This week's episode of Automation Unplugged we’re talking to Johann Whitehouse, Founder of WH SmartHome.

About Johann Whitehouse:

When he was building his own home in Allen, Texas, Johann ran into all sorts of challenges communicating with the contractor and integrating technology the way he wanted it. They just didn’t seem to understand why things like speaker placements and wiring were so important to him. So in 2019, Johann founded WH SmartHome to improve the way technology integrates into our daily lives.

We recorded this episode in early September, right before CEDIA, and we got into all sorts of topics.

Interview Recap

• Johann’s background in automation, creating a lighting system that could be controlled by a touchtone phone in the early 2000s.
• Why lighting design is one of the most exciting areas for growth in our industry, and how integrated technology can help us live healthier lives.
• What he’s looking forward to at CEDIA and why educating customers, builders, and designers is so important.

SEE ALSO: Show #274: From cyberManor to Daisy: A Journey in Smart Home Innovation with Gordon Van Zuiden

Transcript

Ron:

Hello, hello. Ron Callis here with another episode of Automation Unplugged. It is the first week of September. We're actually pre-CEDIA. And we have a great guest for you today. So by the time this show drops, CEDIA will have occurred. Additional news will have broken. But you can hear from this fine entrepreneur in terms of his anticipation for the conference.

Ron:

And we're going to get to better understand him and his very successful business there in the Texas market. So today we have Johann Whitehouse and he is the founder of WH SmartHome. Let me go ahead and bring in Johan. Johann, how are you, sir?

Johann:

Hey, Ron. Doing well. How about you?

Ron:

I'm super duper.

Johann:

Excellent.

Ron:

So where are you coming to us from?

Johann:

Coming to you from Allen, Texas, home base for us here in North Dallas. And this beautiful rainy day today. Yeah.

Ron:

It's a rainy day. I've got my window open for those that are listening, so they maybe can't see it. And even those that are watching, because the light outside is so bright, it looks pretty washed out. But yeah, it's been a rainy weekend here in South Florida.

Ron:

It surprises me sometimes how many inches of rain can come down in simply a matter of hours. It's pretty mind-boggling, actually. So Johann, WH SmartHome, tell us a little bit about that business. Kind of What type of work do you do and where do you do that work?

Johann:

Absolutely. So we do it everywhere around the Dallas area. Dallas has grown a lot, and we continue to grow. A lot of people moving in. Numbers call it at 500 people per day, probably for the next 10 years or so. So we continue to grow. And that has taken us just about everywhere. Our base is in Allen here. It's about, I want to say, about 45 minutes north of downtown Dallas. But that doesn't mean we stay in the Allen area. We're off north, we're off south, east, west, just about anywhere in this growing area.

Johann:

And of course, the fact that it's growing means new builds, means customers needing something for their new homes or wanting to incorporate something for their homes. So that's a little bit of where. And of course, the most exciting part is the what. We do everything. I like to encompass that everything has to do with technology in your home, right? So that is a very, very wide way of saying a lot of audio, a lot of video, home theaters. We love all of that part. But we also do lighting.

Johann:

Lighting has been a very exciting topic both for us here at WH SmartHome as well as for the clients as they start realizing that lighting is just not an on-off and a light bulb on top of their head anymore. It's a lot more. There's technology involved in it. There's control. There's colors. There's different tones of white. Different temperatures there.

Johann:

So a lot of lighting and, of course, the fun part that everything comes together and brings into an automation platform where you can just pull up your phone, go to a touchpad in your house, even if it's just a quick press of a button on the wall, how everything comes together and how homeowners get to enjoy all of that in their home as they walk through it, as they live in, as they entertain, or it's just a cozy family reunion there. So that's how I encompass it.

Ron:

I love it. Go into a little bit more detail for me. Help me understand a typical project, and what would be a smaller project, and what would be a bigger project? I was about to say more interesting, but you can actually have pretty interesting small projects that might pose a really interesting problem you're solving. And that customer might enjoy that just as much or more than a big fancy project. But what would be the typical types of technologies you're putting in these projects? And if you're willing, share some of the brands that you prefer.

Johann:

Absolutely. So it's a great question because even as I think back to it, I'm not sure I have a this is our typical project, right? Every time we go in, there's something different. There's something slightly more challenging or less challenging or just different overall. But I would say, for the most part, nowadays, our core is automation, right? That is the main thing of what we do, bringing everything together.

Johann:

I think homeowners have realized that having their phone, having to go through 20, 30 different apps, not even remembering, "Well, you know what controls the light? What controls the HVAC?" you know That has become very frustrating for homeowners. So we typically start with an automation platform. Savant is our preferred automation platform. Our clients love it. The user interface is amazing. So that is probably our starting point.

