Would you do it again? I have read several posts on people stating that there are so many installers out there that have epileptic seizures to start their business. I understand the difference between owning a job and owning a business but what made you business owners venture out on your own? I have worked for small CI companies and felt like I would never grow to the point of satisfaction. Not because I want to have the easy life but rather than enjoying what I do and sharing my enthusiasm with others. This industry is infectious and pleasureable. I would do this to satisfy my pride more than anything and to establish a name for myself with excellence (although the raise wouldnt be a deterent). Its not that I dont make enough money, but feel that I can offer something to not only myself but to others as well. My market would be middle of the road, nothing crazy as I dont currently deal with anything really elaborate.

If I decide to go out on my own it will be balls to the wall in getting established and sucessful. I wouldnt be able to dump a lot of money into it and would probably have to start out with low risk business that doesnt involve a lot of overhead. So with that said I would probably start as a contractor until I accumulated enough money along with references (to invest into the company for a retail space/showroom). I dont have a problem with the accountability that comes with ownership and if I do start out on my own I am sure that I will go through the school of hard knocks.

So my question to you is does the pleasure outweigh the sacrifice involved? What should I consider that I may be overlooking in going out on my own and what insight would you give yourself if you were to do it again? TIA

I was in a similar position two years ago. I knew that I could make it on my own but the thought of it scared the crap out of me. My fiance and I had just moved and were really starting our life together. Things could have gotten ugly quick.....
Started my business much the way you said,contractor first not retail. Still am a contractor and the longer i own my business the more i believe its the way to go(our prices are lower because we have less overhead.lower price=more jobs).
Was the pleasure worth the pain? Absolutely. Just the satisfaction I get from doing my own work everyday keeps me smiling. You just need to prepare yourself for long hours and you have to keep your customers happy. If you do it right the money will come but it might take a while.Prepare for that and it won't be as hard to deal with. I was lucky that I had a great contractor to deal with right off that helped me make money right away. Like I said,I was lucky.
My last thought is if you don't do it will you always regret it? I know I would have. What ever you do,Good luck

DIRTE,
I agree with much of what Rich says. However, there are allot of things to think about before you jump into it. Health benefits being the first.
This is my 3rd business. I am 41 years old. My first business that I started was back in 1989. I owned the business for just over a year. I was a one man show, and did well. I sold that business after a year, and started my second business. Here is where the school of hard knocks comes into play. Business 101. Never, ever, ever, put all of your eggs in one basket. I did it, and lost everything after 2 years of busting my a**. When you put all of your eggs in one basket ie; one contractor or whatever, they know it, and will hold it over your head. My CI business that I own now has been my most successful. I started this business 2 years ago. It has grown at a decent pace. Be prepared to take the good with the bad. Be prepared to have times when the money is flowing, and times when it is lean.
Budget, budget, budget... When you work for someone else, and a problem arises, you go home at the end of the day, and really don't have to worry about it. When you own the business, every problem is your problem. Run your business lean, keep your overhead low. I just recently had to pick up workers comp for my one employee. I'm not even going to get into what a pain in the A** that is.
As far as a retail store is concerned, and others may disagree with me. Don't bother. I had considered it before, but after talking with a good friend who was into retail electronics, it isn't worth it. Big money, more headaches, more employees. Constantly changing technology. That's my 2 cents worth...
Good luck...

Read the book the E myth revisited. This book will give you insight into why people start their own business and the pitfalls. I wish I had discovered it 30 years ago when I started in this business. Good Luck

One of the downsides of owning small AV business is having few options of a lucrative exit strategy. Because you essentially ARE the company, your company isn't particularly marketable to anyone looking to purchase a business. In other words, if you get sick or get sick of the business you have nothing to sell.

My suggestions would be to develop an investment program that will make you wealthy inspite of the business you are in today. After working for 20 years you will see many clients younger than you that work less and have more options than you. It's not so much an envy thing as it is a stamina thing. There will be days when you work as hard and get beat as badly as a professional football player - they do it for 12 years, you may do this for 20 to 30.

Look into purchasing real estate (small things you can afford), make a study of mutual funds, learn the principle of compound interest. Did I say learn the principle of compound interest?

There are quite a few books/cd's/programs on goal setting, investing as well. I've gleaned great insights from guys like Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad and Tony Robbins Personal Power.

