October 16, 2025 • 24 mins
What if your next roofing decision felt calm, clear, and actually fair? We sat down with Julia from Golden Dragon Roofing in Bergen County to unpack how a transparent, certified approach can turn a high-pressure, high-cost moment into a confident, informed choice. She shares what most contractors won’t: why trust breaks down, how to read the real condition of your shingles, and when a full replacement is truly necessary.
Julia’s journey—from Moscow to an NYU finance degree, through hedge funds and real estate, and into roofing—shapes a rare, disciplined mindset for a home service business. Alongside her husband Chris, a roofer since the late 80s, she’s building a brand that answers the phone, shows the work with photos, and educates before selling. We explore roof rejuvenation, a spray-on treatment for asphalt shingles that can extend life at roughly 15–20% of replacement cost, plus where it fits (and where it doesn’t) for homes across North Jersey.
We also get practical about inspections. Most home inspectors won’t walk the roof, which leaves buyers guessing about flashing, boots, skylights, and ventilation. Golden Dragon’s certification-backed inspections and optional leak-free certification add documentation, accountability, and a two-year no-leak warranty when the roof qualifies—ideal for real estate transactions. And because materials keep rising, we talk realistic pricing, lifespan expectations in Bergen County, and how to weigh repair vs. rejuvenation vs. replacement without regret.
If you care about clarity, ethics, and craftsmanship on one of your home’s biggest investments, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a neighbor who’s debating a roof quote, and leave a review with your top roofing question—we’ll tackle it in a future episode.
Golden Dragon Roofing
Julia Bykhovskaia
3 University Plaza Dr Hackensack, NJ 07601
(201) 857-9393
info@goldendragonroofing.com
goldendragonroofing.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro/Close (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Doug Drohan (00:11):
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast comingto you from Bergen County, New
Jersey.
Today we are joined by JuliaBykhovskaia from Dragon Golden
Dragon Roofing out of Hack andSack in Bergen County.
Julia, welcome to the show.
Julia (00:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Happy to be here.
Doug Drohan (00:28):
Yeah, so am I.
I think you're the firstroofing company we've had on the
show.
Julia (00:32):
I doubt it.
Doug Drohan (00:33):
I doubt it.
No, it might be.
And um, you know, Lord knowsthere's a lot of roofing
companies, but I think thereason why you're the first or
one of the few is because mostroofing companies, uh, and this
is based on my experience in theadvertising industry, but also
as a homeowner, most roofingcompanies, the owners remain
(00:55):
kind of faceless and nameless.
If you go on their website,there's nothing about us that
tells you about the owner.
You don't know who the owneris, you're not really sure what
town they're in.
Um, and that, you know, thatdoesn't build a lot of trust,
personally speaking, as a as ahomeowner that I want somebody
on my roof where I can't reallygo up there and find out what
they're doing.
(01:15):
I have to trust them.
So it doesn't elicit a lot oftrust.
So I think one of the thingsoff the bat that you guys do
differently, and I I met youthrough Instagram, is that it's
a personal story, right?
Julia (01:28):
Correct.
Yeah, yeah.
We uh we want people to knowus.
Uh, we want to build a greatreputation in uh northern New
Jersey, and we are doing it uhbut every way we can, right?
Including our website.
And uh I try to post on socialmedia when I when I can.
I'm not consistent enough, butuh I want people to know who we
(01:49):
are, absolutely.
Doug Drohan (01:50):
So why don't we get into that?
Who are you?
Like why why start a roofingcompany?
Because you know, um, there arenot a lot of female uh business
owners who run roofingcompanies as well.
So why did you guys decide tostart a roofing company?
Julia (02:05):
Well, as everything in life, it was a little bit
random, right?
Uh so Chris and I, uh Chris ismy husband, and he he's also uh
co-owner of Golden DragonRoofing.
So we met uh four and a halfyears ago, and uh Chris is from
Buffalo.
So he Chris started roofingwhen uh he was um in his teens,
(02:26):
so in late eight uh eighties.
So he knew roofing, right?
And then uh when we gottogether, eventually uh a
question uh arose uh who ismoving where?
So I said that uh Buffalo isnot the place where I want to be
as much as I love it, uh aboutfollowings.
So Chris moved to uh uh tristedarea with me.
(02:50):
And uh my business, I hadseveral businesses before, so my
business was um kind of slow,it was commercial real estate,
and uh Chris uh also was gettingout of a franchise that he was
a part of, which was a digitalmarketing franchise, actually.
Okay, and we considered buyinga roofing franchise ourselves,
(03:11):
but then after several months ofuh uh deep deliberation, we
decided why don't we just wingit and start a roofing company
ourselves?
And we thought that you knowit's a very fragmented industry.
So there are some very bigplayers, but most of the players
are on a smaller side, and wefeel that most of the industry's
(03:32):
industry is still uh notsufficiently professionalized,
right?
You know, if you call like 10roofers, probably three of them
are gonna pick up the phone, anduh maybe one or two will return
your call, right?
So we felt there was anopportunity to uh come in and
build a professional company,provide great service and and
(03:55):
and grow it.
So that's why we decided tostart the roofing company.
Doug Drohan (03:59):
I hope Chris wasn't on the roof in the early 90s
when the Bills lost all thoseSuper Bowls, but um, yeah, it
might have been tough.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I'll ask him.
Doug Drohan (04:07):
Yeah.
I'm a I'm a jet fan, so he canhave pity on me.
Um, it's interesting though,because um, you know, having
come to New Jersey, and like yousaid, there are a lot of
competitors.
