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Topic:
big career change... questions... ???
This thread has 55 replies. Displaying posts 46 through 56.
Post 46 made on Wednesday October 18, 2017 at 11:38
longshot16
Super Member
Joined:
Posts:
November 2009
3,442
F everything they are saying.

Live man.

Do it.

Be realistic.

Learn

F%ck it

You only get one shot in life.
The Unicorn Whisperer
OP | Post 47 made on Wednesday October 18, 2017 at 17:04
Shane1
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2010
85
Guys !
been super busy at work, but finally got to read all the suggestions.
So... I think I am going to just give it a go for a while and work with a buddy who does low voltage. I am just misereable with my current employment.
I am going to help do a wiring job as there is a house that just finished framing. a 5-6 day job. I'm going to get my C7 as well...

Whats the worst that can happen?? I am not committed to anything major and I can always fall back on my present career.

I cant thank you enough for all the input!!
Post 48 made on Wednesday October 18, 2017 at 17:37
gerard143
Advanced Member
Joined:
Posts:
May 2012
956
I work a full time job in a field totally unrelated. Easily 120k a year total compensation. About 88k gross. Excellent benefits that cost me like $3 a week. A pension. A 401k.

But I am miserable. I fully intend to quit. Place sucks the soul out of me. Over the years I’ve taken on side jobs in home automation. Learned a ton self taught over the years. I strive to do high quality work with crazy attention to details. Couple recent jobs I have made more money on the side in 3 weeks then I net in 3 months at my regular job. Some smaller jobs I make more in 6 hours then i make in 48 hours at my main job. I am turning down work constantly. I’m getting close to the point where I plan to walk away from my main job and make this my main focus.

There has to be good $ out there if you are good at this. My market sucks. But there is some serious cash out there to be made I’ve seen. I do zero advertising. I wonder if I actually put any effort at all into finding work how things could take off. Sooner rather then later I’m going to have to try and make the jump and find out before I go insane at the main job.

I feel you really need to run things like a business and have a good crew in place if you want to grow large. Everything can’t rest solely on you. Growth is limited too much. There’s only so much one person can handle. Like most I feel the talent pool is very limited and that’s my biggest worry, finding great help that will do the work to the level I expect.

I’d really like to grow my business to a good size and have a good team in place so that if I wanted to take a month vacation I could trust that the business can stay running. I think that’s the mentality you need. The business needs to be able to stay a profitable business even when you’re not there. When you are sick, or have surgery, or vacation, etc. YOU alone can’t be the business. Then it fails if god forbid something happened. That’s a good long term plan I feel. Obviously in the beginning things rest on you a lot more but strive to grow if you want the income to grow.

Do great work but even more so actually do what you say you are gonna do. I feel that alone puts you ahead of 90% of the curve. It’s amazing how horrible people are at their jobs. From never calling you back. To screwing up and order. To saying they will email you tomorrow with a response and forget.


There is definitely integrators out there that kill it. Some cepro 100 integrators that are always on that list. Bill Maronet at ETC in West Palm, Shawn Hannson at Logic Integration.... you cant tell me those guys aren’t making some serious bank every year and aren’t millionaires by now just from this industry let alone what they might have done in the past.
Post 49 made on Saturday November 18, 2017 at 20:39
Chris LaRussa
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2002
72
Great topic here.

Had my best year in 2007...then the housing crisis hit! It's been a slow, steady recovery ever since. 23 years in the biz and it keeps getting harder. I'm getting older, technology is getting smarter and more finicky. F***Off Alexa.

I love designing music systems and problem solving, so I guess this is a good fit for me. The best part is making my own schedule but my phone can never be left unsupervised, as clients think we are standing by just for them 24/7. I've built and incredible client base over the years but it takes a lot of effort to maintain it.

This is definitely a grind.

So, I think to myself, if I started the business from scratch with no stings attached to the industry, what would it look like...
Probably 3 or 4 product lines, no networking and no video. Perhaps....Sonos/Sonance/Lutron and a rack full of manually switched outlets.

Or...maybe sell no product and just program and configure systems. I fantasize of a labor only based business.

Goodnight and Good luck.

Last edited by Chris LaRussa on November 18, 2017 20:48.
Post 50 made on Sunday November 19, 2017 at 21:55
Ernie Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
Joined:
Posts:
December 2001
30,104
On November 18, 2017 at 20:39, Chris LaRussa said...
Great topic here.

Had my best year in 2007...then the housing crisis hit! It's been a slow, steady recovery ever since.

I have done some work at Longo Toyota, a (or THE) top-selling US dealership. They have banners stating the number of cars sold each year, mounted around the sides of one of their sales areas. They have maintained their rank among Toyota dealerships but 2016 and all years between still have not reached the level of sales of 2007.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
OP | Post 51 made on Wednesday July 1, 2020 at 22:33
Shane1
Long Time Member
Joined:
Posts:
September 2010
85
So its been about 3 years since I have been on RC. I left the oil business and started from the VERY BOTTOM in Low Voltage. When wire was needed to be run under a house, I didn't hesitate for one second and dove under that house. I did lots of prewires, then job walks, finish work, and designed complete low voltage packages for customers (although, my background in Mechanical Engineering, etc, certainly helps).

Anyways, I have been making about $35k for the past few years and I didn't mind that much. So fast forward to this week, I have been hired by one of the largest home builders / construction management companies in LA and am now one of 5 employees. We build homes in the $15M-$80 million range and I'll be making excellent compensation (six figure), and have a A-list clientele. I met Elton John 5 weeks ago in the Trousdale Estates at a customers studio we wired.

