About the Episode

In this episode of “Corralling the Chaos,” Angela and our guest, Omar Colom, discuss the importance of freelancers in the event industry. They delve into the Omar’s journey in the industry, the inception of AV Educate, and the various aspects of training and education for freelancers. They also discuss the importance of soft skills, the role of mentorship, and the future plans for AV Educate.

Meet Your Speakers

– Angela Alea: President & CRO of LASSO, Host of Corralling the Chaos

– Omar Colom, Founder, AV Educate

Overview

– Omar’s journey in the industry

– The importance of training and education for freelancers

– The significance of soft skills

– The role of mentorship in the industry

– Future plans for AV Educate

Listen

Watch

Takeaways

Takeaway: The AV industry is evolving and investing more in people and training, with a focus on soft skills and hands-on learning.

Omar Colom shared his journey in the AV industry and how his experiences led him to start AV Educate. He emphasized the importance of soft skills in addition to technical skills in the industry. “The ones that fail are the ones that just don’t apply themselves. There’s a cost to everything. You need to pay attention to learn,” he said. He also highlighted the importance of being engaged in the learning process and investing in oneself.

Colom elaborated on his approach to training, saying, “My classes are intentionally made for you to fail. Every class I do, I bring up this first one class. Every question I asked you guys, every scenario I bring up to you guys, every piece of cable you got touched to has some failure point.” He added a layer of time constraint to mimic real-world pressure and introduced the element of client interaction to test soft skills.

Colom also shared his perspective on career advancement in the AV industry, explaining the need to show initiative and invest in oneself to move up. “You need to think outside of that and say, if I do five years in this industry with this one client, show commitment to them, will they increase me?” he said. “You need to bring in to my clients five more people to replace me so that I can become the crew lead because he has more people to use and I have experience to be the crew lead.”

Takeaway: Companies are increasingly investing in training for their freelancers, and there is a growing emphasis on sharing knowledge and resources in the AV industry.

Colom pointed out that there is a trend of companies investing more in their in-house teams and core teams. He also noticed more collaboration and sharing of resources in the industry. “Our biggest thing right now, obviously, is we need to grow, so share our content. Letting people know about us, which I always felt was the tricky part.”

Colom also highlighted the importance of volunteering and contributing to the community. “Volunteer time for us. We will let you be the face of that content. I have no problems with helping the community grow and putting your face on top of it.” He encouraged professionals to share their own training materials and resources through aveducate, contributing to a collaborative environment of learning and growth in the industry.

Takeaway: The AV industry is making strides in providing more educational opportunities and resources, making it easier than ever to enter the industry and advance careers.

Angela noted the transformation in the AV industry, with more universities offering programs and more resources available for those aspiring to join the industry. “There’s never been a better time for somebody to enter our industry,” she said.

Colom echoed this sentiment, detailing how AV Educate offers a variety of resources and learning opportunities, from hands-on training to online content. He also emphasized the importance of not only acquiring technical skills, but also developing soft skills to succeed in the industry.

Both speakers agreed on the importance of continuous learning and self-improvement in the AV industry. They highlighted the need for freelancers to invest in themselves and continuously update their skills to meet the evolving demands of the industry.

Insights surfaced

– Omar’s journey in the industry started with his father who owns an AV company, sparking his interest in the field.

– AV Educate was founded to serve freelancers in the industry, offering hands-on training and education.

– The industry is now more open to newcomers, with more universities offering programs related to the field.

– Soft skills are extremely important in the industry, and are often what clients are looking for.

– AV Educate’s classes are designed to simulate real-world scenarios, adding pressure and challenges for the students to solve.

– There is a need for freelancers to invest in themselves and show initiative in order to move up in the industry.

– AV Educate is looking to grow and is open to volunteers and content sharing from the community.