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Topic:
big career change... questions... ???
This thread has 55 replies. Displaying posts 16 through 30.
Post 16 made on Friday October 13, 2017 at 21:31
Dave in Balto
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I'm 42, married, 2 kids, my wife works in special education as director of a program.

I've been doing this for 11 years on my own, I do similar numbers as 3 pedal. It's been a learning curve, it's based on relationships, and it all depends on you. I really do like it, always something new, usually it's challenging and I do something that people will see and either say "I don't get it". Or "how the hell did he do that".

I want to say I'm good at this, better at some things than others. I refuse to dedicate my life to this, I don't work weekends except for the occasional sales call when it feels right. I don't want to wake up in another 10 years and realize that I missed my kids grow up.

The money is decent, owning your business let's you have a BMW as a sales vehicle, write off a portion of everything, so a salary of $75k is deceiving, we are comfortable, not rich, not poor. My kids aren't in private school, but I'm not willing to put in the 80 hours a week to be able to afford it and have my kids be private school brats that won't have any childhood memories of their dad not working.

Honestly, if you have the relationships and are willing to spend the next six months like I used to scouring this site asking questions, reading every back issue of cepro, stereophole, Cedia blogs, etc..... learning your shit, realizing that your aren't god and you need them second guess your choices. If you can make families comfortable enough for you to be around their children, to be alone in their homes regularly, then give it a shot. It's a business you need to learn, you need a tax ID, relationships with vendors, you need to learn hundreds of products inside and out and make them work together. Tech support doesn't exist. You need to learn what works that you can sell that amazon won't undercut you on.

This is what I do. This is probably what I'm supposed to do. It fits my personality. I can climb steps, crawl in spaces, wire racks, program from a laptop siting on a bucket slightly hung over with a decent breakfast skipping lunch for 9 hours straight. I could take a job with a larger integrator for decent money, but larger integrators come and go. I don't think I want to get any bigger than a full time tech, but that's even a huge undertaking unless I find a younger me.

My plan is to do this for another 10 years, save money along the way, the house will be paid off in 8, then find something else to do. I'm hoping to figure out the something else along the way.

Good luck in your travels.
Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

The Dude
Post 17 made on Friday October 13, 2017 at 22:27
Malcolm013
Long Time Member
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On October 13, 2017 at 18:13, 3PedalMINI said...
+1

This past year (2017) has been one of my best and I’ve been at this for 10 years. I will do ~290-320k as a one man shop. I play in the 15-80k job arena which is my bread and butter. I’ve been at this for 10 years and this is the first year I’ve nailed down my billing.

I will hope to pay myself 75k after all expenses. This has been the busiest year and I have some very very long days in. Margins are low, taxes are high and after a very long 12-14 hour day there’s 2-3 more hours in the office todo billing, ordering RMA requests, emails the list goes on and on. A lot of these hours are dealing with garbage equipment and service calls that don’t have a single thing todo with you or your installation. You “eat the cost and the time” manufactures do not pay for your time to deal with their crap.

I would STRONGLY suggest rethinking your idea of joining this industry. It takes YEARS to build a business and tons of money to get started. Word of mouth doesn’t come easily and quickly. Now it’s 80% of my work but it took 10 years to get to that point.

It sounds like you have Just tinkered with stuff and have the itch to get into this industry. That is how most of us got into this industry, but most of us got into this at a different time. This day in age to be successful you have to be a network engineer and then an AV integrator. Tinkering on your home pieces are entirely different then in the real world. You HAVE to choose brands and products that you can partner with and know they will make your life “easier”

I wish you the best of luck but I would strongly consider something else. Also you had better have some damn thick skin because dealing with the public and your phone ringing off the hook by a irate client because Netflix isn’t loading can and will start to wear down on you.

If I had started ANY other business 10 years ago I would be a very different place then I am now. There use to be a time where you could make a very good living in this industry, but they were also the times of 20k plasmas and HDMI didn’t exist. Sorry to hear about your divorce. (I just got married haha) I started my business when I was in high school, I built this on a shoe string budget and also when credit was easy to get. It took me until 2012 to pay off all my debt I had accrued starting this!

It was NOT easy.

Agreed. Referrals are a way of business for most of us but it takes years to build the trust and confidence of your client that's needed to grow your business. I've been in the industry 18 years and have had my own company for the last 3 years. Myself and two full time guys had $850K in sales last year and I took home in mid $100K range but it's non stop work and didn't take overnight. I've been fortunate enough to have nourished these relationships for years so it made the transition into running my own biz a bit easier. Good thing about SoCal is that we've got lots of people with big bucks!
"Was it for this my life I sought? Maybe so, Maybe not...
Post 18 made on Friday October 13, 2017 at 23:21
davet2020
Senior Member
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If you are going to start a new company from scratch then my suggestion is you go after the higher end customers. If you are anywhere else it is real hard to make a good living.

