AVS Forum.com

AVS Forum is a website dedicated to the world of audio/video as it is used in the home. Mostly dedicated to the home theater environment, AVS Forum helps and supports the A/V products used in the home through the means of people helping other people via a public forum.

Have you always wanted to run your own business? What were some of your previous jobs / companies?

In a nut shell, yes. I did want to control what I did and when I did it in regards to the work I do.

However, I must say why I had a vision of what the future could hold, I did not think it would come as soon as it did. Being able to help advance the hobby I have loved for many, many years, that being home theater, is a major thing to me. For many years, I considered the site a hobby.

Before I founded the site with my partner Alan Gouger back in 1995, I was working as Director of Network Operations for a local government. In April of 2004, I was able to leave that position I had held for 12 years to spend more time developing AVS Forum and other ventures. I have never looked back. Before that I was involved in broadcast television working for the local FOX affiliate as master control operator and then video/film editor.

Have you got any qualifications? Please tell us about yourself academically?

The only qualifications I would have for such a site is a passion for A/V and wanting to see it advance and be a part of that advancement. I have a degree in audio/video communications and photography, but that does not help in the case of site operation.

How / when did the idea of your website / company come about?

Please note ... Alan and I work on this site as a team ... However, I am writing this in the first person.

Back in 1995 Alan and I worked on the AV Science web site to take home theater, and what Alan (AV Science) offers, to the digital domain. http://www.avscience.com was born. It was doing ok but we needed a way to bring more people to the site. I came up with the idea of “AV Science Q&A” where people would ask questions to Alan and I on the topic of home theater.

Seeing that this was part of the main AV Science site, the hope was that in turn, people would buy from AV Science. We would never, and have never, thought about charging to help people. We quickly became known as "The Boys of AV Science". This to me was quite funny...For I don't work for AV Science as an employee. We carried on our ideas of what made a good forum...to be kind to the people and they will be kind to you.

So as the site grew and grew over the next few years, it became evident that other people where starting to do exactly what we hoped they would do...Help People. So, the concept of "People Helping People" was born and continues to this day. In fact as home theater started to catch on and grow, the site did the same. It one day got to a point where it took on a life of its own and far exceeded our hopes.

In January 1999 AVS Forum was then born in the fashion you see it today. We still hold on to the same beliefs that helping and kindness can go a long way. The "People Helping People" idea is still here and still growing strong to make home theater even better and more enjoyable. Of course we still also hope that people would still buy from AV Science for the help given here. However, as I mentioned, the site took on a life of its own. Thus as more and more people came on the site, AV Science, as a company, started to drop of as the supporting source behind this forum. What I mean by this is that the newer members did not really even know about AV Science as a dealer. Seeing we do not believe in “pushing” product in front of the members (for the most part), this in turn was a negative effect on AV Science. We did not want the helpful forum to turn into a marketplace for dealers and people looking to make a quick buck…so rules were set into place to protect the site. AV Science, Alan, even though he can, also tries to follow the same no marketing rule for the most part.

So, with the site growing and growing it was costing more and more money to run it. So along came the idea of the banner ads to help support the site. So you know...today, 7/3/05, the site sees over 55,000 unique visors a day with increasing bandwidth use as more and more come to the site. Now add to that the cost of the servers over the years and the co-location costs of the servers you get the picture of the issues. As you can maybe see, the sponsors are now in fact needed to make this site possible. For without them, AVS Forum would be very hard to keep running as a free site for it is now bigger than what we had even dreamed of. The site now produces 25 million banner ads a month and requires 4 servers to operate.

Even with all that we still want to keep this site, in its current form, free for all who care to come to help and learn about home theater. For without the members, the site would not be what it is today. Without the help of the un-paid moderators, let’s also not forget the site would not be like it is today. With this many people coming and going, the site can only be as good as its governing rules, which Alan and I make based on our thoughts and beliefs of how people should treat others, and the supporting staff behind it. I feel we have done this very well and please most people. As we continue to grow...adjustments must be made and we make them as we feel is right. As always...it will not please everyone.

In the last few years we have gone though ups and downs on the site because of the growth and the new people to the site. The more people, the more chance of people not seeing eye to eye. Can you imagine...we have had some people hate our rules!!! No! ...But Yes! But, alas, at the same time respect why they are in place. We have even had people form new companies based on ideas that came from this forum. And even have seen new products developed to fill a need that again arose of this site. All in all, a community of fine Home Theater enthusiast’s, worldwide, is what makes this all possible.

If you could give readers of this book one piece of advice when starting up a business, what would it be?

Do something you enjoy. For if you enjoy doing it, is it really a job?

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