A few of you guys mentioned that you hate selling. I think maybe you have the wrong interpretation of selling. A good salesman will sell the client everything he needs and wants and nothing that he doesn't. If you take the time to educate your client about the differences between a 63" Fujitsu and a 61" NEC plasmas and he chooses to spend the dough on the big dog, Are you guilty of anything? Nope. You did your job. Now if you say the NEC is crap and the only panel to have is the Fujitsu, then you did your client a dis service.

If you are honest and straightup with your customers they will realize that AND THAT will become your reputation. Take the time to educate prospects then let them make the choice. You see, if you can spend time to educate you customers several things will happen.

First the client will learn something. Second, it will allow for a little repoire to be developed and lastly it will allow for trust to be established. Trust is the key. Once they trust you, they will listen to your recomendations BUT DONT EVER SCREW THEM.

My clients are very smart people. Once you build the relationship your in great shape. They will be your sales force and you'll never have to resort to sleazy sales techniques that we all friggin hate. I wont sell some brands of cables or certain lines of speakers because there is little value in the premium price paid. Educating is more fun than selling anyway. Once the eduction is over, the client can sell themselves with your guidance.

Man - was I rambling again??

nh-hifiguy touched on what I think that every perspective business owner should do - A business plan.
I see people all the time that got into business and basically are 'winging it', which you can frequently get away with. However I feel there is no better way to see how ready you are besides creating a formal business plan.
I recommend going through all the motions, just as if you were preparing to take an investment of other people's money or a loan, and write up the formal biz plan, even if you are the only one that will ever read it. The SBA has templates on what the standard sections are. I'm sure there are books 'for dummies' on the subject as well. The biz plan will help you understand what you will spend money on and where that money is going to come from. It will help you model your business financially, and also be a decent yardstick for the first couple years to see how you are doing. You will also be forced to think about fun things like how you will find your customers, and exactly how much you will need to charge them for your services. The biz plan will force you to think about factors you never really considered.
Of course it could also have the opposite effect of making you decide that you aren't ready, which is a good thing to know in advance, rather than wasting a year of your life and all your nest egg.

I have done 5 formal biz plans over the years. 1- in the beginning which was really a huge confidence builder. 2 - when we opened the 1st store. 3 - when we moved to the big store, 4 @ 2 1/2 years into the big store & 5 - when we closed the store & I went solo again. They are extremely worthwhile & very eye opening & are essential! Good point Bill!

Kids, family. Ceied you're right. This business has given me the flexibility to spend the past 8 years or so with my 3 boys in the scouting programs as well.

If I had it to do over again, I'd stress less over the perceived needs of clients and say no more often. I missed a lot of little league games when I first started out because of this. Blocking planned family/leisure activities into your work calender is essential to your overall success. When clients ask for these slots I tell them I'm already booked and it's not an option - we then work with what's available. Besides, when was the last time your client cancelled a spring break vacation so you could set up his dumb stereo? Treat it like a religeon and things seem to have a way of working out.

I try to keep the following in mind when I start to quesion my decision to open a shop: Look how many real estate agents there are, the good ones succeed the bad ones drop out. There is virtually no barriers to entry, there is no buy out for an agent at the end of a career, it is sink or swim for them. Same with so many other self employed businesses, think of all the trades - carpenters and such.

The good ones do well and new agents start every day. Some are very successful, regardless of what the market conditions are when they start.

I think the good custom installers will succeed and the hacks will struggle..

David

what made

DIRTE...
Ya know? That's a hell of a good question... I too have both worked for a number of small CI groups, and also was on my own (twice)... once for four years, and then for 6 years...
Being "employed for someone else" always had the greener pastures appeal... 5 - 8's, insurance, support etc.

Of course it is also possible to be employed, with no support, or appreciation also... and working with guys who are only in it for the buck... no passion or real excitement about product, and each client is just another unit... Slam in the stuff fast so the boss won't freak, and move on to your next stop! (Not fun is it?)...

I'm actually toying with going back out again... but this time I wil;l review where I blew it before, and really have a plan.
Probl;em was the more $$$ I made, the more I kicked back, and got lazy... pretty soon I was just too laid back to provide the service my clients deserved... I thought I was this cool, smart dude - and they just had to wait!
Problem was...They didn't share my point of view!

Next Time...
I will do a business plan and stick to it.
I (both times), was actually doing better than I realised...
Having my own schedule was great! Being the only person the client made contact with I liked, (how many times has a co-worker ticked off or given bad info or advice to one of your clients, you've been nurturing along?)... and I could pretty much pick my products, and if I wasn't comfortable after doing a client interview... I could boot him (or her)! Life is too short for dealing with jerks!

I'm involved with a Grade -A 4-Star client now... and if it were my business, I would have sent him packing... as it is a long miserable-drawn out experience working with him on his project... I can't tell you how much he is in my head... even at night when I should be relaxing... a very manipulative, arrogant, totally unappreciative ass.

