The Exchanges

Q So what was it that this business coach, business coach taught you that was so valuable that you were able to make changes so quickly?

A He basically told me, don't waste your time with clients, uh, meeting with clients if they can't afford your services to begin with, because you're just spinning your wheels. Uh, I went to about. By the time I met him, I went to about 53 client locations, and none of them hired me to give quotes. At the end of the day, they said it was too expensive. So not only did I waste gas in time going to all those 53 locations, no one hired me. So when I met with this business coach, he's like, just give them the price over the phone. Who cares? If they say they can't afford it, at least you just saved all the time and you can use that time somewhere else because your time is very important, not so much the money. And we started doing that. And we've been, we were able to reach out to more clients and we started closing more clients doing that.

AI assessment note: “He basically told me, don't waste your time with clients”

Q Yeah. My company ended up making a pivot as well. We pivoted, uh, to team collaboration for our software. So, but it, it's software moves a bit slower than everything else in that regard. Um, so then how do you discover bottlenecks in your business and how do you handle them?

A Uh, so the good thing is I worked in private security for a couple of years before I opened my own company. So a lot of the bottlenecks I found out was around paperwork and hiring. And client acquisition. So I spent many, many months, I believe it was about 14 months to perfect that procedure, just trying to see what worked or not. Because when I first started to hire my first employee, I was in the office with the guy for an hour and a half because he couldn't figure out how to fill out the paperwork. And it was annoying and he wanted to fill it out there to make sure he did it correctly. Cause we have a lot of forms, uh, that they gotta fill out. So I automated that process to where now it only takes him two minutes and it goes through.

AI assessment note: “So I automated that process to where now it only takes him two minutes”

Q So what kind of things did you do on social media specifically? I'm curious from a security company point of view.

A So right now we're doing what we call the guard chronicles. Uh, and it's kind of like, Anonymously taking video from guards have been screwed over in the industry and we're posting their stories on how they got screwed over and what happened to them by other companies. We also have informational blogs on how security companies are illegally working with the client. Uh, for example, in the guard and the bar industry, you're not allowed to provide bar security unless you have a insurance and it costs roughly 23,000 dollars a year per client. A lot of guard companies don't have that. So they're leaving their guards, uh, their clients exposed to the point where now companies like us can no longer get insurance to do bar work because of all the lawsuits that happen with those companies.

AI assessment note: “we're doing what we call the guard chronicles. Uh, and it's kind of like,”

Q So what was it that this business coach, business coach taught you that was so valuable that you were able to make changes so quickly?

A He basically told me, don't waste your time with clients, uh, meeting with clients if they can't afford your services to begin with, because you're just spinning your wheels. Uh, I went to about. By the time I met him, I went to about 53 client locations, and none of them hired me to give quotes. At the end of the day, they said it was too expensive. So not only did I waste gas in time going to all those 53 locations, no one hired me. So when I met with this business coach, he's like, just give them the price over the phone. Who cares? If they say they can't afford it, at least you just saved all the time and you can use that time somewhere else because your time is very important, not so much the money. And we started doing that. And we've been, we were able to reach out to more clients and we started closing more clients doing that.

AI assessment note: “He basically told me, don't waste your time with clients”

Q Awesome. I love it. I love your mindset, dude. I'm, I'm really impressed. How do you anticipate problems? Not only personnel wise, but like the market in general and how it affects your business.

A We look at other countries and other States, uh, to determine issues like when the COVID first hit in China and they were closing down. I told my staff, it's going to be a matter of time before it hits the U S and our state. Uh, so we, uh, we started reaching out to clients and we started telling them, Hey, you guys need to buy from us. Uh, I need to sign contracts before COVID hits because the prices are going to go up, locking your price now. We ordered uniforms, equipment, guns, ammunition, all ahead of time. So when COVID actually closed down our state, we had received the last uniform order the day before. So doing those kind of things, we anticipated right now, we're getting ready for the recession. I know it started. People are not fully aware of it, but it's going to hit hard in the next couple of months. And we're already starting to make preparations for that. We're buying equipment and we're buying other things right now while we can still get it and companies are still open, uh, just to prepare for that.

