As Bend’s economy continues to flourish, many local businesses have added second locations, bought out smaller competitors and hired more staff to keep up with demand. One such company that has stood the test of time is Audio Visual Bend. With its new division, AV Designs Now and a successful educational eBook series, owner Tony Sprando has truly made his dreams a reality.
“I choose to let my passion drive my desire to learn and apply it day after day, month after month and on the 18th year there was AV Designs Now!
Originally from Portland, Sprando moved to Bend with his wife and three sons in January of 2002. Running a full service and highly successful AV company for many years in the community, Sprando always had ideas for more. AV Bend gave AV Design Now the relationships, confidence and foundation to build and move forward.
“The idea for this business model came to me [one day]in 2004. I can remember staring out my sliding glass door into the sky and getting a call from on high. There needs to be a company dedicated to just design, a non-bias design work flow to help people plan their audiovisual projects, not making it an after-thought, like most project,” says Sprando.
Sprando registered the company as Audio Video Design Group, LLC the very next day, however it took 14 years for it to become what it is today. Sprando felt it was time to ‘go live’ in 2018 and reveal it at InfoComm, the largest pro AV show in North America. Sprando’s new company has a strong commitment to standards with memberships to the American Institute of Architects (www.aia.org), Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (www.avixa.org). AV Design Now is based in Bend and considers local customers first, though they have customers all over the globe.
Do It Yourself Design
AV Design has a self-service site purposed to get businesses who have an idea for a design to share enough information so the design team can take over, make suggestions and thoroughly plan out the installation. Whether simple or extremely detailed – AV Design has the tools to make any project successful and affordable.
“Whether it’s a major project around your home, or a major project you have been assigned to manage at work, when it comes time to find people and companies to get the job done, the choices and process can seem overwhelming,” says Sprando
“What makes [us]different is that it is relevant to the online world we live in and I have testimonies from the millennial community who have agreed with me. The greatest differentiator is the online accessibility and relevancy, and the feature I am the most excited about is that I get to help AV dealers. The site allows the small to mid-size AV dealer or consulting firms to use this service as a pre-sales tool,” he adds.
Sprando believes that meeting in person and navigating the installation process on location is always the proven measure of success. Several issues can be resolved on-site and very little is lost in translation. AV Design Now are not only the designers, they are general contractors and safety and ADA coordinators as well, speaking the language a general contractor appreciates to keep the job moving.
E-Book
While social media is most always good for business, it can take away from physical and social interaction with family, friends and customers. With no formal writing background, Sprando clearly had many things to say and needed a better outlet than a website or Facebook. In February of 2015, he began writing and cataloguing educational blogs on many different subjects. With a plethora of content to organize and publish, an eBook was a natural next step for Sprando. He made a commitment to himself to push out content once a week and have it readily available for eager readers.
Some of Sprando’s eBook include: All About AV, Tony’s Tips and Tricks, Tony’s Testimonials and Ten Commandment of Business
Keeping it Local
There is no doubt that AV Bend and AV Designs Now are here to stay. Running two companies, writing and being involved in the community by mentoring to small business owners is very important to Sprando and his wife, who enjoy the Central Oregon life by biking, paddle boarding and camping.
“Since I am working most of the time, it’s the drive into work as Mt. Bachelor greets me and the after work activities on the trails biking,” says Sprando.
1 Comment
Tony (AV Bend) has been great for the City of Madras!