Shows / Intentional Success with Tom Stimson
Intentional Success with Tom Stimson
Are you looking to take your live events production business to the next level? Do you want to learn from industry experts and gain insights into the latest business trends and strategies? Welcome to the Intentional Success Podcast, where we provide you with the tools and resources you need to help your business grow and scale… on purpose. Hosted by industry veteran Tom Stimson, each episode answers unpacks the best practices and secrets to achieving intentional success. From marketing and…
Episodes
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Make Your CRM the Single Source of Truth
For years, the rental management system sat at the center of every AV business. Every quote, confirmed order, and piece of gear lived there. It worked…
Intentional Success with Tom Stimson3 Self-Owns That Perpetuate Overstaffing
Overstaffing is as big a problem as understaffing in our industry, and it's much harder to fix. The more people you have, the more work it always takes. In…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Do You Know What the Rest of This Year Looks Like?
In the spring of 2001, I was forecasting Q3 and Q4. September was always our second-busiest month. I looked at the numbers and saw an empty calendar…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonWindfalls Are Good, Bad, and Often Ugly
That million-dollar one-off job feels like a win. The $2 million client feels like stability. But if you've built your team and your overhead around windfall…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: The Best Marketing Happens on Your Turf
What do people see when they cross your threshold? Your office, your warehouse, your show site, your backstage area? Does your threshold make prospects say…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThis Is The Trend You Can't Ignore
More inquiries are coming in. Pipelines look strong through 2026. But more calls don't mean more good fits. In this episode, I break down how to slow down your…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: If You're Still Quoting Line Items, You're Losing Money
Q1 is almost over, and you're still leaving money on the table. Before we get into the fun stuff you can try throughout the rest of the year, let's talk about…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonIt's Time to Ditch the Manpower and Level Up the Brainpower
You'd spend $200,000 on an LED wall without flinching but lose sleep over a $5,000 trucking cost. That's not a budget problem. That's an emotional reaction…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: 3 Trends That Will Shape AV in 2026
I've been in this industry for 40 years. At the beginning of every Q1, I reflect on what moved the needle and what's ahead. For most of my career, reflection…
Intentional Success with Tom Stimson10 Words You Should've Stopped Using By Now
The words you use every day are costing you money. "Rental" tells buyers to shop around. "Labor" makes your team sound replaceable. "Markup" is fools math. And…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: A Growing Economy Won't Save Your Business
Economists are predicting steady growth through 2029. Sounds like good news. But a rising tide only lifts boats that float. If your business model has holes…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonHow Customer Retention Is Sinking Well-Meaning Businesses
You're proud of your customer retention rate. But what if the customers you're holding onto are the ones draining your business from the inside? Bad customers…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: How Planning Evolved (And Why It Still Works)
People who do shows for a living do shows. People who plan shows for a living keep planning while other shows are in progress. That's the difference between…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThere's a Reason You Can't Hire Better People
"Where do I find good people?" I hear it on almost every coaching call. But here's the real question: why aren't good people finding you? Candidates see your…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: The Real Reason You're Always Feast or Famine
You know the cycle: crazy busy for weeks, then nothing on the books. Your team is burned out, but you can't stop selling because you don't know where the next…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThe Warehouse Makeover That Will Make You Cringe With Delight
Don't need a bigger warehouse. You need to address the hot mess behind your shelves. Your team is burning time hunting for gear you already own. Cables in milk…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Prepping Shows a Week Early
Most warehouse managers believe show prep is the most important function in their operation. They're wrong. That logic is flawed…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonNot Everything Is Fixable
You can't fix everything in your business. And honestly, you shouldn't try. But the effort to be scalable will fix more problems, more quickly, than any other…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Why You Don't Know Your End-of-Year Numbers
Right now, as you listen this, do you know what your final revenue will be? Do you know your profit for the year? If you don't, that's because you don't have a…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThis Is What's Freaking Out Your Sales Team Today
Your rental pricing model isn't honest. Five-day jobs charged as two days. Two salespeople are quoting completely different numbers on the same project…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Why You Keep Running Out of People
When sales loses confidence, you stop winning jobs. You start selling on price. You hire cheaper people. Finding the right people to work in your business and…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonDon't Expect This From Marketing
November is panic season. Owners look at next year's calendar, see nothing confirmed, and start making desperate calls about filling their pipeline in 90 days…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Five Rules That Shaved Two Hours Off Every Load-In
You walk onto a show site with a crew you've never worked with, and within ten minutes, you know exactly how the day is going to go. In this week's Monday…
Intentional Success with Tom Stimson10 Things to Do With CRM That Won't Aggravate Your Sales Team
CRM feels like busywork when you're waiting on RFPs. Enter a lead, update a status, log a call. For what? But your projects now span months before you have…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: The Language of Self-Destruction
The industry I love no longer makes sense. The language we use, the way we price, the way we think about what we do… it's all built on a foundation that…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThis Is How 2026 Will Wreck You
There's a non-zero chance 2026 could devastate your business. There's also a chance it could be your best year ever. Why don't you know which one? Too many…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Best Customer Doesn't Deserve a Discount
Last week, I explained the difference between clients and customers: Clients bring you all their work; customers make you earn it every time. This week, let's…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThe Road Goes on Forever
The road goes on forever, as the song says. I always figured I'd do this work until I couldn't anymore. But I've had time to think, and I've learned a lot…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Customers vs. Clients: The Difference and Why It Matters
You need to understand the difference between a customer and a client and never treat one like the other. I was working with a large organization making the…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Letting Clients Control Your Projects
Have you ever said to a customer, "That's not what we agreed to"? If your customer is asking or demanding to alter the agreement — or remembering things…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonWhat Is Your Dead Fish?
