Couple turns roofing risk into big business
People told Fred and Jodie Cusack they were crazy, taking a big risk by investing everything in a new business.
At age 23, though, they shrugged off the comments and forged ahead with their plan.
The Columbus resident borrowed against their house and sold most everything else to have money to support a roofing business.
They arrived at a trade show in Indianapolis with a box truck, company logo and no equipment – but a desire to land customers.
Their first job paid for their equipment, and their first five jobs made more money than their painting business did in one year.
The Cusacks, 28, knew they were onto something and soon quit painting.
Today Cusack Coatings Inc.. has morphed into CCI Roofing & Insulations Systems Inc., which specializes in residential and commercial roofing. It employs 25 and generated $1 million in sales in 2006. Sales and staff are expected to increase this year.
“It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth it for sure,” Jodie said.
A new challenge
Fred grew up in Gallipolis, Ohio, and Jodie in West Union, W.Va. The towns are within a reasonable driving distance, and they met through mutual friends at about age 15.
Over time they developed a friendship that endured even when Fred’s parents moved to Columbus.
They started dating at 19 and married at 20, settling in Columbus. Fred worked for Newland-White Decorators as a painter, and had his painting business, Cusack Fine Painting.
Jodie was a property manager for an apartment complex.
Fred was unhappy with painting, though, and was looking for a different career.
He learned about the researched commercial-grade roofing, and found a type of seamless roofing system, involving spray polyurethane foam, that intrigued him.
“I said, “I can do this,’” Fred recalled. “I could relate to it. It was a challenge with me. This was something different.”
He attended a school in LaGrange, Ohio, to learn about the roofing system.
Fred and Jodie sold their house to invest in the business. The start had its challenges.
Banks viewed them as kids and refused to offer loans. They resorted to a home equity loan to finance the roofing company.
“A lot of people didn’t think we could do it,” Jodie said.
Work rewarded
Their first client was Peru (Ind.) Utilities, and for the first six months the Cusacks ran their business from their home’s back yard. Two employees from their painting business also helped with the roofing.
Fred recruited clients and worked at the job sites. Jodie kept track of the finances. The business consumed almost every hour of every day of the week. Fred and Jodie even drove through neighborhoods looking for houses they thought needed new roofs and cold-called the homeowners to offer their services.
“When you first start, you don’t know to shut off,” Fred said.
Hard work came naturally to the business owners because of their blue-collar backgrounds. Fred had five brothers and four sisters, and his father was an electrician. Jodie’s father was a compression manager for a natural gas company.
The couple’s hard work has paid off.
CCI Roofing performed about 200 jobs in 2006. Many were on homes that sustained hail damage in Indianapolis.
The company has jobs scheduled from Louisville to Cincinnati, and even up north in Schererville and Merrillville. It also is a certified installer for Lowe’s.
The on-site work is left to the foremen, laborers and craftsmen. Fred focuses on sales and Jodie on keeping in order the finances.
The republic
April 8, 2007
