In this episode of The Hidden Hustle, we sit down with Jo Nauman from Xtreme Roofing and Siding, a family owned business in Urbandale, Iowa. Jo shares the story of how the business started in 1998, inspired by the desire for independence and a better life for their family. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of working with family, The importance of quality and customer satisfaction and the unique aspects like their Kilroy was here logo inspired by world war two.

Joe also emphasizes the importance of thorough research before starting a business and shares her hopes for the future legacy of Xtreme roofing inside. The

hidden household podcast is a PR team production dedicated to helping businesses like yours. Tell your story and grow beyond belief. If you or a business owner, you know, needs help advertising services, book a call with us today at PR team dash us. com. Let's get into the show. Joe, welcome to the hidden hustle.

Thank you for having me. 

Tell us a little bit about your backstory and Xtreme roofing and siding. 

We are a family owned business. We started back in 98. We've just been progressing from there, just growing our business. We now have the boys with us working side by side with myself and my husband and our daughter works with us as well.

And 

thanks. A true family business. Yep. So what inspired you to start Xtreme Riffing and Siding? 

I think it, well, it all started when we were just first married, have three little kids and my husband was just. Working for one of the local, uh, construction companies in our hometown in Creston, Iowa. And he just, throughout the next few years, he went from doing concrete to doing roofing and siding on his own and being out in the wintertime doing it.

You know, trying to feed the family. He's like, I want to try this on my own. I want to work for myself. So a lot of trial and error, 

a 

lot of rough days, weeks, years, but we finally honed it in and here we are. 

Were there any challenges or surprises in those first few years? Lots, 

lots of challenges, lots of surprises.

I would say a lot of it was learning curve. Trial and error. He did everything with the roofing and siding. I do all of the office. That's a lot of trial and error there too. But, and it's always going to be a trial and error. You learn from your mistakes. You improve. That's what we've been doing. We still do it.

When did you guys start again? It was like 1998? 

98. We started in 98. 

Awesome. So what's working with family like? 

It has its challenges. It's like, well, it just, it depends on the day. It could be just a good, smooth day. Another time it can just be a Monday gone bad. And it could be on a Thursday, but feel like a Monday gone bad.

But we all get along. We do. 

Awesome. So what does that look like with business operations and company culture? How many employees do you have? 

We have four, 

four employees. 

Yeah, we have four employees and then we sub all of our work out. 

Gotcha. So as far as company culture, you guys are all pretty tight knit.

We are. Yeah, we're, we're, yeah, we're pretty tight knit. We do everything as a family outside of business and Within the business too. 

Your logo features the Killroy was here. Yes. Logo. Tell me a little bit more about that. 

That stems from World War II. My husband is, he is a history buff. It's history everything.

You can ask him a question, he'll, he'll have the answer for you. Without having to look it up. Me on the other hand, I gotta look it up. But he had a couple uncles that served in World War II and when he was younger he didn't really get to know them. But through the stories through his mom, and we do have, we have the whole story up on our website at Xtremerfoodinciding.

com. And he just, he's just been a history buff. He just loves it. But from what I understand, how it started was there was a gentleman named James 

Kilroy, 

who was a riveter. And he would write, Kilroy was here on his rivets, saying that they've been inspected. And he put his logo on there, which was just a drawing, and it just, it stuck.

And it's just been something there for 

And then they didn't have time to remove it before the war, right? Yeah, no, 

they did not have time to remove it before the war. And it just, it inspired our troops. 

Sure, it was like a sign of confidence. 

Yes. 

So how does Kilroy reflect on your company values? Because it's part of your logo now too.

It 

is part of our logo, yes. It has been part of our logo for a very long time. It is a sign of confidence. Very respectful to our troops. Respectful to our customers. My husband's had a few times where he would pull up, he's pulled up to a homeowner's home. who actually served in the war. And he's seen just this biggest smile on his face after seeing Kilroy on his truck.