Johann:

And then audio. Everyone likes audio, right? Everyone has different music preferences, tastes, whatever. But everyone likes to have some sort of interaction with music. So being able to infuse the different areas of their home with music, whether it's their bedroom, as they're getting ready, maybe it's their bathroom and they're listening to the news or maybe a good song or a podcast, you know whatever it is. Being able to get some speakers around the house and being able to get them all connected is definitely, again, not our typical because everyone is different, but it's a very common request for our homeowners.

Johann:

And then I want to say, like you said, it's not about the interesting part, but the ones that start deviating a little bit and it depends on the preference for the homeowners. Some homeowners want to go a lot towards audio and video. So having an amazing home theater, right? So it could be anything from a simple media room, their family room. They want it to sound good. They get together as a family and watch a show every evening or once a week, and they just want something simple.

Johann:

Or we've done high-end dedicated theaters where the whole family entertains or brings guests in and their close relatives or friends and they sit down and they've got this beautiful room with acoustic treatments and star ceiling and just everything is exactly the way they want. Those become very interesting. So I would say that's one trend.

Johann:

Another trend, as I was mentioning, was lighting. Lighting right now has been very good. A lot of new developments in the lighting area, and homeowners starting to realize, "Hey, lighting. It's exciting. It does something different." There's a lot of talk about how lighting impacts our bodies. A lot of people can't sleep at night or have a hard time falling asleep. And you know we go to all these very complex processes to understand why I'm having a hard time sleeping, where it could be as simple as the lighting throughout our house is not conducive to relaxing and having our body start flowing in those natural cycles.

Johann:

So being able to bring circadian rhythm in conjunction with the lighting has become really exciting. We love it here at WH SmartHome. Everyone has gotten very excited about lighting and how it impacts not only the space and how it makes spaces look beautiful or warm and inviting or cold or task-oriented when it's needed, but also how it helps our bodies function a lot better. So I would say definitely a lot of projects going towards there.

Johann:

And then, of course, you've got everything else around it that is going to be a part of all projects, right? The networks. Everyone works from home or has something to do from home, studying, working, streaming. So the network becomes a core of everything that we do. So I wouldn't say they're not exciting, but it's just a part of everything that we put in. Always has to rely on a little bit of that infrastructure that I call it, you know the network, the wiring, making sure that we have the proper hardwired backbone for everything that we do. And then, of course, being able to get everything else wireless as needed.

Ron:

We have CEDIA right around the corner. By the time folks listen to this, CEDIA, the conference will have come and gone. CEDIA, the trade organization, obviously, is here to stay and always out there working hard. But in terms of you just said lighting and networking, is there technology innovations that you're aware of that might be coming out or getting announced here in the next week or so at CEDIA? Anything that has you particularly buzzed or excited?

Johann:

Yeah, I think there are many. Definitely on the lighting side of things. We've got some great partners out there that are going to be presenting lighting designers. A lot of people have never even heard that there's a lighting designer and someone that can place the architectural fixtures throughout your house in the right place to highlight areas, highlight artwork, highlight hallways. So definitely a lot of innovation there in how they do things and how they incorporate all the different products.

Johann:

So that's one, being able to move into the full color spectrum in your house through architectural light. There's a lot of new innovation there as well. Definitely want to see what that does.

Ron:

Do you have preferred vendors or vendors that you're either currently working with or that you have your eye on in terms of this tunable lighting category?

Johann:

Yes. We use USAI a lot. We use KLUS a lot. And WAC has come up with some fantastic innovations there talking about the weather that you were talking about today outdoors. WAC just launched their colorscaping line. Does amazing, right? So full outdoor lighting with color. And it's not only about, "Hey, I've got pinks and purples and all of that," but it's about if you've got a red tree, a Japanese maple, how do we bring the reds out by using red lighting, right, or orangish lighting? How do we make the green trees look green, even if it's at night? So the landscape just becomes alive. So we use WAC. I'm very excited about stopping by, seeing their full colorscaping solution display there. I know they're going to have that. So definitely a lot of that.

Johann:

And then, of course, how they start integrating, there are a lot of new partnerships that have happened. Savant and WAC just started that partnership to make sure that it's not only a standalone solution out in your backyard, but it merges together with a single app and your control system to interface with everything throughout your house.

Ron:

All right. Well, I have many more questions relating to technologies. For example, and I'll just seed this with you now. I know that you're a Savant dealer, and I know that you're involved in the energy side, and I'm super curious. I want to go down that path and find out you know how you're finding those solutions, how your customers are ultimately receptive to those types of solutions, and so on. But before I'm going to go there, because otherwise, I'll blink and the show will get away from us. I do want to go back and have the audience learn where you come from.

Ron:

In particular, you were mentioning to me that you had worked in New Zealand at a university, and that was one of your first introductions to this whole crazy world of automation. So take us back in time and help us understand you know what's your story look like?

Johann:

Absolutely. So I always love technology. I guess ever since I was a kid and my mom says you know computers weren't what they are today, but I did get my first computer probably when I was about six or so.

