South Yorkshire Roofing Repairs, based in Sheffield, is featured as an example of UK small business owners in the new yearly report of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), published on 9 April.
According to a statement, the business was chosen as it tells the story of how founder and owner David Turton has gone from knocking on doors as a teenager to running a roofing business with a strong team and innovative technology.
Councillor Martin Smith, chair of the Economic Development and Skills Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “Its brilliant to see one of Sheffield’s small businesses highlighted and celebrated in the FSB annual report. Sheffield is a city of innovation and entrepreneurship, and we are incredibly proud of our small, independent businesses and start-ups. I’d like to congratulate David and his team for growing their business so successfully, and I hope his story is an inspiration to the next generation of entrepreneurs in our city.”
David Turton is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was “kicked out of school” at 16. He then got a job with a roofer called Max Bennett. Two years later, he started his own roofing business. Now, David’s business has a team of 15, including Max, who is now age 80 and still roofing and passing on his skills to the younger workers.
Martin McTague, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, added: “David Turton’s story is a testament to hard work, resilience, and a relentless commitment to excellence. He’s an example of how many successful entrepreneurs come from a non-traditional academic background, and may also have health conditions, but have the tenacity to create their own thriving business. Self-employment has a huge part to play in economic activity across all generations.”
David said he puts down the success of his expanding business to having the right people around him, outsourcing what he can and using the latest technology, such as new customer relationship management software and drones for roof inspections.
David stated: “The more the business grows, the more assistance I need through technology and having the right people around me. I’ve always been the salesman. But I can’t be the salesman, the roofer, the telephone answering service—I can’t do it. There’s no way you can expand the business and do all that on your own. I’ve done it and it’s made me poorly many, many times.”
He now plans to scale the business and sell by the time he is 60.
