1. Make hay while the Sun is shining

2. Don't believe everything you read in CEPro.

One thing I have read here and heard from many people is jealousy over the homes and possessions of clients. If anyone feels this way, DO NOT let anyone in that house find out. Kids can't keep their mouths shut, so they can't hear it and if the adults hear anything, it won't end well. Whether they worked for it, inherited it or won it, whatever they have has absolutely no bearing on anyone else's life, other than the fact that they want things and will usually need someone to provide the things and/or the installation/setup. They often do this when the economy is down, too- partly because they may be somewhat insulated from the effects of economic downturns, but also because some contractors are willing to discount when business is slow. Either way, it keeps people working and that's a good thing for those of us who have benefited from it.

I lived next to someone who would answer my question "How is work?" with "It doesn't matter". She said this a few times before I asked for an explanation and she said "Find a job that nobody else wants to do and do it so well they have no choice but to pay you a lot of money".

"Buy low, sell high"

"Always drink upstream from the herd" (Ranger Doug, from Riders In The Sky)

Never trust a junkie.

"It's all going wireless"

Regarding Lighting control...

"Do yourself a favor and just sell Lutron"

Professional distance:
My clients are NOT my friends, most of them have become very wealthy by getting people to do things or provide goods/services to them as cheaply as possible. They are the alpha dogs at doing this (hence their station in life).
I have watched several industry cohorts get a ton of profit sucked out of jobs by clients playing buddy-buddy with them. Don't get me wrong, I am friendly with a lot of my clients but I never, ever cross that line.

You are a guppy swimming with sharks:
Even though a 1/4 million dollar (or more) project is couch cushion money to a lot of my clients, it represents an immense amount of money to somebody like me. Do not think that any of them would hesitate to burn you down in a heartbeat if it benefited them or they thought they could get away with it. I have seen other trades get long conned by clients. Do a couple of jobs for that person, everything goes smooth. Then "hey, can you do me one favor, take care of X. We have a working relationship already, can I just pay you when you are done, you know I am good for it"
Have seen guys lose it all getting burned this way.

Also: Some of the best projects I have been involved in are the ones I turned down. Do not be afraid to walk away from a potential job if you get a hinky feeling about a potential client. I have had a few of these that I have heard through the grapevine went horribly sideways for the people that took them on.

"Run CAT cable everywhere during a pre-wire"

-Ed, Ernie, Brian, Jeff, and just about everyone else on this site that has known me since the early 2000's

=]

Did you listen at first?

Sounds to me like someone didnt like you when they gave you that advice

Fixed it for you

It's a good vacuum, good suction and durable etc. But I have grown to dislike the fact that you have to practically assemble and disassemble it every time you use it. The hose and power cord must be put back in the compartment in a very specific way that takes time out of my day. I would rather just use a little Stinger vac for the price.

Why? Its the one product that I never worry about. I would love to completely get out of the AV/networking game and solely focus on Lighting/Shading. My market is not big enough for that though.

Now Lutron the company I have many gripes with, but the product is solid.

'Learn the networking stuff.'

This is what I tell installers and helpers who expresses any interest in staying in and advancing in the industry. Fastest route out of the hang tv's, speakers and pre-wire roles.

Definitely learn the networking stuff. I'd argue that one of the integrator's biggest burdens moving forward over the next decade will be the networking stuff. Security is becoming so crazy an issue, and automation is becoming so heavily tied to networking (whether that's a good thing or not, and mostly it's probably not), that I can't see how anyone who isn't either heavy on the networking or working very closely with someone who is is going to be considered a top dog in this field. Depending on an unattached third party for the networking substrate, the quality of which will significantly define the experience for your customer, doesn't seem a viable approach anymore.