User:Mike Smith Videoannex

1966 - 1969 After leaving high school I began my business career working in the music industry as an artist and worked with groups that toured as the opening act to various name artists from the period. During this time I established multiple business relationships with individuals that would work with me in later endeavors. During this period I based my business operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From this location and with the assistance of a partner I established a local concert venue that was open to the public on Friday & Saturday nights.

1969 – 1971

With my background in working with music artists and some brief experience in club management I was fortunate enough to be offered a position in the food and beverages department at the Westward Ho hotel, a major visitor venue in Phoenix, Arizona. Responsibilities at the hotel included coordinating entertainment and managing the club, bars, and banquet facilities at the hotel. 1971 - 1972

With my goal being to develop my career in the entertainment industry I relocated to California where I returned to my musical roots and established a facility that would present artists in a theater environment similar to the famous Apollo Theater of the time. Although the facility proved to be a local success; issues with partners and management groups would not allow the theater to remain open.

1972 – 1979

It quickly became apparent that in order to advance my career goals I would need to establish myself with a reputable employer. During this period I was employed in a division of Sony Corporation which was than based in Compton, California. This proved to be an important career move that acted as a springboard for endeavors that I am currently still active in. I quickly developed an appetite for the world of video and soon began building my personal environment around it. As an employee of Sony my responsibilities included that of inspection/testing engineer, service department manager, parts department manager, and coordinated the equipment needs of their broadcast department. I contracted audio/video services as well as remote video production services to the Riviera Hilton hotel as well as other facilities in the Palm Springs area. Additionally I established my first video rental store in 1976 making Beta & VHS movies available in the southern California area. 1979 – 1982

After leaving Sony I continued with my video rental and video production services business. In an effort to not become disconnected with my associates in the music industry I established a recording/rehearsal studio in North Long Beach and organized a booking agency, Titan Entertainment to showcase various local artists in the LA and Orange County area.

1982 – 1989

While expanding my rental and video services business I soon developed an interest in the security industry. I was always interesting in observing the elaborate security systems in commercial facilities. It didn’t take long before I started illustrating my audio/video skills and building relationships with major security firms in the area. During this time I developed systems to maintain client and employee schedules. Next on the agenda were to design custom CCTV, facility and officer tracking systems for major organizations. Along with these responsibilities very often came the responsibility of sales, scheduling and office management for various companies.

1989 – 1993 While continuing to work in the video, recording, entertainment and security industries I soon became exposed to another opportunity. A friend had exposed me to a potential investment opportunity in the convenience store industry. Although I never actually obtained a franchise of my own, I spent the next four years acting as one of the top corporate managers for Southland Corporation. During my stay I had the opportunity to open the top 7/11 corporate store in Anaheim, California as well as manage their top properties in the area.

1993 – 1999

Although still actively involved in my main business areas I eventually walked away from the convenience store industry. By this time I now had an exciting new product to focus on, DVDs. Unfortunately this also began the era of corporate competition (Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, etc.). It wasn’t long before I started feeling the pressure of lost sales stemmed from major corporate marketing. Once again I found myself seeking new opportunities. One day while taking a cab to pick up my car and while discussing the perils of the driver that had picked me up a new light bulb came on. What if computers and communication devices could be better tasked to provide a means to better income for the drivers and increased revenues for the company. Soon thereafter I found myself as the Operations Manager for a leading cab company in Orange County. During my stay with the company I was able to screen, train and develop drivers in methods to increase their revenues. In the meantime I developed more sophisticated spreadsheet management for the company’s data information. While there I was able to be involved in the implementation of the company’s first satellite based communications system. 1999 – 2011 As before my workload had become more than I wanted to deal with and I dropped out of the transportation services industry. In 1999 with the pressure in the video rental industry still taking its toll; I decided to try a new idea. Instead of renting a large store location and having to struggle with the massive operating cost of running the retail store; I decided to take my PC skills online and start renting videos online. Despite the fact that I am again burdened with the corporate world (Netflix) saturating that market; I still actively operate a successful online video business Videoannex.Com. In the meantime I have expanded my skills to building PC based video production systems as well as being actively involved in web and software development projects. Additionally I have stayed actively involved in the video, music and security services industry. For the last twelve years I have had the opportunity to design, maintain, and manage an enterprise level security system for a global corporate client. It has been a good adventure up to now but I will always be open to new ideas and challenged by the needs of the public services industry.