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Culture, Cause, and Contentment builds a community
Episode 122nd April 2022 • In The Bunker • Joshua Maddux
00:00:00 00:38:22

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Building a culture can be a challenge! How do you get to a point where culture is natural?

How are you defined? What is your cause? Do you have a sense of contentment? Are you fulfilled?

Charles Antis, CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing, sits down in the bunker to talk about where he came from, how he grew in business, and what drives him today.

Our episode highlights:

  • Get involved with your community! Give and DON’T expect!
  • Find something positive to do EVERY DAY
  • 5 Min journal
  • Get involved with the cause that drives you! And do they align with you?

Links:

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-antis-a3b6637/
  • Website: https://www.antisroofing.com
  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/AntisroofingInc
  • IG: https://www.instagram.com/antis_roofing
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/antisroofing


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Transcripts

Joshua Maddux:

today.

Joshua Maddux:

We have Charles Antis on the show.

Joshua Maddux:

Charles was faced with a challenge of just getting new work and also

Joshua Maddux:

focusing on self care as a new business or a small business.

Joshua Maddux:

Self care is a huge thing.

Joshua Maddux:

However, despite the odds that every business faces his built a company.

Joshua Maddux:

With an impact based mindset.

Joshua Maddux:

And Charles has over 32 years of experience in providing people.

Joshua Maddux:

One of the biggest things we all take for granted the roof over our head as the

Joshua Maddux:

owner of antis, roofing and waterproofing,

Joshua Maddux:

Charles has helped so many So Cal families stay safe and dry by literally

Joshua Maddux:

putting a roof over their head.

Joshua Maddux:

There's so much to unpack here and learn from him today.

Joshua Maddux:

And I'm super excited to just jump in and have this conversation.

Charles Antis:

Thanks Josh.

Charles Antis:

You were having me on.

Joshua Maddux:

Good to have you.

Joshua Maddux:

Let's dive in and

Joshua Maddux:

Give that 90 second background.

Joshua Maddux:

Who are you?

Joshua Maddux:

How'd you get here?

Charles Antis:

I am a roofing contractor, but really I'm

Charles Antis:

a, I'm an awakener of people.

Charles Antis:

I didn't know that would happen, but gosh, you go back in time.

Charles Antis:

I came to California originally on a sales job.

Charles Antis:

I was selling insulation door to door.

Charles Antis:

I sold a family.

Charles Antis:

I was so excited.

Charles Antis:

I went back the next day to pick up the check.

Charles Antis:

You know,

Charles Antis:

how excited you love your customers?

Charles Antis:

This family, I thought I was going to save them money and

Charles Antis:

they wouldn't answer the door.

Charles Antis:

I saw them until finally the neighbor comes and she's, I hear her footsteps

Charles Antis:

on the Porsche's you get out of here.

Charles Antis:

And I say, why you were trying to take advantage of this family.

Charles Antis:

They were not going to get the savings you promised.

Charles Antis:

And I looked at her and I wanted to be angry with her, but I read

Charles Antis:

what she said in the contract.

Charles Antis:

And I thought, oh my gosh, And so I'm a guy that ended up in Southern California.

Charles Antis:

Who's a laborer who grew up in the mountains of Oregon, who looked for a job.

Charles Antis:

And that's how I got into roofing.

Charles Antis:

32 years ago in Southern California.

Charles Antis:

I quit a job because I wasn't providing value.

Charles Antis:

I wasn't doing the right thing.

Charles Antis:

Like my dad taught me how to do, and I looked for a job and the

Charles Antis:

only job I saw was in roofing.

Charles Antis:

And that's how I got here in Southern California, 32 years ago.

Charles Antis:

That's the best way I can start in 90 seconds.

Joshua Maddux:

That right there, I think, speaks so much

Joshua Maddux:

to the values of your company.

Joshua Maddux:

And the values of you

Joshua Maddux:

as a person, the aspect of not only did you not care about at the end of the day,

Joshua Maddux:

you know,

Joshua Maddux:

getting the money from that customer,

Joshua Maddux:

You quit the job because it was not the right place to be.

Charles Antis:

That was the last job I quit.

Joshua Maddux:

So

Joshua Maddux:

What is one of the biggest business challenges that you faced?

Joshua Maddux:

And before we hit record, we sorta touched on this briefly.

Joshua Maddux:

But I want to dive into that and that sort of big business challenge.

Charles Antis:

I would love to talk about today and I know we will, but I

Charles Antis:

got to go back to what it felt like 32 years ago, because it's got to feel like

Charles Antis:

this to people that start a business.

Charles Antis:

That desperation that I wake up at 3:00 AM, whether I want to,

Charles Antis:

or not in my head is moving.

Charles Antis:

I start sweating and what do we do?

Charles Antis:

And so what I did was I was desperate.

Charles Antis:

To solve leaks.

Charles Antis:

I just got a roofing job.

Charles Antis:

And I, in fact, I got to tell you, I went out and did a repair and my

Charles Antis:

first few months there, and I was so proud that I went up there and

Charles Antis:

with my skill, I saw the leak that

Charles Antis:

Was getting into this family's home.

Charles Antis:

And then the owner of the company went out there and looked at the

Charles Antis:

leak the next day that I repaired it.

Charles Antis:

I was said, I was so proud of him.

Charles Antis:

I look what I did.

Charles Antis:

And he goes, that's going to leak again.

Charles Antis:

And I said,

Charles Antis:

Why?

Charles Antis:

And he goes, because he showed me where I had pieces of coping

Charles Antis:

going up and they should overlap.

Charles Antis:

I had backwards lap, these pieces of coping.

Charles Antis:

So water was going to go right in and under the flashing and I was

Charles Antis:

humiliated and I decided right then I will never make that mistake again.

Charles Antis:

I'm going to become the very best at solving leaks.

Charles Antis:

And so when there wasn't enough work at this company, and when I started my

Charles Antis:

own business four years after I entered the roofing market, this is in 1989.

Charles Antis:

I was so desperate for work that I actually, one day my job was.

Charles Antis:

Weatherstripping on that home bedroom door converted to an office so that when

Charles Antis:

somebody called two or three calls a week, they wouldn't hear my daughter.

