New Business Help

[bpzle 0]

I am in the works of starting up a small CCTV sales/ service/ install business here in Texas. My target customer will be residential and small business. Right now I have cash in the bank to get my license and general liability insurance but before I get them, I’d like to already have a marketing campaign and product lineup ready to go. That way I can hopefully hit the ground running and get my monies worth out of the quick to expire legal crap.

 

I’ve been researching different distributors to provide me with a solid but cost effective lineup that I can easily market. Does anyone have recommendations for distributors?

I’m also in the works of paying a graphic designer to put together a flashy tri-fold brochure for me with a website and vehicle graphics soon to follow. I’d like to include some generic turnkey, installed 4 channel CCTV packages with options of “Good, Better, Bestâ€

[scorpion 0]

I see here that no one has responded.

 

Do you have a lot of cash, or are you doing the shoe string budget, and a hail Mary like I did?

 

Are you going to be in the industrial warehouse, or are you going to have a store front?

 

Are you only doing CCTV, or do you do HomeTheater, or something else?

 

Here are some products that are great at "quick sell".

 

various pepper sprays

various stun guns

wireless cameras (yes, I know they suck, but they sell)

rf bug detectors

camera finders

digital audio recorders (the kind that come in a kit)

diversion safes (you know, the hollow hairspray can)

decals, and stickers

spy glasses

driveway patrols, or monitors

window contacts

door contact

terminal window contacts

terminal door contacts

security device "knick nacks"

keyloggers

child safety devices

and regional devices (hurricane survival here in FL)

GPS

binoculars

and more

 

This will help pay the rent while you are waiting for the big camera jobs to come in.

 

As you do installs keep the boxes that the stuff comes in. Close it back up nice, and neat, and tape it if you need to, and put it on your store shelves.

Now it looks like you have a lot of stuff in stock.

 

You can give the " a guy just came in before you and bought the last ones, but I can have it for you tomorrow.

 

Now you do not need a million dollars in inventory, and stock.

 

You can go to SCORE, and have them jumble some numbers together to give you an idea about how much you will make, and how much it will cost you to run the store.

 

What do you think?

[vin2install 0]

As you do installs keep the boxes that the stuff comes in. Close it back up nice, and neat, and tape it if you need to, and put it on your store shelves.

Now it looks like you have a lot of stuff in stock.

 

We have empty boxes if you want to put our stuff on your shelf. LOL

[scorpion 0]

LOL!

 

Deal!

[bpizzle 0]

For some reason I can no longer sign into my original account, bpzle. I've sent countless emails for help to the administrator, but no replies.

But ANYWAY, to answer your questions: My cash supply is limited. My only source is whatever I have left over from my day job after my wife, bills and the mortgage empty my wallet. I'm going to hold on to my day job for as long as I can for the good reliable pay and benefits. That makes my business endeavor limited to my days off and/or any vacation time I decide to use for the bigger jobs.

I'm not interested in a store front and counter sales for now. To me that's way too much overhead and risk to stress over. I need to crawl before I can walk. For now my main plan is to stick with CCTV installs.

Thanks for the good advice for opening a spy shop, but back to my original questions... Specific equipment makes/ models/ suppliers?

[bpzle 0]

I guess it helps when I send emails to the right address! Got a response within an hour, on a Saturday! Incredible. Thanks Larry!

[scorpion 0]

Everything you need is available from Eclipse.

 

Perhaps you should talk to CCTV Imports. They are closer to you then Eclipse, and they are a banner ad sponser. I have never bought from them, and I have never heard a bad word about them.

 

All you need is a 30 foot IR throw cheapo bullet camera, and a cheap entry level 4 channel DVR. The siamese cable is easy to get, and the power supply is your option. For cheap, cheap jobs then use the wall transformers. For 4 cameras, or more then it would be better to have a boxed power supply.

 

I love the AVTech DVRs. You will see "professional installers" laughing about entry level AVTech DVRs, but with my customer base they are my life blood. Simple to teach, simple to use, and simple to install. You do not need to be an IT tech to set them up. If you can find a DVR that is in that price range, and it is a better product then go for it.

 

 

Forget products, and names. Your customers are going to dictate what you sell. Find what matches what your customers are asking for. If it is cheap is what they want, then cheap is what they get.

[harrystone 0]

Find a good supplier is very important to start your business.But at the beginning, some big supplier will just ignore you, because you will just place some small orders. See how you communicate with them.And also take good care of your customers.

[Jamac 0]

Hi, I'm in the UK so unsure about your local supply setup - If it were me, I'd run with Scorpion's suggestions as I think he's spot on re: easy start up.