I say this not to be flexing or boasting, etc.
I FU#KING busted my ass off.

Low Voltage has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable careers I have been in. I just followed something I REALLY like.

I want to just point out that I didn't mind making a crap salary (in 2018 I made $23k, but if you know LA, thats literally poverty money), but I really love the job. In 2017-now I worked my ASS off for three years. This opportunity wasn't available. I convinced the company that they needed me. Not the other way around. So they made a position for me. They just saw hard work and a hustle that was unmatched.
(Ok, I will flex for my hustle and determination)

So just want to say a HUGE thanks for the advice as I took it and it worked out great!

Last edited by Shane1 on July 1, 2020 22:59.
Post 52 made on Thursday July 2, 2020 at 15:52
rmalbers
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
October 2001
777
Wow, that's great, good job. You know, I think hard work pays off more than a lot of people think, you just don't hear the stories usually.
Post 53 made on Friday July 3, 2020 at 00:02
Fins
Elite Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2007
11,627
On July 1, 2020 at 22:33, Shane1 said...
So its been about 3 years since I have been on RC. I left the oil business and started from the VERY BOTTOM in Low Voltage. When wire was needed to be run under a house, I didn't hesitate for one second and dove under that house. I did lots of prewires, then job walks, finish work, and designed complete low voltage packages for customers (although, my background in Mechanical Engineering, etc, certainly helps).

Anyways, I have been making about $35k for the past few years and I didn't mind that much. So fast forward to this week, I have been hired by one of the largest home builders / construction management companies in LA and am now one of 5 employees. We build homes in the $15M-$80 million range and I'll be making excellent compensation (six figure), and have a A-list clientele. I met Elton John 5 weeks ago in the Trousdale Estates at a customers studio we wired.

I say this not to be flexing or boasting, etc.
I FU#KING busted my ass off.

Low Voltage has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable careers I have been in. I just followed something I REALLY like.

I want to just point out that I didn't mind making a crap salary (in 2018 I made $23k, but if you know LA, thats literally poverty money), but I really love the job. In 2017-now I worked my ASS off for three years. This opportunity wasn't available. I convinced the company that they needed me. Not the other way around. So they made a position for me. They just saw hard work and a hustle that was unmatched.
(Ok, I will flex for my hustle and determination)

So just want to say a HUGE thanks for the advice as I took it and it worked out great!

Give it time. This industry will make you an angry, miserable individual too. But until then, have fun
Civil War reenactment is LARPing for people with no imagination.

Post 54 made on Monday July 6, 2020 at 08:50
Mr. Brad
Advanced Member
Joined:
Posts:
April 2008
934
I did it 20 years ago in the So. Cal. area. I started at night and on the weekends, while working a 50 hour a week job. My vacations were spent going to CEDIA boot camps and training. Took two years to get traction.

I moved and partnered up with a failing AV company and turned it around. That took another five years. It was the hardest thing I have done in my work career. I made half the money and worked double the hours.

When it's good, it feels great. When things are bad, life can suck. You need to have a lot of cash in the bank. Reinvest in the company for years, and hire great employees.

In CA, licensing and insurance are going to be number one. Relationships are the key to success. They take time to build. I suggest working for a big AV company for a couple of years to get exposure to everything. Make sure this is what you really want to do before making the investment. To have a sizable company, you need to plan on investing $1,000,000, especially if you want to own the building(s). Which I highly recommend! Probably a more if in CA.

It can me done, but it won't be fast, cheap or easy.
Post 55 made on Saturday July 11, 2020 at 11:04
Anthony
Ultimate Member
Joined:
Posts:
May 2001
28,867
On July 1, 2020 at 22:33, Shane1 said...
So its been about 3 years since I have been on RC. I left the oil business and started from the VERY BOTTOM in Low Voltage. When wire was needed to be run under a house, I didn't hesitate for one second and dove under that house. I did lots of prewires, then job walks, finish work, and designed complete low voltage packages for customers (although, my background in Mechanical Engineering, etc, certainly helps).

Anyways, I have been making about $35k for the past few years and I didn't mind that much. So fast forward to this week, I have been hired by one of the largest home builders / construction management companies in LA and am now one of 5 employees. We build homes in the $15M-$80 million range and I'll be making excellent compensation (six figure), and have a A-list clientele. I met Elton John 5 weeks ago in the Trousdale Estates at a customers studio we wired.

I say this not to be flexing or boasting, etc.
I FU#KING busted my ass off.

Low Voltage has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable careers I have been in. I just followed something I REALLY like.

I want to just point out that I didn't mind making a crap salary (in 2018 I made $23k, but if you know LA, thats literally poverty money), but I really love the job. In 2017-now I worked my ASS off for three years. This opportunity wasn't available. I convinced the company that they needed me. Not the other way around. So they made a position for me. They just saw hard work and a hustle that was unmatched.
(Ok, I will flex for my hustle and determination)

So just want to say a HUGE thanks for the advice as I took it and it worked out great!

glad to hear it worked out for you.
...
Post 56 made on Thursday July 16, 2020 at 22:09
HiFiRobbie
Select Member
Joined:
Posts:
June 2006
1,565
Glad to hear it worked out for you man, I really am.

Anyway, I'll be in the garage, taste-testing one of my shotguns. (jk)
Problems worthy of attack, prove their worth, by hitting back. -Piet Hein.
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