Working as a salesman for a roof restoration business was the catalyst for Justin Eldershaw going out on his own.

“I saw how my two bosses ran the business. I thought, “Oh yeah, that looks pretty easy.” Later I found out that it’s not easy at all; there is so much that you don’t see behind the scenes,” Justin says.

Determined to build his own business, he grabbed a clipboard and a piece of paper and went knocking on doors to secure sales, hiring tradespeople to perform the repair work.

“That’s how I started the business in 2002. I’ve never done a roof in my life, which sometimes people see as a negative, but as I as I say to people, Richard Branson has never flown a plane.”

And like Justin himself, more than 95 per cent of people that join the Reliance Roof Restoration franchise have never done roof repairs before.

The business restores and replaces more than 1,500 roofs each year, through its franchise network and using subcontractors.

Reliance Roof Restoration provides support

It’s an ideal business for a sales-oriented individual, and attracts tradespeople keen to be their own boss.

If franchisees are doing the work themselves they need a head for heights of course, because the job involves pressure cleaning tiled residential roofs, repairing and painting them, with smaller repair jobs a secondary service – such as asbestos roof removal, gutter work, and insulation.

Reliance Roofing provides all the tools, training and support to succeed, and guides franchisees on the workplace health and safety regulations that minimise injury risks.  

Head office manages centralised enquiries through a 1300 phone number which routes leads to the appropriate franchisee in New South Wales, Queensland or Victoria, while individual franchisees retain the option to market using their own phone numbers.

The business has proved resilient, surviving a significant downturn, navigating a rebuilding phase, and expanding through franchising.

The roof restoration industry is an easy market to enter because it relies on direct sales. Still, Justin believes it is the quality of the service that Reliance Roofing provides that makes it a standout from competitors.

High revenue, high margin business

Good service, reliability and transparency are crucial, he says.

“A lot of people are quoting online now. They’re just doing a Google Earth view of the roof and sending a quote. We go out there face-to-face and if someone has a cheaper quote we can sit with the customer and justify why ours is more expensive,” Justin says.

So it’s important for franchisees to build personal rapport during face-to-face interactions and align with the company’s premium pricing strategy.

A properly executed roof restoration should last about 20 years – which means there’s no repeat business. But while roof restoration is not a daily consumer need it is financially rewarding.

“This is a high revenue, high margin business. It takes more to make a sale, but when you make it, you make a lot more money.”

Justin prefers this low-volume, high-value model rather than managing thousands of transactions.

The business is a lifestyle enterprise, offering strong financial returns and scheduling flexibility where franchisees can finish working by 2pm while earning around $5,000 per week.

“Reliance Roof Restoration is the world’s best kept secret. You can make a fortune and be home by 3pm,” Justin says.