Eric Smith has spent more than two decades in the roofing industry — starting his first company at twenty-one, selling it, working across the restoration and public adjusting sides of the business, and then launching Pak Exteriors for a second run at building something that lasts. In this episode of the Encourage Mindset Podcast, Eric joins host Ethan Van De Hey for his very first podcast appearance to talk about legacy, fear as a motivator, and why the best things in business come from complexity and difficulty.
Watch the Full Episode with Eric Smith
Twenty-Two Years in Roofing — and Starting Over
Eric does not sugarcoat his journey. He started his first roofing company at twenty-one years old, built it up, and eventually exited through a sale. After that, he stayed in the industry but on different sides — working for a public adjusting company and a restoration company, helping other businesses scale. Each role taught him something new about the market, about himself, and about what he wanted his career to actually look like long-term.
About a year and a half ago, Eric launched Pak Exteriors for a second go at ownership. But this time, at forty-one years old with kids, the motivation is completely different. He describes it as a legacy fulfillment rather than a financial one. He wants to build something with a foundation of customer principles, reputation, and stability — a company where people can grow their careers and feel proud of what they are part of.
Fear as the Engine Behind Hard Work
Eric and Ethan have an honest conversation about fear and how it drives action. Eric admits that his biggest fear is not being able to provide for his family, and that fear is exactly what pushes him to work as hard as he does. He wants his kids to experience blessings and opportunities, and that protective instinct fuels everything he does in business. When he lost a job a couple of years ago, that fear of falling behind was the thing that got him back on track immediately.
But Eric is quick to add nuance. Fear can motivate, but it can also paralyze if you let it. The key, he says, is channeling it into action rather than letting it spiral into anxiety. The good stuff in life and business is always on the other side of something that is hard to figure out or hard to make yourself do.
The Five-Minute Rule
One of the most practical takeaways from the episode is Eric’s approach to overcoming procrastination. When he is staring down a task he does not want to start, he tells himself to just give it five minutes. He sets a timer, starts working, and almost every time the alarm goes off, he presses stop and keeps going. The initial shock of getting started is the hardest part, and once you break through that resistance, momentum takes over. It is a deceptively simple strategy, but Eric credits it with keeping him productive on the days when motivation is nowhere to be found.
From Door-Knocking to Relationship Building
Eric spent years in the storm-chasing side of roofing — knocking on doors after storms hit, generating immediate income through transactional sales. It worked financially, especially when he needed to get out of a tough spot, but he never loved it. Even when he had teams doing the knocking for him, the model never felt right.
Now, with Pak Exteriors, Eric is building a relationship-based business. He compares the difference to meeting someone at a bar versus building a foundation for a marriage — one gives you an immediate result, the other takes real time and effort but leads to something lasting. His connection to Ethan and Dennis Yu through LinkedIn is an example of that approach in action. Eric reached out cold to Dennis, was surprised when he responded, and that one connection opened doors to a whole community built around authentic relationships and long-term thinking.
Making Decisions Fast — Strength and Weakness
Eric describes himself as someone who pushes decisions fast, and he is honest about the fact that it is both his greatest strength and a real weakness. In entrepreneurship, speed matters — opportunities do not wait around, and being able to commit quickly has served him well over twenty-two years. But he acknowledges that hasty decisions can also lead to mistakes, and he is learning to balance his natural bias for action with more thoughtful evaluation as he builds this second company.
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Related Episodes You Might Enjoy
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these related episodes from the Encourage Mindset Podcast:
- Matt LeBris: Turn Failure into Fuel for Success
- Dennis Yu: Adversity Builds Champions
- Dave Gulas: Starting Strong Is Easy But Can You Survive The Fall?
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