Where’s the Young Blood?

Too late, HTSA, Best Buy is hiring them all!

It doesn’t seem that there are many owners left, young or old… We’re pretty much the only remaining premium store in Central PA and I’m not exactly concerned of anyone else coming into the market in the near future.

This is THE central issue facing the custom industry. Kudos, Jason, for bringing it to the forefront. Can’t wait to see where this thread goes.

As I approach 60 with two grandchildren, I have to agree.  The Audio Retailer origins are often crippling those who have to compete in a world of systems, a green global movement, the internet, Wall Mart, Best Buy, etc.  Our industry has left the world of early adopters and entered the mainstream. Adoptability, convenience and aesthetics have replaced performance.
Even your magazines name CEPro (I assume CE is for Consumer Electronics) is telling.  What in a modern installation resembles Consumer Electronics?
Whether you agree or not is no longer relevant.  It is apparent that things are changing and the message is “Change or Die”.  When we formed CEDIA 20 years ago, there were 15,000 Audio Retailers, now there are less than 2,000.  There is a message there, as there probably was for the slide rule and typewriter stores.

As the technology progresses and the better educated young people have more money, they’ll do it themselves.  The custom integrator is being replaced by better technology.  Think about it: Why do installers love wireless?  Because they don’t have to do any real work.  This example is the trend in lighting, dist. audio, and certainly integrated home control.  Manufactures are writing drivers, designing interfaces, and doing the job of what the custom integrator used to do.  Pretty soon, the Geek Squad will be capable of hooking systems together and choosing the correct options off of a drop down list themselves in order to get two systems to work together.  In short, I believe there is a direct correlation to this industry as IT.  Almost anyone with basic knowledge can set up a simple network.  There is no magic or mystery to it anymore.  The same will be true with integrated low voltage systems.

What?!? Speak up, I can’t hear you sonny.

Interesting.  The “old guard” hails from the days when audio and video, not the PC or iPhone, were king.  The young turks will likely be more IT centric. Will they have the same true passion for A/V as the founding fathers had?  Will they need it?

The current economy isn’t going to help the industry in developing a new guard, and may further stratify CI companies by age and skill set.  20 years ago, entrepreneurs saw opportunities in CI; do they today, and will they next year, or the year afterward?  The economic “reset” may need to be behind us before we really know the answer.

Not all buying groups are showing this same trend.  As a the current Director of Membership for Specialty Electronics Nationwide and a former member of a competing group I can say that there is some good new blood out there.  You can’t force someone to appreciate good A/V, it’s in their blood.  We don’t want people owning stores that have no desire to be in the business.  That would drive it down further.  We need excited, passionate people to carry on the A/V legacy.  I’m only 33 but have already lived the A/V life for 21 years.  Yes, really.  I started when I was 12.  I find myself in my current position after leaving the company that I co-owned and helped build for 17 years.  I will continue to be a part of this industry forever and know that it will continue to thrive.  We will always have ups and downs as we do right now, but there will be new people still excited about it.  Because it is exciting!  Remember…it’s about quality, not quantity.

I am about to turn 23, and I have been (professionally) in this industry since Sept. 2006 when I trained at the now closed Media Dynamics in Thornhill, ON. I graduated first in my class, blew through my CEDIA exam , and am now aspiring to open up a shop as soon as financially possible. I have a brother that works in building automation for a highly respectable company, and we are striving for success in our own ventures soon. If most (if not all) Custom Integration owners are over the age of 40 then it’s time for change. I hope to be part of that change.

How’s AudioPhyle Technologies Limited sound?

I’m 37 and in the process of taking over a high end audio/video store that my father started 25 years ago.  We understand IT, we understand connectivity but I certainly am not going to take my company solely down that road.  While others make A/V a secondary issue, to us it’s top priority and the thing that sets us apart from our competition.  We know how to dim lights and we know how to turn the dishwasher on from our cell phones but that’s not what gets us enthused.  It’s the feeling that you get from listening to a great hi-fi or watching a movie in a fantastic theatre that makes us want to come to work every day and help our clients achieve this level of fun. 