Yes, and um, you know, one ofthe things is you know, when you
own a house, uh somebody getsup on your roof, and you know, I
(04:31):
had a leak in my son's bedroomabout two years ago, and we had
one roofing guy come up and tellme I had to replace the whole
roof, and somebody else come upand say I could just patch that,
and you know, it's a small spotwhere it might be getting under
the flashing.
So, you know, you got twodifferent people come up, and
two people tell you twodifferent things, and one of
them's you know, $30,000 and theother one's a thousand dollars
(04:52):
or or less.
So it's really difficult for meuh to know who to call.
And I I'd be interested tohear, you know, what Chris's uh
with his background in indigital marketing and and
advertising, uh, how heapproaches that.
But let's get um, you know, nowyour your background, you said
you were in commercial lending,but you know, you weren't born
in New Jersey.
(05:13):
Your accent tells me you'refrom Long Island.
Julia (05:16):
From from Brighton Beach.
Doug Drohan (05:18):
Yeah, from Brighton Beach.
There you go.
That's part of Long Island.
Yeah, um, so obviously you'reyou're from Moscow, you're from
Russia, and uh you came overhere.
And so what what's yourimmigrant story?
Because uh, you know, there's alot of immigrants who come over
here for the so-called Americandream that work really hard and
that do build a great career.
(05:38):
What is your story?
Julia (05:41):
So, my story, uh, when I was uh, you know, I grew up in
Moscow in Russia, and then uh uhyou know I was finishing up my
degree, which was a bachelor ofscience and entrepreneurship,
actually, uh during the timewhen uh the you know, right
after the Soviet Unioncollapsed.
(06:01):
And uh before that, uh people,students were placed in the
company.
I had to look for a job myself,and somehow I ended up working
at Reuters, uh, which was a newsagency, uh financial data
agency in in Moscow, and I met alot of young people who had
degrees from abroad, so and Ihave a little bit of an
(06:25):
obsessive personality, so I saidI want to get an MBA from
America, so that launched me ona two-year journey when I was
applying to business schools,and uh I was too young, so most
business schools told me uh thatI'm too young and it's too
early.
But um NYU, for unknown to mereason, decided to accept me
(06:49):
when I was 22.
So I moved to New York Cityactually uh for an MBA program,
and uh I wanted to be amarketing major.
Then I quickly found out thatNYU is actually good in five,
you know, in finance, the topthree in finance.
Uh so I said, okay, might aswell major in finance.
(07:09):
And uh and then I ended upworking for 15 years uh in um in
the financial industry, mostlyin hedge funds, uh investing in
uh so-called distressed debt, socorporate uh bonds like
Blockbuster, Jimbery, um fairwaysupermarkets, uh so companies
(07:30):
that were either going bankruptor uh on the verge of going
bankrupt, and they love that.
Um, but then uh I didn't knowit back then, but uh I I'm a
very entrepreneurial person, soI was thinking, you know, I
would love to run a hedge fund,not work for a hedge fund.
So eventually, you know, Itried that.
Eventually I realized that Iit's uh an uphill battle, and I
(07:56):
probably will never run a hedgefund.
So I decided to find somethingelse to do, and I I found real
estate, or real estate found me.
And uh first I was acquiringAirbnb properties in the
Poconos, actually.
And then I got into multifamilyinvesting, and uh, we were
raising money and buyingproperties in Houston and
(08:18):
Dallas, uh so and that was goingwell for uh several years until
it didn't because of interestrates, and then I said, okay,
well, I can wait it out, butit's gonna take years, or I can
find something else to do, whichbrought me to to roofing,
right?
Um in a kind of convoluted way,by but that's how uh I
(08:43):
personally ended up in roofing.
Doug Drohan (08:44):
Oh, okay, and we know how Chris Demon used to do
it back in the 80s.
So Golden Dragon, I you know,with a name like that, I would
have thought you're fromFlushing Queens or uh, you know,
Leonia, New Jersey, orsomething like that.
But uh, so why why the nameGolden Dragon?
Julia (09:01):
Well, first of all, I must say that we are not a
Chinese restaurant, uh, becausea lot of people ask us, right?
But uh, you know, the the realstory is we wanted a name that
represented you know protectionand premium white glove customer
service, and we thought thatGolden Dragon Dragon is a sign
of protection, right?
(09:21):
And golden is a sign of apremium, white glove, and luxury
service, right?
And I did ask Chris uh uh whenwe were choosing a name, like,
do you think it's gonna soundlike a Chinese restaurant?
And he said, uh, no, you know,why why um why are you saying
that?
Because I suppose in Buffalothey don't have too many of
(09:42):
those.
But now every single person, ofcourse, uh asks us um if we are
affiliate affiliated in anyway.
Doug Drohan (09:51):
Ah, that's funny.
Okay.
Well, again, it you know, youdo stand out from um all the
other roofing companies thatstart with an A, like A1, All
American, all this, whatever.
Um, you know, those kind ofnews.
Julia (10:05):
It was a good idea back in the day.
Doug Drohan (10:07):
Yeah, right, because they were listed first
in yellow pages or you know,right.
So tell me a little bit aboutso obviously um residential
roofing, commercial roofing.
I you know, I kind of get theidea.
I think most people know youknow what that entails.
What is roof rejuvenation?
Julia (10:25):
Yeah, roof rejuvenation is a service that we started
offering recently.
Uh so basically you apply aspray-on solution uh to the
shingle roof.
Uh so it's not gonna work on ain a flat roof, but it it
rejuvenates the shingle andprevents further granular loss.
So, and not all roofs uh uhqualified, um but but some are,
(10:49):
and then what it what it doesfirst it uh extends the life of
the roof.