That's awesome. And 

he would sit there and he would just visit with them and listen to their stories. He would always, he always listens to them before he starts whatever he needs to do for the homeowner. 

Yeah. When you look back on the growth of Xtreme roofing and siding, what were some of like the big wins?

Some of the big ones I would say would be probably expanding our business. Being able to stay open as long as we have been. Was 

there anything that, like, launched you into the next level or saved you guys, kept you afloat? 

Some of the new products out there that the distributors have, manufacturers have created, doing commercial jobs, we're doing more commercial jobs now than before, adding more product to our line of business.

So 

you guys do commercial as well? Yes, we do commercial. So, did getting into commercial kind of launch you into kind of a whole other sector that increased business over time? Yes, 

it did, yes. And then having that relationship with our commercial side of the customers. 

Sure. 

Keeping, like, we have one customer who we've been, Had a relationship with them for over three years.

They love us. So yeah, 

that's awesome You guys are known for quality reliability. Are there any specific practices that set you apart from the industry? 

Making sure that well as far as the quality we want to have a quality product. We want to make sure that our homeowners are Satisfied with what product we put out there for them if there's an issue we go back You it for them.

Yeah. Can you walk us through the typical process for a roofing or siding project? 

Sure. Absolutely. Usually, typically what happens is a homeowner calls in, wants us to come out and give them a bid or it's an insurance job. We work strictly off the insurance scope. Whatever the insurance scope is what we work off of.

We go out there, we meet with the homeowner, we listen to what They want what's going on, and then once that's done, then they'll go out, they'll pick out their color for siding or roofing, whatever it is. Then that process, we order the material, we send our subcontractor out there, they put the roof on or the siding, and then throughout the whole process, our sales reps are right there with the homeowner if there's anything they need, any questions, anything like that.

Yeah. Uh, what kind of preparation is needed before starting a project? Calling vendors and prepping insurance? 

Before starting the project, we make sure that what matches on the insurance scope is what is needed on the roof or the siding. 

Sure. 

Because a lot of times, the insurance companies, their adjusters are third party adjusters.

They're not from that insurance company. So a lot of times, because each state is different, so a lot of times they miss some of the stuff that is required by the state of Iowa that has to be put on their roof. Sure. So with that being said, we'll either call into the insurance company and say, Hey, the adjuster missed this or this, or they missed ice and water, or, drip edge or something like that, they will, they'll ask us to take pictures.

They'll ask us how many feet there is, and then they'll say, they'll approve it. And they'll say, okay, go ahead, add that on there as a supplement, send it in. 

Are there any steps on the homeowner side of things to make the process smoother? 

We try to take those steps away from the homeowner so they don't have to deal with the headache with the insurance companies or the adjusters.

We try to make it as easy as possible for them. 

How do you handle unexpected challenges in a project such as bad weather or unforeseen structural issues? 

Well, we're constantly looking at the weather. It just depends on, like, the day. Like, if we know that there's rain coming and we have a roof scheduled, we'll call the homeowner.

We'll say, hey, we've got roof or rain coming. We're not sure if it's going to actually rain or not. Let's push this job back. Homeowners are really good about that. Structural issues, it just depends on, um, When we open up a roof or take the siding down, it just depends on what's behind it. 

Are those unforeseens often covered by insurance or what kind of happens there?

It depends on what, again, it just depends on what it is. It could be yes, or it may not be. A lot of times, a lot of the older homes, they'll re roof over the roofing. So you'll have sometimes like, Two, three, four, five layers of roof of shingles on there. Well, when that happens, you have a lot of weight on your trusses.

And so what that does is it impacts your trusses and puts a lot of stress on it. And then once you take all that off, Your trusses are like, wow, relief. And so then we have to go in and we have to inspect the trusses to make sure that there's no cracks or anything like that, or any wood rot or any things like that.

If there is, then we have to replace it. Sometimes it's at the cost of the insurance company. Sometimes it's at the cost of the homeowner. It just depends on the situation. 

What kind of materials do you recommend for roofing and siding? 

