We were lucky to catch up with Brian Judon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I always had the idea of starting a business however, never new what direction I wanted to go in. The idea for Tech Next Door came in the middle of the night, more like 2am in the morning. I was looking at the cover of Entrepreneur magazine and saw a title that said Smart Home Is The Future! At the time I was studying Networking in IT and mounting TV’s here and there for family and friends. I blew it off and eventually fell asleep. The next few nights were restless! Tossing and turning, I kept hearing a loud voice saying, SMART HOME IS THE FUTURE, again, SMART HOME IS THE FUTURE! It was almost time to get up for work and i was drained. I felt like God was leading me to read that article on smart home technology. I did. Immediately something came over me! Almost like a new burst of energy, excitement and Ideas!
I didn’t even feel tired anymore. Something in me was telling me to tap into this industry. I had already had A/V experience. I was studying IT. There had to be something to this. A new thing was coming and I had to be a part of it.
The first step I took was, I assessed, what was a smart home. What did that entail? I then assessed the market. Where was the need? I spent the next few weeks researching this industry and brainstorming on ideas. How can I turn my skillset into a business that caters to a need, a problem or a want.
I was forced to create something in a time in my life were things weren’t so pleasant. However, I had a calmness in my spirt because I had a vision for what’s next. There were multiple nights I spent writing out all my ideas on paper…business names, services that were needed and analyzing my skillset to fit into this industry. After narrowing down on the type of company I wanted and assessing my potential client, I got a logo created, and found someone to help build a website. I new I was on to something. Four weeks later, Tech Next door was born! Me and my partner launch our site and was ready to take on the world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi My name is Brian Judon. I was born a kid loving gadgets. I loved testing them, breaking them, fixing them and seeing what type of outcome i would have. My parents new there was some sort of gift in me at a very young age. Being a lover of technology, gadgets, computers and music, I became a DJ. Over a 15 year time frame in the music industry I gained tons of experience with tech and production like studios, setting up sound stages, live shows, you name it, I did it! I studied Information Technology in collage as well. In the process I landed a record deal with a pretty prestige record label. I was living the dream seeing what all the music industry had to offer. However, I always found myself interested in the backend process of recording and how things worked. When I first moved to Nashville and landing my first Tech Job, it gave me a better understanding of the different segments of the tech industry. Where I really gained the inside experience was doing my due diligence in taking pacific classes, course, researching and building relationships. Being discipline is definitely a key factor when building a company or achieving success with something. While everyone around you is living life to the fullest, sometimes you may have to cancel on hang out engagements, travel and fun times to maintain focus for the bigger picture.
With Tech Next Door we strive to bring you a safe, relaxing, stressless yet enjoyable and entertaining environment for both residential and commercial.
We accomplish this through the services we offer. This includes, Professional Tv mounting, Lighting & A/V integration, Smart Home automation, Security Surveillance and Network enhancement.
What sets us apart from other companies is, our experience, customer service, and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done!
We are proud of being a leading Technology Services Company in this fast growing Nashville market.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One thing i’ve realized on this journey is no matter how much you study, learn, get certified for, the true test comes when you’re in the field. We had a situation on a commercial project once where we installed about 32 security cameras. Everything went according to plan. However, last minute the client didn’t like the original look and wanted to change where they were positioned. Opening day is within a few days and we thought we were finished We had other jobs booked out for installation with no time to redo anything! We found ourselves in a pinch! The model we live by is we do whatever it takes to get the job done and done right.
Now 2 days away from opening day…after a full days work around 10pm that night, we went back to the facility, uninstalled all cameras, poles and wiring. Analyzed the area to find the best way for installation according to the clients want for their visual. We got everything done and tested around 2am that morning, knowing I had to be onsite for another job by 7am. I went home that morning and took a quick nap and was up at 5:30am for another full day. We were able to stop at the site midday for a walk through and the client signed off on the new positioning.
While most would have been concerned about their bedtime, we were concerned about the clients needs. Moral of the story is never quit and see it through till the end.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was we never know everything and there is more than one right way to do something. We go to school and learn a certain way on how to complete something and think that’s it. However, being in the field of the Tech industry, you learn multiple ways of getting the result needed. With Technology there’s always the standard way something works, then theres the not so ideal way but it worked. If nothing else I’ve learned to continue learning. Collaborate with people in the same industry as well, not just books. Sometimes experience can solve a problem quicker than a normal book formula. Take networking for instance, it’s a layer of things to create one consistent flow. Break one layer and the flow stops.
Prime example years ago how I first got introduced to Static IP addresses. We had a client where we were replacing their modem and adding some things to enhance their network. Once the new modem was added and we verified it was receiving an internet connection, nothing else was working. Their network system was originally setup using a static IP address. Most systems are setup with a dynamic IP which means, constantly changing VS a static doesn’t change, it’s more stable. Once everything was configured properly, we were back up and running smooth. Through the configuration process, there were multiple steps taken to get the result needed. This was my first time setting a static out in the field but it was a lesson learned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://technextdoor.co/
• Instagram: @technextdoor65
• Facebook: @technextdoor65
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tech-next-door-nashville?osq=Tech+next+door