Brent Simmons (Restoration Roofing)

Brent Simmons is the owner of Restoration Roofing in Memphis, Tennessee. 

For years, Restoration Roofing has been the only ten I see in Tennessee, as far as roofing companies are concerned. 

Consequently, I made multiple efforts to get Simmons to sit down with me so we could do this damn article, to no avail.

Naturally, I had to press the roofing business owner, whom I first saw on YouTube talking about gutter guards, and then later in December 2020 at a roofing conference.  

“My time management is not always the best,” Simmons says with a laugh, over the phone, after I wondered aloud why it took us so long to finally do this. 

“I’m a run and gun type of guy.”

As a successful roofing business owner, Simmons is also very calculated and judicious with where he focuses his energy. 

“If it doesn’t directly contribute to the sales or production of my company, I’m really reluctant to do it,” Simmons admits. 

“I know that’s not always the best thing though, because you also need to build your personal brand and your company’s brand.”

The reluctance to engage in interviews like the one we’re doing can be attributed to the advice Simmons received a few years ago from his mentor, Rodney Webb. 

“I focused solely on being the owner and the sales manager of the company, but then I would get overwhelmed,” Simmons shares. 

“It was a toxic cycle.”

Being in sales, and being a nosy prick in general, I had to follow up with Simmons until I got what I wanted. 

Not only is there fortune in the follow-up, but when I know I can bring value to a business owner, I almost believe it would be a disservice to not continually try to make things happen until I’m bluntly told to f*** off. 

In June 2026, the timing was finally right.

“This year, I have decided to do things differently,” Simmons says. 

“I’m getting myself out there more.”

For reference, Simmons has joined a reputable networking group, a strategy that he knows won’t immediately generate revenue, but he’s also trying to walk the ridgeline (if you will) of doing activities that make money today, with building relationships that could make even more money tomorrow.

“I really admire business owners that are more like CEOs, who go in and tweak different departments [versus actively working in them],” Simmons says. 

“I’m trying to be more like that.”

Restoration Roofing has been in business since 2014, and while they are an established roofing company within Memphis and the surrounding suburbs, the reality is that the company’s evolution will never stop. 

As mentioned earlier, I remember seeing Simmons talk about the nuances of gutter guards online.

That was back in 2020.

Fast forward six years, Simmons is still marketing and sharing information on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, but that alone isn’t enough to get Restoration Roofing into the next stratosphere.

That being said, Simmons’s consistent promotion of his company on the internet has kept the phone ringing.

More importantly, Restoration Roofing has systems and processes in place to answer those phone calls when they come in, which is something an alarming number of his competitors cannot say. 

“Marketing drives leads, leads drive sales, sales drive profits,” the gregarious yet serious Simmons posits. 

“Which is why it blows my mind that there are contractors out there in 2026 who are trying to grow their business, but you can’t even get them on the phone. That shouldn’t be a complaint you see on Facebook.”

If it seems strange that roofing contractors don’t treat their phone like the pot of gold that it is, remember that becoming a roofing contractor, especially in the state of Tennessee, is not like becoming a science teacher or a trial lawyer.

There are no accreditation courses, or even a painfully boring online tutorial that one needs to sit through in order to begin selling shingles to the denizens of Collierville or Piperton. 

Instead, all one needs is a finger to press a doorbell, a ladder to climb up on a roof and scour the 4/12 pitch for wind-damaged shingles, and maybe a piece of paper that stipulates that a homeowner will allow that roofer to work with their insurance carrier to adjudicate the claim.

“Roofing is the weirdest mixture of people out of any industry I have ever seen,” Simmons says. 

“There are no degree requirements, and here in Tennessee, there are no license requirements, so anyone can do it.”

In a nation like ours that beautifully rewards the ambitious entrepreneur, roofing is seen by some as the vehicle to achieving financial security.

Others view it as their ticket to a green Lamborghini. 

Of course, Simmons wants to provide a nice life for him and his family, but he also sees the profession as something bigger, as a way to help homeowners feel secure, comfortable, and protected in their own homes.

Taking on that level of responsibility requires a degree of selflessness that isn’t always present in the roofing industry. 

“There are guys out there trying to serve homeowners with a quality product. They are going to be more expensive,” Simmons details.

“And then there are guys who are only selling based upon the price, and I don’t like that. It dilutes the quality and makes things a race to the bottom.”

The timeless adage that “you get what you pay for” is perfectly exemplified in roofing.

