Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Anholzer.
Hi Ben, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a young adult thinking about college, I knew I wanted to pursue either music or architecture. Ultimately, I chose to attend Belmont University with the goal of going on tour by any means necessary. Around that time, I fell into Elite Multimedia as they were the production company that provided all the AV equipment for the church I was attending. I knew that they had extensive teams in the touring industry and they were kind enough to give me my start. My journey has been very unique, as I started at the ground level at Elite emptying trucks and counting equipment. Over the next decade, I was coached up and climbed the ranks through every department. From emptying trucks to learning how to fix electronics. From electronics to specifically LED, from LED quality check technician to assistant technician on the road. From assistant to lead video tech. From lead video tech to project manager, and from Project manager to my current role as Account Management and Design. Today, I am able to scratch the architecture itch by designing structures that tour the country. Partnering with musical acts and corporate companies to execute their vision while translating dreams into physical moving parts. Elite has given me their trust and opportunity to be creative, and it’s still one of the many things I’m most thankful for.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nobodies path is smooth. Mine is no different. The music industry is extremely small. Everyone knows everybody. This is helpful at times as it weeds out anyone who isn’t a hard worker, or in the industry for the wrong reasons. However, this makes it extremely challenging and competitive. My attempt at getting my name out there included touring non-stop for about 5 years. I missed family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, etc as my sole goal was to tour and work hard. I don’t regret it, as it got me to where I am now. A place where I can be much more family oriented. However, for those who don’t have that mentality, or are unaware of what it takes to be great in this industry, it can come as a hard surprise along the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Elite Multimedia my job is to connect with Clients, design their event, and work on contract signature. This starts with sitting down with my clients and learning more about their project, what they want to convey, what is most important to them, and what level of interaction they want from our team. From there, I use digital mediums to design 3D renderings of what their event will look like. While the diagrams show look and feel, my technical background is always planning ahead on how our team would successfully produce what ever it is I’m designing. That’s a huge detail that sets Elite a part from our competition. We marry the design aspect with the technical and gear planning aspect. Lots of firms can show you a great design, but have no idea what needs to be done to execute. Others can execute well thought out designs but don’t have the creativity to build a design on their own. Here at Elite we save our clients time and money by doing both. Designing creative and unique activations that fit their budget and need, and supporting that design with our own warehouse of gear and fleet of technicians to execute.
How do you think about happiness?
The two things that come to mind are (1) My family, and (2) on the professional side, teaching others that are excited to learn and push themselves to be great.
Family is self explanatory. Work is great but it’s my wife and two girls that really make me excited to wake up every day. Elite Multimedia is a company that celebrates family life and its one of the big reasons why I’ve stayed with them for the last 13 years. They give me the opportunity to work hard to support my family. They also understand that family is priority and work around my family life so I can celebrate my children throughout the week.
Leading people that love to learn has always been a passion of mine. I love the ability to teach and toss ideas back and forth in an attempt to always improve myself as well. I have always had a great passion and drive for my interests, and I can associate with anyone that I see that same passion in. When I entered my professional life, a family member of mine told me, “you can pick anything to do in life, it doesn’t matter what it is, but to succeed you must want to be the best at whatever it is you pick”. I take that into every day at work, wanting to learn and grow. When I see that same perspective in co workers it fires me up and I take the opportunity to help however I can.
Pricing:
- Pricing ranges per client need.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elitemultimedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitemultimedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elitemultimedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elitemultimediaproductions
