Business: My Guys Know How
Address: 10S059 Schoger Drive, Unit 23, Naperville
Phone/website: 815-714-9489; www.myguysknowhow.com
Owner: Bryan Talkie, 44, Channahon
Years in business: 15
What does your business do? “We provide reliable, repeatable, easy solutions for the modern smart home. Audio, video, networking, surveillance, lighting control, shade control, outdoor audio. The easy button to your digital life,” Talkie said. “We update those older systems for today’s technology.”
What’s the background? “It really started when I was 4 or 5 years old. … I loved LEGOs and I would spend hours, days working on these projects. … I’d build entire cities. I loved it.
“Fast forward, I went to Joliet Junior College and realized college wasn’t for me. … I started working at Circuit City and quickly moved into car stereo. That began my electronics career. … I was very good at it … extremely details oriented. … My manager was impressed with me.”
Then what happened? “I started working for Nicor but realized in my third year I worked 3,800 hours and was being paid the same amount as everyone else. This was not for me. My manager at Circuit City had gone to Tweeter home entertainment. … He told me he thought of me because I was a phenomenal salesman at Circuit City. …
“I went to learn the ropes of home theater and entertainment at Tweeter and it was wonderful. Tweeter went out of business in 2008. I went to work for someone else. … In 2010, I broke my ankle (playing paintball). … I decided to start My Guys Know How. … I decided to become the person I needed to be and technology is my outlet.”
What’s your goal for your employees? “I want to train them to be productive, positive human beings to go out and touch the world, and right now electronics is the outlet for them to do that. … I’ve learned quite a few lessons (in my life).”
How many employees do you have? “Salim Garcia is our social media manager. I have two installers, Trent Hutten and Nick Romano. … I will (soon) hire two more installers. We’re booked so much.”
What’s your business philosophy? “We show up when we say we’re going to show up. We do what we say we’re going to do. … My uncle trained me when I was 15 in his HVAC business. He taught me to treat everyone fairly. … You can get there in a Yugo. You can get there in a Ferrari. How do you want to get there? There’s a solution for every budget. There’s a solution for every need. … I treat their house like it’s my house.”
Any future plans? “If Elon (Musk) is going to take us to Mars, I want to be the guy that builds your custom smart home on Mars. … We’re going to have a base in Florida in 2026. Fort Lauderdale.”
What happens when someone hires you? “A real-life example is of a customer we’re doing in Wheaton. Before they move in, they’re renovating it to what they want. It hasn’t been touched in 40 years. We’re modernizing it. Since they have painters and drywallers in, we’re able to run cables wherever we need to. Wireless is great for things that are designed to be wireless. … Hard wire will pay monumental dividends for reliability, ease of use and general overall interfacing.
“We’ve recently done an entire farm where they have 40 acres of Wi-Fi. … That’s what they needed for what they wanted.”
Do you like your job? “This is not rocket science but it is hard work. Harder than anything else I’ve done in my entire life. But I love it so much, especially when I see the look on a guy’s face. When I give a customer their new toy and they’re playing their favorite song on their backyard audio system, it’s worth it. … I want to make it as simple as I possibly can. You just have to have a willingness to want to learn.”
How did the pandemic impact your business? “I was on a Southwest flight every week, just going to customer’s homes. I accelerated through COVID-19. … We were in Lake Tahoe this time last year for four customers out there.”
What challenges do you face? “I’m the biggest challenge. It’s my fault if we don’t succeed, if my guys make a mistake.”
What about pricing? “It can be whatever you want it to be.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Pick something you love to do because you’ll work more than you ever worked in your entire life.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.