On February 22, 2020 at 22:13, Stryker said...
I think this thread is great. As things always change.
But as always I think it’s important to look at the markets we all serve. I don’t care if your 25 or 65. When you have a 20-35k house you will have a control system. And if your even semi smart you’ll have your systems integrated. Example said 20-35k sq ft house is in an area where satellite internet is the fastest option you have all of the cloud systems fail (latency). I know micro satellite and 5g will help to minimize this need but it’s still an issue (Plus the whole point of 5g and microsatellite is to control access and gather personal data). I looked at a 72k sq ft house last month. Internet is 5mb. 3xT1 lines combined with satellite internet (Hughes as the backup failover and a few other items segregated in the network) No cable service $2.4m to get fiber to the property
I get that these kind of projects may not be the norm for many. But for those of us that this is par for the course. I don’t see control systems going away for quite a few years still.
The race to the bottom the constant pressure from players in this industry to provide more for less is self defeating and idiotic. And show the lack of business acumen by most on this board. We went from Ferrari dealers. To “we will sell you whatever you want so that we can keep our doors open” Fing stupid.
Couple last thoughts
Everyone should be T&M and I think most know that. If your not. Why not?
And define successful? When someone says they ran a successful integration company and shifted to install consumer products “because of forsight”. I’d ask how they define success. If you own an AV company and your not doing a minimum of $350k in revenue per employee you are NOT successful. Your not even close
Lastly for those who are successful make sure to put all that money into something besides AV. Because as the last 7 pages show Control systems are not needed. ;) and all of us traditional AV companies will disappear
There's a lot of good stuff above. In addition to his points, things that have helped to make us more successful and that have cut down on frustration are:
T&M (like noted above). You don't know what you're getting into on many projects and that isn't your fault. T&M is fair for you and the client if you know your product lines.
Client pays for initial consult...why, oh why do people continue to do this for free?
Sell better stuff. To the person who previously stated that they left the business due to the cheapening of products and the IOT state of the industry...why not sell better networks? EVERY house that has entertainment based on networked devices needs to have managed WiFi (or at least WiFi that is remotely visible) and some form of IP power piece to reset things automatically. MOST customers don't know what to reset when (as an example) Netflix hangs up. Is is the modem, router, streaming device, etc.? What do you unplug? Which of these 90 cables is the power? This element is now more important than ever.
Make yourself better: As professionals, we need to continually challenge ourselves and the status quo to ascend personally and professionally IF we want to grow. Still selling Netgear routers and extenders? Big fan of the URC MX450? Telling your customers to buy gear on the Internet and you'll install it? We see this constantly and if you're doing the above you aren't doing yourself or your client a favor. Learn why better products cost more and how they benefit the customer.
$$$: Charge enough to stay in business and give yourself the life you want. They're too expensive? Maybe you're too cheap.
Good luck to all of us and keep your eye on the prize.
