Custom Home Theater Systems & Automation: Checklist Checkup

GOAL: Get Organized

Not all goals are glamorous. Without organization, however, integration companies are likely to fail -- which is also unglamorous.

"In this business, you have to be organized," Lareau says. "You have to prioritize as a business owner."

For this reason, he's made a priority of the small company's getting it together. It's already come a long way, he says, but "we still have a long way to go."

One particular area of concern is proposal writing, a task that takes up a tremendous amount of Custom Home's time, according to Lareau. The company provides its clients with extremely detailed proposals.

"Basically, it's like designing a system -- or two or three systems if there are different choices," Lareau says.

Custom Home recently came close to pulling the trigger on purchasing proposal software. A chat with Helen Heneveld, president of Bedrock Learning, an industry trainer, led Lareau to hold back.

"She said you have to have it down in an analog form before you make that jump," he says.

That's true, Heneveld says. "I gave that advice because … garbage in, garbage out. I believe that you need to know your business inside and out so that you will put the correct info [into a software program] and get good information back. You need to have a sense of your business before you turn it over to the [software] reigns."

Small companies like Custom Home often turn to software as an organization savior. It can be, but only if companies have a strong foundation of organization.

The other problem with small companies implementing software systems, Heneveld points out, is time commitment. "It's 100-plus hours to implement software," she says.

"Small, lean companies often don't have the manpower. Software is slick and quick when set up correctly, but it takes hours to set it up correctly. It's not just the cost of the software; it's the investment of a knowledgeable party to help you set it up."

Lareau is taking Heneveld's advice and preparing his company to adequately implement a proposal software program. He says he wants to make sure Custom Home allocates the "time, money and resources to devote to instituting it."