Owning a business had always been an idea shared by Chris and Maria “Sol” Felix, but the timing wasn’t right.
Chris worked for one of the largest commercial roofing companies in South Florida and Sol had a career in sales and marketing when they decided to relocate to St. Augustine to start a family. When their twin girls turned 10 years old, Sol began to ask herself, “What’s next?”
“The timing is never right,” Sol said. But she was ready “to jump off the roof” ― figuratively, of course.
Fewer than 1% of roofing professionals in America are women according to National Women in Roofing, an organization that supports and advances the careers of women roofing professionals. Sol wasn’t about to allow an industry stigma stand in her way.
“Last year, we decided to combine our expertise,” she said. “Instead of working separately, we decided to join forces.”
Sol had run her own jewelry business for five years, keeping her sales and marketing skills sharp, and Chris had about 15 years of experience in the roofing industry when they launched Enterprise Roofing, a certified woman-owned roofing company in St. Augustine.
“It has been great working together,” she said. “We take pride in what we do.”
The company offers roof repairs, roof replacements and commercial roofing. As with most business owners, the couple wears many different (hard) hats. Sol handles business development, marketing, customer service and financials, while Chris oversees project management and the on-site crew.
Sol said Chris likes the arrangement. “He gets to be dirty and out in the field,” she said. “You may not believe it to look at me, but I get on the roof sometimes. I was up there the other day to take pictures.”
Sol said she has more to learn, but she enjoys learning and it’s an exciting new field for her. She welcomes the challenge of applying her experience in the beauty and jewelry to the male-dominated roofing industry.
“Our main priority is customer satisfaction,” she said.
For more information, visit www.enterpriseroofingllc.com or call 904-808-3319.
