From Corporate Leadership to Entrepreneurship
Jason R.
The Sunshine Boys
A few years ago, Jason Roles was running a corporate division at a global data storage company in Atlanta, a job he’d long enjoyed, when something changed. Jason’s organization shifted focus, and he went from solving complex problems to a day-to-day job that he just didn’t enjoy as much. “You want to feel like you’re getting out there and doing something every day, and I’d lost the drive for that work,” he says.
Meanwhile, Jason’s son had been working for Georgia Solar Lighting — also known as “The Sunshine Boys” — as a VELUX installer for about eight years. The owner of the company was ready to sell, and Jason and his son felt the timing and the fit was right to buy. “I’ve always been an outdoors person. My family are all roofers and in construction, and I roofed through college, so I had that skill set to begin with,” Jason notes. “Plus, with my background in corporate, the business side of it came easily to me.”
Becoming an entrepreneur and running your own business is a leap from a steady job, but “part of the fun is learning along the way and overcoming the challenges and building the business the way you want it,” Jason says. And now he gets to work with his son every day. “We have this wonderful relationship. He’s phenomenal at the business, and it’s amazing to have a cup of coffee together every morning at the office.” Jason pauses to laugh, “Although he doesn’t come over for dinner as often now!”
Jason comes from a service background, so he likes to overdeliver. And the VELUX partnership makes that easy. “When I get a call from a customer, the sale of the product is never the hard part. We sell our team and our work. Customers know VELUX is the number one skylight with the best guarantee,” Jason says. “VELUX has exactly what 90% of customers want in a stock size. That helps me with sales. I can show customers which sizes are available, and those usually work.
Jason sees VELUX as a true partner. “Their service is fantastic: if we have a question about an install, a VELUX rep will go out to a customer site with me, and if a customer in our area calls VELUX, our rep will send them our way. They talk to builders for new installations. They promote us.”
The fact that Georgia Solar Lighting is a VELUX Signature Skylight Specialist makes a big difference in their business. “VELUX has this fantastic model where we can adjust our marketing targets through their site. My phone rings every single day because of that,” Jason says. “So I can pick and choose other things we want to experiment with. The strongest marketing position we’ve got right now is through VELUX – on their website as an installer.”
Jason loves how happy his work makes his customers. “My phone rings with a compliment once a week. I get compliments on the professionalism of our guys, how well they clean up, and how much our customers love the final results,” he says. And the data backs him up. While they get the majority of their business from VELUX, almost an equivalent amount comes from referrals. “At the end of the day it’s all about making the customer’s vision come to life. I don’t try to oversell; I don’t have to.”
In the next decade, Jason is looking to grow the business. They did almost 100% better in their first year owning the business than the company had done previously. “Owning your business changes your mentality, in terms of setting things up for your future. I don’t feel like I’ve worked a day since we’ve been doing this. Of course, it’s possible to run this business and do just enough to get by, but I know we can still grow.” Jason is thinking about expanding the operation geographically, where his personal goal is to move solely into an operations role.
And after that? Jason laughs, “In 10 years, I hope I’m sitting on a beach somewhere.”
Contact
VELUX America LLC
104 Ben Casey Drive
Fort Mill, SC 29708
800-888-3589
