Hawaii WBE Feature: AVS Audio Visual Services

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Heather Bailey with AVS Audio Visual Services. Welcome.

Heather Bailey: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about AVS. How are you serving folks?

Heather Bailey: Sure. So, at AVS, we provide technology solutions for live corporate events, so for major retailers, our financial institutions, insurance companies, technology providers, or WBEC. So, we are sometimes hired by event planners or producers or agencies to provide and handle the technical aspects of the events that they’re producing.

Heather Bailey: So, our company comes in and provides the equipment and the technical support, so that would be the LED screens and the video walls that you see in meeting rooms. It could be projection and large screen surfaces. We’ll bring in lighting solutions, like stage washes, moving lights, ambient lighting to create some drama. Audio systems, of course. Top of the line PA systems so that everybody can be heard crisp and clear. And then, we provide all the technical support to operate all of that technology for these large venue meetings.

Lee Kantor: Now, what’s your back story? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Heather Bailey: Well, I started in Hawaii about 25 years ago. I started in a little town called Keauhou on the Big Island of Hawaii. It’s kind of nestled along the Kona Coast, very beautiful, very scenic, and deeply rooted in Hawaiian heritage. And with that came sort of the spirit of aloha, which has really built the foundation for Audio Visual Services. So, this Keauhou community is deeply rooted in the Hawaiian heritage, aloha spirit with love, peace, compassion, mutual respect, and kind of built the company culture.

Heather Bailey: There, I was able to meet local businesses, organizations, different event planners, and organically grew the business. These folks met me and asked if I could come to other islands with them. So, we expanded AVS from this small little town in Keauhou on the Big Island of Hawaii to other islands, including Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Lanai. And over time we built up a great reputation, reliability, quality, just exceptional service.

Heather Bailey: And we were able to expand our reach. In 2006, we had some clients that asked us if we’d like to go on the road with them. So, of course we said yes. And so, we started servicing their needs on the Mainland and that’s how we expanded our service from this little town in Keauhou, Hawaii to be a nationwide company.

Lee Kantor: Now, was your background in kind of audiovisual equipment or was it in customer service or was it in sales?

Heather Bailey: Well, all of the above. I had a background in all of the above. I studied communications at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I worked in the hospitality industry for great companies, like The Ritz-Carlton, and learned a lot about service, and sales, and quality management through The Ritz-Carlton. I also worked for a great company called Nordstrom, which really taught me a lot about listening to the customer, finding out what their needs were, and going above and beyond. So, all of those things led to Audio Visual Services.

Lee Kantor: Now, coming from a background to work with, you know, two of the premier brands that are known for customer service, how has that kind of affected the culture in your organization?

Heather Bailey: Well, it really has. I mean, we’re very customer-driven, customer-centric. You can have all of the greatest technology in the world, but if you don’t have the right people who embody the aloha spirit, embody really listening deeply to the customer, active listening, adapting to their needs, and really kind of meshing with their personality, so we do our best to take our technicians and source them with the client so that there’s a personality fit and a cohesiveness. Because they’re spending many, many hours in a ballroom for a week or so with these folks, and so that’s a really important aspect of the service that we provide. It’s really a family.

Lee Kantor: Now, any advice for other entrepreneurs out there who are building their team on how to really get that level of customer empathy and the ability to really serve the customer in the manner that you’re doing it, a lot of companies struggle with getting their team on the same page as the leadership.

Heather Bailey: Yeah. So, I think that there are certain things that you can teach people and then there’s certain things that are inborn. And so, we really look to people who genuinely want to provide a service to people who want to help, people who want to build a community, and some of those things are just rooted in their personality. And we can train and teach, but it really has to come from within, and so we look for those traits and those strengths when we’re hiring.

Lee Kantor: So, is there anything you could share that kind of is a tip off that, “Oh, this person has the right attitude and I can train the skills. And I can tell at a glance this person probably wouldn’t be a good fit for our team.”

Heather Bailey: Well, yeah. So, I think we do ask questions during the interview process that would lend itself to sort of a service-oriented, customer-centric person versus someone who’s just solely technical. And you can tell a lot by their background or what their interest is, are they outgoing, their positivity, their ability to come up with solutions and overcome obstacles. So, we’re looking for all of those traits that people have nurtured throughout their lifetime, even before coming to AVS so that it’s more of a personality trait and something that we can expand upon, because it’s really hard to train somebody who doesn’t have those innate personality traits to begin with.

Lee Kantor: Now, how did your clients kind of come to you? Like, what are the problems they’re trying to solve? Because I would imagine that they might have a general idea of what they would like, but you can point them in a direction that maybe they didn’t even consider.

Heather Bailey: So, they have a message to communicate, whether that be a product launch or they’re bringing together their top performers and they want to motivate them. Our job is really to provide the technology that allows them to do that and allows their message to shine. And so, we’re providing that support for creative producers and the creatives.

Heather Bailey: And we have just a host of different technology options that allow them to do that from LED screens and video walls that, you know, have a really fine pixel pitch to provide stunning visuals, and that really immerses the audience in the visual portion of the message. We have top of the line audio systems. One of the ones I’m most proud of is D&B. It’s what most renowned theaters use. It just provides a really clear and precise audio experience, so that every word that’s spoken or every note that is played, it can really be heard with the utmost clarity.

