Business Talk
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Business Talk
Transforming Spaces with Skylights: A Family's Innovative Path
Unlock the transformative power of natural light with Scotty and Torin, the father and son visionaries behind Central Florida Skylights LLC. Discover how Scotty transitioned from a traditional roofing career to a passion-driven business that specializes in skylights, bringing light and energy efficiency into homes across Central Florida. Our engaging conversation uncovers how this dynamic duo has mastered the art of creating beautifully lit spaces that not only elevate aesthetics but also boost customer satisfaction. Learn the secrets behind their success and the rewarding reactions from clients who see their homes in a new light—literally.
Our guests share their inspiring journey, from Scotty's three decades atop roofs to the strategic shift that brought his sons into the business and fueled their growth. As the demand for skylights surged, the family joined forces, each playing a vital role in meeting market needs and creating inviting home environments. This episode offers invaluable lessons on adapting to industry demands, the emotional benefits of working with family, and the sheer joy of witnessing a customer's delight with a brighter, more inviting home. Whether you're keen on business insights or exploring the impact of design on living spaces, this episode promises to enlighten and inspire.
Welcome back everybody to our podcast, where we interview inspiring business owners and share their valuable insights to help you succeed. Now, if you enjoy hearing success stories and learning new tips and discovering strategies to grow your business, make sure to hit that subscribe button and turn on the notification bell so you'll never miss an episode. Also, if you would like to be a guest on the show, if you know somebody that would love to be a guest on this show, feel free to reach out to us as well. So I am delighted to introduce to you Scotty and Torin father and son team. They actually own a company called Central Florida Skylights LLC and we're excited to have you on the show. Welcome, guys, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Have you on the show, welcome guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being here.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're very, very welcome. So let's dive in a little bit and let our listeners tell our listeners a little bit about your background, if you will.
Speaker 3:Well, I have over 30 years roofing experience, so I was also installing roofs and skylights at the same time. So, as time went on, it was time to hang up that roofing belt and just stick to the skylight strictly. And then I asked my son for him to come on board and help me with selling the skylights, because it was getting tougher and tougher as we were getting busier, to sell them and then go install them. So I asked him to come on board and help us sell the skylights for us. And then I asked my other son.
Speaker 3:Jaron shortly after if he would come and help me. But we couldn't catch up. We just couldn't get caught up. So that's how it kind of all started.
Speaker 1:Awesome. So there's a kind of a big demand in terms of what you guys are doing and offering skylights. By the way, I do like your logo behind you.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:You're very welcome. So there is a demand for that. And you know what's interesting, scotty, you said you started off as a roofer. You know getting your license for roofing and your general contract. I'm sure you have a general contractor's license, okay, and getting in all that, and then all of a sudden it kind of transitioned. You saw a void or a need. When you're up on those roofs, right, you're like, wow, you know what we can put these skylights into as well, and we can probably talk about energy efficiency and things of that nature as well. So you know, looking back, what's a major reason or a lesson that you've learned that really got you into this business?
Speaker 3:Well, roofing was a great aspect of what I was doing. I liked it a lot, I enjoyed being up on that roof every day. But you know, when you get older you start losing that focus. And then, as I was putting skylights in, you know, I thought wow, these are really a lot. This is a lot better glitch because I can put skylights in. It brings the light in, and then I get this. What do you call it like?
Speaker 1:Effect. Is it an effect? The?
Speaker 3:effect in the customer's reaction, you know, because when they came out and saw the roof, you know it looked great and that was that. But the skylights bring so much more inside the home as well as on the look on the outside. So, whether it was traditional skylights or tubular skylights, you got that effect and you got that outcome and that response from the customer and it just made you feel good inside. And that's what I was wanting and what I've been really looking for, because I took pride in my roofs and how they looked and how straight they were and how good it looked and how clean it looked, and you know. So then, doing the skylights, it was that it was what I was looking for to bring the light in and get the effect and hear that response, because the customer is just oh, my goodness, I've never dreamed this would be this bright the lighting is what you said, right?
Speaker 1:yeah, so before the house or wherever you were putting, that skylight was kind of dark, you know, and probably not the brightest, but then when that skylight went in and that natural light came in and you walked back into that room, it was like night and day, right.
Speaker 3:Night and day difference. Yeah, and I could see everything they found out. They haven't cleaned their house as good as they normally do to be done, but the light on the floor and the light that lit up the room and their pictures, and oh, it was a big deal, it was a big deal.
Speaker 1:You know, looking at your website, you guys have had a lot of awards too as well, and you're also on the Better Business Bureau. But also I saw that you guys offer solar attic fans and dome series and a few other services as well, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir. Yeah, we kind of cover a lot of stuff. It's primarily the traditional skylights and the tubular skylights, but then we also have the solar attic fans. So it's in one hand, it's brightening up dark rooms and you know bringing in all that natural light. Then the other side of it is hey, we can also cool down your attic and really make things make your home more energy efficient.
Speaker 1:You know I like that word. I was about to interrupt you and say you're right ahead of me, man, so let's talk about you know, the market's always changing and your competitions out there, so what makes you guys different than your competitors?
