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The custom install business is tough, but, for one dealer, it beats retirement.
The industry is full of stories about A/V hobbyists who open stores to sell what they love and, then, during the passing years, learn how to run a successful business. But few came into the business with career-sharpened executive skills as did Keith Burrowes, founder and president of Sierra Integrated Systems, a custom integrator in Reno, Nev.
Since 2002, careful business management and strategic focus drove years of growth, sustaining the company during the recent economic downturn. The company joined Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) in July.
Burrowes retired once in 2001. At that point, he had already logged more than 24 years at Bechtel Power Corporation in San Francisco, where he started as a mechanical engineer and left as a vice president, and thee years as CEO of Lectrix, an energy infrastructure company jointly owned by Bechtel, Siemens and AEP.
But retirement bored Burrowes. So, as a consumer technology hobbyist from way back (he installed X10 controls in his home in the 1970s and also an early home theater), he 'unretired' and decided to do something he enjoyed.
In early 2002, Burrowes and his next-door neighbor in Reno, Jack Beattie,...