Heather Bailey: So, in reality, our job is to kind of let the message shine. You don’t really want to see the technology that we’re providing. We just want the message that the client has to deliver to be center stage and really be able to motivate the audience with the message that they’re trying to convey.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you have a sweet spot in terms of clients? You mentioned some extremely large enterprise level accounts. Is that your sweet spot or do you do kind of smaller as well?

Heather Bailey: Yeah. So, our sweet spot is sort of in that 700 to about 12,000 person corporate meeting. Most of our end clients are going to be, you know, Fortune 100 companies, larger associations. But we also do the smaller events. We do community events. So, we do have a broad range, but our bread and butter would be those Fortune 100 corporate events.

Lee Kantor: And are those events primarily happening in Hawaii or now you’re at a size where you’re traveling all over the place?

Heather Bailey: Yeah, it’s a mix. So, it depends a little bit on the year, but it’s about 50/50. So, 50 percent of our business is within the Hawaiian Islands and then 50 percent of our business is on the Continental U.S., so we get to see a lot of beautiful places.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s that initial conversation with you and your team? Like, are they coming to you and saying, “Hey, we have a thousand person event and we want to blow them away with a lot of audiovisual elements”? Or do you get to the heart of I want each person to leave feeling inspired and ready to take on the world? Are you talking kind of about their emotional journey or are you talking about I have to manage a thousand people. I got to keep them all engaged.

Heather Bailey: Yeah. So, we would typically get what we call an RFP from an agency or a producer or an event planner. And they have a message in mind that they want to convey. And they’ll provide us with what they need to do that. And then, we’ll spec the audio systems, lighting systems, video systems based upon the venue that they’re at, the size of the audience, and, really, the message that they want to convey.

Heather Bailey: So, some events are pure meeting, educational, some are gala awards, incentive programs. And so, the dynamics of the technology that we provide are going to change based upon the message that they’re wanting to convey. So, of course, for a gala, we’re going to add in a lot of drama with moving lights and LED wall visuals, et cetera. So, I can’t say that we’ve done one event that is the same as the next. Every event is really quite unique to the venue, the audience, and the message that is being conveyed.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share about maybe an event that you got a great response from your client where they were like, “This blew us away”?

Heather Bailey: Sure. We typically get a lot of praise, really, after almost every event. And the underlying message is that the technology is the technology, but it’s the coming together of the team that really makes the event special. So, sometimes you can have, you know, up to 40 professionals backstage putting together this event and it can be a week or two, and it really becomes a family.

Heather Bailey: And oftentimes there’s obstacles that need to be overcome, and it’s coming together as a team looking at what needs to get solved and solving it as a team, and knowing the show must go on. And it’s really that spirit of excellence, and the spirit of getting things done, and the spirit of having fun while doing it, I think that really is what our clients talk to us about and why they want to hire us again. It’s just leaving with that feeling that we did a good job, we came together and got it done, and we had fun while we did it.

Lee Kantor: And it’s creating that sense of community that the client is probably trying to wrap around all the people there, right? They want to feel like they’re all connected and they’re all on the same team.

Heather Bailey: Yeah, I think so. So, of course, during the pandemic, we couldn’t do any live events. And so, that camaraderie, that sharing of experiences face-to-face was really missed, and that’s really what bringing people together is about, sharing experiences and bringing a diverse group of people together. There’s really nothing like it. The energy and the motivation that you can build through that. And then, that leaves people, they go home and they share that energy with maybe their office mates or even their family.

Heather Bailey: And so, it really kind of creates this just exponential experience that this great positive energy is lasting. And we’re able to spread that to the folks around us. So, yeah, there’s just nothing like bringing a group of people together for an experience.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou who says, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And I think that your work just ties exactly into that, because after the event is over, these people have an emotional connection that maybe they didn’t have when they got there.

Heather Bailey: Absolutely. Absolutely. Is that feeling that you are left with that you’re remembered. And sometimes it’s a glow and sometimes it’s just a really great energy. And that’s a lot of what the aloha spirit is about, it’s leaving people with that warmth, and that love, and that compassion, and feeling cared for, and feeling part of a community. We try to bring that wherever we go.

Lee Kantor: Now, speaking of community, what was the reason you decided to become part of the WBEC-West community?

Heather Bailey: Yes. Great question. So, I decided to become a part of the community for the benefits that it offers, the knowledge base, the camaraderie. A lot of the Fortune 100 companies, too, they want to add diversity to their supply chain, so we allow them to do that by utilizing AVS. So, for all of those reasons. And I just think, you know, attending different trade industry supported things like WBEC or in any entrepreneur-specific industry, that peer-to-peer information and knowledge that you get from other entrepreneurs is really priceless.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Heather Bailey: Well, I think that WBEC does a great job, and really what I need to do is tap into it even more than I have been.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to connect with you or learn more about AVS, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect with you and your team?

Heather Bailey: Sure. Thanks for asking. So, our Mainland-based website is avservs.com. And then, we have one specifically for Hawaii as well, and that is audiovisualhawaii.com.

Lee Kantor: Well, Heather, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Heather Bailey: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.