Structured Home Solutions: Taking the Next Step

It has almost become cliché for custom electronics company owners to claim, "We don't sell products; we sell systems."

It's true that many companies do a good job of de-emphasizing the parts and accentuating the whole. In many cases, though, it's not the system itself that dazzles the clients.

They do, in fact, buy into a "product." The product that seals the deal is often the presentation and the promise of personalized customer service.

In small companies, it's often the owner who crafted and perfected that product, and only he can deliver it. Therefore, he is the product.

Therein lies the dilemma for David Febbraio, owner of Sherman, Conn.-based Structured Home Solutions (SHS). He has decided that it's time for his five-year-old company to expand.

Until recently, however, Febbraio has maintained almost complete ownership of his company's image.

"We set ourselves apart by offering what we think is great customer service," David explains.

"We develop personal relationships with each client and there is a level of comfort and trust. Our clients are very comfortable with us."



Affable and professional, Febbraio generates a lot of repeat and referral business, says wife, co-owner and office manager Maryanne, who doesn't work in the field.

The "us" that David refers to has traditionally been him, she says, adding that "clients feel comfortable with him."

David says he has high standards for how an installer handles himself around clients and in their homes. That's part of the reason he never expanded, employing only part-time installers.

"I am so picky about employees," David says. "Anybody who is wearing our company shirt is representing us and really what I've been doing over the past five or six years."

That pickiness, while it probably preserved the company's solid client base, may have also hindered SHS. "We were losing business because we didn't have adequate manpower to take on more work," David says.

"It was obvious it was time to take the risk and grow."

Also, the level of dedication it takes to be the face of the company for every client was taking its toll on David -- and Maryanne. It wasn't uncommon for David to take long customer service calls during dinner, work late into the night and through the weekend.

"It was just kind of wearing on him," Maryanne says.

"It was wearing on everybody. He was doing everything for the business -- the books, payroll, ordering, inventory, all those things that just take up so much time. He was up so late every single night."

The decision to expand the business, therefore, evolved naturally, David says.

"We wanted to increase business. But also, I wanted to work fewer hours. I wanted a better quality of life for myself [and family]."

Baby Steps

The first step toward expansion came when the couple had their second daughter in November of 2006.

A first-grade teacher up until that point, Maryanne decided to take an extended leave from teaching, get the business "squared away and organized" and take some pressure off David.

"It allowed me to see how the purchase orders are done, how to track inventory, etc." she explains.