Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Ellis.
Kenneth, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Georgia Home Theater was created as a small family operation that started in 1989, in the small town of Hiram, Ga. The company grew and moved to Smyrna, Ga shortly after, with only a few employees selling laserdisc, Yes, I said laserdisc. In 1999/early 2000’s, the president of the company, who was the son in-law of the founders, knew that the trend of selling movies was a market that would soon be forgotten.
That’s when Georgia Home Theater was born to be the leader of the home theater industry. The 10,000 sq. ft. showroom was built in Smyrna. In 2004, just out of school, I had no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I was offered a summer job working as a helper on a wiring crew. After the first 30 days working at GHT, I knew this was an industry I could make a career out of. I was young and I knew I would have to start from the ground up. So I offered to work weekends, any extra opportunity to put in extra work. I always volunteered. I worked as a helper for a few years and then started to get a knack for the automation (smart home) portion of the company. In 2008 I was offered the role of Project Manager. It was a big change from being the one in the filed to running the day to day operations on the project side. Things were going good and then the economy crashed… The owner, sales manager, controller and myself got together, made some budget cuts and got through the hard times. We down sized the showroom. That’s when I had a plan, a plan that customer service needs to set us apart from the next company.
In 2014, I had been running the project side but was also helping the company to grow new avenues of business. I was presented the opportunity to purchase the company. I went home that night and talked this over with my wife. She supported me in this venture but knew I was a long way from taking over the company. I wanted to come up with a solid business plan, not only for myself but for the other employees that have been there since the doors opened 27 years ago. I did not want to let anyone down. I took some time, came up with a solid plan and went after my goals.
Now GHT is stronger than ever, with two showrooms. In Buckhead we have a design center off Peachtree Road. In Marietta we have a 20,000 sq. ft. showroom that our entire operations team runs out of. We now have dedicated Alarm techs, Service techs, Programmers, wiring crews and install crews.
I think the success of GHT comes from customer service. Every meeting I have with staff whether it be sales or our installation department, I always start it off by discussing team work and customer service. Without having the best customer service and dedicated staff, GHT would not be where we are today.
Today GHT is the leader in Automation, Lighting and Theater. We now service GA, SC, AL, NC, and FL. We also have several projects located many states away in Big Sky Montana, NYC, IL and many more.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Some of the struggles have been the economy- we had to adjust and push forward.
Some of the struggles have been staff- trying to find the right team members as we grew in a fast pace. – took some time to train the right folks but we have them.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Georgia Home Theater story. Tell us more about the business.
We provide sophisticated- high end home automation, lighting control, shading, home theater and Hi-Fi audio.
What sets us apart as a company is we treat you as if you are family and we strive to have the best customer service.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I will go with good luck. Having the right employees. At GHT, we have the best employees in business.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1625 Cobb Parkway SE
- Website: http://georgiahometheater.com/
- Phone: 7709558909
- Email: service@georgiahometheater.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgiahometheater/
- Twitter: @GAHOMETHEATER
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/georgia-home-theater-marietta-2
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