Johann:

Started playing with it, loved it, and that grew into a full passion around electronics. So I did study electronics. Electronics is my background. I love playing around, making robots, connecting things. My first incursion into automation was actually a project that won an award where you would pick up a phone, dial, and the microprocessor on the other side would interpret the dial tones and turn lights on or off in different areas depending on the number you would press.

Johann:

Very exciting back then. Of course, today, probably not too exciting, but that was back then.

Ron:

What year would that have been approximately?

Johann:

That was early 2000s. Early 2000s where text and phone was already starting to make an entry. You were able to text the system as well, but that was very expensive back then. You would have to pay per text, right? It wasn't free texting like we do today. So there was a big cost to that. But that was early 2000s.

Ron:

So I just want to clarify. So you were interpreting the dial tone on a receiver and taking that tone and having that trigger as a button press within a control system?

Johann:

That is correct. Yes. That was my very first incursion into a full automation system that could actually be implemented in a house, right? So I did it to turn different lights on. Of course, I never implemented it in a real house, but I had five or six different lights on my display, and I was able to dial from anywhere and turn different ones on or off, depending on what numbers I would press on the...

Ron:

You were doing this as a home do-it-yourselfer. You were at a university?

Johann:

I was at a university. That was kind of my thesis. Let's call it thesis project. So that was my final project. Loved it. Loved it so much that while studying in New Zealand, I got involved in the Research Center.

Ron:

Are you from New Zealand, by the way?

Johann:

I am not from New Zealand. I just decided it was exotic enough and far away enough and beautiful nature that I wanted to spend time there, so.

Ron:

All right. I'm a Lord of the Fan Rings. So a lot of the Lord of the Rings was shot there in New Zealand, right?

Johann:

It was. I actually walked the places and it's a little bit exciting and shocking and sad for us. I'm a big fan of Lord of the Rings as well, but you would walk out there and you were just walking this beautiful scenery. And they meaning the tour guides would tell you, "Hey, this is where we filmed whatever scene." And there's nothing left, right?

Johann:

Part of the purpose was, "We're going to keep nature the way it is." So you have to kind of think back to it and try to place Lord of the Rings in the actual setting without seeing anything.

Ron:

Other than the grand nature, right?

Johann:

Yes, exactly. So I love that part. So that kind of took me over to live there for a while. Got involved in the research center, and the research center was actually hired by a group of lawyers. That was my first actual paid work in automation to develop a system for the four partners in this law firm to be able to access their boardroom, their conference room, and change their digital art, which was a big TV that just had a different display there, depending on who opened it with their fingerprints. So they would have this boardroom was locked, of course. They would pull up, press their fingerprint against the reader, open it, and they expected something to change, right?

Johann:

And that way, they could bring their clients in. So I absolutely loved that. Thought I was going to do that for the rest of my life.

Ron:

Do you remember how you did that? Do you remember the system you configured to make that call happen?

Johann:

I did. I don't know if I could do it again back at the we still used assembly language. So I was programming assembly language on a microcontroller, reading the fingerprint, authorizing that, and then, of course, using a PowerPoint presentation to display on the TV something totally different.

Johann:

So it was interesting. Loved it. I still remember all the components. I would hopefully never have to do it again because I don't think I could program that level.

Ron:

It could be probably done much more simply today.

Johann:

Yes, for sure.

Ron:

Using a control system.

Johann:

Oh, it'd be a piece of cake. Back then, it was literally programming every single day.

Ron:

It sounds like it was a science project.

Johann:

Oh my gosh. It was. It really was. And that's part of why they went to the research center, not just a company say, "Hey, implement it," right? It was new. It was something that was in development.

Johann:

So the law firm hired the Technology Research Center for Auckland University of Technology, and that was kind of my introduction there. Loved it. Came back and never found anything to work in as that here. So I ended up going into corporate world that pulled me apart. Still related to technology. I worked for Cisco for a long time, consulting for a couple of other companies.

Johann:

But after that, fast forward 15 to almost 20 years. And when building my home, I found myself very frustrated with the way technology was incorporated into a new build, right? So I found myself thinking, "Well, there's got to be a better way. You know This is not the way I want technology to be incorporated into my house. And why isn't the builder understanding that I want wire here or cable there? You know I want this over here." And it was so hard for them to understand that it kind of got me thinking, "Well, why don't I pull back from that passion that I had on automation and start something new?" So that was kind of what brought birth to WH SmartHome.

Ron:

And that was in the Dallas Market.

Johann:

That was in the Dallas Market. That was close to home. I started out as consulting for clients, walking them through what technology meant, how they were going to use it. And that brought me to really understanding what the core of WH SmartHome was going to be, right? It's not just technology for the sake of technology. It's technology for the lifestyle of the person.

Johann:

So we were talking about the speakers. Speakers are great. Everyone has them. And the speaker is going to be the same in your house, in my house. I mean, maybe different brands, different quality, different level. But it's going to be a speaker. But the way you use it may be different from the way I use it, from the way someone else uses it. So that was what really came into that founding of WH SmartHome and saying, "Let's understand the client not only what he wants, but how he's going to use it. Is it the homeowner's daughter that's going to use it?" We've got a great story there for a teenage daughter who wanted music, loud music in her room, but no one else wanted to hear it.