Uh we give five-year warranty,and you can do it up to three
times.
So, in theory, um it could beup to 15 years.
Then the cost of the service isa fraction of the cost of a
full roof replacement, it'sabout 15 to 20 percent um of the
(11:10):
full uh roof or re-roof, right?
And then uh what it does to theshingle, it makes it much more
pliable uh and it stops the orarrests the granula loss and
also greatly improves theappearance.
So I I'm currently talking toreal estate agents that I meet,
(11:30):
and I tell them that you know,if you are listing a house where
a roof is probably it's notcompletely shut, but it's older,
you know, to improve theappearance and make it easier to
pass a home inspection and toget insurance and just to make
it look much nicer, uh, werecommend that service.
Doug Drohan (11:49):
So it's not for a roof that has leaks, that's
there's a major, you know, waterdamage.
Julia (11:54):
It's really you know, roofs that have maybe there's
algae growth or some other algaegrowth, there's some granular
loss, but less than 40% granularloss.
Okay, and it can be greatlyextended.
The life can be extended, butyou know, if the roof is uh uh
bad and leaking, as you say, no,it it's better to replace it.
Doug Drohan (12:15):
Yeah.
So what what's the uh typicallifespan of an of a new roof?
Julia (12:19):
Uh usually in this area 20-25 years.
Doug Drohan (12:23):
Okay.
So how do you know?
So if you're buying a house,you know, one of the biggest
problems when you get your houseinspected is a home inspector
is not going up on your roof.
Yeah, he or she's gonna standback and they're gonna look from
a distance and say, uh, youknow, they're gonna look for
buckling and some obvious sound.
Maybe they have binoculars.
I don't know if they use dronesthese days.
The insurance companiesprobably do.
(12:45):
But you're not really, youdon't really know what you're
buying when it comes to the roofwhen you're buying a house.
Um, unless when you walk in,you see obvious, you know, water
streaks or damage or whatever.
But you know, it's really kindof a um crapshoot when it comes
to knowing, you know, if my ifthat roof of the house that I'm
buying needs to be replacedsoon.
(13:06):
So, you know, if somebody asksme, how old is my roof of my
house?
I bought my house nine yearsago.
I I don't know.
Julia (13:12):
Yep.
I hear you.
Doug Drohan (13:13):
I don't know how old it was.
I don't I'd have to lookthrough my paperwork.
I don't know how old it waswhen I bought the house.
I know I've been here nineyears, I've had a couple of
repairs made from leaks, but uhyou know, I'd imagine like
that's where the risk comes infor a homeowner, meaning they're
vulnerable to somebody sellingthem something that they don't
(13:34):
need because I don't really knowhow old my roof is.
So, how do I, if I call you upfor a free roof inspection, what
are you gonna tell me?
Like, what's the process?
Julia (13:45):
So, actually, uh, for um cases as you described when
there is a transactionhappening, uh, what we do offer,
like I want to mention that uh,as you said, uh roofers in New
Jersey, they don't need to passany exam.
And the only license yourequire is home improvement
license, which is relativelyeasy to get, and there is no
(14:06):
state um examination, right?
So we proactively went out andgot um certification with
National Roof and CertificationAssociation, which involves very
rigorous training, and we arealso certified to provide
so-called uh leak-freecertifications, uh, which we uh
do for a price at $495.
(14:27):
But then uh for that um, youknow, this service, uh, we're
gonna come and inspect the roofand we're gonna do professional
inspection, provide verydetailed report.
And um, you know, if we believethat the roof is um uh not
gonna leak, right, in goodcondition, we provide a two-year
(14:47):
warranty that it's not gonnaleak.
And if it does leak, we'regonna come back and fix it for
free.
All right.
But it is uh for averagehomeowner, before I got into
roofing, I had no idea uh eitherterminology or what to look
for.
Uh, but you you don't know,right?
You don't know, and um unlesssomebody conducts professional
(15:09):
expect inspections, uhinspection gets on the roof and
checks all the components um ofthe roof, right?
All the penetration points, allall of the um boot pipes, um
the skylights, everything wherewater uh everywhere where water
can uh come in.
Um but it's not you know it'snot easy for uh a normal person
(15:32):
uh to tell from the ground,right?
Doug Drohan (15:34):
You can't right, right, yeah.
I mean, there's certain thingslike if you see all the the
growth on the roof, that's easyto see, but the flashing and
things like that, yeah.
Julia (15:44):
Yeah, water stains uh in the house might indicate the
leak, but they might come fromsomething else as well.
Doug Drohan (15:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So what is it um like thatdrives you guys?
Like why like why choose?
I mean, you've talked aboutthis a lot, but if I were to ask
you and put you on the spot,you know, why choose golden
dragon roofing?
Julia (16:07):
Why choose us, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, uh yeah, many reasons.
So, first of all, we we havecertified the National Roof
Certification, uh Certificationand Inspection Association,
which uh provides very rigoroustraining to uh uh you know the
inspectors.
We're also a member of umRoofing and Solar Reform
(16:28):
Alliance, and this is anorganization uh um which unites
roofers who are committed topromoting ethical practices and
exceptional customer service.
And that was the conference uhuh that I mentioned that Chris
and I just attended, uhattended, then we really uh
obsessed with uh uh just doing agood job, right?
(16:48):
And creating great experiencefor a customer.
We want to be responsive, uh,and we are.
Uh you know, if there are anyissues whatsoever, we respond,
we make it right, even if it'snot our fault.
Uh, we just want to ourcustomer to be happy.
And also, you know, we don'treally sell, we educate.
We we're gonna explain.
