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A recession, a random gas station conversation, and a relentless willingness to learn turns into a full blown smart home business story. We’re joined by Eddie and Nikki Ortiz of STV Audio and Video, a Coachella Valley audio video and low voltage team known for answering the phone, showing up, and making complicated home technology feel simple. Eddie shares how his electrical background, leadership mindset, and hunger to hustle carried him from pulling wire to running crews, then into satellite work and finally into high touch AV integration.

Nikki brings the behind the scenes reality: how escrow and contracts translate directly into buying a business, why calling every existing customer matters more than a fancy rebrand, and how systems like invoicing and process notes keep a service company from breaking as it grows. We talk W-2 employees versus 1099 contractors, training techs to respect long time clients, and why “the touch” is still the best competitive advantage in home theater installation, smart lighting, motorized shades, and home automation.

You’ll also hear what homeowners actually ask for, how STV designs setups for people who hate too many remotes, and what’s coming next as tools like ChatGPT and Claude change office workflows even while installs still require real on site skill. For more on their work, visit stvav.com, and if you get value from the conversation, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review.