When it comes to the next generation of successful roofing contractors, Josey Parks says they need to draw largely from the Silicon Valley playbook.
Parks, CEO of J Wales Enterprises (a portfolio of companies that span roofing, construction and other industries) spoke during Best of Success on “How the Next Generation is Growing Their Business.”
According to Parks, it’s all about getting the right team in place, with the right character and attitude, headed in the right direction.
“We have to have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset,” he said.
Parks offered three keys to being a next-generation business, often referring to companies like Netflix and Amazon by example. The first key, he said, is having the right people.
“The people are the most important part of your business or company,” he said. “If you don’t have the right people, you’re not going to grow.”
Parks used Blockbuster as an example, noting the company had the opportunity to buy Netflix early on but failed to look ahead.
“They were in a position of strength and could’ve leveraged that in research and development, but they didn’t do so and they were completely disrupted,” Parks said, noting that Netflix switched from a business model of mailing DVDs to online distribution with the same team in place.
“If you have the right people, that’s what matters,” he said.
The second key for the next generation to grow its businesses is to focus on innovation.
“You want to look at your business and how you can make it better,” Parks said. “You’re innovating so that way you can compete.”
It’s an approach that differs from how it used to be.
“You used to innovate to dominate,” he said. “Now it’s innovate to compete because everybody’s innovating. Everybody understands the importance of innovation.”
The final key to growth, Parks said, is to recognize the importance of technology and resources.
“You leverage technology, you save so many of your resources,” Parks said.
Among other things, he mentioned using tech to generate sales leads wherever possible, as well as knowing important factors such as how much each job costs.
“If you start tracking your production in all of your crews and how much you’re actually installing per week, per job, per product type, it really helps you get an understanding of your business,” Parks said.