For roofing we use Owens Corning, true definition. That is, we've got a really good standing relationship with Owens Corning.

That's what we use. We've used it for years. Unless the homeowner says, I want to use something different, then we will go and find them something different. 

Yeah. 

As far as the siding, it just depends on what the homeowner wants. A lot of the times it's vinyl siding or it is what's called LP siding. That's wood with a backing on it.

Yeah. In terms of durability, is the vinyl or the LP stronger? 

It just, it depends on, I guess it just depends on the weather and the preference of what the homeowner wants. They're both durable products. If they weren't, we wouldn't offer them. 

Sure. 

When a customer is considering a, uh, roof replacement or siding replacement, what are some questions that they should ask to make sure that they're making the right choice?

Sure. Some of the questions that they could ask is, what's the warranty? Is there a labor warranty? If there is, how long is the labor warranty? Is there a product warranty? How long is the product warranty? A lot of times they'll ask us how long we've been in business because they want that, that assurity as well.

They don't want somebody who's just starting out or there's been in it for like a year or two. They want somebody who knows what they're doing. They want that assurance. 

Yeah. What are some details about roofing and siding that people don't realize? 

The wear and tear on the, uh, product through the years, cause a lot of people tend to think that I have a new roof.

It'll be there forever. A lot of times it's, we could have a bad storm come through and they won't know if something's actually happened to their roof or their siding. Cause we've had several homeowners call in and said that they got a leak. Well, I'll ask them, how long is your, how long have you had your roof on?

And they'll say, well, it's been on here since I bought the place 20 years ago. So we're like, okay, yeah, it's probably about time to get a new roof. Or it could be one that's 5 years old and we've had 5, 6 storms come through and they've never, never had it checked to see if there was damage, things like that.

How do you ensure quality control during a project? Besides the Kilroy logo. 

Right. And that's where the guys come in. They're out there on the job making sure that the subcontractors are doing their job efficiently. Making sure that everything is on there the way it's supposed to be. And our subcontractors are really good.

Are there any specific checks or standards that your team follows? What's, like, what's your guys process when you're making sure everything's done correctly? 

Making sure everything is done correctly is, again, what falls back to the guys. making sure that the homeowner is satisfied when the job is done.

And we always ask the homeowner to inspect the work. 

Yeah. What should they be looking for to make sure that they know that you guys did a good job? 

Make sure that there's like, on the roof, no nail heads showing. There shouldn't be any nail heads showing. And a lot of the homeowners, they don't know what to look for.

Or they take I would rather them go and inspect. Go around the house. Make sure that all of the joints around the windows or all the siding is zipped up, seamed where it's supposed to be. Things like that. Make sure there's no caulking that is shrunk or smeared anywhere. They don't, just do a quick walk through.

And also, The guys walk through with the homeowners, too. 

Roofing and siding can be a pretty significant investment for homeowners. How do you help your clients balance the quality and the cost? 

We work with their budget. If they have a budget, they'll tell us. And we work, we try to come in at that budget for them and still make sure that they're getting the quality that they want.

What's one part of the roofing and siding process that You think is often overlooked, but is critical to the success of the project. 

When we go to a homeowner's house and we get up on the roof and we look at it, we would tell the homeowner, hey, this wasn't done properly. If you want us to fix it, we can fix it.

If not, you may want to get a hold of your previous contractor. Sure. And a lot of times, too, that. you get the fly by night contractors. And that's the worst thing in the world for the contractors like us who are here because we have to go back. We either have to fix their issue or the homeowner will call in and say, I can't get ahold of the previous contractor that did my roof.

Can you come out and look at it? Can you fix whatever 

needs fixed? When you say fly by night, do you mean? Like storm chasers. Yes. Storm 

chasers. You get a lot of storm chasers that come through and it's really hard on our industry. 

Yeah. 

For the honest ones that are out there. 

Right. Yeah. Tell me more about storm chasing, just as a concept.

