I was fooling around with some numbers, and noticed in this area the average retail home theater company sells about $390k/m with an average margin of 26%. (not including any cost except products)

And I believe we can do anywhere from $150-200k in this area in custom installs and integration. Would it be smart for us to go hybrid, try to do both, and get us about $500k+ in income? I think its feasible.

Also, what kind of vans/trucks do you guys have? I want to have my installation vehicles to not only be used for installs, but for delivering the product to the customer whose having the install done.

I’m new to the industry but have personal experience in custom installation (basement home theatre and multiroom audio), and I’m trying to figure out which CEDIA course would be most suitable for my business. The Boot Camp will take me to Indianapolis but will end up costing me over $2000. Whereas the Level 1 Installer program is held “on the road” and so will be far cheaper. Given that I’ve pre-wired my home for whole house audio, installed a whole house audio system, and desigend, buyilt and finished my home theatre what do you guys feel would be most appropriate.

Cheers

John
Switched-On AV.

Having said that, I’m personally interested to know what works for you. It could be running some sort of ad or maybe having an event. It could be as simple as doing a great job and asking customers to refer freiends to you.

One caveat is that VUDU may well steal the good ideas and put our resources into helping dealers do more of whatever it is.

Don’t you think that some customers would be paired up nicely with this level of installer?  How do you qualify your customers to make sure they are a match for your target market?  I believe there is a great market for trunk slammers.  There are more people out there who would love to pay $150 to mount a TV than are willing to pay $1,000 to have it done right.

Is it the products you specify that weed out unwanted customers?

Do you request a scope of work along with an actual budget to identify if it’s a fit?  How detailed is your proposal?

In our business, we try to identify the scope of work and have a set of drawings if it is a project under construction.  This helps us to identify early in the process if we are anywhere near having a project that we can do and make money doing it.

And although our bread and butter comes from the big projects, we still do service calls for existing customers and business partners to foster and strengthen our existing relationships.

Glad to be sharing in this exciting industry with you,
Morgan

Thanks in advance to all.  I really appreciate this site.  It has helped me tremendously.

Thanks
J

Now, I know businesses are out to make money (duh), but businesses should also be efficient, from top to bottom. And we all know that isn’t always the case when times are good and you’re rolling in money.

A recession gives business owners a chance to re-evaluate and improve those business models. It’s an opportunity to really figure out what worked and didn’t work during the last busy period, making void ineffective processes.

A recession forces business owners to put themselves out there more, market their product better and build relationships with new clients.

And when the economy does get up and running again, businesses should be well-equipped to flourish and, once again, roll in the dough.

Am I wrong?