Learning to run a business where everything has to work at showtime

The situation

I've loved audiovisual work since I was a teenager, when I had a full studio in my parents' basement and was the manager and sound guy for Nirvana-inspired cover bands through high school and college. In 2008, knowing I needed to do better for my family, I founded Technicracy to provide audio, video, lighting and staging for corporate events, conferences, concerts and private events. For years I worked at Vectorworks by day and ran the company on nights and weekends.

What I did

In 2012, I left Vectorworks to run the company full time. I moved it out of my house and into a warehouse, started buying a lot of equipment and got into AV integration, installing systems in auditoriums, churches and meeting rooms.

I ran everything: sales, marketing, event design, production logistics, installations, hiring and finances. We grew to 16 employees and produced work for clients including Microsoft, Under Armour, Baltimore Business Journal and SmartCEO, on projects ranging from $2,000 to $85,000. I also built a custom CRM and asset management system to track more than $250,000 in rental equipment.

What I took from it

Live events allow no second take. They taught me to plan carefully, solve problems quickly and stay calm in front of a client. They also gave me hands-on knowledge of power, lighting, low-voltage systems and audiovisual technology that I still use when coordinating hospital technology projects.