Charles Antis:

And so under that condition, I got a call and I need to tell this story

Charles Antis:

for what happened that first year

Charles Antis:

I go out to this place because the ladies got home or leaks

Charles Antis:

in every room of her home.

Charles Antis:

And I'm super excited.

Charles Antis:

So I'm driving, but I noticed that I'm getting to the place where this

Charles Antis:

lady's, home's going to be the next.

Charles Antis:

The homes are getting smaller.

Charles Antis:

I see a little graffiti.

Charles Antis:

I swallow wondering, oh, where am I going until finally I turn on the

Charles Antis:

street where the home's going to be.

Charles Antis:

I just see dead grass and the small home set back.

Charles Antis:

And.

Charles Antis:

I'm desperate.

Charles Antis:

I don't want to knock, but my father's voice is ringing my head son do the

Charles Antis:

right thing and I knocked on the door and these three things changed my life.

Charles Antis:

These three things happened really fast.

Charles Antis:

I see a woman's face when the door opens.

Charles Antis:

She's about 50 something, but she's had

Charles Antis:

A really tired month.

Charles Antis:

So I don't know what to say, but I'm starting to say something and before I can

Charles Antis:

open my mouth, I'm hit with the smell of.

Charles Antis:

The smell of mildew is so strong that I've suddenly changed to

Charles Antis:

A fight or flight brain said I'm about ready to leave.

Charles Antis:

Try to say goodbye.

Charles Antis:

But before again, any words come out.

Charles Antis:

The third thing happens.

Charles Antis:

I feel a tug at my finger and I looked down and in contrast to the

Charles Antis:

mom and my face, there's this little six year old girl with blonde hair.

Charles Antis:

And she has the biggest smile because she's got a visitor in

Charles Antis:

her home and she probably didn't have very many, and she pulls me.

Charles Antis:

Crowded living room into

Charles Antis:

An undersized hallway.

Charles Antis:

And then she goes right into this room and I know it was her room because

Charles Antis:

she points with her arm to this, my little pony poster on the wall.

Charles Antis:

But at that exact time, I looked down at her feet and I saw a

Charles Antis:

mattress with moldy, Bedding.

Charles Antis:

And I was stopped and I was like, oh my gosh, what do I do?

Charles Antis:

I have to get out of here.

Charles Antis:

I have a mortgage payment to make.

Charles Antis:

I didn't have much work.

Charles Antis:

I, And I, but I couldn't say anything.

Charles Antis:

I didn't say no, I didn't say yes.

Charles Antis:

I just sit there uncomfortable for what seemed like five minutes.

Charles Antis:

It was probably 30 seconds and then till, finally, the mother with the tired

Charles Antis:

look comes back in and I look at her face in contrast to the daughter's face.

Charles Antis:

And then something happened that never happened that I can

Charles Antis:

remember before I looked at her.

Charles Antis:

And I said, in so many words, I said, I'm going to keep your family safe and dry.

Charles Antis:

I'm going to take care of your roof.

Charles Antis:

And then when I said it, I thought, oh my gosh, what did I say?

Charles Antis:

I don't know if I can, I, I have a mortgage payment to

Charles Antis:

make literally in two weeks.

Charles Antis:

I don't know.

Charles Antis:

And so I went up on the roof hoping of just a hole and now

Charles Antis:

they needed a whole new roof.

Charles Antis:

And so I, I didn't have any employees yet.

Charles Antis:

I got on the phone and I got volunteers.

Charles Antis:

And that weekend we went out there and we gave that family a safe, dry roof.

Charles Antis:

It wasn't my best roof I've ever put on, but it was dry and they stayed in

Charles Antis:

the home and something happened that I didn't plan on happening something.

Charles Antis:

That shows itself in our culture here today.

Charles Antis:

But this thing feels like this.

Charles Antis:

Whenever I ran into that little family or one of those

Charles Antis:

siblings that were six siblings.

Charles Antis:

It was like, whoa, a high five a hot bit before I hugged.

Charles Antis:

I don't know what it was, but there was this enthusiasm.

Charles Antis:

There was this goodness.

Charles Antis:

There was this.

Charles Antis:

We knew we came together to do something good.

Charles Antis:

Somehow I trust you more.

Charles Antis:

And that's today, looking back what we have, what feels like

Charles Antis:

culture here, back before I had any employees, that was a powerful moment.

Charles Antis:

And I like to say Joshua,

Charles Antis:

That was what we all can have.

Charles Antis:

That was my doctor on an airplane moment.

Charles Antis:

What is that thing that you do that in that moment, you are the most prescribed

Charles Antis:

person in the world that should complete.

Charles Antis:

And that like that doctor on an airplane.

Charles Antis:

He hears that call from a pilot at 30,000 feet.

Charles Antis:

Excuse me.

Charles Antis:

There's a medical emergency.

Charles Antis:

And that doctor, we all know, we all believe that he or she's going to

Charles Antis:

raise his or her hand in that moment.

Charles Antis:

is is going to offer that life saving service to assist that passenger.

Charles Antis:

And why are we different?

Charles Antis:

Because in that plane, that doctor affects that passenger and everyone around them.

Charles Antis:

But in that home, there were six siblings.

Charles Antis:

There were six volunteers.

Charles Antis:

Saying yes.

Charles Antis:

Take that back.

Charles Antis:

Us.

Charles Antis:

Me not saying no, I didn't say no somehow, by not saying no, we found a way to yes.

Charles Antis:

And by us doing that, it changed everything.

Charles Antis:

And that's who we became, who we were.

Charles Antis:

But

Charles Antis:

I got to talk about one other part of it.

Charles Antis:

That's the giving part, which felt like it was important.

Charles Antis:

And I'll tell you why it is later, but it was also so desperate.

Charles Antis:

I'd like to tell you what it was like trying to sell work.

Charles Antis:

Do you mind if I go into that a little bit?

Charles Antis:

So when I was trying to sell work,

Charles Antis:

I don't know how to tell this because I've not, I've never

Charles Antis:

told this part before, but I was.

Charles Antis:

I didn't get very many calls.

