Julian Placino: 0:00

Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories Podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. I'm Julian Placino, your host, and we have a great show in store for you today because we have Bill Burkhardt, who is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Four Seasons Kangaroof. Bill, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm doing kangarific. How about yourself? Doing really great. Glad that we got all the tech uh fixed up, and now I can hear and see you just fine.

Speaker 1: 0:30

Gotta love technology. It works exactly when you don't need it to.

Julian Placino: 0:35

Exactly. So, well, Bill, excited to learn more about you and the business. So let's kind of jump in. So, so four seasons Kangaroo has been a family-run business since 2006. So, what are some of the core values uh your father instilled in the business to guide the company that it is today?

Speaker 1: 0:52

Yeah, well, I mean, it's really important to understand, I think, as a family-owned and operated business, why we ever came to be. My dad worked in this industry for about 40 years, and for the first half, he worked for other people. And what he saw in the commercial roofing trade was a lot of wrong ways in how to treat your team, treat the clients, and he ventured out on his own and basically said, My God, if I just treat my clients and treat my team the way I would want to be treated, which is well and with care, um, you know, I think good things are going to happen. And that was really the genesis for why we came to be. Um, you know, I always think, you know, we do have four core values, but the one that supersedes everything, and I think we live out the best as a team from the ownership level down to the front line is we care. You know, we talk about it all the time. We can only win if we as owners take great care of our team. If we take great care of our team, they're gonna be able to take great care of our clients. And if we take great care of our clients, well, who are they gonna refer? They're gonna refer Kanga back out to their friends and family, and that's really the crux of our business model uh and how we've continued to grow over these past uh you know 19 and a half years.

Julian Placino: 2:12

So it really started with the genesis of your father seeing a better way of doing things based on his experience in the industry. Um and that was 2006, and now here you are. So I'm curious, Bill, did you always knew that you wanted to jump into the business? Did you ever want to carve your own path? Or like tell me about that.

Speaker 1: 2:29

Uh, you're talking about the person who always wanted to have nothing to do with roofing in the roofing industry. Uh, being the oldest of three boys, you know, I grew up doing roofing, you know, on the weekends and the summer, when you're the son of a roofer, that's what you do. And my dad will always tell you know, he tells everyone he had three boys, we were gonna learn what the heck hard work is. We were gonna learn a trade, so no matter what we did with our lives, we'd be able to provide for ourselves and keep a roof over our head, pun intended. And then, you know, if we're smart, we were gonna go get you know our our degrees and not have to do roofing for the rest of our lives. And like in my case, I took that to heart. As soon as I got my college degree, I was off and never looked back. And I was very blessed. I spent a decade with unbelievable peers. Um, I actually had a very similar role, but it was in uh um private education. And after being there for about a decade, I was ready for that next advancement. And when I looked in the marketplace, there was nothing that really excited me. At that time, my my brother Matthew had come back, was working at the business. Um, but him and my dad are very technical-minded, right? They're more on the trade side of it, and they can never build a sales team, a marketing team, you know, kind of was spinning its wheels. And I said, I can only do something if I'm passionate about it. I was never passionate about roofing, but because I had been consulting with them for about a year and a half, I knew I could get passionate about the way Kanga approached caring for the team and caring for the clients. And for me, it was the opportunity to build a customer service and marketing and sales team the way I believed and thought it should be built. Uh, and what I saw was the opportunity to be part of an ownership and a leadership team that was in alignment with how you know how that should occur. So it was it was not about the roofing, it was about for me the opportunity and the commitment to care not just for the clients in a particular way, but to care for the team and build the team with a certain structure and a set of core values and beliefs that really excited me, that drew me back. The bonus was my dad, my brother, myself, like we actually get along, we like each other, we hang out, we go to Lions games, we golf, like so. There was never that fear for all that that so many people have about being part of a family business. I wasn't afraid of working with my family because yeah, we butt heads, yeah, we disagree, but it's never at a like personal level. It's because we may have strong beliefs about what the right thing to do is. We're just blessed that we do have very clear core values, we have a clear structure because we run through EOS about how to solve those issues when they arise, and to have a kind of a rubric to be able to take our decision making through to arrive at what is the best outcome, what is the best solution. And that's why I still get up every day really excited about it. And I do love roofing, don't get me wrong. You know, when we're done, we improved somebody's home, we improved the business, we truly make an impact in the community, but I'm always going to be more passionate about the care for the people, whether it's our team or our clients, that will always be what drives me and drew me back here.

