Rob Stott: All right, we are back on the Connected Design Podcast. And not a newbie in the podcasting world with me, but I appreciate it. First time on the Connected Design podcast. So a returning guest, you will, Heather Sidorowicz the president of Southtown AV, but that’s a couple of letters we’re going to get into in a second. So I appreciate you agreeing and having the time and availability to do this. I guess I didn’t scare you away the first time we did a podcast.
Heather Sidorowicz: No, it’s an honor and it’s always fun to connect, literally. Pun intended.
Rob Stott: Yeah, so I mentioned Southtown AV up in Hamburg, New York, officially, which is just a stone’s throw down the Thruway, I believe they call it right Route 90. Not too far off a little south of Buffalo. So I appreciate it.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yep. Yep, 90. Correct, about 17 minutes from Buffalo, right on the Great Lake of Lake Erie and home of the Buffalo Bills.
Rob Stott: Love it up there. Which is, that’s a story we can get into. Actually, we will get into and maybe that is where we start. Do you like, I know we talked about beforehand jumping into this, but really cool opportunity just to, I think it shows sort of the success you’ve realized of late in your business. The fact that you, there’s a new stadium that most people, like if you’re an NFL fan, you know, is happening up there. You guys were involved in that.
Heather Sidorowicz: You’ve heard of it. We have been and we are until the end. So we’ve had the opportunity to work as a subcontractor with the stadium. We’ve done the back-of-house AV work, the project management, if you will. So when you’re not in your seats in the bowl, you are going to get your beer and let’s go with Buffalo chicken wings. We just call them wings. And there’s a TV behind you. We were responsible for making sure that TV was.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Yeah
Heather Sidorowicz: In the right place and no wires are showing, et cetera, et cetera. So we worked with other contractors to make sure those things are where they need to be. 102 suites, I think there’s about 850 displays, the locker rooms, it’s been quite the journey.
Rob Stott: Wow. So did you get to go through the locker rooms already? Yourself? Yeah. So you got to see where Josh Allen’s going to suit up.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah, of course I do. I’m a huge Buffalo Bills fan. I may have, you know, rubbed my shoulder there, you know, hypothetically I would never say that.
Rob Stott: No, that’s awesome. Well, I have to ask, with an incredible project to be involved in, how does one get involved in something like that?
Heather Sidorowicz: Well, when they announced the project coming to Buffalo, they had a bunch of meetings just to announce. I mean, this was obvious. This will probably be the larger project that Buffalo will oversee. Billions of dollars. I attended a lot of those meetings in the beginning, made sure I was known and we are a New York State certified women-owned business. We also do what I like to say is some of the best work, if not the best work in the area. But I also knew that we were about 15 minutes away from the stadium. So we were really boots on the ground. We could be involved with everything from, you know, when there was a hole in the ground to when there’s a stadium there. So I went to all those meetings, but then when they announced the, the primes of that space, I actually went out and called and reached out to everybody because they had to put a public list of who could be the primes on the contract. I’ve reached out to every single one to let them know, Hey, we’d love to be your boots in the ground. We want to be in there. You know, I think that these are things that happen that most people don’t know or understand or believe, but I reached out to all of them. I had some great conversations with some of the big names, AV companies out there. But yeah, so the one, the winner was announced. They already knew who we were. And then then we met with them and this again, years ago, until eventually we are here. And it took a long time to get you here and we still have a bit to go. Because as we know, AV is, you know, at the end, but, yeah, yeah, it’s, you know, I often think of myself as a farmer. You’re kind of planting seeds and see where they grow. I do not think of myself as a typical salesperson. I’m not ever, I don’t think I’ve ever cold call someone. I like to say Buffalo’s relationship town, but really I think everything’s about relationship. No matter where you go.
Rob Stott: Yeah Yeah. Well, the cool thing too, I have to imagine is just in all of those conversations you had, if you could, if you can do this for a second, take the stadium out of it. Like everything else that you, your business is probably going to, or maybe already has benefited from and knowing those other businesses that you made contacts with. There’s got to be just that, that to keep the, the analogy going, plant must like still be growing.
Heather Sidorowicz: For sure. We work, we’re working with AVI-SPL, a little company you may have heard of before. One of the largest companies in the country, if not larger. And with that project and just meeting some of those people, we are now working on another project with them. So it does, when you do good work, you always have more business. So it does continue to expand. And we’ve had some really great conversations with them overall. And so, yeah, I do agree that you can.
Rob Stott: Yeah.