Middle class customers will shop your quotes on line and to other shops in order to find some one who will do it cheaper.

Started my business in 1978, 40 years ago, and I was able to raise my family and sent 5 kids to college so I am grateful for that. But, I had to put in long hours, weekends and haven't taken the vacations my friends and family with normal jobs have taken. We are not kidding when we say we often work over 60 hours a week.

So, don't do it unless you are willing to pay the price but most of the guys here wonder if the results are really worth it.
If you are going to do the job...why not do it the right way?
www.fairfaxavi.com
Post 19 made on Friday October 13, 2017 at 23:24
Malcolm013
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On October 13, 2017 at 23:21, davet2020 said...
If you are going to start a new company from scratch then my suggestion is you go after the higher end customers. If you are anywhere else it is real hard to make a good living.

Middle class customers will shop your quotes on line and to other shops in order to find some one who will do it cheaper.

Started my business in 1978, 40 years ago, and I was able to raise my family and sent 5 kids to college so I am grateful for that. But, I had to put in long hours, weekends and haven't taken the vacations my friends and family with normal jobs have taken. We are not kidding when we say we often work over 60 hours a week.

So, don't do it unless you are willing to pay the price but most of the guys here wonder if the results are really worth it.

But at the end of the day, its much better than working in an office cubicle IMO....
"Was it for this my life I sought? Maybe so, Maybe not...
Post 20 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 00:32
Trunk-Slammer -Supreme
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On October 13, 2017 at 18:13, 3PedalMINI said...
There use to be a time where you could make a very good living in this industry, but they were also the times of 20k plasmas and HDMI didn’t exist.

Those were the great days.

Those days are long gone, and I am glad the timing worked out well for me. Ran my one man shop when profit margins were very high. Now they are not.

A young relative unsure of what he wanted to do with his life asked me.

I recommended:

HVAC or plumbing

Ever see either that didn't always have plenty of work? Ever notice what either charges just to show up?

Might not get filthy rich, but will have a nice income and work schedule.
Post 21 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 00:44
Ranger Home
Super Member
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3,486
No money, no experience in the industry, no experience in running and business and you want to start a company in an industry you have no experience in? Sound like a recipe for disaster.

But hey, we all started somewhere. Best of luck to you. Maybe get a job in the industry first. Learn the ropes. You certainly wont land the $50k job for a long time, if thats what you want.
Post 22 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 02:08
crosen
Senior Member
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1,262
So, I want to switch to the low voltage industry - what all you guys do...

Keep in mind there are many flavors of work in the LV industry. Do you want to be a one-man shop doing hang and bangs? Do you want to build a team and go for six figure jobs? Do you want specialize in an area like home theaters?

The earnings curve can look very different for these different flavors.

What are your strengths and what type of focus are you looking at?
If it's not simple, it's not sufficiently advanced.
Post 23 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 06:34
HiFiRobbie
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1,565
On October 13, 2017 at 14:34, oprahthehutt. said...

What you need to ask is do I want to do 10 10k jobs which generate upto 10 referrals or do I want to do 1 100k job and have it suck the life out of me and get upto 1 referral, then constantly service the 100k job for various shit that is out of your control eventually souring your relationship with said client.

Solid advice.
Problems worthy of attack, prove their worth, by hitting back. -Piet Hein.
Post 24 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 09:09
buzz
Super Member
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4,366
Shane1,

There are many ways to approach this business, just be sure you pick the right model for your temperament. You can get into the recurring revenue model, especially for security and networking. In this case you'll need a ton of installations, each providing a small monthly income. You'll need classic marketing in order to build a large customer base.

On the other side of the coin is the relationship model and referrals. The is where we live. Rather than scatter, the cats will hang out with me. Customers will drop off a key, ask us to install a TV in the bedroom, then leave for vacation.

In general, if you do A/V stuff you'll need to figure out a way to deal with the perception that this equipment will never break, when it does break, it is your fault, and phone support should be free and unlimited. Be prepared for phone calls during your party.

Unless you already have a suitable network, it will take time and some traditional marketing to build a network of referrals. Contractors and designers can be both good and bad referrals. Both can want to be in control and might expect a piece of the deal -- especially designers. We are not against using a contractor's electrician to rough wire. We've found some that do a decent job and this allows us to take on jobs at the edge of our service area without accumulating a bunch of nuisance travel time. Contractors love us because we don't cause any pain on the job. They are not afraid to leave us unsupervised and have us lock up the site as we leave.

