Plan can help small businesses grow

After brothers Prentiss and Frank Baker started working in the family business, they realized they would need to increase Baker Roofing's revenue if they wanted a salary.

It was 1969 and the company, which was founded by the Baker brothers' grandfather, had about 17 employees and nearly $1 million in revenue. The brothers, however, needed to do more.

Over the years, the brothers built partnerships and expanded the company's geographic reach and its offerings.

Now the Raleigh, N.C.-based company has 12 satellite offices across the Southeast and employs about 1,250. Construction resource Engineering News-Record ranked the company's nearly $160 million in revenue in 2012 as the third-largest roofing firm in the nation.

Frank Baker, 66, now serves as vice chairman on the company's board and Prentiss Baker, 70, serves as chairman.

Baker, which offers services such as new roofing, masonry restorations, roof replacement, repairs and maintenance, has built and restored roofs at universities, institutions and homes across the state and country. Their projects have included the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C., and the Nashville Music City Center.

Growth in a labor-intensive business requires management, supervision and skilled people familiar with the company's standards and expectations, Frank and Prentiss Baker said.

"You need to grow from strength, and not just say, 'I am going to be a $10 million company,'" said Prentiss Baker.

Jim McHugh, owner of Massachusetts-based strategy and consulting firm McHugh & Co., said leaders of a growing company have to work together and be willing to let go of some control.

"A CEO who believes they have to do it all themselves isn't going to grow," he said.

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Plan can help small businesses grow