Like is that something that you guys, 

we used to, that's how we had to start out with storm chasing. Sure. It was hard. It is very hard and we're, we don't have to do that. anymore. We're reputable. We're grounded. We're out there through radio, through TV, now through your podcast. 

Yeah. 

So, I mean, it's not like we have to, do we have to go out and work?

Yes. But not like we don't have to go out and really pound the pavement. 

Sure. Yeah. What was that like in the beginning? 

It was hard. It was stressful. It was, it was, Darren would be gone for weeks at a time in another state or All over the Midwest? All over the Midwest, yes. All over Iowa, absolutely. 

What was that like?

Do you guys hire contractors within the area that the storm was? Or do you send your contractors out there? We, 

depending on where it's at, we would send our subcontractors out. 

Sure. 

Yep, they'll go anywhere. 

Yeah. So you hear about it on the Weather Channel and then Get in the truck and go? 

Just get in the truck and go.

Darren's constantly watching the weather. If we know it's coming in, we constantly watch it. 

Mm hmm. So, what's the biggest thing that storms affect? The roof, shingles flying off, or siding being damaged? 

Depending on the storm, a lot of it, your siding, your windows, your roofing, could have some structural damage.

Mm 

hmm. 

Depending on the severity of the storm. Like when derecho came through, it was bad. Darren got in the truck, went up to Cedar Rapids, and Cedar Rapids was pretty much gone. There was nothing there. He was just, it was a wake up call. He couldn't believe it himself. But we worked Cedar Rapids. We worked that whole area.

Yeah. So what are the, what's the damage that you see commonly with storms? 

Missing shingles from your roof. Hailstorms, uh, damage to your siding. Holes in your siding. Holes in the vinyl. Yeah, vinyl. Yeah, absolutely. Dents in your LP, what other siding you have. Stucco chipped off from your roof. 

In that respect, is LP, would you say, more durable than vinyl in terms of hail?

It would be more durable, yes. 

Yeah. 

But again, depending on the size of the hailstone, the severity of the wind, there's a lot of factors there. 

Yeah. Are there any emerging technologies or methods in the industry that you've started using or are excited about? 

Yeah, we've started using Drones. 

Really? 

Yep. We partnered with Eagle View and we have a drone that it flies up, you hover it over the home, and it'll scan the entire roof, and then it'll scan the entire home, and then it sends the information back to Eagle View, Eagle View then sends us the report.

And who's Eagle View? 

It is a technology that measures. It measures your roofing, your siding, your homes, things like that. 

Down to the square foot? Down to 

everything. 

Down to the inch? 

Down to the inch. 

That's awesome. As 

much as it can. 

Yeah, so, measures the type of, like the roof style, hip? 

Yep, it measures all of it.

It gives you what your rake is, it gives you how many square it is. Everything. Tells you everything. 

So you send that in to Eagle View and then they give you a report or some kind of estimate? It gives 

us a report and then we go off the report of how much to order. 

Sure. So you get the report back from them and then you build your estimate from there with your suppliers.

Yes. Awesome. That's cool. What else? Any boots on the ground technology? Any innovations that way? 

There's just a lot of little stuff out there that. Distributors try to sell us as far as, like, wrapping the house in, wrapping the house up so that, like, when shingles, when they throw the shingles off, it doesn't mar the siding, things like that.

Just little things like that. Other than that, that's about the technology that we have 

so far. What else do distributors try and sell you on? 

Well, a lot of new products like rubber roofing or 

Really? That's not something I've ever heard before. PPDM 

for commercial jobs. Right now we do, we use for some of our roofs, our commercial roofs, we use what's called inland coating.

It's a spray on coating and we really like that. We really love that product. 

That's cool. Um, tell me more about this rubber siding. So it's 

rubber roofing. Yeah, 

that's what I meant. 

Rubber roofing. It's a, it's made in Cedar Rapids. It is, and we don't use a whole lot of it, but it's a spray on, you spray it on and it turns to rubber.

