Intentional Success with Tom Stimson

Your clients think you make too much money. They're wrong, but you taught them to think that way. Every time you send a 3,700-line quote with itemized pricing for each cable and connector, you're training clients to scrutinize your profit. You're creating procurement nightmares that didn't exist 20 years ago. https://www.trstimson.com/stop-showing-clients-your-math/

"Rental." "Labor." "Job cost." These transactional relics from the rental era don't reflect what you actually do. When you call skilled professionals "labor," you're telling clients they're replaceable. When you price like a rental company, you invite duration haggling. When you track "job cost," you're measuring the wrong thing entirely. Listen to this week's episode and learn why your vocabulary...

Software should make your business run better. Instead, most AV companies are drowning in platforms. We have more software tools than ever before, but we still can't answer basic questions about our projects. Information lives in silos. Teams argue about which system has the right data. Operations and sales point fingers at each other over missing details. The solution isn't more software. It's un...

How many times have your customers told you, "I'll make it up to you on the next one"? If they're really customers (not clients), there's no guarantee there will BE a next one. When a client needs a favor on pricing, you look at their $950,000 in other business and say yes. When a customer makes the same request, you'd better check your warehouse first. Listen to this week's episode and learn why...

Small talk drains energy from business conversations. Some people avoid networking entirely just to escape those painful exchanges about the weather and their weekend plans. But you can't avoid it completely. Plenty of people (we call them extroverts) actually enjoy small talk. They get energy from these conversations. In business situations, you need to participate without getting trapped. https:...

Walked away from a huge opportunity because you were "too busy"? You just treated a potential client like a disposable customer. Customers shop around every time. Clients assume they're hiring you. Most of you are bending over backwards for the wrong ones. Listen to this week's episode and learn why confusing customers with clients is killing your profit... and why that one-comma account doesn't d...

You think you're seasonal because all your shows happen in certain months. You're wrong. Your accounting makes you look more seasonal than you actually are. Fix your accounting, and watch half your seasonality disappear. https://www.trstimson.com/fix-seasonality-with-better-accounting/

We've all worked with that client who's charming during negotiations, then turns into Captain Chaos the week before showtime. These clients aren't unscrupulous. They're just better at controlling the narrative than you. And when you think like a rental company instead of a project company, you've already lost. Listen to this week's episode and learn how to write bulletproof scopes, treat changes a...

Most owners never sell their companies at the right time. They think they need to fix all their problems first. That's like refusing to sell your house until you've remodeled the kitchen, replaced the roof, and landscaped the yard. By the time you finish (if you finish), the market has changed, your energy is gone, and you've spent money on improvements the buyer will probably redo anyway. Your bu...

Nobody's reading your 35-page proposals packed with pretty pictures. They're full of fear, leaving money on the table, and creating chaos instead of closing deals. The perfect proposal solves one problem for $5,000 by Friday. You could write it on a napkin. Listen to this week's episode and learn my exact template for proposals that actually get read... and why listing your equipment is killing yo...

Nobody goes to business school dreaming of owning an AV company. Most of us are accidental entrepreneurs. Many of us started as freelance technicians who enjoyed making money without a "real job" or a boss. Then came the equipment purchase trap: "I love running cameras, so I bought my own camera rig. I figured I'd get more gigs that way." This is how it starts. www.trstimson.com/stop-renting-gear-...

The other day, I wanted a breakfast taco but ended up in a Salvadoran restaurant where nobody spoke English. That's how your clients feel when you throw operational jargon at them. Most AV companies translate in the wrong direction, forcing customers to learn their language instead of the other way around. Your clients don't care about rigging points. They care about their event going smoothly. Li...

Everyone's definition of a "big show" is different. To you, it might mean high revenue. For others, it's about profile, complexity, multiple rooms, or being hard-won. But what's a "small show," then? Here's my take: There are no small shows. There are just small budgets. https://www.trstimson.com/what-makes-a-show-big/

"We've got 7,000 contacts but only want to email 800 of them." Stop right there. You're throwing away 6,200 potential evangelists. Marketing is about movement, not perfection. Every contact could share that one post or make that one referral that changes everything. Listen to this week's episode and learn why culling your email list is killing your growth and why those 7,000 contacts you're ignori...

If you hire the right people — people who either don't need to fix themselves or are motivated to fix themselves — keeping them becomes easier. I'll explain how. https://www.trstimson.com/90-day-hiring-plan-that-works/

A young owner called me recently, driving back from covering a sick call on his own show. After reading my books, he realized his job isn't to do shows. His job is to get shows done. Doing shows means throwing equipment and bodies at problems. Getting shows done means you're the expert, you own the right gear, and you focus on ideal clients. Listen to this week's episode and learn why companies th...

The term "discovery call" keeps appearing in sales processes across our industry. This is good progress. But many of you use discovery calls improperly or at the wrong time. Let's fix that. https://www.trstimson.com/discovery-calls-in-your-sales-process/

I can learn 75% of what I need to know about any business in under two hours. The secret is ignoring the wrong metrics, like revenue per employee and sub-rental percentages. Most companies' books aren't set up to track what matters. Learn which financial metrics actually predict success and why that phone that never rings might tell you everything you need to know. Visit trstimson.com for more res...

What's the one thing I think most of my audience struggles with? It's not revenue, profitability, or costs, but it's something that affects all of that. Before all else, define your ideal customer . https://www.trstimson.com/choose-your-ideal-customer/

How did a company book $11 million in a month... and lose $3.5 million doing it? In this episode, I explain why your accountants are asking the wrong questions and the three critical money questions every AV business must answer. Learn why data without direction fails and how looking forward (not backward) drives profitability. Plus: details on my upcoming Management Accounting Master Class! Visit...

A recession, or worse, is likely. Our current economic policies mirror those that led to past financial crises, and historical records indicate that these approaches rarely succeed. You can't control government policy, but you can prepare your business. Here's how to protect yourself when economic challenges arise. https://www.trstimson.com/recession-preparation-for-business/

Is revenue keeping you up at night? In this episode, learn why windfall clients (those representing over 30% of your business) can be dangerous, why external excuses for lack of revenue are invalid, and how to stop chasing dopamine hits from sales in favor of building sustainable success. Develop a healthier relationship with revenue that leads to real business control and lasting profit. Visit tr...

The White House's on again, off again tariffs could impact our industry as severely as the coronavirus did. Whether you agree with the long-term strategy is irrelevant. In the short term, it'll hurt. All I can say with certainty is this: pay attention. https://www.trstimson.com/next-economic-challenge/

Ever hear that business is "all about relationships"? That statement drives me nuts because it's only partially true. Relationships aren't the end goal. They're the means to controlling the narrative. In this episode, I break down how controlling the narrative works in sales, management, and exit planning. Learn how to set clear expectations, create the right moments for decisions, and establish t...

The term "project manager" became common in live events in the '90s. Companies offered project management for free as a "value add", which customers then expected at no extra cost. Providing services you don't charge for sets a problematic precedent - once something is given away free, it's hard to put a price on it later. Free "value adds" can create challenges for event companies down the line....