Heather Sidorowicz: And a huge thing too, I think when we look at really big projects is not to put all your eggs in that basket because that’s not going to be there forever. This isn’t recurring revenue. This is a huge, ginormous project. How do you not overextend yourself and how do you make sure that when that goes away, your company is still viable? And that’s probably the scariest, the planning part that again happens behind the scenes to make sure that you’re set up for the future as well.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Well, setting yourself up for the future. Hope you asked for season tickets or something. That’s awesome. Well, for moving beyond that, the, those that aren’t familiar to give a little bit of history on, Southtown AV and kind of who you are in your start.
Heather Sidorowicz: I wish. I wish. So the company was founded back in 1984 as a hi-fi shop. It really went on to become satellite dishes from the big eight-foot satellite dishes, you know, that were on the roof all the way to small local channels. I remember that being a big deal. I came into the company in the early 2000s, eventually purchased the company in 2014 and redirected towards commercial AV. So it was, I mean, talk about rebranding as an AV company now. The advantage there is we were always relationship-centric. So we handled commercial clients with that relationship-centric mindset. And that really was responsible for a huge amount of growth. And today we’re the largest locally owned AV company in Buffalo.
Rob Stott: Yeah. How much of, I’m curious, I know you and I have talked in the past about this, but the transition from, know, kind of going through the company history, you see the transitions it’s made and has continued to be viable and not only sustainable, but like very successful. But each of those transitions, I’m sure a little bit of pain each time, right? To get through it. So talk about that transition from, you know, when you acquired it to going, because it was still like residential, maybe a little bit of retail in there too, right?
Heather Sidorowicz: Always, yeah. It was definitely residential. You have to make really scary choices and you have to trust in yourself that you understand the market enough to make those choices. So when I bought the company in 14 and around that time was really when like Netflix was getting off the ground and you’re seeing DVDs shipped to houses and Walmart opened up down the street and the purchase of a TV, a flat-screen at that time really changed. And I realized that was no longer this. You know, back in the day, because I’m old enough to say that now, husbands would bring their wives in and their family in to look at the TV. It was a big purchase that the whole family was in. Now, and then 2014-ish around that time, it was TVs and toilet paper. Like I went to Target, it was a good deal. I came home with a TV. So there was that piece of it. And to be completely transparent, my kids were probably six, seven, eight at that time. And also working nights and weekends wasn’t a life choice I wanted to make. So moving into the commercial space.
Heather Sidorowicz: Again, Buffalo was starting to experience a renaissance at that time. So new buildings were going up and things were happening. So we had a place to do that. And just again, you know, take good care of clients, do good work. You always have more business. Answer the phone when it rings or well, I guess I don’t really do that part anymore, but like answer an email when someone gives it to you. But yeah, so you got to know where you’re going. And my other piece would be like, you can’t chase two rabbits at the same time. So eventually we had to let go, make a conscious choice to let go of all residential business because you couldn’t be great at both. They’re really two different monsters.
Rob Stott: I love that. And that’s the point I was hoping you’d bring up because from our earlier conversations, that’s the one that stands out to me is your decision to focus. For a lot of people, like, well, it’s almost like the tradition of who they were, right? Like we have to hang on this because this is how we got our starters. But being conscious enough and daring even, I’d say enough to say, let that go and let’s focus in on where we see the future.
Heather Sidorowicz: Right. But where is your, what is your wheelhouse? Where do you play well and where don’t you? And I think it’s also really important to tell clients sometimes when they ask you to do that job that’s not in your wheelhouse or not in the center of your wheelhouse, be like, this is kind of not really what we do, but we’ll, you know, let’s have that conversation versus pretending we’re experts at everything. I would say that’s a huge reason for my ability to grow as much as because I don’t know everything. I’m not the expert, but I’ve hired really smart people.
Rob Stott: I think speaks a lot.
Heather Sidorowicz: And when we don’t even know, we’ll go to someone even bigger than that and ask them for help. That’s a big piece of it. We’re a really cool industry and everyone’s willing to help out. So we can get to where we need to be. And I think the client at the end of the day is more appreciative of that.
Rob Stott: Was this an industry you always saw yourself in? If you go back to before starting here, what was your dream job growing up?
Heather Sidorowicz: No. I don’t know. I mean, I I can tell you that I went to college originally as a freshman to become a chiropractor. Was it in Virginia? I suppose it was at the time. And then I failed chemistry.
