From Model to Roofing with Itzel Romo Is One Of The Few Women In Roofing – And She’s Working To Change That.
Itzel Romo is back!
The Queen of Roofing makes her return to Roofing Insights during a video that her and Dmitry recorded last month in Atlanta.
In the video up above, Dmitry asks Romo if it’s advantageous for a woman to be a roofer in an industry that historically has included only men.
“It’s a male-dominated industry, but you can start to change,”
Romo begins.
“You don’t say, I can’t climb with my ladder or I can’t climb the roof, but you can. If I can, you can do it.”
As a former model in Mexico, Romo left the entertainment industry because she found that she could make quick money working in roofing, particularly in generating sales through door-knocking.
But that had its drawbacks
One time, Romo was greeted by a large man who didn’t understand why she was trying to sell him on a new roof if she didn’t speak good English.
“I couldn’t say nothing to the guy,”
Romo recounts.
As Romo’s English improved and she gained more experience, eventually she faced less pushback from customers who questioned her English.
This led to her making more money, and eventually a new path in the roofing industry.
Together with her brother and sister, Romo soon formed King of Roof.
During the early stages of business, Romo had to learn that she needed different personas to adapt to different personalities within the roofing industry.
“The start is not easy because you need to change your mentality,”
Romo says, adding that she often found herself putting up a masculine front to appeal to her employees, then reverting over to a cheerful and inviting female disposition with her customers.
Her self-awareness has paid off
King of Roof now grosses $5 million per year, and Romo employs 20 salespeople on her team.
Of those 20 salespeople, 6 of them are women. Romo isn’t trying to send any type of political message by hiring women. She just wants to show that women can thrive in this industry in the same way that men can.
This is evidenced by the fact that Romo just recently wrote a commission check to one of her saleswomen for $25,000.
Even with a big staff, Romo still finds herself with more than enough work to do.
When asked about her role within the company, Romo tells Dmitry that she does “basically everything. Going to the inspections, quality control, adjuster appointments, sometimes [things in] the office.”
And that’s just the way she likes it because even though she once experienced the bright lights of modeling and TV, Romo now feels that roofing was always destined to be her path to success.
“I love it [roofing]. I climb the roof and I see what I can do for my future,”
she says.
“When I see the checks that I bring to my people, that’s my favorite part.”
Romo’s advice, to anyone trying to become successful, in any industry:
“Knowledge is power, and knowledge is money.”
Like what Itzel Romo has to say?
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