With a goal to provide homeowners with quality workmanship and a trustworthy contractor, Mr. Sam Biondo started Biondo Contracting in the year 1990, bringing years of roofing experience and skills to the business. To know more about his journey, goals and entrepreneurial experiences, read on…
Q: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Biondo Contracting is a roofing company that was established in 1990, located in East Brunswick, NJ. We provide residential and commercial roofing services to all of Central New Jersey. All work is performed by Biondo Contracting employees/No-Sub Contractors, and is backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.
Q: Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: My name is Sam Biondo, I am the owner of Biondo Contracting. At the age of 17, I graduated from EBHS, located in East Brunswick, NJ. After graduating from school, I worked for a roofing contractor until the age of 24, then left to start my own company, Biondo Contracting. I now have 30 years of roofing experience, a Home Inspectors Degree, Roofing Contractor License and many Manufacture Certifications.
Q: What ignited the spark in you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: I had been working for a roofing contractor for seven years, learned everything I needed to know and decided to start my own company. My goal was and still is, to be the best roofing contracting in in my area, and I think I have achieved that.
Q: How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Without good, honest, hardworking employees, it is impossible to have a successful business. I have worked hard to hire good people, train them and watch them grow with my company.
Q: What three pieces of advice would you give to college students who want to become entrepreneurs?
Ans: Follow your dream, set goals and if your willing to work very hard you will achieve them. Once you achieve your goals, you will need to set new ones to keep your business and yourself growing. You will need to surround yourself with good employees.
Q: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I would have worked harder marketing my company.
Q: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Leadership, Communication and knowing what is important to your customers.
Q: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Until I know it wont work
Q: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 12 hours a day
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: I have been able to help, raise and support my wife and two children.
Q: What motivates you?
Ans: Survival!
Q: How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I do a lot of research on new products to offer my customers and study other successful businesses.
Q: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: My greatest fear is failure and I manage fear by working as hard as possible to avoid failure.
Q: What are your ideals?
Ans: Being the very best at what I do!
Q: How do you define success?
Ans: By where you stand compared to your competitors
Q: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: You have to be able to learn how to adapt to changes.
Q: Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: I started my company with my own funding, which I had saved while working with my previous employer and I gained capital as my business grew. I am the sole investor in my company.
Q: How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Referrals, referrals and referrals.
Q: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: This is where I grew up, I knew the area well and had a lot of contacts in the area.
Q: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I believe in studying your competition and using it towards your advantage.
Q: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: My Grandfather from my mother’s side. I never got a chance to meet him, he died the year I was born. He was a great man, from what I am told and I think I would have greatly benefited from a relationship with him.
Q: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: My Grandmother from my father’s side.
Q: What book has inspired you the most? (OR What is your favorite book?)
Ans: “A Hero Aint Nothin But A Sandwitch”
Q: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: I am in control of my own destiny.
Q: To what do you most attribute your success? What would say are the five key elements for starting and running a successful business?
Ans: Having a dream, setting new goals and never stop setting them! Determination, leadership, knowledge, listening skills and perseverance.
Q: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: I am still not satisfied.
Q: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: My opinion is that people who work for someone want security and entrepreneurs want to create their own destiny.
Q: What book has inspired you the most? (OR What is your favorite book?) How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: My most successful way of marketing my business is to make sure that each and every customer we do business with is completely satisfied, because word of mouth spreads very quickly.
Q: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: The culture that I have created is that everyone in this company is held accountable, from the laborers, to the mechanics, to the owner. I established this tone because i was raised this way and instituted this culture because it works!
Q: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Perseverance!
Q: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Looking back on my life, I would say that at times I have taken my foot off of the petal so to speak, meaning that, at times, I had been complacent. I have definitely learned from those experiences.
Q: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: I think the way you prevent mistakes is to learn from them and do damage control by speaking about it.
Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: I like to collect baseball cards and watch sports. I like to spend time with my family.
Q: What makes you happy?
Ans: When I see my children happy!
Q: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I have had to sacrifice time away from my family and personal leisure.
Q: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: There are a few of them and I admire the sacrifices they have made in order to be successful.
Q: Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
Ans: At the peak of my destination!
Q: If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Ans: What drives you to be the best!