Julian Placino: 5:58

Well, I think that's great. It seems like you're able to apply what your strengths andor interests were uniquely to the business, and together you're able to have achieved those results that you have. And also in terms of the debate, it's like you guys have the internal discussion for the benefit of the customer, uh, and that's always good. Healthy conflict is always good. Um, but also the the proof is in the growth of the organization. You've started from a small family operation to a 75-person team. So, what do you think were some of the key drivers behind that growth?

Speaker 1: 6:29

Well, I mean, driver number one was the ownership and leadership team that was aligned about where did we want to go? Right? You know, if if you got multiple owners and you're not in lockstep about where do you want to go, then you're gonna run into problems. Um, in our case, we were all in alignment. Um, we made two really critical decisions that I think kind of put some gasoline on the growth. One happened before I was here, which was the decision to join Certain Path, you know, which is a professional development group for contractors, um, fundamentally changed the business. You know, just how do we price ourselves? How do we run the organization? Um, knowing the numbers, you know, there they've been really, I can never say enough great things about the team and the family at Certain Path. The second one was the decision to adopt the EOS framework for the actual like operating system for how we run the business. You know, we chose to self-implement for about 18 months, then hired an implementer, and you can literally see both of those decisions. When we joined Certain Path, there's a there's an immediate bump. And then once we brought that implementer on and really got deep into EOS and running things the way we wanted to, or in accordance with EOS, you can really see that that curve start to be sustained in the growth side. So I think it's all three of those having uh an aligned ownership or leadership team, the decision to join certain path, along with then that EOS piece, which allows me to focus on the things that I'm gifted at, allows my brother to focus on what he needs to do. You know, my father, for example, is head of service because he is that passionate about the service department and how we execute that. And it allows us all to really fit in our lane, but still have a template for how do we communicate, how do we stay on the same page and in alignment with where we want to go because we're not done growing yet. We got a lot more, we have a lot more runaway in front of us before we're gonna be satisfied.

Julian Placino: 8:31

Yeah, so I heard three things. Number one, alignment of the leadership group, making sure that the vision is is aligned and everyone's facing in the same direction. Number two, certain path, and shout out to them, very familiar with certain path. We actually recorded an episode of the podcast at Certain Path. Um, great, like proven method in terms of the way that they teach home services to grow, and also just a great way to meet other home services leaders to share best practices and learn from what's happening in the industry. And of course, EOS, right? The framework entrepreneur entrepreneur operating system, right? So just like that whole scalable way to uh to grow businesses, I think uh I think that's great and absolutely makes sense when you follow those disciplines and proven methodologies. So with the whole idea of the uh the vision and the mission, um so you have a bold mission to prove there's a better way to serve your team, clients, and community. So, what does that actually mean and how does that show up in practice?