Rob Stott: There you go. I feel like that’s where, that’s where a lot of people and they read that, that chemistry class in college. Remember those kids.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah. So no, I don’t think that was it. I think I saw myself probably at a big, you know, some kind of big company working, certainly not running my own, but there’s a beauty to it for sure. And there’s, I think, a scariness that probably people don’t talk about enough. It can be kind of lonely to do that. You know, find good friends and people that, confidants that you can ask questions to and help you through the tough times.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Yeah, now the origin story for you in this space, is that something like talk about that a little bit? Because I always love learning sort of, you know, how you landed in it. Yeah.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah. I know that the famous story that’s probably been told so many times on the internet, but I’ll tell it one more time. So I, again, it was a residentially based company. My father owned the company at the time and I was going to a home show and there was another company that was much, much, much bigger than us at the time. And they had a surround sound demo. And in that demo, when people came through, they were playing the movie, The Matrix, which everybody at least, I’m going say 40, maybe 35 and up know that movie.
Heather Sidorowicz: Classic and it’s a beautiful scene, great surround sound when they go into the building and ricocheting. But there were children there and it was this aha moment for me that while if you see the movie, it’s not really violent because no one, they’re not real people. But I remember thinking like nobody’s even conscious of this. And so I came out of there and I had that kind of epiphany moment of, I think I could do this and I think I could do it better. And that’s really what got me started in working there. And then I have a lot of love for CEDIA, at that time I would go every year and learn a new track each year, you know, from accounting to the seven steps of home theater, to, try to learn all the different, different pieces of our industry.
Eventually I ended up on the CEDIA board. I think that was 2018. And I’ll, I’ll jump to a little bit of our maybe pre conversation of who are we and what do we do. I remember sitting around that table and saying, you asked everybody, every board member around this table, who is CEDIA, every one of us will have a different answer. And so that identity crisis that you, you know, that got us to this moment right here, right now, it’s been an identity crisis for a long time. We do have a hard time, you know, an electrician’s an electrician and they do all sorts of different sub pieces, but they’re an electrician. HVAC is HVAC. Low voltage. Technologist, that was an old one back in that day, AV integrator. These are all, I think, places we struggle with. Who are we and what do we do? And I think you have to know at the end of the day, again, where do you want to play is almost, if not as important as who are we. Because if we say integrator, we all know what that is. We’re going to go to InfoComm in a few weeks and what do you do? I’m in marketing. I’m an integrator. I’m a dealer. I’m a distributor.
But if you say that to someone on the street, they wouldn’t probably know what an integrator was. So what do you do? AV. Well, what does that mean? You know, and so that you always end up in that conversation. So that’s what structured or really prompted me to recently come up with a new branding structure for Southtown Audio Video is what do we do at the end of the day? Well, we connect. Obviously, there’s the literal. We connect, right? We connect a Cat 6 jack to the back of a magic black box. So there’s that literal piece of it, but we connect a room. We connect a room for people who are in the room to people who are hybrid in the room, who are not in the room. We connect a person to history by being involved in museums. So we came up with a new marketing to say connected spaces, elevated experiences. So I can say that to anyone who understands AV or audio visual or any of that, and they’ll kind of get that. Okay. I know. You’re connecting something, there’s a space you work in.
Rob Stott: It’s getting a little more pointed and what’s cool too is I think that, you know, there’s a connection between the process you just talked us through and how you landed on that all the way back to that demo that you experienced and how, you know, you realize that, you know, that how out of, out of pocket that was for them to be showing that there. And you found a better way to tell that story and we’re successful at it. And I think that just goes to show there’s something I’m. Leave it to the guy in communications to talk about how awesome and important communications is in marketing. But like not many people know how to tell that story. And if you can, and if you can do it in a clear and concise way, like you’ve been able to throughout your career at this point, like it, it has an impact. So that is awesome to see that you’re, you’re taking that storytelling through sort of everything you’ve done layering in the education and obviously the experience and the client relationships. I think. The communications kind of weaves itself through that entire narrative for you.
Heather Sidorowicz: Absolutely. And isn’t that what we’re all doing? We’re all telling stories and we’re all part of these experiences. I mean, from a concert you go to, to a boardroom table, to, I mean, it’s, it is so involved. It’s, we are all telling stories. And I think that we get lost sometimes and how cool it is what we do. You know, we get, obviously there’s a lot of other stuff, right? Did I get the part in? Did I pay the right price? Did I, but what we do at the end of the day is probably one of the coolest jobs out there.