Johann:

So that is the lifestyle. That is the way the homeowner uses a house and uses the technology. So bringing all that together, that kind of grew. And we started doing a little bit more of audio, a little bit more of video, incorporating all of that into a simple way for homeowners to interact with their home. I found it speaking to just about anyone. Everyone likes technology, or many people like technology, but find themselves frustrated at how complex it's become, right?

Johann:

Instead of going simpler, they've got 20 different apps on their phone to try to do something in their house. They can't even remember what the app was for the lighting, what the app was for their HVAC, and they try to go to one and it wasn't there and they become frustrated. It's not working. It's not connecting. So really bringing all that together into a simple way for homeowners to interact with their homes was key for me to build this.

Ron:

I'm curious, when you came back or you came to the states from New Zealand, did you land in Texas right away, or did you bounce around the US a little bit?

Johann:

I actually bounced around just about everywhere. I lived in Mexico. I actually started working there in Mexico for a consulting firm. Nothing to do with automation, nothing to do with technology. It was an integration for a lot of ERP systems and things like that. So very far away from that before I landed back in technology. Of course, technology was always at the back of my mind. So that kind of took me into Cisco. So it was a little bit more of network still, a lot more technology involved than just integration of different ERP systems.

Johann:

But no, it took me a while to get back into technology and really understand in this competitive market because it is a very competitive market, right? We know a lot of very established companies. We've got a lot of individuals who do it as either a free time kind of secondary job or just a full-time job, but they're on their own. So there's a lot of competition. So understanding where to position, how to go into the market with something that the market would receive well and that was needed took me a while.

Ron:

I'm curious in your journey, when did you learn about CEDIA, the trade organization, and this whole you know industry, if you will, of thousands of businesses around North America designing, selling, servicing, programming, these systems?

Johann:

So I probably learned about CEDIA long before I started WH SmartHome. I've always been very curious. I like to read. I like to understand everything.

Johann:

So even while building my house, I knew what I wanted, but I also researched everything that was going to play a part of it. So I think I probably learned about CEDIA at least several years before I started this company. Of course, once I started it, I knew I had to be a part of and really not only feed into it, but get out of it and share with our clients.

Johann:

I think there's a big impact of our clients understanding that a company is a part of an organization like CEDIA and how that influences the way we design their home, the way we implement technology in their home, right? It's not just about throwing pieces and bits together. I understand that a lot of people don't see that. And that happens in the backend and in the company. But hiring a company that's a member of CEDIA or a member of a builder's association or remodeling association, you know all of that gives the client structure, gives the client a background of things done the right way.

Johann:

So I think that's when I learned it. And of course, immediately knew I was able to get a lot from CEDIA, learn a lot from CEDIA courses, classes, networking, but also infuse that. And now we're a lot more active. We're doing the COI for CEDIA as well, talking to our builders, talking to our designers.

Ron:

Tell me more about that. For those that aren't familiar, that COI, what is that certified outreach instructor?

Johann:

Correct. So certified outreach instructor is a program for CEDIA where they develop the curriculum. They are CEU accredited classes. So for those people who need to keep their CEUs growing so that they can renew their license or keep their license as active or just want to learn, having a structured curriculum that's accredited is very important for them. So CEDIA allows their members to become certified.

Johann:

So you do take a class as an instructor and learn how to be an instructor, learn how to put the course into use. You cannot modify the course, right? They provide the course. The course is going to be standard. But how to use it, how to teach it to architects, designers, partners, everything, and be able to get out in front of them and educate. I think there's a lot of education still that needs to happen in our industry. I don't think people understand our industry as well as I would love them to.

Johann:

You know Homeowners or partners or architects, they still see as technology as, "Oh, you know homeowner can incorporate it once they move in." And that's not the case, right? So there's a lot of education, and I think the COI gives us an opportunity to get closer to them, to talk to them, get in early with the builders, with the architects, with the designers, clients, everything.

Ron:

You launched WH SmartHome in 2019. Can you take us through kind of what was your process of getting that thing off the ground?

Johann:

It was interesting. It was painful, exciting, difficult. So when I started this, I thought it was going to be a little bit more of a consulting company, right? I envisioned it as walking homeowners through what technology can do for them. A lot of the production builders here in the Dallas areas already have partners that they work with for technology. So it's not something that a homeowner can say, "Well, you know I want to hire this company and just put it into my house." They have to go through the company through the builder that they hire.

Johann:

So when I started this, I thought it was going to be a little bit more of a consulting business, being able to walk them through, "Hey, this is a technology. This is how you use it. Ask them for this. Make sure you get a network. Make sure you get access points." you know All of that. So I started with that, and then clients started saying, "Well, I love what you've done. I love what you're telling me now. When are you going to do it?" So, of course, that shifted my focus on what WH SmartHome was going to be into start growing as a full-service company.

