Sometimes the best businesses come from personal frustration. For Jake Sorenson, Mike Trevino, and DeShawn Williams — three friends who met in an online RV forum in 2021 — the frustration was the same: they all got burned by unqualified contractors claiming to offer professional roof coating services. Their response was unexpected: they got trained themselves, got certified through our program, and now run one of the fastest-growing mobile coating operations in the Mountain West.

The Starting Point

“All three of us had been quoted and hired different ‘roof coating specialists’ before finding RV Roof Protection,” Jake told us at our spring community meeting. “I had a guy use a product that turned out to be house paint. Mike had someone who didn’t do any prep work and the coating delaminated in 14 months. DeShawn’s contractor just ghosted after taking a deposit.”

After connecting through the RV Network community, the three got their own rigs properly coated by a certified applicator, saw the difference firsthand, and started asking questions about the training process. Within six months, all three were enrolled in the certification program.

Building the Business

“The certification gave us credibility immediately,” Mike said. “We launched in April 2023 with zero reviews. Within 90 days we had 14 jobs completed and 11 five-star reviews from community members who found us through the applicator directory. The network is a real business generator.”

Their operation — Mountain West Mobile Coating, based in Colorado Springs — now handles 8–12 jobs per week from March through October, with a growing winterization add-on service they offer to RV storage facilities. Revenue in their third year exceeded $400,000.

Advice to Prospective Applicators

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment,” DeShawn advises. “We started part-time while keeping day jobs and went full-time after six months when the work exceeded what we could handle nights and weekends. The demand is there. Good, certified applicators are genuinely in short supply in most markets.”

Interested in following a similar path? Visit our Become an Applicator page for full program details. Questions? Post in the business development forum or attend one of our monthly applicator Q&A sessions.