Bill BrownFounder of ServiceTitan Hacks community (9k+ pros) | INC 5000 Contractor | Helping contractors win with AI & Automation

Revenue for Vanity, Profit for Sanity in #Roofing

29 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this video, Bill Brown discusses a strategic approach for roofing companies that prioritizes profit and EBITDA over mere revenue growth. He argues that chasing high revenue without corresponding profit is vanity, exemplified by a $20 million business that spends $21 million. The core of his AI strategy is to scale the workforce efficiently by leveraging existing field teams—salespeople, estimators, project managers, and subcontractor coordinators—rather than adding large numbers of new hires that would require additional back‑office support. By improving the productivity and coordination of the current field staff, companies can meet revenue targets while maintaining healthy profit margins. Brown warns against hiring spikes (e.g., adding ten salespeople and then needing two more office staff) that inflate overhead and erode profitability.

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I think around our AI strategy is so much around like scaling the workforce. So everybody wants to grow their revenue, right? That's, you know, I think obvious, right? But we say, you know, revenue for vanity, profit for sanity. Anybody can build a $20 million business if you're spending $21 million. And then what's the point, right? And so how do we scale the operations? How do we go out and execute on a revenue target while also keeping in mind a net profit or an EBITDA target, right? So much of that is to do with leveraging the existing team that we have in place such that we can improve that relationship or that ratio between the folks in the field that are, you know, potentially knocking on doors or canvassing or putting estimates out there or managing projects or scheduling subcontractor crews or whatever that stuff in the field is actually happening. What we don't want to have happen is hiring 10 salespeople, let's just say, and then having to hire 2 more office people to support the revenue.