Did I start early? no, hardly. But at least now I have a better idea where I'll be in 20 years. That's a good thing.

Since I've almost always worked for myself, or something similar, it was only natural that I do the same in this business.

Would I recommend it to others?


ARE YOU NUTS.....????

I still have family/friends who ask how I make money programming VCR's.....lol

if i had to do it again...i would probably not do it..... i love doing custom work i love the challange but i hate the sales and collection side.... the thrill of victory....

i would probably if i had to do it over again would work for someone else..... no stress, 8 and skate 40 and done, paid vacations, being able to say no, taking a day off.....

then the insurance, taxes and general bullshit. i'm the last to get paid, and customers that bounce checks or even worse gave you a stolen credit card that the id checked out and credit card approved.....

i go on vacation and never fails some mad drama that i have to get involved with....

out on my boat triing to relax and drama happens.....

i'd almost rather get kicked in the nuts than own my own company


not everything is bad owning my company.... got a nice house, nice truck, new boat, have more luxuries than most other people but dam do i pay for it everyday..... another good thing is i have not missed a single one of my kids sporting events or my sons boyscout meeting that i am a leader for.

Instalnz says it right!

Have a plan, a business plan and stick to it.

Seek advice and more advice...and never be proud...call your competitors and get to know them. Visit them and offer help.

Know that owning a business is customer service. Say that three thousand times while you want to relax and forget about work!!!

Get the wife and kids involved. But take the weekends off or take at least two days off. It might not be 2 days off every week, and the days might shift, but at least take two days for yourself and family.

Budget your money and get a CPA! And get used to Quick books or another program to separate the business and the home money.

It will take a few years, but if you are good then you will have referals that will make you very happy.

Do your best
Always tell the truth
Return all calls
Know what you know
AND what you don't know

Print this and paste it to your wall next to your puter monitor and live it.

Be clean cut and clean clothed and if you don't know how to do something then either figure it out or learn through networking.

If you ever need help on a single issue, call the supplier of the goods you bought, or come here. The people here are the best in the industry!

I have 26 years in the audio video industry and 4 years on my own. It might be tough for the first year or so...but stick with it.

Do it...it is good!!

I was rushed earlier today so wanted to add to my post. one of the really critical aspects of starting a business (any business) is having your partner, ie; wife behind you 100%. My wife is the most patient/understanding women I have ever met. She respects what I am trying to accomplish, and understands that it just doesn't happen over night. Sure there are times when we both sweat it out, and things get a bit tense (waiting to get paid from a big job) as there will be inconsistencies in your pay check. As nh-hifiguy stated, your customer service has to be A-1... Most construction trades suck at getting back to customers, being there when they say, and getting the job done on-time, so it doesn't take allot of effort to look like a hero. I truley pride myself on taking care of my customers. I have no fears of someone taking my existing customers from me, because they know that they get top notch service with me.
Be consistent.... Never give up.... Set your goals, and stick with them... Be flexible....
You may find out that the path that you start on may not be the path that you end up on.. Example, I started out really trying to push home theatres, and home audio, but after 2 years in the business I am finding out that my best money with least aggravation is on the commercial side...
It's not installing big theatres, it's running network wiring, or phone for businesses. Recently, I landed a contract with the local cable company, doing their commercial installs. This also gets me in the door of the businesses to do other work. You'll find your niche.. When you do, run with it, and don't look back.
Steve Garn made some interesting points about being a one man show, but I disagree with not bing able to sell a business because it is a one man show. As I stated in my post above, I've already done that before. Obviously, the bigger your business is, the bigger the gross, so the bigger the sale... I'm not saying don't take on employees. I'm saying let your growth dictate when you take on employees. Case in point, I've been a one man show for the past 2 years, and recently hired on my son because I landed the CATV contract. This contract has the potential of 60,000 to 100,000 more per year, not counting business that I will get from exposure. To me, this warrants the additional employee. Again, I let my growth dictate this move.
I feel as though this is a very small risk as I have the business to add on. Don't hire people because you think it will get big. Hire them because it is getting big.
Back to the storefront. I just don't get a warm fuzzy feeling about having a storefront. I don't feel as though having that kind of $$$$ hanging over my head makes me any more tangible than not having $$$$ hanging over my head.
Again, find your niche. Finally, don't be afraid to ask questions. When your talking about your livelyhood, there are no stupid questions.
This forum is an awesome place with some fantastic people so hang out here when you can....
Again, I wish you the best of luck....
Bobby...