Johann:

So do we wire, of course, consult, understand our customers, learn their lifestyle, wire when possible, and then implement at the end of the cycle. So that kind of transformed. We started out with small projects, definitely a lot smaller than what we've got today. Never even dreamt of these really large complex projects. But you know hey, let's get a media room. Let's get a few light switches incorporated for the customer.

Johann:

And that has slowly grown as we have become more recognized in the market here, as we have become a lot more proficient with the projects, and the complexity of what we can do nowadays has, of course, allowed us to reach a lot more homeowners and a lot more interesting and complex projects as well.

Ron:

So the Dallas and the Dallas-Fort Worth market, it's a big market. And not only is it a big market by the number of people that live in that market, but it's a big market, as you were telling me, a new stat. You said 500 people are moving is it to Dallas or to Texas every day?

Johann:

To the Dallas area. So wider Dallas area, it's growing like crazy.

Ron:

And that's forecasted to continue for some years into the future?

Johann:

That is correct, yes.

Ron:

So when you're out there either working with a prospect, someone that's considering to hire you, or you're working with maybe a custom builder, that custom builder, that prospect, they have options. I'm just curious about how you handle and you're a newer business. You're about five years in business or so. How are you handling the competitive landscape? Or does it feel competitive? Do you feel there's five or eight bids on every project, or are you able to go out there and win some of your own business, and maybe they're not even talking to others?

Ron:

And I'm asking you that question from the perspective of you know here at One Firefly, we're talking to folks, integrators that are in small, medium, and large markets. And often in a smaller market, they might be used to maybe being the only fish in town. You know They're the big fish in a small pond. And your business, not in any sort of demeaning way, you're a smaller fish in a big pond. It's a big marketplace.

Ron:

And I will just add, and I'll give a little bit of love to Texas. Texas is just an amazing state, an amazing economy. They almost have their own micro economy that operates within its own set of rules and guidelines outside of even the rest of North America sometimes. And I think that's because of the oil and gas business in Texas and just a thriving tech culture.

Ron:

So Texas is a fantastic state, at least from my perspective as an entrepreneur, working with other entrepreneurs in the state. It's a really neat place. But I'm wondering for you if you could share kind of how you saw it maybe in the beginning and what does it look like today in terms of you out there fighting to win business?

Johann:

It's competitive. I'm not going to say it's not. I think there are several areas within the market, depending on where you want to position yourself. I think there's the ultra luxury market, very competitive.

Johann:

There's the lower, more entry-level market, very competitive as well. I think there's a medium side there where it's already the luxury market, but it's not saturated. And I think a lot of companies always try to go to the biggest. Or you've got the small guys who can't go to the biggest, so they're kind of keeping to that entry level. And we found a very good happy medium there in those large but not huge projects. You know We're not talking about half a million dollar projects, but they're still available.

Ron:

So when you say give some dimension to that, so when you say a large project, is that a $50,000 project, a $100,000 project? And I'm speaking top line retail value.

Johann:

Yeah. So our average project is usually $50,000 to $250,000. That's kind of the range in which we've got a lot of smaller ones, of course. But that market, I think, has been ignored a little bit. And it's still a homeowner who maybe can't execute everything immediately.

Johann:

But that's a lot of where my principle of understanding their lifestyle comes in, right? We understand not everyone can afford a $200,000 project you know in one go, but they will get there at some point. So maybe we start with a $20,000 project and six months later, we do a $50,000 project for that same customer, starts adding up, right? So being able to go into that.

Ron:

That lifetime value of that $30,000 project over the next 10 years, it could become half a million.

Johann:

That is correct. That is correct. So they're still competitors. It's been a lot of fun and very interesting, at least for me personally, to start seeing how we now compete and we start seeing bids. Some customers are very open and they say, "Hey, I've got these other three proposals from these other companies," right? So now we're starting to see names that we didn't see before in our same projects, right? We're starting to compete against other companies out there, like you said, the bigger fish in the pond.

Ron:

Names that shall not be mentioned on this podcast.

Johann:

Correct. Absolutely. But we start seeing a little bit of that. And then we do have a lot of referrals. A lot of word of mouth is how we've grown this. We here at the SmartHome have always been very conscious of doing the right thing. We don't cut corners, and that has cost us many times, right? We understand that sometimes a project wasn't dimensioned correctly. That doesn't mean that the client is going to get less of what we would normally do. So that, I think, has spoken very loudly for our customers.

Johann:

Not everyone sees it, but the people that do see everything that we've had to go through to make sure that things are done perfectly for our customer, you know creates referrals. And a lot of that competition goes away when you have a direct referral that says, "Hey, forget everyone else. You have to go here because you know they're willing to go above and beyond just to make sure that you get the right thing." So that has been a lot of that. So yeah, and there's still room to grow. I truly believe that with all these people coming in, with the market being what it is, I think there's still a lot of room to grow for many people.