It's all biodegradable. It's, there's no chemicals in it. And it's just like your spray on. It's just a spray on rubber roofing. So does it go over 

the 

It goes over your roof. Okay. Yep, you gotta prep your roof and then it just goes over it. Hmm. 

If you could share one piece of advice for aspiring business owners, what would it be?

I would say know what you're doing before you get into the business. I just, I would say Do your research. Do your research, yes. Every aspect of it. From putting the last nail head in to your office. To the inside business. It's not 

something you think you can stumble through? 

It's not, no, it is not something that you can stumble through.

At all. 

Did you guys do your research, or did you have to stumble through? 

Well, we had to stumble through a few things, but you smarten up over the years. 

Yeah. 

You do, you smarten up over the years, but now that, again, back to the trial and error. Lots of trial and error, but we've got it honed in, we've got it figured out, and just, yeah.

Living the dream. Living the we're going. 

What trends or changes are you noticing in the roofing and siding that you think homeowners should know about? 

We have just a few different colors that, that, that are out there, um. 

Any trending types, trending styles? 

We do sell a lot of the onyx black. That's been a good one that we've been selling a lot of.

I've seen a lot more black roofs. Yeah, a lot more black. Is that a, 

is that just a preference of color, or is there a reason? I think it's more a preference 

of color. 

Sure. 

Because a lot of the, the, Wives want everything to match. 

Mm-Hmm. 

down to this, the roofing to match. Blend with the siding. 

Do you guys have any goals for 2025?

Make more money. 

Make more money. . 

Make more money. Put some gold in the box. As my husband used to say. . Gold in the box. Gold in the box. 

In terms of like expansion or business goals, what do we put the gold box for? We have an office 

over in Iowa City. And so we're, we're starting to expand a little bit, but I don't want to expand so much that, you know, it's hard.

It's hard. It's very hard because you don't know what the economy is going to do. That's the hardest part. But yeah, we have an office over there and we're starting to get some more clients over there in that area. So, 

yeah, so Putting gold in the box for future expansion. That's awesome. Um, Who do you have in the Iowa City office that kind of runs the ship over on that side of town?

Our territory manager over there, his name's Rod White, and he's really, he's a go getter. He's a go getter. 

So he's an employee? 

He's an independent contractor, yes. 

Okay. 

Independent sales contractor, I apologize. All the calls come in to me, and then I, I distribute the calls, or the, the leads out to everybody.

Any of them over there, I give them to him, and he, he runs them, and. 

So as far as crews, you guys send guys over there? 

We distribute all the crews. 

Okay. Is there any kind of legacy that you hope to leave with Xtreme Riffing and Siding? What's the future look like? 

I don't know. If you 

had a crystal ball, looking into the future, what?

If we had a crystal, if I had a crystal ball, I would love to see our grandkids. Continue the business. 

Yeah 

But I don't know how that I don't know. I hope so. I keep telling my husband. I want to retire and he goes we can't 

Yep Yep, got to train them up. 

We've given the boys a lot of rain They do a lot of we're passing a lot of it on to them so That's awesome, and they're doing a good job 

What are some memorable customer stories that highlight the impact of you guys's work?

Sometimes the guys will, will be working and the homeowner will feed them. They'll just cook them a huge meal and feed them. And they're so grateful for it. And the homeowner is grateful for what we do. Lots of thank yous, lots and lots of thank yous. 

Quality of work, customer service, all of that. Yes, that is that it 

contributes to our business.

We strive to. Make the homeowner happy. It's just the fact that their smile on their face, they're thankful that we fixed their roof or things like that. 

Yeah. For listeners interested in your service or just wanting to learn more, where can they find you and get in touch? 

They can find us at XtremeRoofingAndSiding.

com, call at 515 276 9794, or email us at sales at XtremeRoofingAndSiding. com. 

Joe, thank you for joining us on The Hidden Hustle and for sharing your story. For anyone interested in learning more or in need of roofing and siding work, check out the show notes for links to Xtreme Roofing and Siding. As always, stay tuned for the next episode of The Hidden Hustle.

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