Charles Antis:

And I remember I would get calls from an HOA cause we sell to hos today

Charles Antis:

And I'd get a call from HOA

Charles Antis:

And they would have leaks like 30 leaks and they think they need

Charles Antis:

a new roof, but I knew it was going to cost a million dollars.

Charles Antis:

And I went out there and I was desperate to sell them, but I was also desperate to

Charles Antis:

save them money because I was thinking,

Charles Antis:

Why are they getting a new.

Charles Antis:

When they're roofing material, isn't a good shape, but just

Charles Antis:

looking at all chimneys.

Charles Antis:

And so I was struggling.

Charles Antis:

And how do I solve this?

Charles Antis:

And this is what I did.

Charles Antis:

I would go up on her.

Charles Antis:

Into a quiet place on that roof where no one was looking, I didn't want to

Charles Antis:

be seen and I would sit down and then I would lay down and I would close my eyes.

Charles Antis:

And I don't know why I did this, but I remember on my way to jobs,

Charles Antis:

looking forward to doing this, like thinking it was going to help me.

Charles Antis:

And it looking back now I was meditating on that roof.

Charles Antis:

I didn't know what meditation was back then, but it was as if the roof was

Charles Antis:

talking to me, it was as if I was, had a dividing rod looking for one.

Charles Antis:

Over a desert.

Charles Antis:

Instead I was on a roof.

Charles Antis:

I was laying down and then I go through this ritual and the ritual was this.

Charles Antis:

I imagined that I am water.

Charles Antis:

I am water.

Charles Antis:

And that's, I don't know why this making you emotional,

Charles Antis:

but it's, this is what I did.

Charles Antis:

I am water.

Charles Antis:

And I'm traveling down in leaking around this chimney.

Charles Antis:

How do I get there?

Charles Antis:

Where do I go?

Charles Antis:

And I would lay down and I would imagine the paths of water.

Charles Antis:

And I learned through this process of meditating on a roof, that water.

Charles Antis:

Water and its beautiful ability to fall and gravity pulling it down to

Charles Antis:

capillary action can travel 30, 40 feet.

Charles Antis:

And I did become the very best at solving leaks

Charles Antis:

And in that solving leaks and we found that there was capacity.

Charles Antis:

To do it and save the client's money in this way that we would dissect roofs.

Charles Antis:

At the same time, we found that same capacity that we could donate

Charles Antis:

roofs when somebody had a leaky roof and I didn't want to do it.

Charles Antis:

We never talked about it for the first 20 years, but this is what would happen.

Charles Antis:

We would walk into a situation.

Charles Antis:

We run into a family and suddenly we would see they didn't have money.

Charles Antis:

And we discovered that we couldn't let a family have a leaky roof just because

Charles Antis:

they didn't have the money to pay.

Charles Antis:

Over and over again, we found ourselves quietly.

Charles Antis:

Sometimes I ever told my employees cause sometimes that they're stressed them out,

Charles Antis:

but like time and time again, we couldn't let the family have a leaky roof just

Charles Antis:

because they didn't have the money to pay.

Charles Antis:

And

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

what's funny is now looking back because

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

we do blood drives here.

Charles Antis:

We do so many other things.

Charles Antis:

We can't let.

Charles Antis:

Have a leaky roof just because they don't have the money to pay.

Charles Antis:

We can't let a family go Howery just because they don't have the money to pay.

Charles Antis:

We can't let a family or a patient go without blood, just

Charles Antis:

because we don't have money.

Charles Antis:

We have to do all that we can now in doing so we are defined.

Charles Antis:

We have culture.

Charles Antis:

We have cause, and also we have a sense of contentment, a sense of

Charles Antis:

fulfillment, knowing that what we do in our basic service is actually

Charles Antis:

having great impact in the world.

Joshua Maddux:

I think that's

Joshua Maddux:

so key because there's a few elements there that you touched

Joshua Maddux:

on that I want to unpack.

Joshua Maddux:

One is the power of water.

Joshua Maddux:

You know,

Joshua Maddux:

as we're sitting here, I have a cup of water sitting on my desk.

Joshua Maddux:

You're drinking from a water bottle.

Joshua Maddux:

If you stopped drinking water, We both end up in the hospital.

Joshua Maddux:

And so water has this life-giving ability, but it also has this ability

Joshua Maddux:

to wreak havoc, like you're talking about in one of those three projects and

Joshua Maddux:

it's so interesting too.

Joshua Maddux:

Put yourself in that position of whatever, you're trying to better understand whether

Joshua Maddux:

it's the water that's causing the leak or the client who doesn't have the money.

Joshua Maddux:

And you're putting yourself in their shoes, trying to figure out.

Joshua Maddux:

That mom, that may be working two jobs already, that doesn't

Joshua Maddux:

have the physical ability to make any more money to pay for that.

Joshua Maddux:

And in reality, there's some times where I hear people like, oh yeah,

Joshua Maddux:

you can totally buy a house, just, put away four or $500 a month.

Joshua Maddux:

And it's

Joshua Maddux:

okay, that person putting away $2 a month may be a stretch.

Joshua Maddux:

And so these are the basic sort of needs.

Joshua Maddux:

That so many humans have a roof over their head food on their table.

Joshua Maddux:

And those are the things, seeing companies that understand that

Joshua Maddux:

and understand that not taking advantage of people is a good thing.

Joshua Maddux:

Which just sounds when you say it that way sounds so dumb, but not taking

Joshua Maddux:

advantage of people is a good thing.

Charles Antis:

Yeah.

Charles Antis:

I think that we grew up.

Charles Antis:

If you look at generationally, might my generation grew up

Charles Antis:

kind of

Charles Antis:

taking advantage of the last generation doubling down.

Charles Antis:

There was a sense of win, lose, and it was okay.

Charles Antis:

It's not what works in the world.

Charles Antis:

Our generation is now awakening to there is the capacity to give that

Charles Antis:

needs to be at the heart of business.

Charles Antis:

One story.

Charles Antis:

I didn't tell

Charles Antis:

that is part of my legacy growing up in Oregon, growing up in a timber town,

Charles Antis:

wherever he, man, I knew when I was a kid, every man I knew worked in the

Charles Antis:

lumber mills, the plywood mills, or if he was the most respected, really?