(17:09):
Uh you know, Chris is amazingat explaining all the roof
components and showing picturesand explaining uh you know how
the roofing because roof is notjust shingles, right?
It's several layers ofcomponents, it's a roofing
system.
So Chris explains how it works,educate uh a homeowner, and
then we provide options.
You know, sometimes you you cando you know either roof
(17:33):
rejuvenation or repair.
We don't warranty repairs, butwe can say, okay, if you don't
want to spend the money, we cando a repair, um, but we cannot
warranty.
It's it's hard to, I mean, it'simpossible to warranty a
repair.
Um, so uh and and then we justyou know really taking care of
the uh homeowners' property likewe would of our own.
(17:56):
We make sure uh you knoweverything is cleaned up after
the job is done.
Uh your landscaping is coveredduring the work, AC units are
covered, and we just aim toprovide a great experience.
Doug Drohan (18:10):
That's cool.
Yep, absolutely.
So, you know, I always askpeople, um, and you know, this
is not your first.
Well, I guess it is your first,like, I mean, no, well, you're
in the real estate business, butwhat has it been like um you
know, being a business owner?
And I guess this is the firsttime you're owning a business
(18:34):
with your husband.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Oh, yeah.
Doug Drohan (18:35):
So that that's always like I'm always I always
marvel at that because I know alot of husband and wife, husband
and wife, business owners, andI'm like, God bless, man.
Um yeah, I asked my wiferecently, I was like, Can you
imagine if we work together?
She's like, No.
No, I and and mostly becausewe're different.
Um, she's in HR at Ernst andYoung, she's been there 20
years.
(18:55):
Uh, you know, we have adifferent communication style, I
guess, you know.
But I think that's good, butshe doesn't see herself in any
kind of sales-oriented role.
But when you own a business,you're in sales, whether you
think you're in sales or not,right?
So, what has it been like um,you know, being an owner of a
(19:16):
company and being an owner of aroofing company?
Julia (19:19):
Well, I love it, you know.
I need a challenge.
So for me, it is a challenge,right?
Because it's uh running a homeservice uh company, and we came
in cold, right?
We're not from this industry,we didn't come from
construction, so everything wedo we had to learn from scratch,
except for uh roofing technicalpart, which Chris knew, right?
(19:42):
But then uh, you know, openingan office, uh running a crew, uh
you know, marketing, leadgeneration for home services.
Uh I mean it we started fromzero.
And I love the creative processof it, and I love learning,
right?
Because every day uh we learnsomething new how to improve our
(20:03):
processes, how to automatecertain things, how to uh
provide better service uh uh toour customers.
So it's been a lot of fun, it'sbeen challenging because it
we're starting from scratch,literally.
Um, you know, and I'm fromMoscow and Chris is from
Buffalo.
But it's been fun, and workingtogether has been fun as well.
(20:27):
We are very different, uh butwe have complementary skill
sets, right?
So and Chris is like today,he's running a job, he's uh uh
uh supervising a roofinstallation, but and he does
sales, right?
And um, I focus on operations,I focus on lead generation, on
marketing and and networking.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Okay, great.
Julia (20:49):
Giving podcasts, you know, there you go, yeah,
interview on podcasts, yeah.
Doug Drohan (20:54):
And and just for my own edification, so what is a I
mean it depends on the size ofthe house, but typically in
Bergen County, what are youtalking about?
Uh what are you looking at whenyou say I need a new roof?
Uh price wise, there's a range,yeah, price-wise.
Julia (21:09):
Uh the average, I probably would say 17,000.
Doug Drohan (21:14):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Okay.
Julia (21:16):
And prices uh increase every year because materials,
you know, we all buy from thesame uh suppliers.
Uh, there are probably fourbigger ones in New Jersey.
Uh and then they increaseprices every quarter, and they
send us price, yeah.
They send us price increasesheet, and like, okay, well uh
(21:37):
we we have to raise ours, right?
So from what I um rememberrecently, uh I read uh
statistics that over the lastfive years the price of a roof
doubled.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Really?
Julia (21:50):
Yeah, and then Chris showed me his quote from uh 1989
uh for a roof in Buffalo.
I think it was $893 orsomething.
Doug Drohan (22:01):
Oh my god.
Okay, yeah, and they get a lotof snow in Buffalo.
Julia (22:05):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah.
Doug Drohan (22:07):
Oh Joy, this was great.
I mean, it's very uh, you know,for me, uh very eye-opening in
terms of you know what'sentailed in the industry, but
also it's refreshing to hear theapproach that that you two take
and your entire company takes.
Um, and you know, your corevalues, I think it it it matters
because um, you know, havingthat customer experience, there
(22:29):
there's a saying that I Ilearned from a guy named Larry
Levine who has a book calledSelling from the Heart, giving
him a plug.
And he says, if you you knowcare about your customer as much
as you care about your nextsale, yeah.
And you know, if you doeverything from the heart, um
eventually that should win outand should be you know evident
to people.
(22:49):
Maybe it's a longer termapproach than going for that
quick sale where you maybe cutcorners, but if you do it from
the heart, if you're authentic,I think people eventually see
that.
And having a happy customermeans great referrals and you
know um maybe they're not gonnaneed the roof replaced anytime
soon, but certainly repairs andthings like that.
(23:10):
So I really uh appreciate andrespect what you guys are doing.
And um, before we say goodbye,is there anything you just
wanted to leave us with?
Julia (23:19):
Well, uh thank you for having me and uh I love being
here.
And if anyone has any roofingissues, please reach out.
Doug Drohan (23:27):
Okay, and what's the best way to reach you?
