Welcome to my first blog. So the question is, "what do I write about?" Good question.
What indeed?
Well, I guess I should probably start with a little bio about me, a subject I am an expert on. First, my name is Clay. I am in my late 30's, 46 to be exact, but who's counting?
Certainly not me.
That's probably enough personal stuff so what about me as The Audio Guy. I started the business in 1999 and next year we'll celebrate our 10th anniversary. Gosh, it seems like just yesterday.
They grow up so fast, don't they?
Anyway, I have always loved music from as far back as I can remember. When I was 13 years old, I got a summer job with many other kids my age de-tasseling corn. With my very first paycheck, I went to Radio Shack and bought one of the "some assembly required" stereo kits and speakers and my love affair with electronics began.
Over the years, I have mostly been a two channel (stereo music) kind of guy. I remember with great fondness the days when listening to an album involved the ritual of getting out the vinyl, cleaning it off, placing it on the platter, and sitting down with the album cover and lyrics in hand to devote 45 minutes or so of undivided attention to the artist of the moment.
Over the last 10 years, I have grown to love surround sound as well. With a well set up system and a good movie, surround sound can really draw you into the theater experience.
That tells you a little about me. This is a passion and as the saying goes, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Now, a little history on The Audio Guy.
You already know we’re about 10 years old. The first year was mostly word of mouth referral business. It started slowly, but by the end of the first year, things were starting to pick up.
I ran some yellow pages ads and was really busy the second and third year. I got so busy that I dropped the ads and went back to word of mouth referrals to keep business at a manageable level. Since then, business has grown steadily each year but at a good pace.
I’ve stayed relatively small in order to meet the needs of new clients, and maintain a good relationship with past clients as well. It has always been important to me to deliver what I promise.
One of the best questions someone asked me early on was, “what do you want to do?” That question seems simple enough but I hadn’t really given it a lot of thought.
Did I want to be the next Best Buy?
That was easy, no.
So what did I really enjoy?
After a lot of thought, I decided that I enjoyed being with my clients and helping them choose a system to fit their budget and desires. Finally, when everything was installed, I enjoyed standing there when the system was turned on for the first time and seeing the Cheshire Cat grin sweep across their faces as they get blown away by the experience.
At this stage, The Audio Guy has grown some and is more than just me but the commitment to taking care of our clients is still the first priority. Whether you want a flat screen TV hung on a wall, or to bring the theater to your home, we won’t make promises we can’t deliver.
-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater and surrounding area markets.
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