Rob Stott: No, it’s awesome. I know this might be kind of the next step of that, that marketing speak that, you know, the, the new tagline, but if you had to like integrators to your point, right? The term that we know as an industry, if you’re talking to a client and I, you’ve got the tagline you can use, but if you had to describe it in a word or two words, like what is it, what do you think it is that is going to make them make sense of what this channel does?
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah, that’s a, I mean, that’s the million dollar question, right? And so I’ve solved that in four words, which is trying to say what we do. I think that when people like look at you inquisitively after you say that, you say, know, like AV and conference rooms and video conferencing, the words video conferencing, I don’t think there’s a person on the planet right now who doesn’t understand what that means. Pre-COVID they did. I mean, I remember going to InfoComm, I actually still have them somewhere and I should put them on my desk.
Rob Stott: You got close.
Heather Sidorowicz: That I remember getting a pair of Zoom glasses before anyone knew what Zoom was. Know, like that was that they were like they were advertising at InfoComm. But now I think when you say video conference, you’re like, I kind of get that. So, you know, I don’t think we’ll ever get to say our like electrician. But I think we’re sometimes getting closer. And I think that, you know, one of my
Rob Stott: Heh.
Heather Sidorowicz: One of my distributors recently, they sent a newsletter and they talked about that they were hearing from a lot of their clientele that they were concerned about the future. And I feel differently, but I think it’s because we positioned ourselves to be problem solvers and solutions and we’re selling the solution, not a piece or a part. So if your business is, I sell, you know, a million of X, Y, Z parts. Maybe you’re having a harder time selling that many parts. But it’s interesting to me because I don’t, I’m not seeing that here. That, but I apparently others are feeling that there will be a downshift in our industry. Yeah.
Rob Stott: Hmm. Interesting. It’s one of those things that, well, I know a lot of it, especially for you guys and in the commercial world, without a doubt, having those partnerships, like you mentioned, you know, they’re, they’re the ones that can sort of catapult you, feel like to another level, right? Because I, know, you’ve got the relationships maybe with a, whoever the business owner is that you want to go in and upgrade things like that. Like the bigger projects like you’re seeing, Are because of the relationships you might have with that commercial builder or, you know, the, the general contractor, if you will, I talk about the importance of that and like developing those relationships. And because I think it applies to, I mean, even a residential guy that might be listening to this, you know, it’s, it’s not necessarily that they have to, there’s big, this big push towards the, the build trades, right? The architects, the designers and having those relationships because, you know, to your point, like, The AV guy, they come in last, right? That’s the last one into the job. You know, so I feel like there’s that opportunity where not that you have to forget about the homeowner, like, or the commercial, you know, the office owner, whatever it is, but like those partners are who can really help you sort of grow that business and make sure that you are, you know, involved in a job.
Heather Sidorowicz: For sure. And I’ll speak to my personal experience, especially on the, on the residential side for that question. My best projects in the residential side, we’re dealing directly with the client. And the reason for that is you can solve the problem that they want solved versus if I’m working with the builder and I’m just doing. I’m just doing, you know, three rooms of audio, each house over and over again. I’m not really working with the client. Now I want to make it as easy as possible for the builder so that I don’t want to hold him up. I don’t want to mess up anything. I don’t want them to have to push the next trade back. And I want to make it so easy that he’s going to recommend me the next time and the next time. And then he’s going to know, I want to be in after the electrician. I want the plans at the beginning.
But when you’re, when you’re coming again, and I know I’m pounding that idea of solutions when you’re coming from that direction, you’re helping the client, which helps the builder. And again builds the relationship. And then when they have a party, they’re going to say that name over and over again. I think that the best way to move forward with any company should be from a relationship standpoint, you know, do great work and you always have more business because you’re not just trying to sell something at the cheapest cost. And you’re helping someone, I guess you got to figure out what your why is. So if my why, why, what’s my purpose of getting up in the morning I want to improve your life with technology. And I can be more specific now with connected spaces, elevated experiences, but that’s, that’s me. That’s not everybody.
So, what is the reason for whatever company anybody works for that’s listening to this? Why do you, why, why does that company exist? What is their belief system? And then that should be portrayed to the end user. And if you’re going in saying, I want to solve the problem because I want the conference room facing this way versus this way, or I’m going in saying, hey, this is this beautiful open space, but you really shouldn’t spend this much money on surround sound because it’s acoustically terrible. So maybe you do a soundbar here, but here down in your basement, like this is where you should watch your movie. When you’re coming in from that perspective, the long term, that’s your reoccurring revenue. Industry loves to talk about like get everyone to sign a contract to give you $4 a month forever and ever because conceptually it makes a ton of mathematical sense and I get that. I believe that recurring revenue comes from taking really good care of clients, helping them out. And then you’re going to get either the next neighbor. If you’re in residential, you’re going to get the next conference room in commercial. So I guess my perspective is different, but I’ve always played it that way. So I wouldn’t change now.
