So, Honey, you no longer will be able to park your car in the garage. That is roughly how my warehouse idea went down.

Transcription

1 1 of 5 5/10/2010 8:58 AM Integrator Shawn Hansson knows all too well the perils of insuring gear, receiving shipments, navigating through cluttered garages and dealing with nosy neighbors. By Julie Jacobson May 06, 2010 Before they made it, many dealers began their careers working out of their trunks or garages. Shawn Hansson, CEO of Logic Integration, Englewood, Colo., was one of them. He shares with CE Pros the top 10 perils of turning a garage into a warehouse. After getting laid off in 2004, I was going to start my own A/V company as many of have done or dreamed about. But, where do I store the gear? Ah, my garage! So, Honey, you no longer will be able to park your car in the garage. That is roughly how my warehouse idea went down. Here are 10 reasons why it s not such a great idea. 10. STORAGE Where do you move all the crap that originally was in your garage? Well, the basement of course, but now your basement is even more a mess. 9. FAMILY INCONVENIENCES It was tough to carry things into the house. My wife kept reminding me that carrying in groceries in between equipment shelving is irritating. 8. GETTING TO BIKES My garage had bikes hanging from the ceiling. When we needed to get the bikes down, we had to unload all the wire from the racks, slide over the heavy gorilla racks, and then put all the reels of wire back on the shelves. Let s just say we did not ride our bikes much THE TRICKLE EFFECT

2 2 of 5 5/10/2010 8:58 AM The A/V gear did not just stay in the garage, as my little business grew. It eventually ended up in the house, including the family room. Also, carrying racks and gear in and out of the garage and house with a dolly is not so great for the trim around the door. 6. THE FLOODING EFFECT The sad thing about snow is that it eventually melts, and the water would seep into the garage. The boxes got really wet sitting on the ground since we were out of shelf space -- not so good for the cardboard boxes, even more so for the expensive gear inside them! 5. TRYING TO INSURE EQUIPMENT Does my homeowners insurance really cover the $50k to $200k in gear if it is stolen or the place is burned down? Is it an extension onto my current stereo system? I could tell them I am expanding my existing system! That was a question on my mind. But, my whole house at the time was $200k selling price. Hmmm. 4. BUSINESS PHONE LINES True story: I had the phone company route my calls from my second line in the house (which was also a fax line) to an answering service which, after they greeted the customer, would then route the call to my cell phone -- all to show we had people answering our phones. Yes, now the technology is great and you can route calls here and there. Now, a customer can call, ask for you, and you can be in Cancun with a laptop and cell phone and act like you are in the office. 3. RECEIVING SHIPMENTS Shipments? Well, as I was installing during the day, I would later need to do the billing, ordering, and staging at night. I had no time for myself or money for someone else to sit around waiting for shipments. The boxes arrived at a virtual answering office which I paid $300/month to answer the phones. I talked them into receiving my shipments, but the office was 28 miles away from my home. When product arrived, I had to go pick it up and then drive back and cram it all into my tiny garage. I then would bring it out to the job when the job was ready. Not very fun with an 80-pound,16 channel amp to lug around! 2. NO HEATING IN THE GARAGE Colorado winters are cold right? So I bring the job stack to the jobsite, open the brand new Yamaha 7.1 super duper surround receiver with 125 surround modes now with component and S-video. The customer is excited about. Well, from sitting in the cold and then bringing it into a nice warm jobsite -- one word here folks -- condensation! Poof, the amp shorted out from moisture, made some bad noises, and emitted smoke and burn smells. I had to get a new one. Getting a new amp, especially from AVAD, and having no terms at the time, took a while. 1. NOSY NEIGHBORS Every time you open the garage and your neighbors are watching, they see a stack of Samsung TVs and suddenly become your best friend. But then when you won t give them a good deal, they resent you. Also, they called the county on me and after seven months I was run out of the house and had to move the business due to zoning issues and complaints. In the end, of course, that was a good thing. Neighbor conversations:

3 3 of 5 5/10/2010 8:58 AM Can I be your friend? Can you get me a TV at a discount? I saw one a Sam s Club, can you get a better price? I have a Bose system, can you hook it up? It has little speakers, but I only can hear the front ones. I never can hear the rears. First, your car has to give up the garage. Then you have to navigate through the racks to get from the car to the house. And try getting those bikes down.

4 4 of 5 5/10/2010 8:58 AM When you outgrow the garage, you have to store stuff inside, which takes a toll on the molding. Logic Integration today, with a fleet of trucks and an appointment-only showroom packed with over $300,000 of gear.

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