Ron:

Yeah. No, I completely agree. Let's pivot just to hair over to the economy and kind of the state of business. This year, like what are you seeing? How is this year, in terms of demands for the services that you offer? How does it compare to maybe the last year? You know And I'm not going to say so much about you know 20 through 22 because that was that peak level of demand, that kind of you know make-believe fantasy demand for technology.

Ron:

But let's refer to maybe 23 as going a little bit back more to normal. How does 24 compare to that? And what are you forecasting for the year ahead?

Johann:

24 has been challenging. I will say 24 has been a little bit more challenging. Different kinds of projects have come up this year for us. Outdoor audio is typically a very big part of summer for us. This year has been very, very slow, for example. So it's been an interesting year overall.

Johann:

I will say challenging in general. One of the variables that I contribute to it being a challenging summer overall has been travel. We all know where we come from, right? The pandemic and no one was traveling. There was no budget allocated for people traveling. This year has been historical for travel. So if you look at the travel numbers overall, nowhere in history has been such a small time period, summer, with such a big spend for people.

Johann:

So a lot of the money that they have for home projects or just available cash has gone in traveling. So that has impacted us a little bit for sure. But it's been a good year. I can't complain. It's been good. It's just been a little bit slower than we anticipated. I do see things starting to stabilize probably after elections. Elections are always a big variable for everyone, no matter your political affiliation or what you expect or what you don't expect.

Johann:

I think the fact that elections will be over kind of makes people think, "Okay, we're in this for the next four years," right? So we got to start moving forward. I do anticipate next year to start stabilizing a little bit more, having people a little bit more confident, a little bit more relaxed. Markets stabilizing a little bit. We've all seen everything that's going around with interest rates and where things are going overall in economy. So I think that'll stabilize it. So I am forecasting a little bit better 2025 than 24 has been.

Johann:

And then towards the close, I think it'll still be a little bit turbulent for the next few months. Definitely everything leaning towards elections. And then after that, I think for most people, it's a natural slowdown, right? People start thinking about their holidays. They don't want work done in their house. So that's a natural slowdown as it is. So everything from now till end of the year, I think, is going to be a little bit turbulent. Hopefully, our projections are accurate for next year, and things start picking up a little bit more as we start getting into the heat of next year.

Ron:

You know Your first presidential election cycle as an entrepreneur was 2020. Post that election and a decision being made, did you see a boost in economic activity or demand for services? Or do you kind of recall how that played out?

Johann:

I think all that one was a little bit of an odd time frame, right, because we had the lockdown. We had...

Ron:

Hard to compare, right?

Johann:

It's very hard to compare. And like you said, that was our first one. Just hard to compare with all the other variables that were playing a part in it, right? People starting to realize we're going to be locked up. We can't go out. What do we do in our home? Do we improve our home? The first part of that year was a lot of fear, right? We don't want to spend. We don't know what's going to happen with our company. Am I going to get laid off? Is there going to be work? Is there not? So that first part was very hard. As stimulus came in, things started loosening up.

Johann:

And of course, stimulus coming in, but people not being able to go out generated that boost that was magical for a lot of people.

Ron:

Certainly, if you were in home construction, it was.

Johann:

Yes. Home construction was absolutely through the roof, right? We have a lot of good partners in the construction industry, and they've never seen times like that, right? No matter how long they've been in business, you know they still go back to, "Oh, my gosh. You know That was absolutely heaven for a lot of people." So yeah.

Ron:

Yeah. No, I think that was a and I'm only saying this because I listened to people much wiser than myself, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime type of situation in terms of peak levels of demand. And then back to your statement about this summer, I actually traveled this summer to Europe, specifically to Barcelona with my family.

Ron:

And maybe because of or it was at a similar situation, the peak levels of people traveling and you're hearing about this all over Europe, not only Barcelona, so I'm not picking on my friends in Barcelona, but there's like almost an anti-tourism movement now happening around the world because of so much tourism, because I think people like us and many people were tired of not traveling.

Ron:

So we're like, "We want to get out and stretch our legs a little bit and go see the world." That has its own problems, right, for those people in those local economies. It was spray-painted all over Barcelona. Tourists go home, tourists go home. And I just saw an article in Forbes or one of the big publications. And it was, I guess, similar sentiment all throughout Greece and France and England. I mean, it's all over the place.

Ron:

It is wild times for sure. It is. But theoretically, there's going to be a rate cut, a Fed rate cut here in the United States that's theoretically going to happen this month, correct? September?

Johann:

Yes, correct, yep.

Ron:

And if that happens, then that's usually, in its own way, a bit of a boost to sentiment with that luxury consumer. And theoretically, that should you know cause a bit of a pivot in attitudes.