Julia (23:29):
I well, you can email me at julia at golden
dragonroofing.com, uh, or justgo on our website and we have a
booking engine.
You can just book anappointment right there.
Doug D (23:41):
Goldendragonroofing.com.
Julia (23:42):
GoldenDragonroofing.com.
Doug Drohan (23:45):
And you know, you are in Hack and Sack, and I'll
give the phone number.
It's 888-558-9124.
But as Joey has said, it'sprobably best to either go on
the website or you can email herdirectly.
And you can follow them onInstagram at Golden Dragon
Roofing.
Julia (24:00):
Yes, and LinkedIn.
Doug Drohan (24:01):
And LinkedIn as well.
Great.
All right, Joey, we're justgonna uh close it out and you
and I'll be right back.
Thanks very much.
Julia (24:07):
Thank you very much.
Intro/Close (24:09):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gmpbergen.com.
That's gmpbergen.com or call201 298 325.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Doug Drohan (00:11):
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast comingto you from Bergen County, New
Jersey.
Today we are joined by JuliaBykhovskaia from Dragon Golden
Dragon Roofing out of Hack andSack in Bergen County.
Julia, welcome to the show.
Julia (00:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Happy to be here.
Doug Drohan (00:28):
Yeah, so am I.
I think you're the firstroofing company we've had on the
show.
Julia (00:32):
I doubt it.
Doug Drohan (00:33):
I doubt it.
No, it might be.
And um, you know, Lord knowsthere's a lot of roofing
companies, but I think thereason why you're the first or
one of the few is because mostroofing companies, uh, and this
is based on my experience in theadvertising industry, but also
as a homeowner, most roofingcompanies, the owners remain
(00:55):
kind of faceless and nameless.
If you go on their website,there's nothing about us that
tells you about the owner.
You don't know who the owneris, you're not really sure what
town they're in.
Um, and that, you know, thatdoesn't build a lot of trust,
personally speaking, as a as ahomeowner that I want somebody
on my roof where I can't reallygo up there and find out what
they're doing.
(01:15):
I have to trust them.
So it doesn't elicit a lot oftrust.
So I think one of the thingsoff the bat that you guys do
differently, and I I met youthrough Instagram, is that it's
a personal story, right?
Julia (01:28):
Correct.
Yeah, yeah.
We uh we want people to knowus.
Uh, we want to build a greatreputation in uh northern New
Jersey, and we are doing it uhbut every way we can, right?
Including our website.
And uh I try to post on socialmedia when I when I can.
I'm not consistent enough, butuh I want people to know who we
(01:49):
are, absolutely.
Doug Drohan (01:50):
So why don't we get into that?
Who are you?
Like why why start a roofingcompany?
Because you know, um, there arenot a lot of female uh business
owners who run roofingcompanies as well.
So why did you guys decide tostart a roofing company?
Julia (02:05):
Well, as everything in life, it was a little bit
random, right?
Uh so Chris and I, uh Chris ismy husband, and he he's also uh
co-owner of Golden DragonRoofing.
So we met uh four and a halfyears ago, and uh Chris is from
Buffalo.
So he Chris started roofingwhen uh he was um in his teens,
(02:26):
so in late eight uh eighties.
So he knew roofing, right?
And then uh when we gottogether, eventually uh a
question uh arose uh who ismoving where?
So I said that uh Buffalo isnot the place where I want to be
as much as I love it, uh aboutfollowings.
So Chris moved to uh uh tristedarea with me.
(02:50):
And uh my business, I hadseveral businesses before, so my
business was um kind of slow,it was commercial real estate,
and uh Chris uh also was gettingout of a franchise that he was
a part of, which was a digitalmarketing franchise, actually.
Okay, and we considered buyinga roofing franchise ourselves,
(03:11):
but then after several months ofuh uh deep deliberation, we
decided why don't we just wingit and start a roofing company
ourselves?
And we thought that you knowit's a very fragmented industry.
So there are some very bigplayers, but most of the players
are on a smaller side, and wefeel that most of the industry's
(03:32):
industry is still uh notsufficiently professionalized,
right?
You know, if you call like 10roofers, probably three of them
are gonna pick up the phone, anduh maybe one or two will return
your call, right?
So we felt there was anopportunity to uh come in and
build a professional company,provide great service and and
(03:55):
and grow it.
So that's why we decided tostart the roofing company.
Doug Drohan (03:59):
I hope Chris wasn't on the roof in the early 90s
when the Bills lost all thoseSuper Bowls, but um, yeah, it
might have been tough.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I'll ask him.
Doug Drohan (04:07):
Yeah.
I'm a I'm a jet fan, so he canhave pity on me.
Um, it's interesting though,because um, you know, having
come to New Jersey, and like yousaid, there are a lot of
competitors.
Yes, and um, you know, one ofthe things is you know, when you
own a house, uh somebody getsup on your roof, and you know, I
(04:31):
had a leak in my son's bedroomabout two years ago, and we had
one roofing guy come up and tellme I had to replace the whole
roof, and somebody else come upand say I could just patch that,
and you know, it's a small spotwhere it might be getting under
the flashing.
So, you know, you got twodifferent people come up, and
two people tell you twodifferent things, and one of
them's you know, $30,000 and theother one's a thousand dollars
(04:52):
or or less.
So it's really difficult for meuh to know who to call.
And I I'd be interested tohear, you know, what Chris's uh
with his background in indigital marketing and and
advertising, uh, how heapproaches that.
But let's get um, you know, nowyour your background, you said
you were in commercial lending,but you know, you weren't born
in New Jersey.
(05:13):
Your accent tells me you'refrom Long Island.
Julia (05:16):
From from Brighton Beach.