Rob Stott: No, that’s well, what I love about it is that it shows that and I, maybe that’s part of the reason why it is so difficult to put a word on it because there is no cookie cutter method to the madness of this channel, right? Like every pro and I know a designer architect might say the same, like, you know, you go into a luxury home. No two homes are going to look like, well, no, no two AV systems or whatever it is that you’re designing. Like they all have their own unique challenges and it really, you know, the success in it all comes from you successfully going in and solving whatever that problem is and being that good partner or, just to the client, like that trusted advisor almost of, they can turn to you when they have these challenges that they eventually need solved.
Heather Sidorowicz: We are like a niche or a boutique. And I know that boutique isn’t the right word. It’s not the right word because it doesn’t have the right connotation for our industry. But in essence, that concept of boutique is really what we all do all the way up from the AVI-SPLs and the Diversifieds all the way down to, you know, two people at a company because we are solutions artists in that way. We are solving problems and it isn’t just, you know, we’re not throwing things at it. We’re making it better.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Well, and I think a testament to kind of the work you’ve done and again, the solutions you’ve provided, is apparent through, mean, if you scroll through, you don’t necessarily have to be a, Buffalo resident to realize like the names of who was on there, but there are some really cool partners and clients that you’ve worked with. So I wanted to ask about any standouts. Like it. I know right now we just talked about, we just talked about the stadium, but like, do you have a
Heather Sidorowicz: No!
Rob Stott: Take the stadium again out of it. I know it’s impossible, but…
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, there was a project we did years ago for a university locally where they wanted a video wall where there was no wall. It was literally a glass wall behind it. And so we built a video wall on truss. And at that time, we hadn’t done anything like that. And that was crazy. I mean, I feel like in every step that I’ve taken, there’s always like the biggest job, you know, and those tend to get bigger as you go. But, you know, every biggest job is kind of my favorite job at that time.
Years ago, we did a brewery and it was my favorite job. It still is one of my favorite jobs because we were involved in that project two years before that brewery opened. And it’s that it’s like an atrium almost of where you actually get your beer. It’s the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever seen. But there’s a picture and I probably have it somewhere on my LinkedIn of a speaker on a glass wall. And I would say that’s my favorite speaker because what that represents is two years ago, we had to make sure that the conduit would be there. To get the speaker wired, to put the speaker on that wall so that when it was a glass wall at the end, it all aligned. We worked with a Yamaha Nexo system, so it sounded awesome. It looked, made sure that because they were so design-centric, it had to match within the space.
Another year, we did an event center and we ended up doing a lot with acoustical structure, but it was at the top of a 50-foot ceiling. So we were on lifts all summer that year and they had 50-foot windows and like, so as you grow, or maybe as you fight, maybe it’s figuring out who you are, not sure, but like, you know, you have these favorite projects and I think they stay with you too.
I’d also say that it has a lot to do with the team that’s on the project. So when you have, and I say that all the time at the end of a project, Hey, this project turned out so well because you chose not me, but you, the client chose great partners, a great contractor, you know, great subs and they worked together. That’s a huge differentiation. We didn’t just go with, this is low-bid, which is why low-bid projects often have to be rebid or aren’t solving a problem because ABC company is going to take out this piece to win it and then try to. Yeah. And that’s never a good situation. So I think it is really important to, yeah, to make sure that you know what they’re looking for and to help solve it. And then maybe make sure that like you’re in there longer terms that, and as use changes you’re still part of that story.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Again, it’s cliche maybe to say it at this point, but like communications comes back into it. Right. Because, you know, if you’re a part of those teams that you meant you’d say team, it’s obviously your team, but the team of everyone else involved in that project, because you are at the end of the day, one piece in it.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah. And I don’t think all bids are bad either. Like we did a project with the university with a 4K video wall and that was a super fun project because they were good people even though some of the little bit stuff like so it doesn’t have to. But you have to make sure that you’re being transparent and honest and open. And I know those sound again somewhat cliche but it really is about communication and let people know when you can’t get something or when you need to, you know. And so you can sleep too. You know, if you’re always telling the truth, it’s way easier to figure out what the story is.
