Business Spotlight with David Price from Avenue Systems

David Price, founder of Avenue Systems, shares his entrepreneurial journey, recounting his childhood experiences in a financially savvy household where he gained hands-on skills in home renovations and vehicle repairs. After earning a music degree and working at a Florida megachurch, his side gigs in AV technology grew into a full-fledged business. Seeking a better environment for his family, David moved to Milwaukee, taking advantage of his national client base’s flexibility. Avenue Systems specializes in sound systems, lighting rigs, and collaborating with architects and engineers on new construction projects.

David also reflects on the challenges of scaling his business, especially staffing in a niche industry, and underscores the importance of mentorship and resilience. After overcoming a steep learning curve, he strategically slowed growth to refine processes and prepare his team for sustainable expansion. Now entering a growth phase, Avenue Systems is poised to secure major contracts and boost revenue. David’s key advice for entrepreneurs is to persevere, as success often comes from enduring long enough for opportunities to materialize.

 

Podcast Transcript:

Mike McKay: All right, everyone. Coach Mike McKay here. I’m excited to have David Price on Success Chronicles today. David is the founder of Avenue Systems. He is a father of four, which is exciting. He’s enjoying the fatherhood journey and, outside of work, does “kid stuff” like most heads of big families. He’s also a gym enthusiast. David, welcome to the show. Tell us a bit about your personal journey. Where were you born? What kind of family did you grow up in?

David Price: Thanks for having me! I’ll try to keep it brief. I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved around a lot, which made me adaptable. I think I attended 14 schools between kindergarten and 12th grade.

My dad worked for a large nonprofit and specialized in turning around financially struggling locations. He was also into real estate investing, so we’d move frequently—sometimes living in two or three houses within a year. It was an interesting childhood, growing up with someone entrepreneurial and financially savvy. I got to help him out with a ton of projects—whether it was rehabbing an old El Camino, fixing up a house, or moving on to the next city. It was quite an interesting path.

Later, I went to Bible school, got a music degree, and worked on staff at a large Florida church, what many would call a megachurch. My role evolved over time to include organizational tasks, overseeing technology, and systems management.

When I got married, my wife brought some student loan debt, so I took on side gigs to earn extra income. I’d take vacations to work on projects, help out a friend, or go on short tours to do audio mixing or engineering. Over time, my side gigs grew into a business. Eventually, it reached a point where I had to leave my other work and take it full-time. That’s my journey in a nutshell.

Mike: Do you remember the moment you decided to leave your other work and make the side gig your primary focus? What triggered that shift?

David: It was largely family-related. My wife is from the Midwest, but we were living in Orlando, Florida. While Orlando is great for AV work, it didn’t feel like the best environment for raising kids.

When our kids reached school age, we decided to move to the Midwest and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Luckily, my business was already national. My first project was in Orlando, the second in Tampa, and the third in Seattle. Since I could work anywhere with a decent airport nearby, relocating wasn’t a problem. Business was stable, and the timing felt right for the move.

Mike: Tell us more about what Avenue Systems does.

David: We’re in a niche within the AV industry. Most AV companies focus on corporate work like conference rooms and ballrooms. I specialize in large performance venues, drawing from my experience in churches and touring.

We handle big sound systems, lighting rigs, and show sets for spaces like concert venues and churches that function as performance spaces. Most of our work involves new construction. We collaborate with architects, engineers, and contractors to ensure the infrastructure—like power and conduit—meets AV needs.

We also assist with semi-architectural tasks, like calculating BTUs for the AV system, so the HVAC design accommodates the space’s requirements. It’s a collaborative process, bringing together hundreds of components into a cohesive system that functions well for its intended purpose.

Mike: Most of us just want to push a button, but it sounds like there’s more to it.

David: We can set it up with a single button, but getting there is a long, tedious process. Some of our projects take up to two years from start to finish.