Speaker 1: 9:23

Yeah, it's not taken lightly by any stretch in the full, you know, there's one line at the end, it you know, our team, clients in the community through the roofing industry. And we take it to heart, even to the point of what was the order it was written? Our team first, then our clients, and then the community, right? Um, that wasn't something that we just treaded over lightly. We put it in that order because I'll go back to what we started with. Like, we believe we have to take unbelievably great care of our team. It's the only way we're gonna have team members who have the emotional capacity to deliver that same level of care for the clients. And then if we do both of those right, we should have revenues and profits generated to a level that allow us to give back and make those reinvestments into the community outside of just what doing good quality roofing work does in terms of maintaining properties, whether they're commercial or uh residential. You know, a prime example though of that level of care and commitment. You know, I have a good friend of mine that I've known since we were, golly, probably about 10. Um, got diagnosed with cancer about seven years ago. Um, and he was freaked out because he had just come on board. I think he was in his first year, and it was a really simple discussion of like, what do we, you know, he was worried about his PTO. And it's like, dude, you got bigger problems to worry about. Your job will be here. Do what you can, let us know what you can't. You got a team behind you, and we're gonna pick up the slack. Um, and we did, and and God bless him, he was able to ring that bell. He's been cancer free, but he'll tell you, our our like, there wasn't a discussion, there wasn't some great thought. It was like, what's the right thing to do? Right thing to do is care for this guy. He just made his he, you know, he's got two little girls, but he had just made the commitment to us. What are we gonna do? Leave him out to dry? No, that doesn't make any sense. Um, but it manifests itself in other ways too now. You know, we made a pledge three years ago to raise a quarter million dollars for what's called the Evan Ballancourt Legacy Scholarship Fund. Uh, Evan is the younger brother of one of our uh uh team members who passed away uh while on active duty, suddenly, 22 years old, one-year-old son, newlywed. And we just kind of sat there and went, how how do we do something, right? And we kind of just put our heads together. We talked with uh uh Evan's brother Mason, who's on our team, his mom, who was who was my former administrative assistant, and said, Hey, what do you guys think about us doing this? Where once we have that fully funded, one student every year is gonna be able to get uh a private college Catholic education here in Metro Detroit in perpetuity. Wow. Um, you know, that's why we set the funding level where we did. We said, How much do we got to raise so this never goes away? So as long as the school's in existence, Evan and his legacy persevere. And I think those are two great examples of it. You know, we have the King of Care Club, you know, which is our maintenance program, they become our VIPs, we do special things for them, but it's really just about providing a human experience, I think. Just like we tell team members all the time like, if you're a mom or a dad, you better be a mom or a dad first. Like, roofing will be there. If you got the Boy Scout trip, go take the Boy Scout trip with your son. If you got the dance recital, like go do the dance recital. If you got to cut out early, do that. Maybe you make it up on a Saturday or in the evening. Like, we still want you to be family members. Like, that's how I was raised. You know, that's what was important to my parents. We want to instill that and have team members that take that same initiative to take care of your family first, care for them, so then you can care for team members here. Again, we do that. We're gonna care for clients. We take great, great care of clients. We're gonna continue to grow and we're gonna be able to continue to do amazing things in the community.

Julian Placino: 13:24

It seems like, Bill, you're really doing the thing that you set out to do, which is to care for your team members, to care for your customers. And it makes sense. If you take care of your people, they're your boots on the ground to your customers, they'll provide a better level of service. And what's really interesting is by taking care of your person, um, it seems like it it gave life to that weight that you're giving back through that community service aspect, right? So I think there's a there's a beautiful, there's a beautiful circle there. So um, well, in addition to it sounds like you've you've got an amazing team, of course, um, but you have very bold guarantees that you give to your customers, 100% sort of satisfaction, leak-free repairs, apples to apples pricing. Um, so why do you feel so confident in what you do to provide such bold guarantees?