Charles Antis:

No, no disrespect to my dad who worked in 11 mill, but he would

Charles Antis:

work as a logger cutting down.

Charles Antis:

But there was great risk and it was just what we did.

Charles Antis:

And,

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

that was a big, important thing.

Charles Antis:

Now, my grandfather was a logger and he came west looking for work after

Charles Antis:

the great depression and he didn't find any work that would keep him busy.

Charles Antis:

He picked beats in Idaho.

Charles Antis:

He originally left Arkansas in the thirties, but when he landed in Northern

Charles Antis:

California, Southern Oregon, He found the McLeod lumber company and this

Charles Antis:

industry back then held business the way that I want to hold it today,

Charles Antis:

they said we're building community.

Charles Antis:

So they built hospitals, they built roads, they built schools.

Charles Antis:

They brought in 40 of the best teachers in the state and they gave them top salary.

Charles Antis:

They even built a baseball field and built a minor league baseball team

Charles Antis:

where my grandfather played for.

Charles Antis:

I heard that story almost every time I saw him where he'd say, God, Charlie,

Charles Antis:

I've got a trap for 1939 for the St.

Charles Antis:

Louis Cardinals.

Charles Antis:

And I went up there and my God, I swung that bat and he tells the story

Charles Antis:

of getting that tryout and how you would've made the team, but he got drunk

Charles Antis:

that last night and didn't do well.

Charles Antis:

But,

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

that is giving back to community and that's something that we can do today.

Charles Antis:

And that's something that we believe in today because we believe if we do it will

Charles Antis:

attract and we'll retain the top talent.

Charles Antis:

And if you look around at this roping, I believe there's

Charles Antis:

proof of that concept here.

Charles Antis:

And in the future, we're moving into men.

Charles Antis:

You have to truly have cause in what, why you exist.

Charles Antis:

And it answers.

Charles Antis:

It's clear why we exist.

Charles Antis:

If you were behind one of our logos here, it would say ancestry.

Charles Antis:

Keeping families safe and dry.

Charles Antis:

We know when someone's in customer care, answers the

Charles Antis:

phone and someone's got a leak.

Charles Antis:

We're not trying to collect.

Charles Antis:

We're trying to keep them safe and dry, and we do it better than anybody

Charles Antis:

in the HOA market up and down the coast because of this philosophy.

Charles Antis:

But I love you talking about water.

Charles Antis:

Water find seeks its own level waters in all of us waters everywhere

Charles Antis:

in us, between us it's in life.

Charles Antis:

It's beautiful.

Charles Antis:

It's in our air.

Charles Antis:

We breathe and the scary it, but it also carries our viruses too much of it

Charles Antis:

can flood our homes and even consider.

Charles Antis:

Water is a

Charles Antis:

Fun, fun metaphor that I'm having a lot of fun with right now because we're

Charles Antis:

writing a book about cause and business.

Charles Antis:

It's about that moment when you're in that house and somebody needs something

Charles Antis:

that doctor on an airplane moment, it's about not saying no, it's about

Charles Antis:

saying maybe it's the power of maybe and what it does for culture brand and

Charles Antis:

for how you feel and how you sleep in.

Joshua Maddux:

I love that doctor on an airplane moment.

Joshua Maddux:

I love that sort of analogy of,

Joshua Maddux:

you know,

Joshua Maddux:

we've all had that where there's some life-changing situation that happens and

Joshua Maddux:

someone goes, I'm a doctor, I'm an EMT.

Joshua Maddux:

I'm a whatever.

Joshua Maddux:

And instantly everybody is so happy to see that person.

Joshua Maddux:

For you, that person that you.

Joshua Maddux:

Hey, I know you don't have the money to replace this roof.

Joshua Maddux:

Don't worry about it.

Joshua Maddux:

We're going to take care of it like that for that person.

Joshua Maddux:

It was totally that moment.

Joshua Maddux:

And I think that is,

Joshua Maddux:

you know,

Joshua Maddux:

we touched briefly on culture before this, before we hit record.

Joshua Maddux:

And I think the element of what you guys do and not just,

Joshua Maddux:

you know,

Joshua Maddux:

roofing at the end of the day, we're in Southern California, it can get warm.

Joshua Maddux:

Being up on a roof at the end of the day, when it's a hundred plus degrees

Joshua Maddux:

outside, isn't necessarily the most fun and glamorous thing in the world.

Joshua Maddux:

There can be tar paper, it can be stinky, it can be whatever,

Joshua Maddux:

but that's just the tool.

Joshua Maddux:

That you guys used to keep those people, like you said, safe and dry.

Charles Antis:

It is really.

Charles Antis:

And I, I can pity my people until I remember because of the way we hold it.

Charles Antis:

The leader in the field Narcisso Alicon, he leads all the boots on the ground.

Charles Antis:

He had an, he won the best of the best and national award for

Charles Antis:

the MVP of the roofing industry.

Charles Antis:

And on the cover of the magazine has said leading with.

Charles Antis:

So there's this element of really focusing on people that is really powerful.

Charles Antis:

And if I would've known earlier and

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

I gotta be honest, I was more generous outside my company before I

Charles Antis:

was more gymnast inside my company.

Charles Antis:

It felt like I could get that anecdotal roof.

Charles Antis:

Good.

Charles Antis:

Cause I had to, but

Charles Antis:

if an employee wanted something, it was harder.

Charles Antis:

Cause it felt

Charles Antis:

oh, then they'll expect it.

Charles Antis:

And I did, I went through a lot of years of feeling like there's not enough

Charles Antis:

and I'm going to tell you something.

Charles Antis:

When you feel like there's not enough, you're always right.

Charles Antis:

Think about that.

Charles Antis:

When I used to say no, there's not enough.

Charles Antis:

I always ended the conversation.

Charles Antis:

It done, it was done.

Charles Antis:

It was over, it was finished, but I've learned a new habit and it's just, it's

Charles Antis:

not saying no it's in, in not knowing it's in a, not knowing anything in every moment

Charles Antis:

where I used to have to know everything.

Charles Antis:

Instead, if I show up.

Charles Antis:

Not knowing so much more capacity can happen.

Charles Antis:

So today I have an automatic, maybe an any ask comes here.