Doug Drohan (05:18):
Yeah, from Brighton Beach.
There you go.
That's part of Long Island.
Yeah, um, so obviously you'reyou're from Moscow, you're from
Russia, and uh you came overhere.
And so what what's yourimmigrant story?
Because uh, you know, there's alot of immigrants who come over
here for the so-called Americandream that work really hard and
that do build a great career.
(05:38):
What is your story?
Julia (05:41):
So, my story, uh, when I was uh, you know, I grew up in
Moscow in Russia, and then uh uhyou know I was finishing up my
degree, which was a bachelor ofscience and entrepreneurship,
actually, uh during the timewhen uh the you know, right
after the Soviet Unioncollapsed.
(06:01):
And uh before that, uh people,students were placed in the
company.
I had to look for a job myself,and somehow I ended up working
at Reuters, uh, which was a newsagency, uh financial data
agency in in Moscow, and I met alot of young people who had
degrees from abroad, so and Ihave a little bit of an
(06:25):
obsessive personality, so I saidI want to get an MBA from
America, so that launched me ona two-year journey when I was
applying to business schools,and uh I was too young, so most
business schools told me uh thatI'm too young and it's too
early.
But um NYU, for unknown to mereason, decided to accept me
(06:49):
when I was 22.
So I moved to New York Cityactually uh for an MBA program,
and uh I wanted to be amarketing major.
Then I quickly found out thatNYU is actually good in five,
you know, in finance, the topthree in finance.
Uh so I said, okay, might aswell major in finance.
(07:09):
And uh and then I ended upworking for 15 years uh in um in
the financial industry, mostlyin hedge funds, uh investing in
uh so-called distressed debt, socorporate uh bonds like
Blockbuster, Jimbery, um fairwaysupermarkets, uh so companies
(07:30):
that were either going bankruptor uh on the verge of going
bankrupt, and they love that.
Um, but then uh I didn't knowit back then, but uh I I'm a
very entrepreneurial person, soI was thinking, you know, I
would love to run a hedge fund,not work for a hedge fund.
So eventually, you know, Itried that.
Eventually I realized that Iit's uh an uphill battle, and I
(07:56):
probably will never run a hedgefund.
So I decided to find somethingelse to do, and I I found real
estate, or real estate found me.
And uh first I was acquiringAirbnb properties in the
Poconos, actually.
And then I got into multifamilyinvesting, and uh, we were
raising money and buyingproperties in Houston and
(08:18):
Dallas, uh so and that was goingwell for uh several years until
it didn't because of interestrates, and then I said, okay,
well, I can wait it out, butit's gonna take years, or I can
find something else to do, whichbrought me to to roofing,
right?
Um in a kind of convoluted way,by but that's how uh I
(08:43):
personally ended up in roofing.
Doug Drohan (08:44):
Oh, okay, and we know how Chris Demon used to do
it back in the 80s.
So Golden Dragon, I you know,with a name like that, I would
have thought you're fromFlushing Queens or uh, you know,
Leonia, New Jersey, orsomething like that.
But uh, so why why the nameGolden Dragon?
Julia (09:01):
Well, first of all, I must say that we are not a
Chinese restaurant, uh, becausea lot of people ask us, right?
But uh, you know, the the realstory is we wanted a name that
represented you know protectionand premium white glove customer
service, and we thought thatGolden Dragon Dragon is a sign
of protection, right?
(09:21):
And golden is a sign of apremium, white glove, and luxury
service, right?
And I did ask Chris uh uh whenwe were choosing a name, like,
do you think it's gonna soundlike a Chinese restaurant?
And he said, uh, no, you know,why why um why are you saying
that?
Because I suppose in Buffalothey don't have too many of
(09:42):
those.
But now every single person, ofcourse, uh asks us um if we are
affiliate affiliated in anyway.
Doug Drohan (09:51):
Ah, that's funny.
Okay.
Well, again, it you know, youdo stand out from um all the
other roofing companies thatstart with an A, like A1, All
American, all this, whatever.
Um, you know, those kind ofnews.
Julia (10:05):
It was a good idea back in the day.
Doug Drohan (10:07):
Yeah, right, because they were listed first
in yellow pages or you know,right.
So tell me a little bit aboutso obviously um residential
roofing, commercial roofing.
I you know, I kind of get theidea.
I think most people know youknow what that entails.
What is roof rejuvenation?
Julia (10:25):
Yeah, roof rejuvenation is a service that we started
offering recently.
Uh so basically you apply aspray-on solution uh to the
shingle roof.
Uh so it's not gonna work on ain a flat roof, but it it
rejuvenates the shingle andprevents further granular loss.
So, and not all roofs uh uhqualified, um but but some are,
(10:49):
and then what it what it doesfirst it uh extends the life of
the roof.
Uh we give five-year warranty,and you can do it up to three
times.
So, in theory, um it could beup to 15 years.
Then the cost of the service isa fraction of the cost of a
full roof replacement, it'sabout 15 to 20 percent um of the
(11:10):
full uh roof or re-roof, right?
And then uh what it does to theshingle, it makes it much more
pliable uh and it stops the orarrests the granula loss and
also greatly improves theappearance.
So I I'm currently talking toreal estate agents that I meet,
(11:30):
and I tell them that you know,if you are listing a house where
a roof is probably it's notcompletely shut, but it's older,
you know, to improve theappearance and make it easier to
pass a home inspection and toget insurance and just to make
it look much nicer, uh, werecommend that service.
Doug Drohan (11:49):
So it's not for a roof that has leaks, that's
there's a major, you know, waterdamage.
