David Frangioni: CE Pros Need to be Re-inspired

David Frangioni of Audio One explains why CE pros have to be proactive in making 2010 a better year.

Audio One Founder David Frangioni says “we have to be inspired now and make 2010 an up year and a better year.”

By Jessica Camerato
March 05, 2010

For someone who has been in the industry for more than 20 years, David Frangioni sees no time more critical than the present.

"The economic collapse occurred; there's now an economic rebuild. We have to be re-inspired. We can't wait any longer," he says. "We can't say, ‘2010 is going to be another down year, let's be inspired in 2011.

"Business isn't going to wait for us, so we have to go now and we have to get out there and we have to be inspired now and make 2010 an up year and a better year."

This immediacy is just one of the reasons why Frangioni, founder of Audio One, is participating in the EHX Spring 2010 (March 25-27 in Orlando, FL) for the sixth year.

"To me the theme of EHX 2010 should be, ‘Do it now. Now is the time,'" he says. "Now, now, now. That should be the only word anybody thinks."

Frangioni will be joining a panel of proven integrators for the CE Pro Session, "Making Money Again & Again: Secrets of Recurring Revenue," exploring business models, emerging technologies, target profit, margins, and what it takes to succeed.

Stay One Step Ahead

Frangioni's own business has found success by thinking one step ahead. Audio One's clients include Aerosmith, Capitol Records, KISS, Sting, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Frangioni looks to share his experiences with other custom electronics professionals.

"I hope that they'll learn how to stay ahead of the curve and keep their eye on their business and keep innovating," he says. "That's really the foundation of Audio One, in my business in home automation, to constantly be thinking, ‘What do we do a year from now? What do we do if one part of our business doesn't work out? What's Plan B? What's Plan C? How do we stay diversified and yet still have growth in different categories?'

"This is the biggest challenge that our industry and small businesses have ever seen in probably the lifetime of anybody who will ever attend this show," he adds. "I am absolutely shocked, really, at how extreme the economic collapse has been. Fortunately, I saw it coming to a certain extent and we were pretty successful in bucking the trend, for the most part, but it's really been extreme. There are a lot of guys, I'm sure, that made major changes to their business. This is a time for everybody to unify, to learn, and to be inspired."

EHX Mentor Program

Frangioni is also participating in the EHX Mentor Program. This inaugural program gives attendees the opportunity to meet one-on-one with experienced dealers who will offer advice and guidance. Sign-up for the program will open next week on http://www.ehxweb.com (advance sign up is required).

Frangioni himself benefited from the guidance of mentors early in his career. He is a firm believer in the value of this opportunity, and enjoys the good will of giving back.

"There's no education like talking to somebody that has been there and done that and knows how it works and what's going on. It's invaluable, actually," he says. "It's invaluable for somebody to be able to have access to an industry professional and they can pick their brains, ask questions, hopefully learn a lot, be inspired. That's invaluable and that's what it's really all about.

"To me, when I can spend time with people I would consider luminaries, peers of mine, successful people in various businesses, from whom I can learn and ask pointed questions and have one-on-one time, I personally consider that an extremely valuable opportunity, and that's the opportunity we're offering to people in this industry."

Frangioni strongly encourages his peers to join the EHX Mentor Program and be proactive about the future of their business.

"Now is the time to grow," he says. "You can be shy and you can tell whatever story it is that you want, but if you want to be in business and you want to succeed, then you need to sign up and you need to grow. And if you don't, that same attitude and hesitation will mirror itself in the real world. When you're ready, sign up. Until then, sit on the sidelines and keep dreaming."

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