I set out to write about our biggest public works projects in 2019, but that is not where my mind and my heart are during the Christmas Season. Business is business, and it always will be. Rather, this is the time of year when it is more important to look back at the personal growth we have made at Spokane Roofing Company. I want the community to understand the kind of roofing company we are and the values we hold.

As we grow in business, I find that business leaders don’t get there by chance, but by doing the right things consistently over time. For me, that means we examine our core values more than we ever have. At the beginning of my time here, we were just trying to keep the business running, and didn’t really spend time defining our core values. Now that we are more established, I realize that business will either be there or it won’t, and staying true to our values has become our top priority.

Staying true to our values is something that can be difficult to convey to both existing and potential clients. One example of a business that does a great job of being a good steward in the community is Becker Buick GMC, which consistently is genuinely more interested in people and staying true to its values than it is in selling cars. That is the kind of company I want Spokane Roofing to be.

Personal Values At Our Core

We got a nice compliment recently, one that a retired friend of mine related to me. He told me, As I go around in the community, I find that everyone feels good about Spokane Roofing. You just do not have any critics, whether I am talking with customers or vendors. That is where I want us to be.

It can be easy when you start to enjoy more success to become too rich and complacent and to disregard your values. Becker, for example, might be able to make more money with a different approach, but they never abandon their vision.

I brought my personal values to the company 17 years ago; getting a 50-person staff on board with those values did not happen overnight. The biggest factor in that transition was time; we have assembled a staff that shares our values and is professionally competent, as well. As a business, we live and die based on our values. I am proud that we have a strong sense of right from wrong and that we will always strive to do the right thing.

Positioned For 2020 Public Works Growth

Okay, back to where I planned to start, a 2019 review. We did several big public works projects in 2019, government jobs that reinforce Spokane Roofing’s position as a prominent public works commercial roofing contractor in the region. We want to do more government work, because those are interesting projects and we are good at them. It was a big learning year for us, too, and we have put ourselves in a strong position for next year.

Being a forward thinker means that you invest now to reap rewards later, that success does not always come immediately or in a straight line. Business evolves, and a down cycle is not the end of the world. I guess that takes me back to where I started: business changes but values should not.

We had a strong year in 2019, and I am excited about 2020. We are as well-positioned as we can be in the community, and all the right pieces of the puzzle are in place for us to have another great year. Business and life are all about relationships. At Spokane Roofing Company, building relationships is what we do best, one client at a time.

Citations

• Becker Buick GMC – Spokane, Washington
• Spokane Roofing Company Culture.