It’s no secret that I learned much of what I knew about the industry at CEDIA Expo in the early 2000s. Every year, I attended with a thirst to learn and tackled another educational track—from the Seven Steps of a Home Theater to financial management with Leslie Shiner.
CEDIA became more than classes. It felt like a high school reunion, except it was filled with the people I actually liked. These people became friends. We openly exchanged ideas and information that helped us build better companies across the country.
Then, in 2014, I purchased Southtown Audio Video and began turning the ship toward the commercial market.
Naturally, I looked to InfoComm and made my first trip to Orlando. At the time, I didn’t even understand what the class titles meant. They were combinations of letters and numbers that might as well have been Greek. I joined an AVIXA group, but it was incredibly formal, with no banter or real conversation. I wasn’t meeting people – and I definitely wasn’t learning.
That changed just over two years ago when Chris Whitley launched Ellipsys under the Nationwide Marketing Group umbrella.
This is not your father’s buying group.
Yes, our combined purchasing power earns us rebates, but the value of this group goes far beyond that. Today, Ellipsys has approximately 27 members and 23 manufacturer partners.
Last month, about a dozen of us gathered at the PrimeTime show in Nashville. The conversations we packed into a day and a half were priceless.
Transparency was the theme—and much of it happened between the scheduled sessions. We talked openly about what we pay employees. We discussed how we staff projects far from home, whether through over-hire labor or by sending our own people. We talked about AI and went around the room sharing our best use cases. Honestly, that conversation alone may help me win my next job.After the second day -the day Dolly left this earth – we headed to Broadway. We laughed, listened to great music and, naturally, compared all the AV systems because we are complete nerds.
I left that day and a half with new ideas, solutions to real problems, new vendor relationships (I’m looking at you, Frank from Bluefin) and new ways for SAV to make money and close operational gaps.
I have never experienced this level of camaraderie and honesty on the commercial side of the industry. Egos are left at the door. Problems are not sugar-coated. None of us has all the answers. Sure, we could figure some of it out on our own, but having a trusted group of like-minded, successful business owners willing to share what is actually working, and what isn’t, is priceless.
I’m grateful I carved out the time to be there.
Should you find yourself in a similar position, wanting to connect and grow you company or if you would like to learn more about Ellipsys, please contact me or Chris Whitley at chris.whitley@ellipsysgroup.org or 303-960-7692.