You guys tell me, what’s more fun: Having the wits freaked out of you by a scary movie or seeing the temperature of the laundry room on a touch panel?  Or how about listening to your favourite music?  Be it Beethoven, Bruce Springstein, Beastie Boys or watching the pool cover open & close as you push the button in your underwear from the upstairs patio?

Not that there’s anything WRONG with (most) old people

I think the problem with older intergrators is that they lack confidence.When a younger smarter more intelligent installer or manager comes along with new ideas they panic. From my experience they tend to lay these people off to keep knuckleheads around to carry out orders. Their not sure how to develop these new prospects.I believe you should consider new ideas and dont be afraid to let your gaurd down.Just because you started a company with a little bit of grand dads money and a good idea.Does not mean you know everything.Please open you minds and consider that some of those installers you might employee might be your next owner or project manager.

A serious problem today is that there are so many out-of-work, very experienced integrators available who are willing to work more cheaply than ever. Hard to pass that up in favor of new blood.

Hey, I represent that remark…

The good news is that I travel across the country and visit dealers, there is plenty of new blood coming into the industry.  Yes, some of the familiar faces are looking old…some are looking REALLY old…but look around in different places…they are showing up, they are growing their businesses, they are right behind us…in fact, some of them are already in front of us.

Holy crap my fingers ache…must be arthritis

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks…most of the time.  When I was running my CI retail business it was a practice for me to hire the younger guy who was passionate instead of the guy who had 35 years under his belt.  You can morph them into the employee you want them to be and it’s generally more affordable.

Another problem I have had experience with is that in my market the industry got flooded with so-call professional installers.Really! I personally have worked with installers and managers that dont even know how to use a hammer.But at the same time because they lack confidence,they dont speak up with new ideas and questions.The owner or manager will promote because they still feel in control.“Guys come on”, the problem really is,we as an industry lack hard workers and the ones that are speak their mind to much”!

Yeah, I gotta young guy fro you - try Tom Schnell, who owns Audio Video Marketing:

http://audiovideomarketing.com/

We have a great combination of young and old which makes for a solid team.  Daily morning meetings and weekly action meetings have brought our integration and automation business to the next level.  The older guys are realizing they have to change to make it in this current climate!

You got it right Buzzard!

I am 38 and own my own IT company for almost 15 years now.  We started selling Control 4 and doing Home Theaters Installs almost 2 years ago.  Did my house about 3 years ago to get familiar with stuff and decided to give it ago.
We built a show room in Chino, CA to display Control 4 and what I feel is a technology not promoted very well High Def Video Distribution.
IT is still the majority of our business but we are coming on strong doing two 10000 SQ FT Plus houses that we sold almost year and half ago that we are actually just installing now.  Both of these were looking at Crestron originally.  And we have done a few smaller jobs.
While our traffic is slow to our showroom we have had pretty good close ratios on people that see Control4 in action and our video distribution setup.  We have signed up a few what I would call Middle income families that have implemented our Video Distribution systems using Control 4 and Audio Authority. Are biggest struggle is figuring out Advertising to get people to come check this out.  People seem to glaze over when you talk about Home Automation and trying to sell Displays against Wal Mart and Target just doesn’t make sense.  We recently gave a training seminar that taught people about ISF certification that went pretty well and just became a Direct TV dealer to try to use that as an in to try to get more people doing business with us so we can present our other products.
To be honest I don’t understand why the A/V industry is so behind on IP.  It makes things so much easier. 
We are also a Vudu Dealer which is great if they could start getting all the movies and give us a way to burn them to view on portable DVD players or portable Video players like Iphone or Ipod.
As for the High End.  You are absolutely right it is a product that is harder for us to sell or understand. When customer appears to know more than we do we admit it and call in a Manufactuers Rep and that has done well.
We are a Totem Dealer and have sold a few speakers and we are doing a JBL Synthesis Room right now for a theater that Accoustic Innovations built.
I guess I would be considered your Young Blood and look forward to future of Video over IP and control of devices via IP.