Speaker 1: 14:08

Well, the simple answer is our people, right? Um groofing in a lot of people's minds is a very commodity kind of industry. Once you break it down, if you start to feel back the layers, um, it's really not, you know. I I actually ironically just wrote a uh a blark blog article about this, where our belief is most business and homeowners don't understand what the product they're really purchasing is. They think it's the shingles or they think it's the siding or the flat roofing, and it's not. You're your purchasing, your product that you're actually purchasing is the company that's doing the work. It's the expertise of the craftsmanship. You know, part of going back to that, you know, proving there's a better way to serve, I didn't mention this, is like we have continual and ongoing training. I don't care if you're my call center project manager, you're on the sales team, you're a production manager. Like we have a whole simulator in our back warehouse where once a month our service superintendents are redrilling and retraining what's the proper way to remove and reinstall a pipe boot on a shingle roof? What's the proper way to do a color flashing? Like we have such faith in our team because of our systems and our processes that we can guarantee those results. I I use this phrase a lot, whether it's with clients or internally with team members. Do you want promises or do you want process? I want process because if I have process, I can ensure or guarantee outcomes. Now that doesn't mean Murphy's Law doesn't exist and even in the perfect world, you know, things can go wrong. But I know if we follow the processes, I can I can ensure those outcomes. And on the rare one-off where Murphy's Law truly reared its head, guess what? Those guarantees are there to give you the peace of mind as a consumer that yes, you chose the right company, that even when Murphy's Law steps up or shows its head, you don't got a freak out, you don't have to worry about paying for a roof twice or a repair twice. It's one phone call, we come out, we take care of it. And those really when those like I think most homeowners and business owners are like, yeah, that sounds good, but is it real? Our best advocates are when we've had to do that. Because then they're like, oh my god, this is like this is legit, this is real, and then they refer us to everybody. Um, so that's why it's it's really to demonstrate our level of conviction uh to our clients. I had a story recently online claiming, you know, trolling us, you know, I always beat your quotes by this amount of money, and and my response was well, that's wonderful. Glad you can do that. I would encourage you if you're that confident proud of your work, beat our pricing by that, and do the same thing as we do, which is guarantee no questions asked, money back guarantee, not just on whether it leaks or not, your satisfaction. If you're that confident, put your money where your mouth is. We're willing to do it. Oh, we wouldn't do that. Suddenly, you know, that our guarantees were somehow a scam. It's like, no, you're just not really willing to put your money where your mouth is and put your integrity and your reputation on the line. You just want to come in and troll and try and undercut people. And and quite frankly, I will always say take advantage because when you undercharge, you can't honor your warranties, you can't honor your guarantees. You run yourself out of business. So, God bless, this is the way we do business, and we have a lot of passion behind it, and a track record that's proven it to be effective.

Julian Placino: 17:43

So it comes down to your people and the way that you've done business and kind of the proven method that you have. Um, and it's really interesting if you're very intense focused on people. You, in addition to being like head of sales and market, you strike me as a kind of a chief people officer. So tell us a bit about your recruiting processes. What do you do to hire great people, train great people? Like, what does that look like?

Speaker 1: 18:04

We have some unbelievable people in HR and recruiting um who have very detailed processes. I'm not gonna pretend to like break all that down, but what I can tell you is we've made a concerted effort and focus over the last two years to refine those processes. We've partnered with groups like ISO, we partnered with BRICS. We also have a very strong internal um what I would call referral reward program, because we found some of our absolute best team members are from the people who already fit our culture, know the culture, and then go, hey, I think this person would be perfect for this opening over here. You know, they naturally draw the right type of people in. So it's but at the same token, we tell everyone on it. I was literally checking out at Costco, and I'm really excited about this. I'm the same cashier like four times. She is bubbly, she is sunshine, she is amazing. And I know Costco does a great job caring for their employees, but I just said, I gotta tell you, you just make me smile every time I come through here. Are you happy? Would you be open to a career change? Because I would love to have somebody with your energy on my team. I don't know if I can afford you. I don't even know what kind of role you want. But would you be interested? And guess what? She applied and she's coming in next week for an interview. Again, I don't know where it's going to go, but we always have that kind of mindset, especially the ownership and the management level. You always got to be a recruiting. You gotta look for those people who fit who you are in your culture and just ask them. If they say no, so be it. You'll find more people. But we found a lot of great people that way too.