I know some dismiss the likes of the AVTech entry models but building a customer base is important and in the current economic climate everyone cuts back. The newer 791 and 792 models from AVTech are reasonably good units and we have noticed a considerable increase in the number of trade customers using them. They are quick and easy to install and not complicated for the end-user. Camera wise - again if it's mainly the domestic, and small retail market you are initially targeting, cameras like the TC138EXT are a good place to start, inexpensive but integrated IR, 520TVL and a 92 degree angle of view make them suitable for most small installations.

At the higher end of the scale I would recommended most of the new Samsung Electronics products as they are some of the best I've seen especially the x512 sens up cameras and the new 8162 DVR - 400FPS at D1, 1080p HDMI output etc. but quite a bit more expensive.

Best Of luck!

[scorpion 0]

What kind of marketing campaign, and advertising are you doing to start your business?

[bpzle 0]

Thanks for all the feedback guys! It’s seriously helped out a lot (except for the couple “Captain Obviousâ€

[alasl01 0]

Scorpion not sure if you were aware CCTV Outlet is the manufacturer of eclipse. Not that they are bad, but overall poor quality systems. Maybe for someone like you that is just starting it may be a line to get into... There are several lines but do your homework.

With the way the market is today, many integrators have the opportunity to get their equipment directly from a manufacturer and get a good quality system at a fair price. Remember everything is relative, don't expect to get a great camera for $40 bucks... I work with many integrators, those that have stuck to quality over cost have actually seen an increase in business to those that just go for the lowest cost system.

You need to understand the systems that you will install and not just go by a spec sheet. If you did, you could never see why a $200 camera is better than a $40 camera.

Back to setting up your business, some manufacturers will work with you to help build your business and who know's within a few years can even be a distributor yourself. What is going to set you apart is your integrity.

[PHXCCTV 0]

You must have had bad luck with Eclipse. Overall they offer more features and reliability than any other OEM brand out there. Their vandal IR domes stand up to major brand name in terms of image quality and features, and their Nubix DVRs offer the best resale value for a stand alone on the market.

 

Although quality, reliability, and price are not the only things to keep mind of when choosing a distributor. Eclipse does not sell online, and they do their best to keep dealers and resellers completly price protected. Companies like CCTV Imports, 123 CCTV, Super Circuits, etc. sell directly to your customers. Why do you want to compete against your own vendor and have to justify your margins?

 

Unique features combined with solid price protection means you will earn greater margins which are ever so dwindling in this industry, primarily because of the "distributors" who sell online and count on volume sales.

[alasl01 0]

You are correct to a certain extent with the aspect of issues, though I have never personally purchased anything from CCTV Outlet. As a consultant, my current issue is with the proliferation of price over quality standards that has recently been taking place.

The current OEM of many inferior Chinese and Taiwanese products, with their extremely low prices... I would never recomend a client to use a vandal proof dome that didn't have a clear covering that was't of carbon fibre. No matter how good a plastic is ued it will be no match to a aluminum bat. Before recommending any brand to a client I put the system through its paces. In addition, I look at the RMA and many other features.

Most importantly; with the current quality available in the market I would never recommend a client to ever go below a 520 resolution. Ut is imperative the integrators learn to educate their clients as if that is the route that a client will go, it has no difference to the Q See DVRs and other systems available at your local Costco.

My recommendation is find quality "real" manufacturers rather than those just getting stuff from some factories in China with minimal QC/QA which will assuredly have high RMA's, sometimes as high as 20%. Also look at the overall quality of the iris on a camera, if its outside are you going to need to replace it in 6mo to a year? On your DVR's what makes it a good one? Any DVR can store information, what about variance in recording rates verses display, ease of use , scalability and available analytics even for embedded DVR's/ That is the difference between a $400 dolar 16 channel and a $1800, price isn't always better, but be aware enough to aske why does it cost more, usually there is a reason.

[Soundy 1]

You are correct to a certain extent with the aspect of issues, though I have never personally purchased anything from CCTV Outlet. As a consultant, my current issue is with the proliferation of price over quality standards that has recently been taking place.

The current OEM of many inferior Chinese and Taiwanese products, with their extremely low prices... I would never recomend a client to use a vandal proof dome that didn't have a clear covering that was't of carbon fibre. No matter how good a plastic is ued it will be no match to a aluminum bat. Before recommending any brand to a client I put the system through its paces. In addition, I look at the RMA and many other features.

Most importantly; with the current quality available in the market I would never recommend a client to ever go below a 520 resolution. Ut is imperative the integrators learn to educate their clients as if that is the route that a client will go, it has no difference to the Q See DVRs and other systems available at your local Costco.

