Jason Reisman is the owner of Eustis Roofing in Tavares, Florida.
Unlike many roofing companies, Eustis Roofing has been around for about sixty years.
As a second-generation roofing business owner, Reisman acknowledges that while the roofing industry has been kind to his family, this wasn’t always the case.
“Years ago, we moved here as a poor family from New York,” Reisman says. “We couldn’t find work, so we went to a local diner where all the business owners ate.”
Reisman says that his father was so desperate for work that he approached every business owner at the diner and asked for a job.
“The person who was kind enough to give him a job was Joe Driggers, who was the owner of Eustis Roofing,” Reisman reveals.
“My dad started at the bottom of Eustis Roofing. He went from cleaning the ground on job sites, to running a crew, to running the sales division, and did all this until he was finally able to buy the roofing company.”
Reisman’s father bought Eustis Roofing thirty-five years ago, a move that forever altered the family’s financial trajectory.
Throughout these years, Eustis Roofing has operated in Lake County, which is located in the middle of the state of Florida.
“There is something special about Lake County,”
Reisman says.
“There are not a ton of people who live here, but it’s growing massively because people are moving out of Orlando and coming here.”
With an uptick in homeowners around Lake County, Eustis Roofing has been very busy, but Reisman insists that he approaches each roof with the same attention to detail that he did when he first became a roofing business owner.
“I’m looking for the problematic areas on the roof that are causing issues,” Reisman says. “Those are the areas that I’m going to address first and make sure that they’re perfect so that homeowners don’t have problems with their roof in the future.”
These thorough roof inspections include assessing the state of dormers, some of whom have rotted wood that can cause leaks.
“Along with the dormers, there are L flashings that we want to make sure are in good shape. We also add a membrane to the flashings that helps keep it waterproof and prevents leaks,” Reisman says.
This type of care for homeowners’ roofs is key, especially in Florida because the state has some of the strictest building codes in the country.
“The roofing codes in Florida are a lot different than northern states,”
Reisman says.
“There is a lot more structure here because we experience a lot of hurricanes.”
Since inclement weather is so common in Florida, and with roofing technology advancing every year, Reisman says that now Eustis Roofing installs a lot of metal roofs for homeowners.
“We’ve sold more metal roofs this year than we have ever sold. Metal roofs are very popular and there’s some new stuff coming out that will play a future role in the way homeowners choose whether to install shingles or metal roofs,” Reisman explains.
Whether homeowners decide to install asphalt shingles, tile, or metal roofs, Reisman says a big goal for Eustis Roofing is to help homeowners achieve peace of mind and avoid having to deal with shady roofing contractors.
To better assist homeowners, Reisman says he has had to be calculated in the way he runs his roofing business.
As a result, Eustis Roofing defies roofing convention by hiring their own roof installers as W-2 employees, which contrasts with the standard method of hiring subcontractors to install roofs.
“We couldn’t help homeowners and achieve our goals by roofing only one or two houses per week. We had to find a way to roof better and more efficiently, so what we did was elect not to hire subcontractors,” Reisman says.
Here’s why Eustis Roofing chose not to hire subcontractors to install roofs:
“The main reason was because hiring subcontractors is illegal unless they have a roofing license in the state of Florida,” Reisman says.
“We also want to create an atmosphere for our employees where they want to achieve goals and give homeowners an awesome roof.”
Under Reisman’s W-2 employee model, roof installers at Eustis Roofing are delivering quality roof installs for homeowners.
At the same time, Reisman continues to attract talented roof installers because he is constantly investing money into his roofing company by supplying his roofing crews with the latest technology that makes their lives easier.
“I believe in giving my roof installers better equipment because they’re going to love their job more if they have nice equipment,”
Reisman says.
Like many successful roofing contractors, Reisman has purchased multiple Equipters, a machine that makes roofing immensely easier.
Beyond helping his roof installers, Reisman says he simply could not imagine roofing crews in 2021 installing shingles and being on a roof without an Equipter present.
“If you’re in the trucking or shipping industry, you can’t operate without a forklift. To me, that’s how crucial Equipters are for roofing companies. Equipters are that valuable,” Reisman asserts.
“Having an Equipter also brings you better employees because those people would rather work for you instead of the roofing contractor who doesn’t have any Equipters.”
Thanks to Reisman’s selflessness and ingenuity, Eustis Roofing appears primed to continue to serve homeowners in Lake County for years to come.
While Reisman acknowledges that Eustis Roofing is in a good place, he also says that getting to this point was no easy task.
“The roofing industry is a great business, but there was a lot of sacrifice and hard work that went into Eustis Roofing evolving into what it is today,” Reisman notes.
“Growing up, we were so poor that my family couldn’t even afford a dining room table. We literally ate off a picnic table that was inside of our house. We ate pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because that’s all we could afford.”
Fortunately, those dire circumstances are no longer part of Reisman’s life.
“I now have to pinch myself because I live on a reserve that I never dreamed was possible,” he says.
“That’s the thing about roofing: if you work hard, there is a payoff. Roofing can provide an awesome future, but you have to dig deep and work hard every day.”
For other roofing companies who would like to emulate Eustis Roofing’s success, Reisman then shares a few key pieces of advice.
“Sometimes the harder road is worth it. It takes more time, but in the end taking the path less traveled offers greater rewards,” Reisman says, then referring specifically to how he has helped his employees at Eustis Roofing.
“Again, I believe in investing into my roofing company. Yes, I want a big boat and other luxury items, but I also want everyone at Eustis Roofing to achieve their goals first.”
Beyond prioritizing roof installers and other employees in his roofing company, Reisman is also quick to point out that roofing business owners must take care of homeowners.
Says Reisman:
“If you have a homeowner who is unhappy, you have to do everything in your power to make them happy. There is no excuse for having unhappy homeowners.”
To learn more about Eustis Roofing, visit their website today, or give them a call at 352-343-4240!
They seem to have a loyal and happy staff, as well as satisfied customers. I admire their integrity, teamwork, and innovation in the roofing industry. ????????????