Johann:

And the luxury consumer, I think it's all about sentiment, right? Because it's cash that they've got available. It depends a little bit more on their sentiment on when do I invest it? When do I not? So we still see that market here in Dallas growing. We see the sales of the homes. We see the remodeling side of things towards the older neighborhoods that we're familiar with here that just tear up the whole thing and start all over again. And we still see that as a very hot market. So yes, the rate cuts and elections will stabilize things.

Johann:

And I do see that as a boost coming up. So we've got a little bit of a turbulent. Yes, we've got plus things. We've got the anticipation for the elections as a minus. But overall, I think it'll start stabilizing, and I do anticipate next year to be a lot more stable than this year has.

Ron:

Yeah. I agree. That'll be a fun line of dialogue with folks here at the show coming up is just to find out how are people feeling around the country. And then it's always fun to make these predictions and then watch it play out, right?

Ron:

See how ultimately markets around North America react. To switch subjects here, Johann, tell me more about what you're seeing in terms of the demand from consumers or designers or builders around technology aiding in the health of the folks that live in the home. And so what I'm referring to and you made this reference a little bit ago, for example, about tunable lighting and how that's helping match the circadian rhythm of the people living in the home to the natural patterns of the sun and how that's great for sleep and overall health.

Ron:

What are you seeing? Where's that demand? Is it that you, Johann, are excited about this and you're talking about it and therefore your audience is receptive? Or are you finding it also being requested?

Johann:

Find a little bit of both. So yes, I think overall health is a big topic nowadays. I think we realize that throughout the pandemic, a lot of more looking in towards health, towards mental health or just feeling different.

Johann:

So that overall is a topic amongst most of our clients, right? Hey, healthy living. You know Are we eating? Are we sleeping? Are we exercising? You know The different components of stress and how all those play a part in our lives. So I think that is top of mind for our clients. When we and myself getting excited about it and talking about, "Hey, do you realize that the technology can improve certain aspects of that health, can contribute to those aspects?" I think that becomes a lot more receptive for them.

Johann:

So we have a few select clients that have come to us specifically knowing a little bit about lighting, a little bit about how tunable white and how the different temperatures of the light can impact us. But I think for the most part, it is still us educating our builders or end clients towards that aspect. So it's relatively new. People don't realize it.

Johann:

We've gone into many houses where they literally say, "Oh, don't worry about lighting. We just replaced all the fixtures in our house for 5,000 Kelvin lights." And we're like, "Oh, my gosh. So now you've got basically an office light in your bedroom, right?" So there's still a little bit about that misconception. I do see how with LED lighting becoming not only popular but needed because we phased out all the incandescent light and people going to Home Depot and just find the brightest light, right? People like lights in general. People like to see their houses lit up.

Johann:

And unfortunately, that disinformation of just bright lights related to 5,000 Kelvin don't necessarily go together. So when we start talking about it, we start explaining that. And I've actually got several mobile kits that I will go with myself and take them into the customer house and say, "Look, this is what light you know this is how light impacts not only the setting, but yourself. Look at your furniture under this light, you know 5,000 Kelvin. Now let's look at it under 3,000 Kelvin or even worse.

Johann:

You know Let's go down to 1,800 Kelvin. Look at how it changes. And that has started to spark a little bit of interest. I think there's a lot, a lot of room to grow still in talking about it, educating our partners, our builders. They're still very focused on price. They don't understand how the price change towards technology lighting is going to fit in into their bids, into their proposals.

Johann:

It's not easy to say, "Well, you know here's a $20 wholesale cam from a big box store" into, "Hey, this is a $1,200 fixture that, if you don't know what the difference is, it's just a very, very, very overpriced fixture," right? So how do we talk about it? How do we make sure that they understand it's not only the cost of the fixture, but sometimes the wiring itself can cover the difference in cost? So there is a big element there that builders need to realize.

Johann:

It's not only buying a more expensive fixture. Can we start using ethernet wiring instead of traditional electrical Romex wiring and make it cheaper? Can we use low voltage wiring and make it even cheaper? And then, yes, the fixture itself is more expensive, but my proposal to my end client is going to be equivalent with the benefits of having beautiful lighting throughout their house.

Ron:

Just shifting where the dollars are getting spent.

Johann:

Correct.

Ron:

But that shift, I mean, you're moving the Queen Mary here. So that's a hard, slow shift in the way you know entire industries think. But it does seem like you're pushing on the rudder in a smart way. It does seem like it's the future, at least to me and you, who live in this technology space. I am curious, are you also raising the conversation or is it being raised around clean air in the home? And then the same question for clean water in the home?

Johann:

Yes. Definitely. Clean water has become a big ask. Clean air has become a big ask. There are several CEDIA going back a little bit to the conversation. I had not seen this before in CEDIA, but I know that there are a couple of vendors that will be there talking specifically about clean air, clean water in the home, and how it plays a part. So I think the industry itself is starting to see this as a technology play, as an integrated play. So you've got lighting, you've got water, you've got air.

Johann:

I also see another part that we haven't talked about, which is clean energy, right? For Texas, generators became a very, very big conversation throughout homeowners here, right? "Hey, grid is down. What do we do about it?".

