By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKTON — Brandon Schlichter was on his way to meet with Curtis and Paula Anderson to consider purchasing their Rockton roofing company when a video was served up on his YouTube playlist disparaging the region where he was about to do business.
The Circleville, Ohio, entrepreneur has amassed millions of followers on TikTok and YouTube for his behind-the-scenes videos on life as an investor in laundromats, car washes and other businesses. Now, as he was preparing to maneuver into roofing here, he came across another YouTuber’s video describing Rockford as a failing Midwest town.
“I listened to half of this video on my airpods when I was coming up here, and I had to turn it off halfway. OK, I’ve heard someone complain for 10 minutes straight,” he said. “Then I go and I drive down the waterfront area of Rockford. I’m like, I’m in a different world than where this video is. Yeah, I see some rundown buildings. Yeah I see some stuff that needs to be fixed. But I also see huge investment.”
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That first trip here happened in December 2023, and Schlichter said he saw a level of investment that defied the claims in the video. He closed on the purchase of H.C. Anderson Roofing about four months later.
“Yeah there are struggles and there are things that are hazardous or negative, but there are also a lot of good things that are happening in this area,” he said. “With taking over H.C. Anderson, I have the opportunity to be part of that.”
Schlichter found H.C. Anderson as he was looking for successful businesses with ownership that was at or nearing retirement. Curtis and Paula Anderson fit the bill. The couple, who founded the business in 1998, are remaining with company as consultants to lend their expertise during the transition. Curtis Anderson is also still the company’s crane operator.
The new owner said the company has a great legacy in the community, great employees and a strong base of customers.
“They are very much a household name in this area,” Schlichter said. “Everybody knows them.”
The couple is transitioning into retirement so they can spend more time with their grandchildren and children. You may recognize one of their sons, Bellator light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson.

Since Schlichter bought the business, he’s taken his millions of followers through the ins-and-outs of running a roofing company.
That includes showcasing some of the work H.C. Anderson has done this past summer on large local roof projects such as the adult probation center in downtown, Second Congregation/First Presbyterian Church, and the former Lafayette Hotel, which is being renovated for a new affordable apartment complex. The company also handled the combined $1.2 million roof rebuilds at Conklin and Lahtrop elementary schools.
“It’s just one of those things where I just see unlimited opportunity in this area,” Schlichter said. “The union has said that in just prevailing wage jobs it’s in the $1.5 billion range — $1.5 billion in work that could be performed in a given year in our (Roofers Local 11 area).”
Schlichter, who went to roofing school in Chicago to get his Illinois license, runs the company with his business partner Lance Sanderson, who is the new head of operations. Sanderson handles the day-to-day operations. Schlichter is here for one week each month as he splits time with his other businesses.
Schlichter’s 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube and 3.6 million followers on TikTok get a look at everything from the challenges of keeping costs low to win bids on government contracts to what happens when an expensive piece of construction equipment needs to be fixed or replaced.
It’s been a different work environment for the roughly 20 employees at H.C. Anderson.
“It was a little weird because I didn’t how YouTube correlated with roofing, but once I talked to Brandon and Lance — they’re very well versed in the roofing industry,” said Malcolm Seward, H.C. Anderson’s lead estimator who has worked for the company for 13 years. “I’ve got to make it work. So whatever the new ownership wanted I was going to go with it all the way.”
Schlichter said that before purchasing H.C. Anderson, every time he bought a company every employee quit.
Here, he said they took several employees to lunch to learn why they liked working for the company and what they would want to improve.
“Doing everything we can to keep the positive culture in place, but then the things that we could improve on, let’s do those, too,” he said. “So then we get the best of both worlds. We start growing the company, making more money, putting more money in my employees’ pockets, making our customers happy, continuing to hold the standard that Mr. Anderson held all these 26 years that he’s owned this company.”
Schlichter also runs Investment Joy — the name his social media channels is under — where he offers financial coaching around laundromats, car washes and vending machines.
He said he’s looking for other investment opportunities here, too.
“We’ve already had two other firms in this area ask if I want to buy them,” he said, although he declined to say which industries those businesses were in.
Laundromats, which are the businesses he featured in his first viral videos, are still top of mind. In one video, he stops by Rockford Washer on North Main Street to inquire about the laundromat. In another he checks out Laundry 360 a few blocks away.
“This is the kind of location I would like to buy,” he said in the video.
A social media team records some of his activities with the company throughout the day, including the interview he conducted with the Rock River Current.
Schlichter said he hopes the workers benefit from the social media attention. His large following can help give workers credit for tough labor that often goes unheralded, he said.
“It would be nice to give them the spotlight and the attention because they deserve it as much as anybody else does,” Schlichter said. “These guys work really hard, and I would just love it for their kids to be able to watch their dad on YouTube and say my dad is a YouTube star.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas