07.03.2008 — "The best business decision I ever made," says Michael Pope, president, of Medina, Ohio-based Audio Video Interiors, "was charging for our design services and sticking to our guns when no one in our market is doing so."

Pope says his company will not hand out free proposals. It provides complete, documented designs for $150 an hour.

"It has enabled us to establish ourselves as the premium custom integrator, and our company has rallied around being better than our competition.

AVI starts with an estimated design services fee based on the number of hours it should take according to the scope of the project.

If the initial estimate ends up too low, the client is invoiced for the balance.

If AVI gets the job, the amount is credited to the client.