Ron:

You guys have been having a tough time in Texas with power. I mean, that's made national news what's been going on there the last few years.

Johann:

So I think that's a big topic. But when we start talking about our homeowners saying, "Well, you know generator is one option, but it's not the only option. It's not the cleanest option," talking to you know how do we bring that in. That piques her interest, right? It's not the smell of the generator out as you walk out into the backyard or the noise of the generator, which, again, is also part of that somewhat pollution, right? Audio pollution in their home. So I think that's another big part. So yes, overall, people are starting to realize that there's still a market for it like everything. Not everyone is willing to invest in that part of the health benefits that it can bring to them.

Johann:

But it's definitely starting to be a lot more top of mind for clients than it was before. So I think that's going to be a slow, again, another one of those slow shifts, not only lighting, but we will get there. I think overall, well-being is starting to become a much more important topic through everyone's mind.

Ron:

They're in the Dallas market. And just to pull that thread on smart energy or clean energy, the idea of putting a battery in someone's home would allow for you know a home to be run for you know some period of time, some hours. I don't believe it's typically days, right? It's typically hours during like a brownout or a short-term energy issue if you have batteries in the home?

Johann:

The beauty of it is if you do it properly, if you do the design right with the right sizing and an automation platform, hours can become days, right? So you've got things like dynamic load shedding where things that are not priority in your home at that point can get totally turned off and you prioritize a battery to extend.

Johann:

And then if you pair it with clean energy, solar, maybe that contributes to extending the life of the batter even more. So we do have a design that we put forward for a client, and the design put his home basically at about a week in total darkness, you know energy darkness, grid down with him being able to survive a week into what he considered critical in his home.

Johann:

Now, if you complement that with solar, that can continue to extend into multiple weeks. That was a very specific scenario, a very specific design we put forward. But yes, ultimately, I think the possibilities continue to grow there and how you can do it.

Ron:

Johann, a lot of folks that tune into Automation Unplugged are at the varying stages of their entrepreneurship journey. What advice would you give to a newer business owner? What lessons have you purchased along the way that you could share forward and hopefully maybe save someone a little time or a little grief or help raise their awareness around something you found to be important?

Johann:

Well, I would say for me, and it's something I would pass along, creativity. I never thought that there was going to be so much creativity in what we do on a daily basis, right? It's about figuring out a way to solve a problem. It doesn't matter how the point is solve it.

Johann:

I think a lot of what I've learned is don't lock yourself into a specific way of doing things, right? Just be open. And this applies for every area in our business, not only when we're in front of our customer and trying to put a project forward. It's the finances. It's how do we bring in new lines? It's how do we incorporate other things? For anyone learning, I would say don't get stuck in kind of your ways. Try to find a different way to approach it. Never stop learning.

Johann:

I think that's something that I've always believed in and I continue to learn. So learning from the big guys, learning from the small guys, learning from a new entry, business, individual, whatever it is, learning from a very seasoned company that has been doing this for 50 years. I think they both have just as valuable lessons for me and probably anyone else to learn is definitely something I would say has kept me rolling and growing in this industry and in this business.

Ron:

That's awesome. Well, Johann, congratulations on your continued success. Thank you. And for folks that would like to get in touch with you directly and they're watching us on replay or they are listening, where would you send them?

Johann:

I think you've got many options. I'm always happy to chat with anyone and everyone. Our number is 972-521-1208 if you want to reach out directly. If you prefer an email info at whsmarthome.com is always responded. We always make sure that we get to everyone's emails. And of course, our website, whsmarthome.com is always up. And we've got plenty of contact forms. We will get back to everyone. We would love to chat, whether it's formally, informally about a project, about a suggestion, about a partnership. We're always happy to talk to everyone. So I would welcome everyone's comments, opinions, thoughts, conversations. Feel free to reach out.

Ron:

Awesome. Johann, thank you so much for joining me here on Automation Unplugged.

Johann:

Ron, it's been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. It's been very, very exciting talking to you and to the entire audience here.

Ron:

Awesome. Thank you. All right, folks. There you have it. You have Johann Whitehouse, founder of WH SmartHome. He's a successful entrepreneur running an integration firm. They're out of the Dallas market.

Ron:

And I've had the fortune of knowing Johann for the last several years. I've been watching him grow. Look forward to actually connecting with him live next week in Denver at CEDIA.

Ron:

I say next week. It's this week. Oh my gosh, I'm going to be on an airplane tomorrow in Denver, and that's going to be a lot of fun. And I appreciate all tuning in. Lots of awesome guests lined up here for the whole fall and winter season. And keep tuning in to Automation Unplugged, and we're going to keep bringing you valuable guests. Talk soon, everybody. Be well.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing in the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

Resources and links from the interview:

• Contact WH SmartHome for consultation
• Johann Whitehouse LinkedIn profile
• WH SmartHome Webpage