Commercial Integrator 2023 - 36

ENTREPRENEURS Business Ownership
well as remote troubleshooting, improved
client satisfaction and retention, as well.
Life Aſt er Business Ownership
Mike White, the former owner of MultiMedia
Solutions, says that, in actuality, his
business owned him. While on a 14-day
cruise in the Mediterranean with his wife,
he found himself sneaking away to the top
deck with his iPad to answer emails. White
sold Multi-Media Solutions aſt er more than
25 years of ownership. He admits, though,
that it wasn't necessarily the grand exit that
he'd hoped for. " Eastern Airlines, Bed Bath
& Beyond and other large organizations,
they were great organizations for years, "
White refl ects. " And it didn't end exactly
as they planned. "
White had a family-oriented succession
plan in mind about 10 years into business
ownership. His oldest son was interested
in the business and learned the ropes.
White included him in the toughest discussions,
including the fi ring of a very skilled
employee. He wanted his son to get a
taste of the good, the bad and the ugly
aspects of running a business. Although
him taking the reins of the family business
didn't work out exactly as planned, White's
son works for another integration fi rm
today and loves what he does. Speaking
with pride, White says, " I'm so honored
that he still calls or sends me a proposal
and says, 'Dad, could you take a look at
this and see what holes there are?' "
For White, life completely changed the
day aſt er he sold his business. The desk
that he previously owned someone else
now owned. Instead of making key business
decisions on his own, he had to go
check with someone else. Aſt er working
part time for the acquired company for a
few months, White decided to leave.
" I went to three of my good friends who
were running businesses locally and sat
down with them, " he recollects. " I said,
'You've known me for 15 or 20 years. What
should I do now?' One looked at me and
said, 'Mike, you're a damn maven.' " And
that sparked White to start his own digitalsignage
consultancy: AV Maven.
White admits he's genuinely enjoying
being a consultant these days. " Consulting
in the aſt erlife is a good avenue for those
36
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2023
of us who are not done when we sell our
business, " he declares. " There's many of
us that have passion and life leſt to give to
others in this industry. "
For White, former business owners have
a tall order ahead of them aſt er they sell
their business. " They need to fi gure out
how to be happy, " he refl ects. " It's more
than money aſt erward. They must fi gure
out where they're going to funnel that
passion. " He continues, " The day that they
received the check or the day that they
signed that note, their passion doesn't go
away with it. Their passions continue. "
" I think 'ready to sell today' means, 'I'm
ready to sell, [and] I'm going to move on.'
The transition from owner to employee can
feel like you've sold your house and the
buyers are rearranging furniture while you
are still living there. Knowing that it's going
to happen and watching it happen are two
diff erent things. "
Rogina announced his offi cial retirement
on LinkedIn. In a refl ective mood, he says,
" In the days leading up to retirement, the
comments and stories that people shared
with me about the past 24-plus years were
a huge highlight for me. " And those com'Our
approach
was always to
fi rst take care of
our people,and
they'll take care
of the company.'
- Jeff Irvin,
former principal
and chairman
of Spinitar
White's primary advice is simple: Don't
just sit on the bench; instead, give back
to the industry! As he puts it, " I believe
those who [think they] want to play golf
in retirement, there's an element in them
as a business owner that says, 'I can teach
others a few things about the things that
didn't go well in my life. I don't want that to
happen to them.' "
An Exit Strategy
Are you preparing to sell your business? If
so, Rogina underscores the importance of
making sure you're ready. " You might take
a 30-day transition, and [then] you're out, "
he says. " You need to move on because
it's very hard to be an employee when
you've been the owner. " Rogina continues,
ments and stories testify to how Irvin and
he ran their business.
" At the end of the day, I did something
right, " Rogina says. " There's a legacy
there - memories that people will keep
in their minds and hearts forever. " Those
reminiscences helped him get through the
transition from business ownership. " I'm
still passionate about business, " he states.
" I still love the industry. There's nothing
like the people and the relationships in the
audiovisual world. "
Rogina closes on a positive note,
channeling White's words of wisdom:
" My hope, moving forward, is to share my
experience and help educate others and
achieve similar success in business and/or
in the power of a positive culture. " CI
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Commercial Integrator 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator 2023

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Commercial Integrator 2023 - 1
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