got a couple of other businesses we’ve been doing and flipping homes together and things. And so we have the conversation like, what’s not working in our current lives? And like I say, the cashflow issue was one we thought, you know, we need to get something that’s just a more stable, you know, bringing things in. And so we’ve kind of pivoted for a short time.

Quentin (14:58.502)
We’ve been working together ever since he was born.

Quentin (15:07.57)
In addition to that.

Quentin (15:13.96)
like what’s

say the cash flow issue was one, we you know we need to get something more stable, you know bringing things in.

Brenton Nelson (15:27.224)
from the flipping businesses and things that we’re doing to this to really get this thing launching. We’re super excited about it. We bring a great benefit and value to the marketplace. I think we’re also one of the few companies out there that if we were to bid a property for an insurance company, we’re going to charge the same amount to them as we would to our own grandmother. Our price is our price.

Quentin (15:28.07)
the flipping business and things that we’re doing to do this to really get this thing launching. We’re super excited about it. We bring great benefit values to the marketplace. I think we’re also one of the few companies out there that if we were to bid a property for an insurance company, we’re going to charge the same amount to them as we would to our own grandma. Our price is our price. The cost is the cost. There’s just a small platform.

Brenton Nelson (15:54.638)
The cost is the cost and there’s just a small flat fee. So it’s just treating others like you want to be treated. So it was pretty easy when we saw this franchise, I took a break into it. We were both kind of looking at different ones, but we landed on this and we thought, yeah, this is something special. This is something that we feel good about doing.

Quentin (15:59.442)
So it’s just treating others like you want to be treated. So it was pretty easy when we saw this franchise, Tony Brenton and James Wood. We were both kind of looking at different ones, but we landed on this. This is something special. This is something that we both get by the point. Absolutely. Beautiful, beautiful. Listen, this is my second to last question. Is there anything that you want the audience to know, right?

anything about your business, any advice? Like, I just want to the floor to you. Is there anything that you’ve been thinking about? Any last words that you want to give to the audience before we start to wrap this up?

Brenton Nelson (16:41.486)
I’ll let you go start, Britton.

You whoever is listening to this, you’re looking to get anything done in your house or your business or whatever, my advice on getting a good deal is to ask them to break down the cost of materials, the cost of labor, and really get that broken down correctly. Because realistically, that’s typically what, roofing where people upcharge an uncannily amount is just…

Quentin (17:14.834)
amount is just, they’ll say your materials are $10,000 for those that you could buy five or six, you know.

Brenton Nelson (17:16.204)
They’ll say your materials are $10,000 and realistically you could probably buy them for $6,000.

And I think just in general, just a thing of advice, I guess, from a fatherly thing. One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is to focus on your gains in life and not the gap of where you want to be compared to where you are. It’s a lot better to just look at, you know what? This is where I was. This is where I’m at now. I’m making improvements. That’s awesome. Look forward. Set goals, but don’t dwell on them.

Quentin (17:25.202)
And then I think just in general, just the thing of advice, I guess from a fatherly thing, one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is to focus on your gains in life and not the gap of where you want to be compared to where you are. It’s a better to just look at, you know what, this is where I was, this is where I’m at now, and I’m making improvements, that’s awesome. Look forward, set goals, but don’t dwell on them.

Brenton Nelson (17:54.646)
If you dwell on that gap between where are and where you want to be, life’s measurable. But when you focus on, hey, look, this is how far I’ve come and I’m still moving, life’s just happier.

Quentin (17:55.238)
You draw on that gap between where are and where want to be like. So you focus on, like this is how far I’ve come. I’m still moving. Life’s just happier.

Man, OK, that was some great advice. That was beautiful. Because that’s where the magic happens in the gap. Believe it or not, that’s where the magic happens. That’s where perseverance is built. That’s where patience is built. So yeah, not getting discouraged when you’re in the gap. That’s some very, very great advice. So I thank you all so much. So listen, before we wrap, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, maybe collaborate with you, maybe get in a

Crazel get a get a quote a no-hag quote and what’s the best way for them to reach out to you?

Brenton Nelson (18:43.086)
So you can go to our website, just theroofresource.com. You can go to our Facebook page, Roof Resource Idaho. You can reach out and give us a call, 208-973-1958. Yeah, any one of those we’ll get you taken care of.

Quentin (18:43.986)
evening or

Quentin (19:04.774)
Nope. I appreciate that. appreciate that. Well, perfect. Listen, I appreciate your time. I appreciate your story. I appreciate your perspective. We need more people in this space doing things the right way with integrity, as I used to word educating, being straight up with people, straight up helping people, making sure it ain’t no loopholes. We just need people doing what you’re doing, know, doing things like you’re doing it. So we really, really appreciate you being here. Jeff and Brenton, thank you so much. Hey, thanks, Q. We appreciate it.

Brenton Nelson (19:32.654)
Hey, thanks, Q. We appreciate it.

Quentin (19:34.642)
Absolutely. Absolutely. For those of you tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure you’re subscribed. Please make sure you’re subscribed. We’ve got more conversations coming with people just like Jeff and Princeton Nelson who are out here building businesses the right way. So thank you so much and we’ll see y’all on the next episode.

Brenton Nelson (19:55.63)
Thanks.

Quentin (20:00.082)
Awesome.