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Integrator Finds Commercial Niche
Cory Plummer of Home A/V Solutions says that “when you are a small company, you tend to feel a little more at risk with each job. I’m not selling equipment, systems or visions; I’m selling me.”
For a guy whose one-man shop does 80 percent residential projects, the hands-on and social nature of bar clients provides a nice transition to the more stable commercial market.
"I don't want to do board rooms, teleconferencing and stuff like that," Plummer says. "I prefer residential because I enjoy dealing with personalities. That's the fun part. [Bars] aren't like a bank where you're probably just dealing with a project manager who will never use the system. In bars, the managers and bartenders actually use the TVs, audio and control."
Given Plummer's location, Gray, Maine, which is just north of Portland, he couldn't have picked a better commercial niche. Portland is well known to feature the most bars per capita of any city in America (that's according to Wikipedia and every guy who has ever tasted Gritty McDuff's). "Yeah, I've heard that," Plummer laughs. "It seems like it might be true."
- Location: Gray, Maine
- Principals: Cory Plummer, president/installer/janitor
- Revenues (2009): $300,000
- Years in Business: 5
- Number of employees: 1
- Residential/Commercial Split: 80%/20%
- Specialty: Audio/video distribution and control
- Top 5 Brands: Savant, Lutron, Samsung, SnapAV and SpeakerCraft
Finding his Commercial Niche
Socializing behind the bar, he looks as comfortable as a bartender. Upon a closer look, though, Plummer isn't tidying up the bottles; he's tinkering with the Savant in-wall touchscreen and glancing at the rack of nine ZeeVee ZvPro 250s.
Plummer ought to be comfortable at Binga's Stadium Smokehouse and Sports Bar in Portland; he spent much of 2009 there installing:
- Nearly 40 flat-panel TVs
- Five projectors
- Four 120-inch screens (and one 92-incher)
- Countless SpeakerCraft speakers
- A ZeeVee HD-over-coax distribution system
- Security cameras and more
Sound cheap? "I probably treated them a little better," says Plummer, who has previously worked with the bar owners at other sites. "I don't do this to get rich. I do it so I can compete and keep growing. I don't want to be the cheapest around, but I don't want to feel like I'm gouging people either."
Not gouging sports bar owners is probably smart business, given that Plummer says his projects are 100 percent referral generated. Much like homeowners talk about their systems with friends, bar owners do so with fellow bar owners. "It seems like one guy from one bar heard about me from a guy at another bar who knows somebody who worked with me," Plummer says.
As a result, the referral projects are mounting and Plummer has lined up several sports bar projects. He says he now has a new tool in his arsenal that will allow him to retrofit video distribution quickly while keeping prices relatively low.
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8 Comments
I feel your pain on hiring employees because it becomes more difficult to control the brand. I havent found a way about it yet either. I have techs but I tend to manage the brand via personal discussions or marketing materials. I am trying to learn to expand the idea of the brand from Coreys vision and relationship skills to a broader vision that doesnt sacrifice quality but allows for growth. Good people may not be just like me or you but they would be good people in their own right.
I have to agree with you Bulldog. It is a nice change of pace, and it is definitely a change! Plummer is totally right when it comes to most businesses…they do not typically act on emotion but rather bottom line and how it will affect worker productivity. And unless you’re dealing with a C-level executive or owner the process can drive you crazy. It may take weeks or months from the proposal being what they are looking for, to actually getting the appropriate signature and down payment. Nonetheless, I love to hear of the success of small business owners in our industry. Keep it up Plummer!
Cory,
Killer market to dominate. I am proud of ya for carving out a new niche. Great way to find a new way of growing your business. Keep pounding, just not the pints!
Good Job,
Jeremy
Just pay attention to your guys bulldog. When you get one who cares about what hes doing try and keep him. My test is simple. If they hang a TV and then clean up the drywall dust right away it means they “get it”. The guys who walk away leaving finger prints on the bezel and dirt on the floor are not lazy. They just don’t see it as a problem. This is much more dangerous than a lazy guy when talking about things that damage your brand. “the customers house should look like the gear magically appeared”. That was the first thing i was taught when i began installing. It came up within 5 minutes of my first installation.
The ZeeVee solution looks nice, but my concern would be the analog outputs on the cable/sat boxes getting capped at 480p in say 3-4yrs. The content owners are pushing for this. Of course 40+ displays on HDMI could be quite scary too.
I’m really happy to see an article profiling a smaller integrator. I am own my company and am the only employee, and usally have a hard time relating to the articles on the companies with 30 people on staff and revenues of 3 Million. Keep the smaller stuff coming, it’ll help the smaller guys out a whole lot more then the 20 Mill install articles. (Not that we all don’t want to aspire to that level, haha)
Matt
Cory,
how did you get your start in the bar scene?
We are looking to make that leap but have had a hard time getting our foot in the door, your knowledge and experience would be muc appreciated.
Commercial work is a nice change of pace and can be rewarding. Its nice to be able to show friends what you do and have a place for clients to see your finished projects without disrupting other homeowners.
Just a side note: Knox 64x64 component video with digital/mono audio matrix switcher with front panel screen retails well under $20,000.