Smithtown News- Building a successful biz in a male-dominated field

While March may have marked Women’s History Month, an opportunity to recognize women who play a vital role in society, one modern-day business leader has been making strides in a traditionally male-dominated profession year-round for the past two decades.

Jill Motta, owner of St. James-based Triple H Insulation, Heating and Cooling, and Klaus Roofing Systems by Triple H, who spent 25 years in corporate America, has used her background and experience to build Triple H into a company that has continued to succeed, even in the face of a year-long pandemic.

Triple H has distinguished itself as a New York State Certified Woman-Owned Business since 2014 but its origins date back to 1999. At the time, Ms. Motta and her then-husband were running a business that included both commercial and residential contracting. Their split resulted in Ms. Motta taking over the residential end of the business.

“I’m very proud of being certified as a Woman-Owned Business. It took me six months to get through the paperwork...we are so thoroughly vetted, but it sets us apart,” said Ms. Motta. “I feel that we have distinguished ourselves."

Ms. Motta, who runs the day-to-day operations, including the marketing, financial, and advertising aspects, has approximately 30 employees who are responsible for the work being completed in residential homes and are Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified. “Everything we do is to conserve energy and follow building science principles.”

A mother of two, Ms. Motta said she runs her business like a large company. Employees receive medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, 401(k), Aflac, employee assistance programs, and health advocacy. “We build careers,” said Ms. Motta. “It’s the only way I would want to run a business.”

Reviews on the company’s website affirm that she is doing something right. “If employees are happy and trained well, the company will benefit on the back-end by retaining employees,” Ms. Motta said, adding that there is “upward mobility” at the company with many of the crew members becoming crew leaders, foremen, and project managers.

While being a woman in a male-dominated field may seem to present challenges, Ms. Motta said it hasn’t held her back. Triple H is the only woman-owned business in Contractor Nation, a national contractor network that assists home improvement repair and service contractors with growing their business. “They respect me because they can see I know my stuff.”

Ms. Motta said that as the years go on she is finding that many of the decision-makers within families are women. “There are some old-school people who don’t think a woman can do the job. I’ve been dealing with that for my whole life. But you do find that the older you get, people show you more respect. Homeowners are younger so they aren’t looking for the typical stereotype. Women are very involved now. We treat both homeowners with the same respect,” she added.

Ms. Motta, who is ready for the future after two decades in the business, said the pandemic has actually resulted in the business growing as people who are working from home are recognizing that improvements are needed to allow them the comfort and functionality required.

Triple H is a Gold Star Home Performance Contractor from the Building Performance Institute, a PSEG certified contractor, working under its umbrella and a preferred partner of SEALED, which provides homeowners with energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. Information about the business can be found at: TripleHContracting.com or KlausroofingbyTripleH.com.

By FRAN EVANS