Charles Antis:

And as a result, we're able to help people, even when we don't

Charles Antis:

have capacity, we're able to help people by drawing attention.

Charles Antis:

So other people can donate.

Charles Antis:

We're able to do that in so many ways.

Charles Antis:

And what we find that everybody that participates, lifted

Charles Antis:

up the brands lifted up.

Charles Antis:

The cultures lifted up, that shows up in a myriad of ways.

Charles Antis:

It should show up in better safety.

Charles Antis:

It should show up in.

Charles Antis:

Ha,

Charles Antis:

you know,

Charles Antis:

both fulfillment at work, it should show up in a better performance.

Charles Antis:

And that's where it doesn't ANSYS without question.

Joshua Maddux:

I imagine that speaks to, the improvement of your guys's company

Joshua Maddux:

culture, the improvement of, your team's excited to show up in the morning because

Joshua Maddux:

they're able to help people with this,

Joshua Maddux:

with the challenges.

Joshua Maddux:

Having a leaky roof for not having a roots or whatever that might be.

Joshua Maddux:

That also probably speaks to employee retention.

Charles Antis:

We have twice the national average,

Charles Antis:

measured, we haven't measured the last couple of years since COVID and no

Charles Antis:

doubt it's dropped a little bit, but

Charles Antis:

when the national average of retention, the ripping industry was 46%.

Charles Antis:

We track 92 and 93% of those years.

Charles Antis:

And it's still, it's probably a higher attrition that even now.

Charles Antis:

And

Charles Antis:

yeah, we have a very, it makes a tremendous difference.

Charles Antis:

You know,

Charles Antis:

the thing though, that in starting where we started in with the history

Charles Antis:

where we started the dilemma today, isn't getting work well, it is it's

Charles Antis:

in getting work, but it's for a reason up today, our brand is strong today.

Charles Antis:

Our culture is strong.

Charles Antis:

Today, our challenges were in drought, in Southern California.

Charles Antis:

We have extremely light weather patterns and we've been working on all

Charles Antis:

sorts of drought the last dozen years.

Charles Antis:

And right now in the last couple of years, we're in a drought again.

Charles Antis:

And that really affects us and the may not where our phone's going to ring.

Charles Antis:

It really affects us.

Charles Antis:

And this is, and so our challenge right now, Joshua

Charles Antis:

Is how do you thrive?

Charles Antis:

Through drought.

Charles Antis:

And I got to tell you some of our challenges.

Charles Antis:

We've had some monies where we post, we posted,

Charles Antis:

in a row three digit losses and we're not a huge company.

Charles Antis:

One of the reasons that happened is when we saw our big work workload missing,

Charles Antis:

we wanted to keep our employees busy.

Charles Antis:

So we did two things.

Charles Antis:

We ramped up training.

Charles Antis:

And we ramped up pro certification, but the national roofing

Charles Antis:

contractors association, we're supporting that great institution.

Charles Antis:

We're also giving our guys, a training a, And a designation

Charles Antis:

that will matter wherever they go, that they can take with them.

Charles Antis:

And it's not cheap and time our money spent.

Charles Antis:

We've also invested.

Charles Antis:

And the community, not only have we donated eight habitat for humanity ropes

Charles Antis:

this last year, and we've donated 1.3 million of them in the last 10 years.

Charles Antis:

But we upped our donations and we called over 20 nonprofits

Charles Antis:

during, when we were slow.

Charles Antis:

And we said, you guys house people that need homes.

Charles Antis:

They said.

Charles Antis:

Yeah.

Charles Antis:

So we said, let's go to American family housing, other Ronald McDonald

Charles Antis:

houses, a bunch of homemade projects.

Charles Antis:

And we said, let us go take care of you.

Charles Antis:

And we are installing new roofs.

Charles Antis:

We have other contractors, like best contracting services.

Charles Antis:

Join us.

Charles Antis:

We have beacon supply that are supplying us.

Charles Antis:

We have a GAF and IB and all of these great companies are sipping.

Charles Antis:

Yes.

Charles Antis:

Eagle tile.

Charles Antis:

And we have literally donated hundreds of thousands of extra and roofing.

Charles Antis:

It's worth paying for it's costing us money, but because we have been giving and

Charles Antis:

building for so long, we have a tremendous resource that we have invested in the

Charles Antis:

company this so we can continue to give.

Charles Antis:

And what this gives us is it gives us happiness.

Charles Antis:

We're happy today.

Charles Antis:

We're not worried, but everybody in the company sees how hard the company is.

Charles Antis:

We're not stressed over finances because we're prepared for drought

Charles Antis:

and we're not stressed and we're not stressed in any other way.

Charles Antis:

Other than to, we're just saying you are most important to our people.

Charles Antis:

And as a result, we're thriving, our brand has never been stronger and what's going

Charles Antis:

to happen when it rains again, that's when the job starts come, we are going to

Charles Antis:

grow and it's, and we're going to continue to grow and we're going to be happy.

Charles Antis:

And the way we do it today, it's like just that first roof.

Charles Antis:

Remember I told you that uncomfortable feeling.

Charles Antis:

When the pandemic hit, it was new stuff, it was blood.

Charles Antis:

It was food because I didn't know what to do in the community.

Charles Antis:

And our habitat builds were stopped initially.

Charles Antis:

And all of a sudden our VPs here, Susan Degrassi, who's on the board

Charles Antis:

for American red cross locally.

Charles Antis:

She said, Charles.

Charles Antis:

Food insecurity.

Charles Antis:

I know you've heard this before.

Charles Antis:

We've talked about it, but now it's time to listen.

Charles Antis:

22% of the people in your area don't have enough food.

Charles Antis:

They're hungry.

Charles Antis:

And so I remember I went out 18 months ago and I delivered a box of food to a woman.

Charles Antis:

And the second story of a condo I wasn't supposed to go in, but she asked me

Charles Antis:

to, and I carried this box in and as I carried it, I looked at her and she was

Charles Antis:

really old and an old thin nightgown.

Charles Antis:

And she was saying, bless you.

Charles Antis:

And at first it hit me like, oh no, it's just like uncomfortable.

Charles Antis:

And then as I put the box of food down and turned.