Twenty years ago, I walked into a new client's office and found dead fish floating in a neglected tank and cubicles stuffed with trash bags. That's the power…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: The Proposal Template Buyers Actually Read
Proposals should be routine in your business. You write them all the time because customers don't buy AV services over the phone. They need documentation. The…
Intentional Success with Tom Stimson5 Things You Need to Try in 2026
New year, same pricing habits? Still sending proposals without deadlines and itemizing every line like it's 2005? Your competitors have moved on. Your…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Sales Team Is Speaking the Wrong Language
If an increasing number of buyers are revealing that they don't really understand what they need for their event or what you do, then listen to this week's…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonInsights From 2025
What's changing our industry? More women in leadership. A younger workforce that rejects hero culture and relationship selling. And a balance philosophy that…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Culling Your Email List
I get calls every day from folks who want to talk about marketing. It was the number one topic in 2025. So, we chat. You tell me your plans. Then, I ask about…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonHow to Dramatically Reduce Your Labor Costs
As we head into 2026 with steady economic growth ahead, some companies will thrive while others quietly sink, propped up by subsidies they don't even know…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Best People Should Never Touch Equipment
This Monday Morning Drive isn't about how you price yourself. It's about the perception of value of someone who does someone else's shows for a living versus a…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThe Evolution Of Planning
Most companies think planning means putting out fires. It doesn't. Planning means building systems that work without you. Alford Media evolved from throwing…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Financial Analysis Is 20 Years Out of Date
Words matter. So do numbers. Especially the numbers in your financial statements. When owners hire me, they always have questions. "Do I need to hire more…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonHow to Forecast Revenue
Most companies don't have a revenue problem. They have a forecasting problem. Without a proper forecast, you're flying blind. You can't staff strategically…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Management Accounting Your Bookkeeper Won't Teach You
I work with companies that have fabulous spreadsheets. They produce endless data and reports. They hold monthly management meetings where they analyze their…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonWarehouse Fundamentals
Most owners think warehouse space is for storage and early prep. They're filling every inch of floor space a week before showtime, thinking they're ahead of…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Revenue Problem Is Emotional
Time becomes emotional when we don't plan our time wisely. To quote Leonard Bernstein, "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonHow to Catch Up on Your Prep for Next Year's Budget
Most of you hate budgeting. I get it. It feels like busywork until you understand what it does for you. Right now, do you know where your year will end? Can…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Saying "It's All About Relationships"
Relationships don't close deals. They don't manage teams. They don't sell businesses. Relationships give you permission to control the narrative. That's the…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonNever Run Out Of Great People Again
Running out of people means running out of business. More than half your costs are people, and 100% of your future depends on them. Yet most of us wing…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Three Changes to Make Before You Scale
Most AV business owners are accidental entrepreneurs. You know how to get shows done. You know how to buy lighting gear. You know how to solve technical…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonLife Lessons From Stagehand School
Some crews are a dream to work with. Others feel like organized chaos. The difference isn't talent. It's training. In this episode, I share lessons from my…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Showing Clients Your Math
Your clients think you make too much money. They're wrong, but you taught them to think that way. Every time you send a 3,700-line quote with itemized pricing…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonThe Words We Use Affect Our Value
"Rental." "Labor." "Job cost." These transactional relics from the rental era don't reflect what you actually do. When you call skilled professionals "labor,"…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Why Your Software Stack Is Killing Your Profit
Software should make your business run better. Instead, most AV companies are drowning in platforms. We have more software tools than ever before, but we still…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonRevenue Optimization for a Diverse Clientele
How many times have your customers told you, "I'll make it up to you on the next one"? If they're really customers (not clients), there's no guarantee there…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Why Small Talk Kills Your Discovery Calls
Small talk drains energy from business conversations. Some people avoid networking entirely just to escape those painful exchanges about the weather and their…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonNever Treat a Client Like a Customer
Walked away from a huge opportunity because you were "too busy"? You just treated a potential client like a disposable customer. Customers shop around every…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Fix Your Seasonality With Better Accounting
You think you're seasonal because all your shows happen in certain months. You're wrong. Your accounting makes you look more seasonal than you actually are…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonHow to Win the Battle for Control In Project Selling
We've all worked with that client who's charming during negotiations, then turns into Captain Chaos the week before showtime. These clients aren't…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Your Business Is Worth More as a Fixer-Upper
Most owners never sell their companies at the right time. They think they need to fix all their problems first. That's like refusing to sell your house until…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonA Proposal That Someone Might Actually Read
Nobody's reading your 35-page proposals packed with pretty pictures. They're full of fear, leaving money on the table, and creating chaos instead of closing…
Intentional Success with Tom StimsonMonday Morning Drive: Stop Renting Gear and Start Making Money
Nobody goes to business school dreaming of owning an AV company. Most of us are accidental entrepreneurs. Many of us started as freelance technicians who…