In yesterdays “Da #hometechcoalition Clubhouse“-session with Ben Davies * we tackled 4 topics around Getting into the Hometech Industry.
*Ben is Smarthomee-founder and co-founder of hometech installation company Inspire Audio Visual ltd
To structure my thoughts ahead of the discussion I listed the 4 topics here and some bullet point answers – this morning I added in italics some points raised in the discussion.
- What mistakes did you make getting into the industry?
The hardest part of this questions was not finding mistakes, it was filtering out the biggest ones. The ones everyone should avoid if possible.
a) first I though it was all about products and tech 🛑 – then I moved on to focus on brands and “the sale” 🛑 – but it was not until I figured out everything starts and finishes with your own Value Proposition and the Customer that things started to work out.
b) Partner with or hire the wrong people. If you think people are an asset or a liability, you are bound to be right. But my focus determined the outcome (as it most often does). So as long as I looked at business partners and hiring people as liabilities and tit-for-tat, that was exactly what happened. Once I figured out people are assets to invest in or partner with things started to work out and the business had a chance to scale.
c) Underestimate the importance of cash flow and investing at the right time. Cash is oxygen when you are figuring out business and when I started out I treated Cash like fuel to grow. Working on a shoestring budget and having positive cash flow at all times is essential for any starting business. At least until you have proven to have a profitable business system or engine. then you can double down on investments and communication.
Ben raised very good – and complementary – points related to 3 things he would have done different or preferred to have known mor about:
a) passion vs work: amazing industry but very long hours, stress levels and lots of travel.
b) No formal learning on tech or business at all. There was no curriculum to get up to speed on things and the company he worked for at the start did not provide any either.
c) He started his business with his business partner without a business plan or goal setting.
Jon Schaffer, Liam Parker and Chris Smith joined us on the stage and shared some valuable insights. Learned a lot from all 3 🙏🏻!
Michael E. Gerbers´ E-Myth 📗 was mentioned to stress the importance of working on the business and not (only) in it, as well as differentiating the roles of technician, manager and entrepreneur as you grow your business and the need to focus on the latter.
2. Where should you start when getting into the industry?
I would NOT rely on (often sponsored) idealised industry reports, tech trainings, product or brand trainings. These are not wrong per se but do point you in the wrong direction. They give you the wrong focus (products and tech).
I would go and find at least 5 people who are doing what you dream or plan on doing. Ask them about their experiences and advice. “Get out of the building” and actually have conversations with people who hold the position you aspire too. You´ll be surprised how many are willing to help.
Ben also pointed at the importance of peers and the community as a starting point to get into the industry. Cedia events, tradeshows, facebook groups like Smarthomee are all an ideal place to start. Asking people for directions is the way to go.
3. Get rich in the smart home tech industry? really?
You can actually make quite some money in this industry. But few companies actually do. 20% IBT (income before tax) is doable and 12-15% should be your minimum. And with that I mean free cash.
But before getting stuck on financials and wealth I would suggest you ask yourself the question as to what is “rich”. To YOU. Money, time with the family, friends and a network of people you like to be around,…?
But I know – from experience – you can make good money, have a good lifestyle and build an amazing network of interesting people in this industry. Having worked in other industries, I actually think home tech has the biggest potential for a small business interested in service/tech/luxury/lifestyle/money/impact…
Ben and others mentioned the need to optimise all elements of the business constantly. From pricing to hiring to customer happiness to simplifying to engineering to sales and marketing…. there is no silver bullet. Several mentioned how Leslie Shiner (Shiner Group) helped them get insights and a grip on finance for their business.
4. Welcome to the industry. A checklist.
I would take a 5 step process to getting into the industry:
A) some self-reflection. Where are you and who are you right now? Just out of school, employee in another business, or do you have a business you want to bring into the home tech industry. Map that out first.
B) What is your goal/plan/dream getting into this industry? What is your ideal destination in 5 years?
C) Go and talk to at least 5 people who are doing/are what you want to do/be. Ask them everything you dreamt of and what their experience has been. Ask them about their typical day, week, year. What they love and what they hate about their job. Listen and learn. Some of these people will possibly turn into mentors later on. Know that people like to give directions. It´s the same to help people our in their professional quest. Just listen to enough people to avoid too much bias.
D) Review the plan/goal/dream based on these conversations. Adjust the destination. You may have discovered some unknown unknowns. Jobs you did not know existed. Companies that focussed on solutions you thought were secondary.
E) Work with (partner) or in (employee) a business in the industry. You may gradually roll into the position over time you actually want.
Ben and Chris Smith (from TheCoTeam) raised the idea of “Mastermind groups” to keep people accountable and be able to leverage the insights and knowledge of a specific experienced person.
So many more ideas and topics we touched up but time to get back to building something cool for the future now.
It was an awesome Clubhouse 🎙 and looking forward to the next one with new topics/questions and challenges.
*Ben is Smarthomee-founder and co-founder of hometech installation company Inspire Audio Visual ltd