Julia (11:54):
It's really you know, roofs that have maybe there's
algae growth or some other algaegrowth, there's some granular
loss, but less than 40% granularloss.
Okay, and it can be greatlyextended.
The life can be extended, butyou know, if the roof is uh uh
bad and leaking, as you say, no,it it's better to replace it.
Doug Drohan (12:15):
Yeah.
So what what's the uh typicallifespan of an of a new roof?
Julia (12:19):
Uh usually in this area 20-25 years.
Doug Drohan (12:23):
Okay.
So how do you know?
So if you're buying a house,you know, one of the biggest
problems when you get your houseinspected is a home inspector
is not going up on your roof.
Yeah, he or she's gonna standback and they're gonna look from
a distance and say, uh, youknow, they're gonna look for
buckling and some obvious sound.
Maybe they have binoculars.
I don't know if they use dronesthese days.
The insurance companiesprobably do.
(12:45):
But you're not really, youdon't really know what you're
buying when it comes to the roofwhen you're buying a house.
Um, unless when you walk in,you see obvious, you know, water
streaks or damage or whatever.
But you know, it's really kindof a um crapshoot when it comes
to knowing, you know, if my ifthat roof of the house that I'm
buying needs to be replacedsoon.
(13:06):
So, you know, if somebody asksme, how old is my roof of my
house?
I bought my house nine yearsago.
I I don't know.
Julia (13:12):
Yep.
I hear you.
Doug Drohan (13:13):
I don't know how old it was.
I don't I'd have to lookthrough my paperwork.
I don't know how old it waswhen I bought the house.
I know I've been here nineyears, I've had a couple of
repairs made from leaks, but uhyou know, I'd imagine like
that's where the risk comes infor a homeowner, meaning they're
vulnerable to somebody sellingthem something that they don't
(13:34):
need because I don't really knowhow old my roof is.
So, how do I, if I call you upfor a free roof inspection, what
are you gonna tell me?
Like, what's the process?
Julia (13:45):
So, actually, uh, for um cases as you described when
there is a transactionhappening, uh, what we do offer,
like I want to mention that uh,as you said, uh roofers in New
Jersey, they don't need to passany exam.
And the only license yourequire is home improvement
license, which is relativelyeasy to get, and there is no
(14:06):
state um examination, right?
So we proactively went out andgot um certification with
National Roof and CertificationAssociation, which involves very
rigorous training, and we arealso certified to provide
so-called uh leak-freecertifications, uh, which we uh
do for a price at $495.
(14:27):
But then uh for that um, youknow, this service, uh, we're
gonna come and inspect the roofand we're gonna do professional
inspection, provide verydetailed report.
And um, you know, if we believethat the roof is um uh not
gonna leak, right, in goodcondition, we provide a two-year
(14:47):
warranty that it's not gonnaleak.
And if it does leak, we'regonna come back and fix it for
free.
All right.
But it is uh for averagehomeowner, before I got into
roofing, I had no idea uh eitherterminology or what to look
for.
Uh, but you you don't know,right?
You don't know, and um unlesssomebody conducts professional
(15:09):
expect inspections, uhinspection gets on the roof and
checks all the components um ofthe roof, right?
All the penetration points, allall of the um boot pipes, um
the skylights, everything wherewater uh everywhere where water
can uh come in.
Um but it's not you know it'snot easy for uh a normal person
(15:32):
uh to tell from the ground,right?
Doug Drohan (15:34):
You can't right, right, yeah.
I mean, there's certain thingslike if you see all the the
growth on the roof, that's easyto see, but the flashing and
things like that, yeah.
Julia (15:44):
Yeah, water stains uh in the house might indicate the
leak, but they might come fromsomething else as well.
Doug Drohan (15:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So what is it um like thatdrives you guys?
Like why like why choose?
I mean, you've talked aboutthis a lot, but if I were to ask
you and put you on the spot,you know, why choose golden
dragon roofing?
Julia (16:07):
Why choose us, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, uh yeah, many reasons.
So, first of all, we we havecertified the National Roof
Certification, uh Certificationand Inspection Association,
which uh provides very rigoroustraining to uh uh you know the
inspectors.
We're also a member of umRoofing and Solar Reform
(16:28):
Alliance, and this is anorganization uh um which unites
roofers who are committed topromoting ethical practices and
exceptional customer service.
And that was the conference uhuh that I mentioned that Chris
and I just attended, uhattended, then we really uh
obsessed with uh uh just doing agood job, right?
(16:48):
And creating great experiencefor a customer.
We want to be responsive, uh,and we are.
Uh you know, if there are anyissues whatsoever, we respond,
we make it right, even if it'snot our fault.
Uh, we just want to ourcustomer to be happy.
And also, you know, we don'treally sell, we educate.
We we're gonna explain.
(17:09):
Uh you know, Chris is amazingat explaining all the roof
components and showing picturesand explaining uh you know how
the roofing because roof is notjust shingles, right?
It's several layers ofcomponents, it's a roofing
system.
So Chris explains how it works,educate uh a homeowner, and
then we provide options.
You know, sometimes you you cando you know either roof
(17:33):
rejuvenation or repair.
We don't warranty repairs, butwe can say, okay, if you don't
want to spend the money, we cando a repair, um, but we cannot
warranty.
It's it's hard to, I mean, it'simpossible to warranty a
repair.
Um, so uh and and then we justyou know really taking care of
the uh homeowners' property likewe would of our own.
(17:56):
We make sure uh you knoweverything is cleaned up after
the job is done.
Uh your landscaping is coveredduring the work, AC units are
covered, and we just aim toprovide a great experience.
Doug Drohan (18:10):
That's cool.