It's tough when you are an entreprenaur at heart, creative, street-smart and have your own way of doing things... you go back and work for someone else... Especially if they don't tap your skills or resources, and then can't understand why the business isn't doing better!
Sometimes they may feel threatened by your experience and knowledge, and try to keep you from being a star!

I'd say, there is still a lot of business to be had out there, but just get all your forms, papaerwork, contracts, proposal templates, tools and be prepared to work harder than you've ever worked before... (make sure your partner won't resent you needing to stay late on a job, work a weekend or whatever, over their need to be with you)!

And I don't mean to preach, because I need to do this more so than anybody!!!...

Don't drop your prices to get a job.
Don't sell cheap stuff to get win a bid.
Never release equipment without payment in full FIRST!
Don't waste time doing friends and neighbors stuff.
And remember you don't need to be the client's friend... you are providing a service... don't let it get personal... stay a little detached, professionally.

Jeez! Look what you've done! Now I'm ready to go out there again!!!

The DOWN side, is if you get in over your head on a project, technically, financially, or you are overbooked, and need to be at 3 places at the same time... that can be really stressful and scary... and there is only YOU - to sort things out.

Also, although you technically don't have a boss --- guess what your customers can each become bosses to you if you let them have the upper hand, and are a type of person who finds it hard to say no...

But, what the hell... go for it!

25 years,
2 wifes,
3 houses,
3 rainbow vacuum cleaners,
over 2500 happy customers,
4 unhappy customers,
12 to 16 hours a day,
6 to 7 days a week,
baby sitting employees,
training employees that find a higher paying job,
I love what I do,
If you love it,
Don't do it.

I can not be objective. I want to get every customer, every sale, every job. And I want every job to be everything it can be. So I give it away.

Would I do it again, yes.

I suggest a business that you don't love. Work on managing the business, not having fun with the toys.

You should not be in the business of selling stuff, playing with toys, or making customers happy.

You are in business to make money.

Good luck,

Kevin

Kevin, those must be terrific vacuum cleaners. They seem like great investments.

I was in retail for 12 years and got sick of it. Days were in slo-mo. If I thought it was 3:00 it was noon on a 10-9 shift. In 1995 I left to become a general remodel contractor and get out of electronics. I soon found that there were a ton of people who could use the marriage of construction experience and electronics knowledge and my CI business was formed. The first year and a half was tough but not as much as it could have been because we did kitchens and bathrooms if stereo was slow. By 1997 I got married and was making a decent living... played on 2 soccer teams... took almost every weekend off... went to a show or concert whenever I wanted to. 1998 I shut the business down for a month to go to the World Cup in France... it was all waiting when I got back and it wasn't like I skipped a beat.

Then I started making mistakes. The first one was going to Good Guys to start the NW custom Install division. Went for the money...Gigantic stress filled job... aged me massively. Dealing with employees who sucked but you couldn't fire... being a middle management puppet...trying to get a big box mover to understand that construction was not a SKU you could move more of... investing over 90K of my own money in their program on the we'll pay you back later plan...upper management making me the fall guy for everything bad and taking credit for everything good.

A good client was taking a month long trip on his yacht and gave me the keys to his house and pool to do a 50K job while he was gone. Since I had never stopped paying my insurance I was back in biz just like that. Work when I want... GG in the rear view mirror. Looked like I would go right back to the way it was.

Second mistake... PARTNER. This guy had been one of the best GG salespeople ever and had sent me hundreds of thousands in business. I figured his sales ability and my PM skills would make a great marriage that we could build on. It soon became apparent that this guy was a bull in the china shop of life and didn't think much through before acting. As time wore on he underbid jobs... made major promises we had to keep that cost us dearly and kept trying to grow without a plan. Finally he abandoned his wife and 4 kids and went into midlfe crisis. He sat in the office playing internet backgammon and then hit the bar by 5 pm every night. By the time the whirlwind was over and he was finally gone I was left with a small business in debt.... which is just plain f----g stupid!!

I now spend over 80 hours a week doing this damn thing. There are not enough hours in the day to return all the calls... do all the "to do's" and manage a business that has to support 4 other families. My marriage is suffering... I never see my kids and I've had a few health issues. I'm at the point where I'd love to just wear one hat and wear it well for some bigger organization. The thrill is not there anymore. If one more f---g moron calls me on Sunday demanding I get down there right away because something minor is wrong with his system I'm going to explode.

It's amazing how much a bad move compounds itself.

The other bummer is employees. No matter how good and conscientious they are they will still break expensive things that you have to pay for. They get paid before you do and the government makes you pay dearly to have them. You will manage them more than you'll manage projects.

All the daily BS of paying taxes... L&I... bills... purchasing... inventory management, etc. etc etc. is all hours that you'll never be able to bill for and it eats up that portion of your life that could be spent in personal enrichment.

All that said... notice that I'm still here and I still get off on the moment when a client is wowed by the system delivery. Even with the present BS I'd still do it... maybe a bit differently but I'd still do it.

Good Luck