My recommendation is find quality "real" manufacturers rather than those just getting stuff from some factories in China with minimal QC/QA which will assuredly have high RMA's, sometimes as high as 20%. Also look at the overall quality of the iris on a camera, if its outside are you going to need to replace it in 6mo to a year? On your DVR's what makes it a good one? Any DVR can store information, what about variance in recording rates verses display, ease of use , scalability and available analytics even for embedded DVR's/ That is the difference between a $400 dolar 16 channel and a $1800, price isn't always better, but be aware enough to aske why does it cost more, usually there is a reason.

 

Amen, brother!

[PHXCCTV 0]

I agree you typically get what you pay for, in most cases. Keep in mind "manufacturers" like Pelco and Honeywell both OEM some products, only changing the name on it, and selling it for 30% more.

 

You hit the nail on the head with QC as being the most important factor. iPods are manufactured in China. Many Japanese companies are manufacturing their electronics in China with Japanese parts. You can easily tell the difference in the QC between OEM companies with bad support and high RMAs like Unix, Lasertech, ARM, and USAG, and ones who really care about QC, support, and develop unique features like Eclipse, ICR, Speco, and Nuvico.

 

It all depends on your business model. I don't think the OP can sling Bosch domes and Panasonic DVRs at this point, despite the obvious higher quality and reliability than OEM companies.

[Siiak 0]

Thanks for all the feedback guys! It’s seriously helped out a lot (except for the couple “Captain Obviousâ€

[rory 0]

You are correct to a certain extent with the aspect of issues, though I have never personally purchased anything from CCTV Outlet. As a consultant, my current issue is with the proliferation of price over quality standards that has recently been taking place.

The current OEM of many inferior Chinese and Taiwanese products, with their extremely low prices...

 

Eclipse does have some decent products, in fact their cheap color bullets still blow away ALL other manufacturers in the industry in the color bullet category for image quality and colors, for the cost or not, Ive used them for years - the only problem i have with them is they are only 1/4" - their light handling sucks too but so do all cheap cameras. The rest of their stuff is pretty much like all other Taiwan products out there. I really dont use their other products, though have in the past, but I wont say they are good or bad. Their Domes that came with the Panasonic CCD were a big mistake IMO, that chip had issues with Geovision cards - same problem as with the Sony HQ1, black borders around image, and if with Geo then would have had same issue with other DVRs.

 

I would never recomend a client to use a vandal proof dome that didn't have a clear covering that was't of carbon fibre. No matter how good a plastic is ued it will be no match to a aluminum bat.

 

Ive used many vandal domes and it really doesnt matter, for example the Extreme CCTV vandal domes we tested, after mashing it with a sledge hammer, ok it wont break through, but its still damaged enough that one cannot see anything anyway - so much for trying to stop a vandal, they just blind the camera and it is useless.

 

Before recommending any brand to a client I put the system through its paces. In addition, I look at the RMA and many other features.

Apart from the RMA which is useless to us in this country, I agree, I wont recommend anything unless its tested.

 

Most importantly; with the current quality available in the market I would never recommend a client to ever go below a 520 resolution.

 

Actually its the total available pixels that matter. If you check the specs in many cases 480 and 520TVL cameras will be the same, though 480 spec is not listed anymore much these days anyway. However that said, there is not such a huge diff between most 380 and 520TVL cameras these days, not so much that is the end of the world if a client can only afford a cheap color dome as opposed to the higher resolution one - its not like going up to megapixel quality - while it can easily be a diff of $100+ retail which adds up in the final cost - remember there are ALOT of poor people in the world that CANNOT afford certain things, and they have to make do with what they can. Ofcourse i still recommend the higher resolution.

 

 

My recommendation is find quality "real" manufacturers rather than those just getting stuff from some factories in China with minimal QC/QA which will assuredly have high RMA's, sometimes as high as 20%. Also look at the overall quality of the iris on a camera, if its outside are you going to need to replace it in 6mo to a year? On your DVR's what makes it a good one? Any DVR can store information, what about variance in recording rates verses display, ease of use , scalability and available analytics even for embedded DVR's/ That is the difference between a $400 dolar 16 channel and a $1800, price isn't always better, but be aware enough to aske why does it cost more, usually there is a reason.

 

Agreed, CNB, KT&C, brands like that who are the actual manufacturers, short of going Bosch and Panasonic or Extreme.

 

And yes definitely, one gets what they pay for.

[marketzion 0]

better find some supplier with good experiece in system intergration .

the technical knowledge is very important for starting the business.