I am taking the CTS exam in two weeks.

I’ve been “in” the AV industry for eight months. 

I’ve been to a tradeshow, taken the InfoComm training academy course, and read a TON of press releases.

I’ve learned AV “facts.”

But AV has taught me a lot of things that don’t include CAT-5 cables and Ohm’s Law.

Here are just a few things the AV industry has taught me:

• Love on the “little guy”. There are companies other than Sony, Samsung, and Bose. And those companies make really freaking sweet products. A lot of times, the company you’ve probably NEVER heard of in your entire life probably makes the best version of that product. So do your research. And probably, that little guy company you end up finding has some amazing customer service.
• It’s not about competition. The AV industry isn’t huge, and sure, competition exists (as it does in every industry and aspect of life), but the most successful companies embrace, support, and challenge their “competition.” Seeing people work together is pretty freaking awesome.
• If you don’t know the answer to something: ASK. I have never, in my life, seen a more knowledgeable group of people, who are WILLING to share their “wealth,” so to speak. If you follow the #AVTweeps or #CTSprep hashtags, you’ll see a TON of people collaborating, sharing, and encouraging. If I need the answer to something, I’ll pose the question to the #AVTweeps, and within minutes, I’ve got answers. It’s awesome. There’s bound to be someone who’s an expert at something out there. So ask.
• Women Rock. I don’t usually like to go all “girl power” on everyone, but the women in the AV industry are the bomb dot com. There aren’t many of us, but whoa man, the second I joined the rAVe team it was like getting 1,000 new BFFs. Also, these women are smart. Way smarter than me, that’s fo’ sho’.
• If you miss a day, you’ve missed a lot. I’ve never been a part of something where, quite literally, you can miss a day of work (or keeping up on news) and the entire industry has changed because of the innovation of a new lightbulb or wire or something. This industry is constantly tweaking, innovating, exploring, changing, and whatnot. It’s crazy. A product can be released and within a month there’s a new product that completely changes the way that previous product is used or even manufactured. So, you better be keeping up with the news.
• A phone call goes a long way. In an industry (and world!) saturated by e-mail, this industry loves phone calls. As I’ve called people and they’ve called me for one reason or another, taking a few minutes to cordially introduce yourself and get to know the person on the other end of the line has been so easy! And now, I can’t wait for InfoComm, because I feel like I’ll know everyone there already without EVER having met them in person.

There’s more, sure. But that’s what I figured I’d share for now.

What has the AV industry taught YOU?