Mike: Cool, all right. What’s been your biggest learning as a business owner, now that you’ve pieced everything together from across the country?

David: Man, staff are expensive. Especially in a niche business like ours, where there’s not a huge talent pool. A lot of us in this space already know each other—it’s a pretty small circle. Staffing was the hardest hurdle to overcome, even early on. I never intended to start a business; it began as a side gig. It was manageable on my own, and I thought I’d stay an independent AV guy. But the work became too much for one person.

Hiring and retaining staff, especially in a small business, was a steep learning curve. It’s challenging to attract and keep top talent while providing meaningful benefits. As a smaller business, you still have to make your team feel valued, cared for, and motivated. Our largest expenditure, by far, is payroll.

Mike: Sure, that’s not uncommon, especially in service businesses like yours. It sounds like you’re doing some pretty intense engineering work—calculating BTUs, cooling needs, and all that. But people are both the biggest cost and the magic. They’re the ones who make it all work. What’s been your biggest challenge, and did you have someone—a fellow business owner or mentor—helping you through it?

David: A big challenge was not coming from a business background. I had an entrepreneurial mindset, but my dad always worked solo. Building a team and setting up management was new to me. Running a business comes with so much complexity, especially as a small organization operating nationally in a niche industry.

Since the industry is small, competition can be stiff, and not everyone collaborates. But I found mentors, often by buying them lunch. For instance, my neighbor was a project manager at IBM, and I’d pick his brain weekly about how to equip my team effectively. I also connected with other AV business owners. Some were smaller, some larger, but we’d meet monthly to talk shop. I focused on non-competing companies, like those in the corporate conference room market, so we could share freely.

Mike: What’s next for Avenue Systems? What’s your one-to-three-year growth focus?

David: Oh, with four kids, sometimes I feel like I’m just surviving! I’m sure we all feel that way at times. But now, it’s clear this year is poised to be a growth year for us. Last year, we did something unconventional—we intentionally tried not to grow. The year before, we grew by over 40%, which really strained our team. People were overworked, and many of our systems were pushed to their limits. They needed solid refinement to ensure we could grow sustainably without burning out our staff or the business. So last year, we aimed to slow things down, and we only grew by about 5%. Even though we weren’t able to totally stop growing, it gave us breathing room.

Mike: Please never say that again—”We weren’t able to stop.”

David: Haha, yeah. I mean, I didn’t want to shrink revenue, obviously.

Mike: We call it “grow, plateau, grow, plateau.” You experience that big jump, then realize the foundation of your business needs to support it. Without that, your pyramid can invert, and business processes get shaky. If you don’t address it, things can collapse. That’s why we say: grow, plateau, grow, plateau.

David: Exactly. Last year was our plateau year. This year, whether we like it or not, is going to be a growth year. I just hope it’s not too overwhelming. Right now, we’re already up 15% over last year’s revenue. Plus, we have two potential contracts that could bring in consistent annual revenue, including one that would be our largest contract to date.

Mike: Exciting!

David: Yeah, it’s across multiple states and venues. So, there’s a lot happening, and we’re already planning how to staff for the next growth phase. Should be fun!

Mike: Two final questions for you. First, if you could give one piece of advice to business owners, what would it be?

David: Hm, just one… that’s tough. For me, it’s perseverance. I think a lot of young entrepreneurs have the itch for entrepreneurship, but something that’s not taught enough is resilience—the ability to push through. If you have a solid idea, concept, and business plan, that’s not enough. You need to keep going long and hard enough for luck to strike. Luck isn’t magic; it’s about sticking around long enough to let it happen.

Mike: That’s amazing advice. Now, here’s one I didn’t prep you for: Is there something you wish I’d asked, a part of your story you’d like to share?

David: Oh man, not really. Nothing comes to mind.

Mike: Well, David, you’ve been on a classic entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for sharing your insights on the Success Chronicles, and good luck with this growth year!

David: Appreciate it, thank you!