Rob Stott: Yeah. Amen. Right. It’s one of those things. It’s just, rather than having to dig and find out and like, you know, just, it does make it easier. No, that’s awesome. So, you know, I kind of want to go back to the, just like the stadium and hearing that today, because that’s, I vaguely or rarely like talk about breaking news on a podcast. Because I like to keep them timely, but like awesome that you guys were able to announce it today as we’re recording.
You know, that’s kind of a testament, I think, to everything we’ve sort of talked about, right? Like showing off the communication skills of the business, sort of the reputation you’ve built in the industry. Like, I mean, it does feel like a culmination of everything? Like, I know this isn’t like an end, you know, this is like the next step, right?
Heather Sidorowicz: No, it’s not an end. It does. It feels really good to finally kind of say it out loud because, we’ve been working on this for quite a while. Yeah, it does. It does feel good just to get to this space, even though I know that, you know, whatever will happen next will happen next. And there’s still a lot of hoops we’ll have to jump through to get to the end. To be part of a project like this. Again, Buffalo’s one of Buffalo’s largest projects they’ll probably ever see. I’ll know that, my kids will know that, my kids’ kids will know that, and to be part of history, and maybe that sounds dramatic, it’s not making or breaking anything, but for Buffalo, we’re a big football city. It’s one of the coolest things, the coolest feather in the cap, right? So I think it’s just: stay out there and… You know, be smart if you’re going to do, if you are thinking about changing from residential to commercial. I mean, there, you really have to know your company. And I say a grown-up company, but you know, cash flow really changes the way that company functions. It’s going to be a lot different. So don’t bite off more than you can chew, grow with it as you go, and ask questions. You know, I think all of us can do better by asking more questions, asking for help. We’re again in the coolest industry. I’ll say it: AVI-SPL. Like we got to work with some really great people. I was a bit nervous going into it saying like, this is a huge company. Like what will they be like? And every single person I’ve met has been top-notch, no ego, willing to help, willing to teach. So I thank them.
Rob Stott: I know too, you mentioned growth and I think about you guys growing as a company and often a lot of the conversations that I have and I know others in the channel, it feels like there’s like the common challenges along the way as you grow and making sure that you grow properly, if that makes sense, right?
Heather Sidorowicz: No, it’s true. You could fall on your face by growing too fast. I have.
Rob Stott: How, I was going to say, how have you guys managed that or what would, you know, looking back advice that you would provide to those, listening as the further growth journey.
Heather Sidorowicz: I wish there was like a golden, like, you know, there’s no, there’s no manual. You just got to really, you have to understand your numbers or hire someone that does. You have to know when you have to pull on the reins to break, which I’ve done more than once. Be involved in our industry partners. You know, AVIXA has some great information. NSCA, did I say that right? Yeah. They have been, I’ve actually only recently just learned. I don’t know how I didn’t know more about them before the Business & Leadership Conference was fantastic.
But, you know, asking industry standards and what’s out there and then ask other just business people. I’m lucky enough to be involved with a business industry in my area. I have some friends who own companies like that. You’re not alone because you do feel like an island as you, as you grow and you have this problem. Like what would you do? Because yes, we are unique in, in what we do, but business is business at the end of the day. Understanding like when you have the capital to hire somebody new or, you know, you know, you might know something in your gut. And I had one of my favorite mentors ever said, knowing something in your gut is usually you knowing, you just don’t have the words to accurately say it yet. And that’s the thing, so trust that, and make smart decisions, but yeah, you, you. Ask questions. That would be my number one piece of advice. Call me. I mean, ask me out. I’m happy to help. Great people helped me before this. I’m happy to pay it forward.
Rob Stott: That’s awesome. I’m glad you did that. Because I was going to make a joke about how, you know, whether you offered or not, I was going to say, throw your name out there. Because you are a true, like valuable tool in this industry for sure. And someone that, I know people love talking to. So, to that point, I know we could go on forever, but I don’t want to because you got work to do and.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yes, yes, I’ll have that, yeah. Thank you.
Rob Stott: So do I. So I appreciate you taking the time. This was awesome. I feel like, you know, something to, you’ll be a regular. You’ll be, we’ll have you back. Absolutely for sure. Well, Heather, I appreciate it. This was a lot of fun. And, I guess I look forward to catching up down the line.
Heather Sidorowicz: Yeah, anytime. I enjoy it. It’s great to be out there and to reconnect with everybody too. All right, see you at InfoComm. All right, I’ll see you there.