Julian Placino: 19:46

That makes a ton of sense. So always recruiting and leveraging referrals because what better ambassador and what better person to identify others than your own people? So I think that makes a ton of sense. So thanks for sharing for that piece right there. So um I I know a big differentiator is uh is the Kanga Care Club uh for your customers and giving them that added level of of certainty. So tell us a bit about that.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Yeah, the Kanga Care Club, it's it's universal between the commercial and the residential side. And we don't think it should be novel and new, but for a lot of folks, the idea of a rooftop maintenance program is um it's got a little bit more uh uh life on the commercial side due to the size of the investment. Um, the maintenance programs are a little more common on the commercial side, but you know, the reality is when you join the King of Care Club, it we call it the maintenance program, but they instantly become our VIPs. So that means you know these are the folks where when they call in, they go right to the front of the line. Whether it's for a new problem, they just need to get a hold of somebody, automatically they're the front of the line. They have a savings program. So 20% of anything they ever spend with us goes into a savings account that they can, we call them kanga bucks. Um, but when they need to replace their roof or their siding or gutters, they can use them just like cash, or they have a son or daughter who bought a house and needs a new roof. They can give them to somebody else. That person can use them like cash. And at the core of it, what it really is all about, outside of just showing them the love as the VIPs that they are, it's about maximizing the life of the roof. You know, roofs in Michigan are replaced every 17 years. That shouldn't be happening. They should be going 25, 30 years before replacement. One of the leading causes outside of improper installation is the lack of rooftop maintenance. So we offer this program that way we turn that 20-year roof into the 30-year roof, we turn that 15-year roof into the 25-year roof by doing all those small annual things. And the dirty secret is every roof warranty written does require documented annual uh maintenance. So people don't even realize that if you don't do that, you actually give the manufacturers an out in the event you had a legitimate warranty claim. And you know, the proofs in the pudding, you know, we've really been focused on this over the last two and a half years. We're up to over 600 people now in the King Care Club between commercial and residential, and it continues to grow. My personal goal, I keep floating it internally. I said, 10,000, why don't we have 10,000 people in this? I think it makes that much sense. And I'm gonna keep beating that drum, and that's hell or high water, somehow we're gonna hit that.

Julian Placino: 22:32

Well, I think that's a great another example of how you go above and beyond for your customers, thinking of even more comprehensive ways to serve them. Um, and I know you and the team are are very big into investing in people, processes, and technology to continue to advance the company. Um, this podcast, of course, is powered by Peakzi. You're a Peakzi customer. So tell us a bit about what your experience with Peakzi has been.

Speaker 1: 22:54

It's been very, very positive. I'll just start today. You know, I was first exposed to Peakzi about two and a half years ago, um, right when he was uh introduced to us was at Service Net conference. Um, and I thought, wow, this is really cool. And then I thought, wow, this is really scary. Just the amount of data and information um that's out there. And I had spent kind of the last year, well, we've been with them now for a couple months, but I spent about a year back and forth with the team there really trying to understand the benefit because there was so much data. I sat there and went, wow, this data's all great, but now I need manpower to digest it, to make it actionable. Um, and when I was at the last camera, I spoke with them again, and they drafted a plan that made perfect sense because I don't know a business owner or a fellow business owner, especially in service that is now freaking out over what AI is doing in the marketplace, whether it's with lead generation, whether it's with um, you know, recruitment of team members, online reputation, just it's crazy what's happening, and nobody really knows where it's going. And Peakzi gave us a formula and a tool that suddenly became very easily implemented, very actionable, and would give us you know the results we needed in a very detailed fashion that we could take behavior modifications from. It also gives us the ability to start cataloging that data and add on components as we're growing. And as I have some, okay, now I need this component from Peakzi because we're going to be able to do something with it now. Um, so I've been really, really pleased with them. And I'm excited to get up, you know, we've only been in it for about two months. I'm anxious for that first and second quarter review, once we've been in it for you know half a year, to see the traction. What's going on with these AI certificates? What's going on with the behavior and the traffic and the investment we're making? Because it's only going to help, and we're seeing that already.

Julian Placino: 24:58

Interesting. And what are some of those things that you've already seen? What are some of the behavioral modifications you mentioned you've been able to make as a result of the data that Peakzi is giving you?