Charles Antis:

I turned to her and I just had this feeling that I don't want to ever forget.

Charles Antis:

I had this feeling like, oh my gosh, I feel alive.

Charles Antis:

Wow, this woman just reminded me what I'm supposed to do.

Charles Antis:

I'm supposed to say yes to help others in need.

Charles Antis:

And then she said, wait a minute.

Charles Antis:

And I thought, oh, she's in a beautiful present.

Charles Antis:

And she wandered down the hall and waited.

Charles Antis:

So she came back thinking she had a gift for something.

Charles Antis:

Instead, she comes out with a completely squeezed flat tube of Colgate

Charles Antis:

toothpaste, asking if she can have more.

Charles Antis:

And in that moment, I got to experience that in a powerful way, this rush of how

Charles Antis:

it feels to know you're engaged awakened in the moment, doing the right thing.

Charles Antis:

And yet there's so much more to be done.

Charles Antis:

And it was long after that.

Charles Antis:

Susan deGrasse says, Hey, we can donate 70.

Charles Antis:

Where it put a space every week and we can do blood drives and we've had over

Charles Antis:

50 blood drives in the last 18 months.

Charles Antis:

We've raised almost like 3,800 life-saving units of blood.

Charles Antis:

And so something about this, what does that do for us?

Charles Antis:

Look at our culture.

Charles Antis:

Walk in here, man.

Charles Antis:

It's like a high five on that.

Charles Antis:

It's like we saw a doctor on an airplane, save a patient we're high

Charles Antis:

five and all around the office.

Charles Antis:

And when you go out to our stakeholders, when we go to events,

Charles Antis:

people show appreciation people.

Charles Antis:

Don't when I walk into a board meeting, think of me as a contractor,

Charles Antis:

taking advantage of when I go into a board meeting, they look at me

Charles Antis:

and they often say, thank you.

Charles Antis:

And we have an immediate trust.

Charles Antis:

And they sometimes look at me, it'll touch their hair.

Charles Antis:

Like they're flirting.

Charles Antis:

And I go, what are we doing?

Charles Antis:

Why are you acting like this?

Charles Antis:

And they'll say, we just like you, why?

Charles Antis:

And they'll say,

Charles Antis:

we doing good on your job.

Charles Antis:

And sometimes they'll say things like.

Charles Antis:

We just feel good when we think about you.

Charles Antis:

And at first I didn't like that answer.

Charles Antis:

Now.

Charles Antis:

I love that answer.

Charles Antis:

Our job is to do right by everybody and to err on the side of generosity

Charles Antis:

with all of our stakeholders.

Charles Antis:

And if we do our brand will thrive.

Charles Antis:

Yeah.

Charles Antis:

We may not.

Charles Antis:

We may not grow in drought years.

Charles Antis:

We grow our stature roles, our capacity grows, our love grows and

Charles Antis:

this huge network of good people trying to do the right thing grows.

Charles Antis:

And I don't know what the power that is.

Charles Antis:

I don't have an algorithm that measured it, but it feels like

Charles Antis:

the impact's a thousand times more than way it hits our bank accounts.

Joshua Maddux:

That's amazing.

Joshua Maddux:

And that's, that really speaks to, in a time where no one would have

Joshua Maddux:

blamed a business owner for laying off half the staff that weren't

Joshua Maddux:

busy because you didn't have jobs.

Joshua Maddux:

Not only was it, Hey, let's keep them on board, but it was, let's spend

Joshua Maddux:

more money training them so we can come back stronger in the future,

Joshua Maddux:

which means when the drought does hit.

Joshua Maddux:

And competition who let the staff go,

Joshua Maddux:

you know,

Joshua Maddux:

who's ready.

Joshua Maddux:

Who's able, who's willing.

Joshua Maddux:

And you've made incredible relationships with the local community.

Joshua Maddux:

Decision-makers with those people and they know who you are.

Joshua Maddux:

I was talking with a while ago with a guy who was starting a car detailing

Joshua Maddux:

company up north, and he's I don't know what to do for marketing.

Joshua Maddux:

I don't have any money.

Joshua Maddux:

And I was like, find three schools and do a.

Joshua Maddux:

You're like, Hey, we'll help you guys run car washing.

Joshua Maddux:

I'll help organize it, whatever.

Joshua Maddux:

And I was like, do that type as a give back to the community first.

Joshua Maddux:

And you will see customers come in.

Joshua Maddux:

It may take a little bit, but it's a sweat equity investment and you will

Joshua Maddux:

build a relationship with your community and the community will support you.

Joshua Maddux:

And six months later, I have so many customers, I don't know what to do.

Joshua Maddux:

I'm hiring people, I'm growing and that's great.

Joshua Maddux:

It's a great thing, to see businesses, continue to grow and

Joshua Maddux:

continue to thrive even in economic, uncertainty and everything.

Charles Antis:

You nailed, there's a way to get there and, you know,

Charles Antis:

you're giving somebody a tool.

Charles Antis:

And sometimes we do things because of opportunity.

Charles Antis:

One of the things that you see hugely us, cause we talk about it on Klon

Charles Antis:

radio, Heidi and Frank show on LA and it's the California love drop

Charles Antis:

it's where wing lamb of wa who's fish taco is a big local restaurant.

Charles Antis:

Hooked up with this roofer and this Kalos right.

Charles Antis:

And we just started bringing food and drinks to frontline heroes,

Charles Antis:

hospitals, police, and fire, and it just created a huge lift in the industry.

Charles Antis:

That's a great lift for our culture and brand too, but sometimes I want to tell

Charles Antis:

you that it's whatever your story is, and I'm going to tell you the area I've had

Charles Antis:

the biggest impact where our company's had the biggest impact and I'm, this is

Charles Antis:

the hint, it's the socks that I'm wearing.

Charles Antis:

And so those are Ronald McDonald socks, and you'll see, they're a little bit worn.

Charles Antis:

I have 40 pair of these in my drawer.

Charles Antis:

I've been wearing.

Charles Antis:

For four years on two campaigns, I'm going to tell you the campaigns quickly first,

Charles Antis:

because they're both somewhat completed.

Charles Antis:

The first was to adopt all of the Ronald McDonald house roofs across the country.