And, be prepared to deal with the (true or not): "I can buy it cheaper on the Internet".
Post 25 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 09:26
davet2020
Senior Member
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On October 14, 2017 at 09:09, buzz said...
Shane1,

And, be prepared to deal with the (true or not): "I can buy it cheaper on the Internet".

That is my main gripe about this industry. The first thing that you tell a customer is that you can not match Amazon or on-line pricing. They say they totally understand. You drive out to their house, often at night, and sit down and talk to them about what they want, figure out what works for them and send a proposal to them.

The first thing they say is "I can buy that TV set for $200 cheaper on Amazon." I know that the business is changing and we all have to adapt but it gets hard to sell and install products today because of the lack of profit and selling them and the lack of quality control of the manufacturers.
If you are going to do the job...why not do it the right way?
www.fairfaxavi.com
Post 26 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 09:38
24/7
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On October 13, 2017 at 18:13, 3PedalMINI said...
+1

This past year (2017) has been one of my best and I’ve been at this for 10 years. I will do ~290-320k as a one man shop. I play in the 15-80k job arena which is my bread and butter. I’ve been at this for 10 years and this is the first year I’ve nailed down my billing.

+2 This is my story exactly. Everything he said is accurate for a one-man shop. If it weren't for a side job I had, I would be just scraping by at the cost of living.

My plumber helped me on a remodel. He charges $100/hr. Be a plumber. Clients don't text him at 9:30 pm because their family is in town and can't figure out how to turn on the shower.

Let me say this, I could be a more aggressive sales person but have chosen to stay busy enough with referral only. I don't want to build a shop of employees I have to feed when times are tough. Bigger companies can become very prosperous but it takes a high visibility location to draw walk-ins. That expense can cripple a startup budget.

Last edited by 24/7 on October 14, 2017 09:48.

Post 27 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 10:38
3PedalMINI
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On the other hand, this industry has some of the best comradely I have ever seen. I have gotten to meet some amazing people I can now call my very good friends. Quite a few from here were even at my wedding. To be able to meet up with almost anyone from these boards and have an instant connection is pretty awesome. Everyone is in the same boat, everyone as you can see has the same frustrations and issues. Everyone is willing to lend a hand when you fall down, get behind or just need help. This forum along with another singlehandedly helped grow my business to where it is today.

One thing is for certain, if you choose to go down this path you will have the best most dedicated support system behind you.
The Bitterness of Poor Quality is Remembered Long after the Sweetness of Price is Forgotten! - Benjamin Franklin
Post 28 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 11:29
kgossen
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On October 13, 2017 at 23:21, davet2020 said...
If you are going to start a new company from scratch then my suggestion is you go after the higher end customers. If you are anywhere else it is real hard to make a good living.

Going after higher end customers when you have absolutely zero experience in the industry is not going to work at all. After 10 years in the industry maybe, but just starting out and trying to learn from scratch?
"Quality isn't expensive, it's Priceless!"
Post 29 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 11:46
para19
Long Time Member
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124
Shane1,

If it is something you want to do, I say go for it

BUT...

From my personal experience you have to be 1000% committed to any business, to hope to make a living from it.

I have been fortunate to make a good living from it, started at 30 and been doing it for 5 years.

(Disclaimer: I run an Electrical/AV company)

The company is my life, 24 hours a day, it is who I am. I am ok with that and is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. It will provide a future and opportunities for my family that I never had.

If you can't give that type commitment I would suggest staying current field of engineering that you have already invested time and schooling into.

Good luck dude !

Last edited by para19 on October 14, 2017 11:57.
There is always money in the banana stand...
Post 30 made on Saturday October 14, 2017 at 12:09
SWFLMike
Long Time Member
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In general, my feeling is that the industry has gotten too technical for the return you get. You have to know, and stay on top of, a LOT OF STUFF to do well. And that gets old after a while.

I went to school for audio engineering, switched to residential AV during my internship to finish school, worked for companies for about 12 years before I got my low-volt license and went out on my own. I'm 38 and single, and have done some real estate stuff in the background which has worked out very well. To be honest, I'd rather do more of that. I'm waiting for the next major market adjustment to make another move.

I know of only about 2 or 3 (definitely less than 5) people who have done *really* well in this business - as in 'can retire with a very good lifestyle'. And they started their businesses 15+ years ago. I don't know if any of them could start a business today and achieve the same success they've had.

Also, it's no secret that the big, fat middle market is shrinking rapidly as electricians take on more and more. So if you want to remain an low voltage professional, I think you're gonna have to gear up to take on some big projects. I like those big jobs. But it's hard to get them as a new startup. Someone in here said they'd rather have (10) 10k jobs than (1) 100k job, and I feel the total opposite. During our stormy season, that could mean 10 jobs with lightning damage. I'd rather have just one to fix.
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