CE Pro August 2021 - 36

CE PROFILE
Theater Advice / Really Shady
my opinion to him about what I heard or saw
in the email, but I might be a different type
of consumer than the client is. "
David says Alissa's different viewpoints are
welcomed.
" Her outside opinions actually add to my
strengths, " he says. " I have always liked that. "
One direct example of utilizing her advice is
the creation of a kids' area in the showroom.
" It's very cool ... we've devoted a space for
" Alissa is such
an integral
part of what we
do. People see me
as the face of the
company, and I
think she prefers
that ... The reality is
that she does everything
it takes to
run the business. "
-David Huse,
Theater Advice
a play area, " he says. " When customers come
into the store with their kids, I show them the
playroom and they love it. They're building
structures with Magna-Tiles and Legos, and
watching Netflix uninterrupted for two hours.
Literally 100% of the time, the parents have
to drag the kids out of there. I would never
that thought about creating an area in the
showroom for kids to play. Alissa did that. "
Having the designated play area allows the
Theater Advice team to have the complete
focus of the customers during the sales presentation
and demos.
Alissa adds, " If they've got a kid tugging
on their pants because they're bored and
they don't want to be there anymore, it's
counterproductive. This way, we don't lose
any sales time. "
David adds, " We run the business as a
family, so we look at everything in that way.
How would a family like to shop? Most of our
clients have kids and they are coming to the
store with their kids on a Saturday. Those
kids now have someplace to go. "
So what about their own kids coming
into the business? David and Alissa say only
one of their four daughters (Carys, Arleigh,
Isla and Arden) is showing any interest in
the custom electronics business at this
point. The family structure of the business is
something that Alissa says is beneficial when
talking with clients.
" They see that they are dealing with a
family, not just a business. We have it up on
our website prominently, " she adds.
Retail Store Idea Comes to Fruition
The Huses first began discussing the idea of
opening a retail storefront way back in 2012,
but it didn't happen until 2017.
Establishing Builder & Shading Divisions
About two years ago, the Huses created two new divisions
of the company: Theater Advice Builder Services targeting
homebuilders and Really Shady (reallyshady.com) devoted to
motorized shades.
The company currently performs prewires for two large
production builders, one that constructs 1,100 homes per year
averaging 5,000 square feet and falling in the $350,000 to $1
million range, and another builder that constructs about 100
new homes annually that range around $950,000 to $1 million.
In addition, Theater Advice does prewire and design for five
custom builders in the area, typically working on one project
per year per builder. Those homes tend to be 12,000 square
feet and are loaded with technology.
" The builder business is insanely hard to get involved in, so
it came really slowly. It took me 11 years to get a good builder, "
recalls David. " It's such a struggle that I would tell another
integrator not even to bother. So much so that today I don't
even chase after builders anymore because it's an almost
impossible task. It wastes a lot of your time and energy when
they're not looking to change.
" The custom electronics industry to builders is a very small
part of what they do. It's very difficult to tell a homebuilder
that you are going to be able to do something for them that
36 | CE Pro August 2021
will make a big difference when you're such a small part of
what they do as part of the general scope of building a home, "
he explains.
In terms of structure, the Theater Advice Builder Services
division has two salespeople designated to meet directly with
homebuyers that come from the builders. They sit down with
those clients and draw up the plans, while a sales assistant is
also part of the team responsible for reaching out to clients.
In some cases there are model homes as part of a new subdivision,
but David says the builders typically keep a tight leash
on those units and " don't let us have fun loading those model
homes with gear, which is fine because that is not what they
are for. " He works directly with the designers on those model
homes and over time has developed relationships that allow
him to expand the technology a bit, including color-matched
speakers and basic controls.
The creation of the shade division was driven from the demand
from builders' clients.
" Shades provide one of our key catalysts for growth, " explains
David. " They are especially popular with our clients from
new homebuilders. "
According to David, the company is one of the largest resellers
of SI motorized shades and projection screens in the country.
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CE Pro August 2021

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