Each week, I am highlighting some of the incredible people who are in the Audio Video Industry. As this blog is mostly about AV insiders, today we are profiling Troy Morgan .

Here is a brief intro about him.

Troy Morgan has worked in the Audiovisual industry from 1999. He is currently President of PanTech Design.

Please drop your questions in the comments below and I will make sure that he sees them.

1.Describe your journey in the AV industry? How did it start?

I started in our industry by way of the car audio industry. When I was a kid and got my first car I did to it what I did to everything. I took it apart. That turned into me building cars to compete in both sound quality and SPL. After winning some competitions I decided to become an IASCA judge instead of competing. After that I got bored with the cars and started looking for companies that did custom work to homes. That turned into me working for a commercial integration company and then being hired to start Crestron’s Southwest Office in 1999.

2.What do you think is the challenges that are facing a new person who wants to join the industry?

I think the largest challenge getting into this industry is starting in the middle of things. The level of experience required to make sure you don’t stick your foot in your mouth is pretty tremendous. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the technical side of things or the business end. The most successful people in our industry started at the ground floor and worked their way up. They know how to terminate a coax or cat5. They know what it takes to get the work done so their more careful when they tell a client what can and can’t be done and how long it will take to do it.

3.What are the positives of working in this industry?

I think the most positive thing about this industry is technology doesn’t sit still. There’s always something to innovate or create. The other thing I love is it’s fun to play with technology. When I’m asked what I “do” for a living I typically respond with something like, “I own an automation and control software company”. This normally goes over somebody’s head a bit so I follow that up with, “let me translate that for you. I play with expensive toys for a living”.

[RELATED] : If you have missed any of the previous interviews, please click here.

4.What in your opinion would you change in the industry? What are the negatives that are prevalent?

The most negative thing in this industry is the lack of quality control and regulations. For the most part, you can decide without any training or certification that you want to start a business in this industry and start hanging TV’s and installing speakers for commercial or residential clients and make all kinds of messes. What this really does is take away the client’s money to do it right and now things have to be fixed under major budget constraints.

5.Describe your ideal client? What do you wish clients to know before hiring you?

Our ideal client has done their research, is educated on our industry a bit and has a keen eye for value. Ideally, they will have already lived with a control system or had some experience with one. While we may not be the cheapest, we’re definitely the best place for people to spend their money. We know how to make sure our client’s money is spent in the right place to ensure reliability above everything else.

6.If you were going to start over, what would you do differently?

When I started as a business owner I had a 50/50 partner. This was somewhat beneficial in the beginning because I had somebody to share the load with me. However, with a partnership like that who wins when there’s a disagreement? If I had it to do all over again, I may still choose a partner but it would probably be with more than one person and I would choose to carry the larger responsibility. I would also have more short-term goals that were tracked better than just how much money we made in a month.

7.Describe a typical work day for you. What are your daily disciplines?

A typical work day starts for me around 7:30 am with a cup of coffee. After I get moving I meet with my sales and financial team from about 8:30 to 9:30. We discuss daily goals and touch on some of the longer term goals as well. After that it’s email for an hour and then I like to check in on daily operations to see if those goals are moving forward. I’ll typically have sales and marketing meetings from about noon until the end of the day.

8.Describe the apps and gear that you use daily which makes you more productive?

I keep things pretty simple with Outlook, Word and Excel for the basics of my day. However, one thing we did many years ago was build our own CRM, billing and tracking software around a product called Quickbase. I spend time everyday in Quickbase whether I’m logging data, creating reports or new ways for the company to track goals.

9. How do you stay relevant in this industry.

Staying relevant in a technology industry has proven to be one of the most challenging things about our business. We’re in our 13th year of business and the more time goes by the more you have to change. My crystal ball is always broken but I do read a lot and pay attention to trends in our industry. This has allowed me to make some predictions about what to do and when to do it. The best advice I could give is to not be afraid to go against the grain today because making that decision now could have you ahead of the pack tomorrow.

Please connect with him on Linkedin.

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