Hire a professional enterprise like Restoration Roofing, and odds are you will get a great product and service, backed by exceptional warranties.

Sign on the dotted line with Gregory, who just started slinging IKO two weeks ago after a brief stint at Waffle House, and well, you don’t have to be a roofing savant to guess which contractor is likely going to take care of your roof, and perhaps more crucially, your mental health. 

This isn’t to suggest that homeowners should overpay for a quality roofing contractor, but they should be diligent throughout the buying process, because saving a couple G’s today by hiring Ralph the newly minted roofer could ultimately be more expensive than had you simply chosen a long-tenured company such as Restoration Roofing. 

In Memphis, and in many markets across the United States, homeowners have an abundance of roofing contractors to select from. 

“It’s pretty saturated,” says Simmons, who in twelve years has seen three of his employees branch off and open their own roofing companies.

“An individual can go out and sell a couple roofs, and depending on their lifestyle, can make a living.”

Again, there is money to be made in roofing, and you don’t have to attend the University of Tamko to start shingling. 

Really, if you can crane your neck upward and see distressed shingles littered throughout that 6/12, your bank account might soon see a comma added into it. 

“Memphis has a lot of discontinued shingles. That’s everywhere, but Tennessee is a matching state,” Simmons notes, which means that if some shingles don’t perfectly align with the rest of the roof, then insurance may be obligated to replace the entirety of the roofing system.

“The requirement for full roof approvals is pretty low. I personally have gotten numerous Tamko roofs with only one damaged shingle.”

Adds Simmons:

“That’s an easy approval. I don’t like knocking doors, but I might knock a few doors if I see one of those.”

At the same time, Restoration Roofing does not center its efforts around hunting down creased or dilapidated shingles.

They lean much more into retail jobs, where customers are paying for a brand new roof, not with insurance proceeds, but with their own capital.  

“When people pay for things, they tend to be better customers,” Simmons reveals. 

Evidently, people don’t value what they don’t own, or in roofing, what they don’t need to pay for. 

Think renting versus owning a home. 

“If you have someone who is paying $20,000 for a roof, yes, they may be a little picky on the punchlist, but when people are only paying a $1,000 deductible, they tend to be more picky,” Simmons explains. 

“They don’t value it as much. Even what you did for them isn’t perceived to be valuable. It’s a psychological thing.”

Simmons has also found that when building a base of customers, the retail model is more sustainable. 

“You seem to get more referrals from retail customers versus storm damage customers,” he says. 

This is likely because in retail, customers choose their contractor more so than they do with insurance claims.

With insurance jobs, it’s easy for contractors to sell a new roof for 95% off, which in some cases is how the final invoicing unfolds, but with retail, there is no corporate conglomerate rushing in with their checkbook to pick up the tab, so homeowners want to get their roof done right. 

It’s why cultivating a brand is so key, and why Simmons is routinely in front of the camera, offering insights when appropriate. 

When combined with the fact that Simmons started selling roofs as a teenager, it quickly becomes apparent why Simmons and Restoration Roofing have been around for as long as they have. 

“The first roof I ever sold was retail, and that was our focus,” he says.

“It blows my mind when I see big companies with 1099 door knockers [for the purposes of insurance work]. I don’t know how they do that. That’s a huge blind spot for me. What’s funny is I know a lot of those guys, and they look at what we do with selling in the home and ask that same question of, how do you do that?”

Looking ahead, the cerebral Simmons is aiming to add more mid-level managers to his staff, but he first will have to get out of his own way.

“I’m a little bit of a control freak, and I’ve been scared to hire a sales manager,” he shares.

“That starts with me leaning more into training and making that next hire.”

Despite its stellar reputation and impressive online following, Simmons is quick to note that Restoration Roofing is not a roofing titan, at least in the conventional sense. 

“We are a lot smaller than we look,” he says, before adding that he would like to become an $8-10 million roofing company. 

“I could be wrong, but I don’t think you’ll ever see a $20 million retail roofing company in Memphis.”

For all his candor and business acumen, I’m not sure Simmons is embracing his full potential.

Should he effectively grow into that CEO role that he currently admires from afar, it’s not delusional to think Restoration Roofing could eclipse that $20 million mark.

In our conversation, he believed he was “behind” as a business owner, but without realizing it, he’s probably right where he needs to be, which should simultaneously bring peace of mind, and motivate him to keep surging forward. QS

**

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