Speaker 1: 25:07

Yeah, yeah, a great one is just the realization. Um here's the best one. Um, thanks to Sean, who's our account manager over there at Peakzi. He went, we were having one of our meetings not too long ago. He goes, Hey, by the way, did you know that ChatGPT just bought a major, and I forget if they bought the whole thing or just a major stake in ThumbTaq, which is you know just a lead aggregator service. And he goes, I can't tell you what's gonna happen, but if ChatGPT is suddenly really invested in ThumbTech, I'm thinking the people in ThumbTech are suddenly gonna be more relevant. And we like within 24 hours got on thumbtack, got ourselves registered, immediately started giving us leads, but it also, um, God willing, we'll see what everything happens. As ChatGPT starts to value the contractors listed in Thumbtack, it's one more online resource, which is increasing our relevancy, our validation, so that when you look for, hey, roof repair near me here in Metro Detroit, ChatGPT is going to increasingly say, no, you want to call Kanga, they're the experts on this. And here's what it says on their website, here's what it says on Google, here's what it says on Thumbtack, and these are the sources that we trust and you can trust as a consumer. So I think that's probably one of the and that was just like a freebie, hey, you you might want to, and it's already having an effect.

Julian Placino: 26:36

So, what I heard from that is that the technology platform is one thing, but it's the team also, because you mentioned Sean, and the team is always great because they are living and breathing, not just AI, but AI for home services. And it is kind of a consultative approach in addition to the platform. So I think that's great. Um, so before we kind of close out, anything else you want to mention about Peaksy, Bill?

Speaker 1: 26:55

Yeah, I mean, I think for me it's been really valuable because the rate of change going on right now in the market, just let's just think about like marketing and sales. AI, sales, marketing, the what's happening is is exponentially fast and like every day. So having a partner where I can go, hey, I heard, hey, I heard this term. Sean, what the hell are they talking about? What does this mean? Are we doing this? And and either yes, we are, or no, we're not. Why we're not? Here's what we're doing instead because we think, and based on the data we're seeing, this avenue is going to be a better approach. So I really, really value having somebody who's living fully in that world. I'll give you the simple thing. Our last meeting, I said, Sean, I I gotta admit, I feel like a moron. What the heck is the difference between ChatGPT and an AI agent? And he goes, happy UF. A lot of people are too scared to even ask that question. He broke it down and it made sense to me. And also armed me with how to leverage an AI agent to make my job that I am doing more efficient. So it probably saved me money from buying some product that's like this super AI agent that I didn't need that repackaged and reprogrammed and just reformatted over top of ChatGPT, anyways. So I again I really think between the technology, but I think the people platform and you know, coaching and consulting is what I really, really value because I can't keep up with everything. I don't think any of us can. But having a secondary party who you can trust and either validate or just bring ideas to and have them give you guidance and feedback, crazy helpful.

Julian Placino: 28:42

Well, I appreciate you sharing that perspective, and uh I think that'll go a long way. I'm glad that the team is uh supporting you so well. So um getting ready to land the plane here, Bill. So a couple more questions. So you and your brother Matthew now um are leading the business together. So what have you learned about leadership and family and building a company that lasts?

Speaker 1: 29:04

We kind of danced around it. Um for me, what I think we have all, because there's actually a total of four owners, it's my father who is the founder, and then it's my brother, Matthew, myself, and a third gentleman, Brian Neaton, is the adopted Burkhardt, right? So I don't want to leave him out. But what we've really kind of figured out is when there's a proven process, don't kangafy it, don't burkhartify it. If there's a proven process, just trust the process, right? And it's applicable to just about anything in the life. The other piece, I really believe at least, is you can't lead people unless they know how much you care about them. Um, I also don't think you can ask people to care for your clients in a way that is different than how you care for your team. So it is a leadership from the front, it is a servant leadership mindset. Um, the four of us who are owners, I think share that unanimously, like right across the board. You know, we may manifest it slightly different. Yes, I am like Mr. Kanga, I am the culture guy, I'm happy every day, but that's not by accident. It's because I have a different proven process on how I start my day every day that gets in the right mindset to be able to deliver that to my team because I know they need it, right? They need that little boost some mornings when you know the dog wouldn't come in and it's raining and I gotta go out on roofs and it's cold and it's great. Hey, if I can bring in a little positivity, that might be the difference between them greeting the client the right way and them just showing up, hey, I'm here from Tangaroo, what do you need? Right? So I think it's that combination of proven process along with demonstrating to your team and asking them to care as much as you do, and just keeping that at the forefront and leading by that example.