Speaker 3:well, as far as our tubular skylight, uh, we have our traditional look of a skylight, but it's a tubular skylight where it has four layers of glass it's impact glass and then we attach our tube to the bottom here and then that brings in the light. We also add this reflective mirror. So what happens is that sunlight hits that mirror and reflects down on the tube. And then we also add our ceiling ring at the bottom. As you can see here it has two layers, so it's energy efficient. Just like it is at the top of the skyline and we add our tube here, and then we also add our mirror here, so it reflects down through the tube, and that's what makes the magic happen and bring all the light into the home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so really, it's really just like the biggest there happen to bring all the light into the home, yeah, so really, it's really just like the biggest. There's a lot of extra components that we add to our two-door skylights. That really makes us stand out from our competitors.
Speaker 1:I like that and it really I mean, can you give me an idea or our listeners an idea like if you take what's the size room before and after on the effects of the change, do you have that?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I would say we carry two different sizing types. There's a 14 inch and a 22. So as me, who does a lot of the sales and whatnot, I'll walk into the home. They'll say, hey, my kitchen's dark, or this hallway's dark, this bathroom's dark, and that's where I kind of gauge that Okay. So this small bathroom needs a 14 inch, that'd be perfect amount of light. It does 5 to 60 light in diameter so it really can bring up that small space. Then if you've got bigger rooms like a kitchen or a living room, the 20-inch is where it really amplifies that light. It really gets a lot more light coverage through that space.
Speaker 1:Well, good advice, torin. I like that a lot. So let's talk about this. What makes your business really different? Makes your business really different? Well, not so much different, but is there a customer that you can recount or recall? That was really just wow. It was like that wow moment. Can you and you don't need to, you know say the customer name and can you give us an idea on how he or she, she, felt after it was done?
Speaker 2:I just did. There was one a few weeks ago that we've almost, like she's had like what like seven skylights installed, and we ago that we almost like she's had like what like seven skylights installed and we've had consistently, almost like every other week, that she's been delaying for more yeah, and we got all seven, the last, the seventh one, we got before hurricane milton, the day before, actually so and then she, she, I called her to say okay, are you okay?
Speaker 3:and she goes yeah, no water in my house whatsoever wow, you know what?
Speaker 3:I'll tell you something I'd like to share with everyone is that, like you were asking about our business and what's one thing that really stands out and I would say it's when we come to do the install and we get ready to come inside and cover up with plastic the customer most of the customers have already stopped me and said I just want to share something with you. You and your wife did a very good job raising Torin. I said how's that? I said because we sure didn't have any help. And they said well, you know, he's very professional, he is just very polite. He listened to all of our questions and he answered all of them and he just we felt like we had a second son in our family.
Speaker 3:So that made me feel really good and I shared that with my wife when I got home, because you don't get those compliments every day. So I think that's what really makes us different, because we're a true family business and we treat our customers. Torrin treats them at the sales like a family member. He doesn't treat them like he's a salesman and they're a customer. It's not that kind of relationship. So by the time we come there, the relationship's already built and it's just growing as we come to do the install. So I think that's what makes us different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that and kudos to you, torin, for your father. You know, seeing, yeah, that's awesome. And you know you talk about relationships, whether it's in business or customers, and keeping them, you know, very happy with you and building that relationship is so important in driving and being successful in your business. Would you agree?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would agree, definitely yes.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about you know there are going to be aspiring entrepreneurs, guys that are listening. You know people who want to become a business owner. Can you give some advice on what it takes to go through, what you've been through, to get to where you're at today? Just a couple tips.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the biggest thing is definitely like communication, like that is 100%, like there needs to be good communication between each other to you know know what's going on with this and what's going on with that? Because not every, not every home is, you know, straight, it's this way, that way, it's you know. So there's a lot of that communication like hey, just so you know, like maybe this roof pitch has the higher pitch or something, um, taller ceilings, so those kind of things. So communication has to be strong in order for this to work.
Speaker 3:And I think also as someone that's going to be in business, you need to be honest with yourself and honest with the customer. I think that's number one, no matter what, because I've been to situations where I was honest with the customer and they were wanting like two traditional skylights and then they didn't know that we could offer a big four by four skylight and just be one.
Speaker 3:It was a little bit more money, but it was less money at the very end because they didn't buy two, they bought one to get that space lit up and they even put that on our review how we took less money but we got them what they wanted. So I'm more concerned about the customer. So I think people going in business should be more concerned about their customer and not worried about themselves and their pocketbook, because at the very end everyone's going to be happy and people are going to want to call you and have you do their job instead of someone else.
Speaker 1:Scotty, very good point, and when I heard you say that it's identifying the customer's needs right, going from two to one, yeah, and it might cost a little bit more, but that's exactly what you're recommending and that fulfills their need. So, guys, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to you know to tell our listeners about your business and being able to engage with our listeners about your business. Can you, before we wrap up, can you give our listeners your phone number and a way to get a hold of you through your website?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so definitely go on our website, wwwcentralfloridaskylitesllccom. If you're looking for a quote. We have a quote form on our page. You can also give us a call at 407-494-1037.
Speaker 1:And, of course, if that helps though, we have an email, so cfskylights at gmailcom and we respond to all the things, so we'll happen to make anything happen gentlemen, it's just such a great pleasure to have this time with you and, uh, hopefully we can have you back on in on the show in the near future as well yes, definitely.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having us on your show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're very welcome.
Speaker 4:Thank you for tuning in to First Media Consulting Podcast. If you enjoyed the podcast, subscribe today To nominate a business you would like to recommend to be on our show. Go to firstmediaconsultingcom or call. Thank you for listening.
Speaker 2:There Cool.