Charles Antis:

And we have to over 200 roofing companies that adopted them.

Charles Antis:

So Ronald McDonald houses now have, will be safe, dry,

Charles Antis:

and close at no cost to them.

Charles Antis:

When at all possible.

Charles Antis:

Not that is my real story.

Charles Antis:

Now, the other thing that just happened officially that Katie wrecker and I

Charles Antis:

have raised $13.7 million to double the size of the orange county house.

Charles Antis:

This is the second campaign of where these socks for now.

Charles Antis:

I'm going to tell you why that campaign works for me and for my stakeholders.

Charles Antis:

It works because seven years ago, my twins who are a hundred percent healthy.

Charles Antis:

Charlie and Gracie were born seven years ago, but they were born unexpectedly

Charles Antis:

premature, and they were in shock NICU in orange county in mission Viejo hospital.

Charles Antis:

And so every day they went, we went from a healthy pregnancy to a happy pregnancy.

Charles Antis:

My wife, Dawn, and I, to going to the hospital every day to check on

Charles Antis:

them, to see if they're okay to see if there's any bells or whistles

Charles Antis:

going off in their incubators.

Charles Antis:

And this one thing, the doctors, the chop doctors told us if you come in twice a

Charles Antis:

day for two hours each time and pull off.

Charles Antis:

And lay your naked baby skin on skin, on your chest.

Charles Antis:

It will give them the best chance to heal.

Charles Antis:

And so when you hear that, when you're a father and a mother, man, you go there.

Charles Antis:

And so we went there every day and when we would go there every day to the hospital,

Charles Antis:

there was a Ronald McDonald station.

Charles Antis:

That's the first time I got what they did, there was beds.

Charles Antis:

There was computers, there was snacks.

Charles Antis:

There was coffee.

Charles Antis:

There was nice attendant.

Charles Antis:

Name, Susan, that would say, come here, Hey, have some coffee.

Charles Antis:

And you know what?

Charles Antis:

Looking back.

Charles Antis:

I hate to admit it, but I was rude to Susan.

Charles Antis:

I ignored her.

Charles Antis:

I wasn't ready

Charles Antis:

to be part of that club, the club of families that had sick kids.

Charles Antis:

So I pretended it wasn't happening and I ignored them every day until this

Charles Antis:

one day, I'm going to the hospital.

Charles Antis:

Purdue skin on skin with Charlie, my son and I had the worst chronic

Charles Antis:

heartburn I'd ever remembered having it was so bad that there's no way

Charles Antis:

I was in a bit of lamb on my chest.

Charles Antis:

And so I walked in and I was frustrated and I was worried about

Charles Antis:

what my wife was going to say.

Charles Antis:

And I looked down and there was no attendant at the

Charles Antis:

Ronald McDonald house station.

Charles Antis:

I looked down and I saw a little green nature valley granola bar.

Charles Antis:

And so I took it.

Charles Antis:

I took it, not intending to pay anything back.

Charles Antis:

I took the screen.

Charles Antis:

And I ate it and I don't remember anything, except I remember

Charles Antis:

sitting on that reclining chair.

Charles Antis:

An hour and a half later.

Charles Antis:

And Charlie, my infant son asleep on my chest and I was a hundred percent healthy.

Charles Antis:

And I wasn't in any pain.

Charles Antis:

And suddenly that started to hit me what that means to keeping families close.

Charles Antis:

And that was the, that was a profound moment.

Charles Antis:

When I told that story to the national roofing partners and all

Charles Antis:

those people, it's like a family of represent that were like me.

Charles Antis:

They can't let anybody have a leaky roof just because they

Charles Antis:

don't have the money to pay.

Charles Antis:

They said.

Charles Antis:

Sure.

Charles Antis:

And when I tell that story locally and Katie Rucker, my pain manager

Charles Antis:

told her story and we would rock the socks in with my Powell wing lamb.

Charles Antis:

He just walked in and point, come in this shop, come here.

Charles Antis:

Where's the socks with me.

Charles Antis:

He's like the most popular orange county.

Charles Antis:

He just walks into my office when I'm in a podcast, that's how

Charles Antis:

close we are because we're bound together doing good in community.

Charles Antis:

And that makes us really accessible to all of our clients, to all of our

Charles Antis:

stakeholders, to all of our employees.

Charles Antis:

And it makes our work together.

Charles Antis:

Like the love drop, like one old McDonald house.

Charles Antis:

Like the blood drives like the.

Charles Antis:

We're going to show up in two weeks, Wing's going to be cooking tacos there,

Charles Antis:

and we're going to drive the 500,000 nail on the 177,000 tile on the 86 home.

Charles Antis:

We've donated a roof for habitat for humanity.

Charles Antis:

So $1.3 million in roofing, and we're going to do that.

Charles Antis:

And we're going to tell that story of how we got there.

Charles Antis:

And I'm going to dedicate that gold nail that I drive in to the guy.

Charles Antis:

For two years, 13 years ago begged me to donate a habitat, promising me it would

Charles Antis:

change our brand and change my life.

Charles Antis:

And he was right.

Charles Antis:

And that's Greg wise who passed.

Charles Antis:

And so thank you, Greg, for sending us on the right path there.

Joshua Maddux:

Wow.

Joshua Maddux:

There's been so much to unpack in this conversation and just so much here.

Joshua Maddux:

Within regards to, company culture, adding value to the community,

Joshua Maddux:

community support and training.

Joshua Maddux:

we could probably spend an hour chatting.

Charles Antis:

We got to go do a love problem.

Joshua Maddux:

What is your advice to someone who's facing.

Joshua Maddux:

Some of these business challenges and bringing it back to the beginning

Joshua Maddux:

of this, we were talking about.

Joshua Maddux:

That, element of just getting out there and getting business

Joshua Maddux:

and focusing on self care.

Joshua Maddux:

And so what is your advice to someone who's in that scenario?

Joshua Maddux:

Who's starting a business maybe are facing some of these challenges.

Charles Antis:

You were right when you're talking about getting

Charles Antis:

involved with those schools, it's it?

Charles Antis:

You're right.

Charles Antis:

But

Charles Antis:

you're, you got to do it in the best way to find yourself.