Julian Placino: 30:54

I think those are really good points. Again, the focus on people and also no need to reinvent the wheel, just focus on the thing that works. So I think that's great. Well, well, Bill, close us out. What is the long-term vision you have for the business? And what kind of legacy do you hope to leave for your team, customers, and community?

Speaker 1: 31:12

Yeah, that's a great question. And we're you're blessed because you know, we had this buyout with my father, you know, there's a time horizon there, we're we're coming up to it. So now the question is once we fulfill that, we know where we want to be by 2030. Where do we want to go after that? It's something me with the other two are actively discussing. But if you were asking just me right now, before I get those two kind of pinned down and nail their feet to the floor, because we're in pretty good unison. I like the example I'll give you is I'm struggling with in my mind, is it 50 million? And then I went, why would it only be 50? Why wouldn't it be 100 million? And then I went, well, if it's 100 million, why wouldn't it be 200 million? Like these companies exist in the commercial space, in the residential space, and I have a core belief. Uh I learned this phrase from actually a certain path coach, Jared Dean. Um, he talked about it in sales. You have a moral obligation to sell them whatever that product might be if you believe in it. I talk about it with the owners here. I think it's our moral obligation if we are as good of an organization as we think we are for our team and in delivering uh outstanding results for the community. It's our moral obligation to grow this thing as big as we can without ever sacrificing the integrity of it. So that's where that question, where does that break point happen? You know, we're really proud to say, you know, we are family-owned and operated. There's been a lot of private equity. Guess what? You ain't gonna see us on that list. We don't have any interest in it. You know, maybe one day look at the ESOP model, something like that. But um, you know, from our standpoint, I've never seen that that buyout, that that private equity work without stealing the heart of what really makes a company precious, unique, special, not just for the community, but for the team. And we work way too hard for me to just cash out or my brother to just cash out, and then watch our baby literally just be sucked dry. So that's not on, it's not even remotely on the table. I'm not willing to entertain it. So I'm hoping 50 years from now, that's kangaroo's still around. Um, you know, it's a leader in whatever exterior renovation looks like at that point in time because it'll look dramatically different than today. But we're still a place where folks have a place to call home that they can trust, that is leading the way and pushing the envelope when it comes to customer service and innovation and serving the community and our team ultimately. I think if if we can do that, man, I can lay my head down and nine while I'm on a pillow.

Julian Placino: 33:53

I think that's a great vision, and especially just how much genuine authenticity you have about loving your people and doing the right thing. I think is really awesome. So, uh, Bill, this has been a really fun interview. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Tell our viewers, our audience how to connect with you, follow you on social, tell us all that.

Speaker 1: 34:10

Yep. So our website's really complicated. It's kanga-roof.com. Um, but you can from there you can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, check out our YouTube, man. We got so many videos up there. Um, we're not on TikTok, or at least not yet. Um, but you know, we're anywhere where you want to be, we're on X, and uh we welcome the opportunity to talk with anyone, whether it's other built business owners. We always are we we we don't have it all figured out, number one, but we'll we're happy to share whatever we've learned with you. And if it's a consumer, yeah, we love just the the show at the Ed Mat. We show you how we do things, show you how we're different. If it makes sense and it's the right fit, man, we'd love to serve you.

Julian Placino: 34:55

Love it. And we'll make sure to have all your contact information in the show notes as well. So, Bill, again, this is a true pleasure. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Speaker 1: 35:03

Hey, it's my pleasure. Thank you so much, and you and all the listeners have a kangaroo day.

Julian Placino: 35:09

I love that. Well, everyone, that is it for today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Home Services Success Stories podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business.