Since I'm relatively new to this forum, this thread may be a great introduction for me.

I started working in television production in 1996, straight out of school. Worked for the local NBC affil doing control room operation, audio for news, studio camera op etc. Took a job about a year later with a startup station. It was supposed to be just board opping, but it got way out of hand real fast. I ended up dismantling an entire control room from a defunct station, loading it into a truck and reassembling it in a temporary control room while the studios were being built. Got stuck doing it all myself, the chief engineer was kind of useless. I ended up doing more engineering than anything, though it wasn't technically my job. I was the only one with any real computer skills, and got stuck with the job of figuring out how to maintain an early video server, that was riddled with flaws, function reliably.

I ended up getting moved officially to the engineering department when we finally built the "permanent" control room. So for a few years I maintained the studio and control room, managed the network and did some transmitter duty as well. I was stuck supervising the control room staff, maintaining FCC logs, doing graphics work, equipment repair, maintenance, and just about everything in between.

In 2001, I got a chance to get out of engineering and try my hand at directing live news for the NBC station I had previously worked for. I loved it, and ended up directing for the remainder of my time in broadcast. I did get stuck working with the engineers frequently, as I was the only one who could figure out the Odetics broadcast automation system (really a pretty neat piece - it automated all programming, switching, commercial and program playback etc.)

In '03, I went back to the station where I was previously an engineer, which had switched affiliation from Fox to CBS, and were starting a news operation. My old boss had come to me because the system they were using was a "groundbreaking" new system that was "right up my alley". It was called ParkerVision, and was a PC based, timeline driven newscast automation system that required only one person to operate an entire newscast. Robotic cameras, integrated audio console...it eliminated the entire crew. I had to completely configure the system prior to launching the news operation, so the other 2 directors and myself built every command and programmed macro for every possible operation we could think of. We were in a race against Turner & CNN to get the first Pinnacle Vortex newsroom server system up and running, and we beat them. We were also the first to ever integrate Vortex with ParkerVision (yay us). After a short while, my divorce drove me to the edge, and I went on a very long drinking binge, so I quit with no plan.

A relative called out of the blue (right as my retiremnet fund dried up) and offered me a job with his new company. They were doing high end home automation systems. I was really intrigued, as I had installed X10 crap all through my old home back in the late 90's. They were going to be installing a German manufactured system called Visiomatic. Let's just say that, had they had any work ethic, and actually run the company instead of pissing away half a million dollars of investors' money, I'd still be living in Richmond and working for them.

I went back to work in television since that venture failed miserably, working for a sister station of my previous employer directing on ParkerVision again. I completely re-organized their whole approach, improved the on air quality by leaps and bounds, and was next in line for Production Manager. But the town where I was stuck was miserable.

As luck would have it, a friend from my hometown contacted me to come work for him. His family business had been doing stage sound for years, and they wanted to enter the residential market, but had noone who understood any of the technology involved. I went to work for them, only to find that the "boss" just wanted to smoke pot all day, do crap work, never test cables and just plain do really low quality work.

I couldn't work in that environment, and my girlfriend took her life savings and talked me into starting my own company. It's been a long slow process, I've been in business a little over a year, and have struggled the whole way. Every day is a prayer that I'll be open tomorrow. I made some serious mistakes in the beginning, and it cost me a lot, but I've learned and grown. Year one, I lost my ass by putting all my eggs in the Control4 basket, and it nearly bankrupted me. When I dropped Control4 in November, and went a different direction, things turned around.

I still may not be able to stay open, but I have a better shot now. The few jobs I did last year are paying off with referrals, and one contractor who had me do his personal home has even gone so far as to offer to do sales for me on the side (I actually just moved into the spare office in his office).

I think I may have just over-shared. Sorry.