Charles Antis:

I can't really tell my story about the socks.

Charles Antis:

I'm finding a way to be okay with myself.

Charles Antis:

And I remember I'm a guy that can wake up at 3:00 AM with a head that doesn't talk.

Charles Antis:

And so I believe you need something that feels like meditation.

Charles Antis:

Now, I don't know what you call that, what you do, but you've got to

Charles Antis:

find a little bit of spirituality.

Charles Antis:

Maybe you need to find some really positive, uplifting, thing in the

Charles Antis:

morning to read every day to get you spun in the right direction.

Charles Antis:

I think that's really critically important that you find that.

Charles Antis:

And I think it's critically important that you.

Charles Antis:

Every day.

Charles Antis:

I have this thing called the five minute journal.

Charles Antis:

I got one right here.

Charles Antis:

That's really used.

Charles Antis:

I have notes on it.

Charles Antis:

And every day I write three things.

Charles Antis:

I'm grateful for three things that will make the day great.

Charles Antis:

And two items, you don't need the five minute journal to do that, but do that.

Charles Antis:

You will forecast your day.

Charles Antis:

Whatever you write down will come to pass.

Charles Antis:

And then it's tell your story, get involved with the cause that fulfills you.

Charles Antis:

If you want to have purpose and you want to sell your

Charles Antis:

product, you need to be heard.

Charles Antis:

If you want to be heard.

Charles Antis:

You need brand strategy.

Charles Antis:

You need to go up against like Wing always says it always, it

Charles Antis:

matters who you stand next to.

Charles Antis:

So what you do is you build that bridge.

Charles Antis:

And so if it's a cause, look at the non-profit

Charles Antis:

if you love habitat for humanity, if you're a roofer like me,

Charles Antis:

it makes sense to donate that.

Charles Antis:

But before you do it, you gotta look at who's the CEO of that it's

Charles Antis:

scrutinizing, but you've got to do it.

Charles Antis:

If it's not a strong leader, you're going to get yourself into a quagmire.

Charles Antis:

Really critically important.

Charles Antis:

You look, who's serving on the board.

Charles Antis:

I know you want it.

Charles Antis:

You have a big cause, but go to the brand that has board

Charles Antis:

members who have what you want.

Charles Antis:

You will acquire the traits of the board members that you serve next to

Charles Antis:

on boards matter, make that matter and look at the staff and then get involved.

Charles Antis:

Join a committee.

Charles Antis:

And tell them when you join the committee, tell them what you have time to do.

Charles Antis:

You don't have to do 40 hours a month.

Charles Antis:

Like I didn't been very first and habitat cause now I do a

Charles Antis:

few hours a month for habitat.

Charles Antis:

It's a very good arrangement, but tell them what you'll do then

Charles Antis:

show up and you'll be fulfilled.

Charles Antis:

You'll lift community.

Charles Antis:

Your people will believe you inside and outside the company.

Charles Antis:

And that is the best advice I can give anyone moving into the world, we're moving

Charles Antis:

into where we're going to see exponential change about an exponential change.

Charles Antis:

It's how you are in the world.

Charles Antis:

How people know you by what you do.

Charles Antis:

They will know you by how you perform.

Charles Antis:

And if you have a brand like habitat for humanity, standing next to you, what

Charles Antis:

that does, they don't make decisions.

Charles Antis:

Their cognitive brain.

Charles Antis:

They make decisions in their animal brain.

Charles Antis:

And it's if I'm at habitat for many, it's I have a tattoo on my forehead that

Charles Antis:

everybody can see that says, I think.

Charles Antis:

Everybody deserves a decent place to live, and that makes people in the

Charles Antis:

community, trust me with their children.

Charles Antis:

I'm speaking a little bit lofty there, but I'm just telling you how it feels

Charles Antis:

to the brain that makes decision.

Charles Antis:

Because people know we rep Ronald McDonald house.

Charles Antis:

They know that wing, and I think it is unimaginable to ignore sick children.

Charles Antis:

That's not words.

Charles Antis:

Feeling and the right we're going to do what we can to

Charles Antis:

feed them, to lift their smile.

Charles Antis:

And people know that.

Charles Antis:

And that's how you need to be known in the world, known for the solution.

Charles Antis:

And that part of the solution by the way, should be a broad solution

Charles Antis:

that within that category builds the bridge all the way to everywhere.

Joshua Maddux:

That's awesome.

Joshua Maddux:

There's been so much in this conversation so much to unpack,

Joshua Maddux:

appreciate the time today.

Joshua Maddux:

For people who do want to reach out who do want to find you, we'll have

Joshua Maddux:

your guys's website, a YouTube channel, your LinkedIn, all in the show notes,

Joshua Maddux:

but what's the sort of number one way people can find out more about you about

Joshua Maddux:

some of the causes that you guys are.

Joshua Maddux:

Ronald McDonald house is a huge name.

Joshua Maddux:

And the fact that you guys at.

Joshua Maddux:

Other roofers that you guys are partnering with are just

Joshua Maddux:

helping cover those roof costs.

Joshua Maddux:

That's that alone is just incredible.

Joshua Maddux:

There's just so much negative.

Charles Antis:

It's incredible.

Charles Antis:

I would just say, keep it simple.

Charles Antis:

Just follow me on LinkedIn.

Charles Antis:

That's the only channel that I personally.

Charles Antis:

I do myself.

Charles Antis:

My own LinkedIn are antiseptic is involved on a lot of channels.

Charles Antis:

You can follow us, but if you follow me on LinkedIn, I'll plug you into

Charles Antis:

the different things that we're doing.

Charles Antis:

Cause I personally get involved and buy personally get involved.

Charles Antis:

I don't over metal in those VPs that I worked so hard to attract.

Charles Antis:

Awesome.

Charles Antis:

I appreciate the time today.

Charles Antis:

Great having you.

Joshua Maddux:

Thanks for listening to this episode of, in the bunker.

Joshua Maddux:

As always we can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Joshua Maddux:

at, in the bunker podcast.

Joshua Maddux:

Be sure to share this episode and what you're going to apply from it.

Joshua Maddux:

And how that can affect your business, make sure to tag us in that post so

Joshua Maddux:

we can highlight your journey as well.

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