Brian Donnay grew up just down the road in Glencoe, MN. After graduating from high school, he worked for a small roofing company based out of Silver Lake. After seeing all of his friends move out of town and head to college, he decided to enroll in St. Cloud Technical & Community College in the fall of 2000 for sales and business management.
In 2001, Brian opened BD Exteriors and is the Founder and Majority Owner. “There are a lot of roofing and siding companies out there (especially after a hailstorm, they come from all over!). Our approach, different from many contractors, is often what sets us apart. We aren't pushy salespeople, we don't door-knock like all the others. We just want to be the small-town contractor that can assess your project and give you an honest, ethical quote to get the job done. We also have great retention of our key employees, making it easier for us to perform all aspects of many different types of projects without the need to get other subcontractors involved.”
“I guess I’d say secondary education is what brought me here, but my business – and the support of the community – is why I’ve stayed and built my life here. We have been a member of the CMBA since 2004 and have learned a lot from their continuing education, and they do a great job advocating for the building trades with lawmakers and politicians. We have a great partnership with Simonson’s Lumber and ABC Supply, as well as Full Fledged Distributions.”
“The community support from other businesses has been amazing! The referral network that we have created with other tradespeople, realtors, bankers, and other business owners has really helped us out. For instance, a local HVAC company gives our name out to any of their clients looking for our services, and we do the same to them, and after 24 years in business, we have a lot of those connections. It's also nice to be able to call other like-minded business owners who aren't direct competitors and talk about the industry and employee practices that are working for them.”
Alongside Brian is Derrik Orth, who purchased 20% of the company in 2019. “Derrik started his career here in 2007 as a roofing installer, and in 2009 was promoted to Estimator/Project Manager. He is a great asset to our company and an even better business partner! Having a co-owner has helped us grow steadily, and just having another like-minded individual tBD o work with every day is a reward in itself.”
“Retaining my employees long-term is something I’m incredibly proud of. But one of the most fun parts of this business is when a past customer we worked with 20 years ago reaches back out for another project! It's a great feeling knowing they were happy with my work 20 years ago, and they still remember that experience and want to work with my company again!”
The challenges? They have those too. “For starters, this kind of work is more than a full-time gig. On average, I work between 50-65 hours per week – we keep busy. But one of the major challenges in our industry is when a large hailstorm hits our work area, and in the blink of an eye, we need to grow our business and be able to handle twice the volume of leads, inspections, and repairs. Yes, it’s a great feeling knowing that a large number of projects are available, but also very stressful trying to help everyone in a timely fashion, and in a manner that meets their expectations of our reputation.”
“The community has been great at sharing our Facebook posts and helping spread the word to their friends and neighbors about their positive experiences with our company working on their home or business, it means a lot.”
You can learn more about BD Exteriors and their services on their Facebook page or website.
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