Recently, someone asked me if I’d rather be known as a business owner or a programmer. I was a bit taken aback by this question at first, because I’d like to be known as both! I’ve been doing Crestron and Extron programming in San Diego for many years, and I have been the owner of AV Programming Associates for more than 15 years now. I’ve enjoyed both roles immensely.
After giving it some thought, however, I have decided that seeing myself as a business owner first, and a Crestron and Extron programmer second, is more beneficial to our customers, as well as to the health of our company. Being an experienced programmer is important to my business, but serving our customers and advancing AVPA in the niche industry of Crestron and Extron programming requires that I focus more of my efforts on my role as a business owner.
In the 15 years AVPA has been in business, we have seen many programming companies come and go. Some closed shop because they failed to keep up with the ever-changing technology, but I think many more were unsuccessful because the owner didn’t pay enough attention to running the business.
Most programming company owners start off as programmers themselves. Like me, they have a passion for programming and decide to start a company in order to pursue that passion, while earning a living at the same time. However, as a business grows, it is necessary for the programmer/owner to spend more time on running the business. There are more customers to support, employees to manage, and other requirements to keep the business running smoothly. If a business owner is unable to step away from his or her role as a programmer when necessary, the business suffers, and it can’t be sustained in this way for very long.
As our business has grown at AVPA, we have assembled a great team of Crestron and Extron programmers, freeing me up to work more with customers, and to guide business operations. This approach benefits our customers, and aids in business stability and longevity. And that stability and longevity also benefits our customers, as they can be confident that we won’t go out of business in the middle of their project (it happens, unfortunately) and that we will be there for programming support, should they want to make changes down the road.
I’ll always be a programmer at heart, but I’ve concluded that AVPA and our customers are better served when I focus more of my time and energy on being the best business owner I can be.
Are you looking to partner with an experienced Crestron programming company in San Diego? I’d love to talk with you about your project and how AVPA can help. We’ve worked with customers in many different industries, as well as with homeowners in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County. Contact us today to get the conversation started.