I'd like to point out that it is difficult to put a price on the sense of satisfaction. Earning my work simply feels good. The thrill of the hunt. I spent the first 3 years of my business saying, "I'm not a salesman". The last year or so has changed my mind set. I am every bit the salesman and find I enjoy it. Better yet, business has gone through the roof. My position is that God is working through me and it's a lot of fun. Some days are tougher than others but I've got 6 years in the industry, 4 on my own, feel as green as I am but I am learning everyday. I wish you the best!

I ask myself this question all the time & the answer is definitley - YES! I would do it again. I have honed my business over the years through a lot of changes. 1992, started out bymyself & after 1 year hired a kid & trained him. 1 year more opened a retail storefront, outgrew that in 2 years. Moved to high$ storefront & by then had 3 people. 5 years of that & 4-6 employees & my wife & I wer'e done with that train ride. We made a decent amount of money but the store owned us. Our kids wer'e growing up fast & we wer'e burned out. Closed the store & just pretty much stopped the retail crap & am bymyself once more. I have been cherry pickin' for the last 4 years & just ridin' the customer base we built all those years. Repeat, refferals & personal introductions only. I don't even advertise at all. It's kinda nice. Now I have control of my time & work when I want & don't when I don't want to. Like most entrepeneurs, I work ALL the time, but on what I want to. I just bought a bank repo house I'm rehabbing & will resell it in a month or so. Have a few jobs I'll be doing final trim out & equipment loading in the next month or so. Got a big one in the hopper I'll be starting soon. It's a nice pace. I get the kids off in the morning, go to all the field trips, whatever. It took a lot of years of hard work, school of hard knocks, etc. Get organized right away about makin' money & keeping it. If you intend to build the biz & hire people, get organized & trained in personnel management because you will have to become a proffessional manager as well as head installer. It's a different hat & you have to be good at it. DO NOT DISCOUNT! If you do, it's like going out of business on the installment plan. If your not good at selling, get some traing & get good at it. Have fun with it. Sales is very rewarding in more ways than just $. So many of you have added great stuff here! This is just my own version. Go for it! You can do it! Erik

Thanks Instalz, so here's my confusion then: What I'd be selling is the name of the business (that has never been advertised), the phone number (that will be answered by the new clown that's doing the work). Show me the money. My fear is that it won't fund much more than another startup.

Even though I really enjoy what I do, at 43, I have more Tylenol days than I did at 30. The question to ask is, where do I want to be 5, 10 or 15 years from now? For me, I'd like my money to be working harder than I am regardless of what I'm doing.

Heck, who knows? Maybe I might have time to figure out why people like golf. That activity has never made sense to me.

Hi Steve, here is a small example, I started a mobile business in 1989. Total startup was 12,000. My 1st year gross was somewhere around 35,000. I sold the business after about 13 months for 35,000. The 1st year gross, and the sale price are coincidentally the same by the way.
If I run my current for say 15 years. At the end of 15 years I have 5 employees and gross sales of 450,000 per year that would make for a pretty decent sale..
Maybe the way to put it is: If you own an electrical company, and have 5 employees with a gross annual of 350,000 why couldn't you sell the business?
Now let's back up. I'm not saying that buying a commercial peice of property with a couple of units in it, putting your office and storage there, and renting the other units is a bad idea, in fact, that is my goal. I just have a bad feeling about opening a storefront, dealing with massive inventory on equipment that could be obsolete within months.. Theft of equipment, managing that end of the business...
I gues that it just isn't my gig.
Now, if in 15 years I have 5 employees, 3 vans, and a commercial piece of property I'm definately way ahead of the game..
I'm no financial wiz, it's just my gut feeling about a store front. I always go with my gut feeling. Then again as I stated earlier, my second business that I owned, cost me everything. I lost everything after 2 years of trying to make it work. That's why I don't put all my eggs in 1 basket.
My wife and I have had many conversations about buying some real estate. My goal within the next couple of years is to buy a commercial building with a couple of units in it, put in an office for the company with storage, (great tax benefits) and rent out the other units.
In a perfect world the rentals will pay the mortgage.
Thanks Steve...

The inventory management was part of the reason we got out of retail, that & like Installz said, shrinkage, spoilage, obsolution, theft, etc.

Rock on!