Yep, absolutely.
So, you know, I always askpeople, um, and you know, this
is not your first.
Well, I guess it is your first,like, I mean, no, well, you're
in the real estate business, butwhat has it been like um you
know, being a business owner?
And I guess this is the firsttime you're owning a business
(18:34):
with your husband.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Oh, yeah.
Doug Drohan (18:35):
So that that's always like I'm always I always
marvel at that because I know alot of husband and wife, husband
and wife, business owners, andI'm like, God bless, man.
Um yeah, I asked my wiferecently, I was like, Can you
imagine if we work together?
She's like, No.
No, I and and mostly becausewe're different.
Um, she's in HR at Ernst andYoung, she's been there 20
years.
(18:55):
Uh, you know, we have adifferent communication style, I
guess, you know.
But I think that's good, butshe doesn't see herself in any
kind of sales-oriented role.
But when you own a business,you're in sales, whether you
think you're in sales or not,right?
So, what has it been like um,you know, being an owner of a
(19:16):
company and being an owner of aroofing company?
Julia (19:19):
Well, I love it, you know.
I need a challenge.
So for me, it is a challenge,right?
Because it's uh running a homeservice uh company, and we came
in cold, right?
We're not from this industry,we didn't come from
construction, so everything wedo we had to learn from scratch,
except for uh roofing technicalpart, which Chris knew, right?
(19:42):
But then uh, you know, openingan office, uh running a crew, uh
you know, marketing, leadgeneration for home services.
Uh I mean it we started fromzero.
And I love the creative processof it, and I love learning,
right?
Because every day uh we learnsomething new how to improve our
(20:03):
processes, how to automatecertain things, how to uh
provide better service uh uh toour customers.
So it's been a lot of fun, it'sbeen challenging because it
we're starting from scratch,literally.
Um, you know, and I'm fromMoscow and Chris is from
Buffalo.
But it's been fun, and workingtogether has been fun as well.
(20:27):
We are very different, uh butwe have complementary skill
sets, right?
So and Chris is like today,he's running a job, he's uh uh
uh supervising a roofinstallation, but and he does
sales, right?
And um, I focus on operations,I focus on lead generation, on
marketing and and networking.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Okay, great.
Julia (20:49):
Giving podcasts, you know, there you go, yeah,
interview on podcasts, yeah.
Doug Drohan (20:54):
And and just for my own edification, so what is a I
mean it depends on the size ofthe house, but typically in
Bergen County, what are youtalking about?
Uh what are you looking at whenyou say I need a new roof?
Uh price wise, there's a range,yeah, price-wise.
Julia (21:09):
Uh the average, I probably would say 17,000.
Doug Drohan (21:14):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Okay.
Julia (21:16):
And prices uh increase every year because materials,
you know, we all buy from thesame uh suppliers.
Uh, there are probably fourbigger ones in New Jersey.
Uh and then they increaseprices every quarter, and they
send us price, yeah.
They send us price increasesheet, and like, okay, well uh
(21:37):
we we have to raise ours, right?
So from what I um rememberrecently, uh I read uh
statistics that over the lastfive years the price of a roof
doubled.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Really?
Julia (21:50):
Yeah, and then Chris showed me his quote from uh 1989
uh for a roof in Buffalo.
I think it was $893 orsomething.
Doug Drohan (22:01):
Oh my god.
Okay, yeah, and they get a lotof snow in Buffalo.
Julia (22:05):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah.
Doug Drohan (22:07):
Oh Joy, this was great.
I mean, it's very uh, you know,for me, uh very eye-opening in
terms of you know what'sentailed in the industry, but
also it's refreshing to hear theapproach that that you two take
and your entire company takes.
Um, and you know, your corevalues, I think it it it matters
because um, you know, havingthat customer experience, there
(22:29):
there's a saying that I Ilearned from a guy named Larry
Levine who has a book calledSelling from the Heart, giving
him a plug.
And he says, if you you knowcare about your customer as much
as you care about your nextsale, yeah.
And you know, if you doeverything from the heart, um
eventually that should win outand should be you know evident
to people.
(22:49):
Maybe it's a longer termapproach than going for that
quick sale where you maybe cutcorners, but if you do it from
the heart, if you're authentic,I think people eventually see
that.
And having a happy customermeans great referrals and you
know um maybe they're not gonnaneed the roof replaced anytime
soon, but certainly repairs andthings like that.
(23:10):
So I really uh appreciate andrespect what you guys are doing.
And um, before we say goodbye,is there anything you just
wanted to leave us with?
Julia (23:19):
Well, uh thank you for having me and uh I love being
here.
And if anyone has any roofingissues, please reach out.
Doug Drohan (23:27):
Okay, and what's the best way to reach you?
Julia (23:29):
I well, you can email me at julia at golden
dragonroofing.com, uh, or justgo on our website and we have a
booking engine.
You can just book anappointment right there.
Doug D (23:41):
Goldendragonroofing.com.
Julia (23:42):
GoldenDragonroofing.com.
Doug Drohan (23:45):
And you know, you are in Hack and Sack, and I'll
give the phone number.
It's 888-558-9124.
But as Joey has said, it'sprobably best to either go on
the website or you can email herdirectly.
And you can follow them onInstagram at Golden Dragon
Roofing.
Julia (24:00):
Yes, and LinkedIn.
Doug Drohan (24:01):
And LinkedIn as well.
Great.
All right, Joey, we're justgonna uh close it out and you
and I'll be right back.
Thanks very much.
Julia (24:07):
Thank you very much.
Intro/Close (24:09):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gmpbergen.com.
That's gmpbergen.com or call201 298 325.
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