AI assessment note: “We look at other countries and other States, uh, to determine issues”

Q Do you do anything to help them to kind of tweak their own mindset? Or is that like not your issue as just as the owner of the company or?

A I've tried many times and it has not worked out. So like there was one guard, uh, this was a couple of years ago. He started at 17. He's like, oh, 17 is not enough. I want to make more. And I'm like, I can pay you 30 bucks. I can pay you 27 bucks. Uh, we can talk about it. If you learn how to do trade work, I need really good technicians that can install security alarms, cameras, access control, all those kinds of low voltage, uh, products. He's like, well, I don't like to be in the ladder and I don't like to be in the attic. I'm like, I can double yours. Your earnings. If you learn this trade, it's like, no, I'm okay. I'll stay where I'm at. Cause he don't want to learn. Uh, new skills, new trades. And I've had that issues many, many times. There was one guard during COVID. Uh, we, he was making 16 with this company and we offered him 20 dollars an hour. And I told them you're missing one training and that's the baton training. It's 70 dollars plus the cost of your baton. You're looking at 200 dollars, uh, for that. So I told him you're looking at about two 70 roughly, depending who you go with. To get the certification will give you three months from the time you start working for us. So you have that, uh, with you. What do you think he told me?

AI assessment note: “I've tried many times and it has not worked out.”

Q How did you come up with that idea? Or is that something that's standard?

A No, it's not standard. So one of the biggest issues with, in the security industry is a lot of people buy, uh, security services, not security services, security software, vehicles, uh, offices, and it's hard expenses. You can't get rid of them, even if you lose clients. So we don't provide vehicle patrol services because that's a hard item. We cannot get rid of it. We lose the client. We do not, uh, we hired a developer to do all our software. So we have our own custom software for the company. So we only have to pay for the maintenance on it instead of paying a subscription fee to someone else like, uh, Soho or a CRM provider or something like that. We made our own softwares. So by doing all that, it was more expensive upfront, but now when we lose clients, we really don't have that much of loss.

AI assessment note: “No, it's not standard. So one of the biggest issues with, in the security industry”

Q my own TEDx, and I did, and it was an amazing experience. I did it for two years. So, let's go back a little bit further. You had mentioned to me in our last conversation that you grew up poor. So why don't we talk a little bit about what your childhood hood was like? And, uh, if we can, we could discuss the psychology, a little bit of that.

A So growing up, there were days where I would go to bed hungry cause there wasn't enough money to buy food. Uh, sometimes we were warming up water on the stove because the water heater broke and we couldn't afford to fix it right away. Uh, so That's kind of what I grew up with. Uh, when you're young, that's all you know, you really don't know any different. You don't know whether you're poor or you're rich until you're older and you understand those things. And it took a while. Once I was a teenager, I realized those that had businesses were better off than those that didn't, especially in my hometown. Uh, since that time, that's when I knew I wanted to own and operate my own business so I can get ahead in life.

AI assessment note: “there were days where I would go to bed hungry cause there wasn't enough money”

Q So when you were talking to these people in, you know, Ecuador and in Tanzania and these other places, did you get a sense from them that they had the ability to kind of break out of that cycle?

A So in Tanzania, they felt more hopeless, and I think it's a cultural thing. Uh, one thing I noticed in Tanzania was that they expect people to hand them money because they're poor, and they really don't want to work too hard to get ahead, as far as the general population goes. Uh, in Ecuador, they're very proud people. And they don't want charity. They don't want things the easy way. They want to work hard to get ahead. Uh, there was one gentleman that I met. They have, they started their own store selling eggs and beer and stuff like that out of their house, which is normal in Ecuador to do. But then he was also working during the day as a contractor, building houses and stuff. And he wouldn't come home till nine and he'll be gone by six AM in the morning. So he was really trying to get ahead by working harder. I talked to them how they can do it easier and not having to kill yourself working manual labor like that. And he did see that it is possible for them to do. They just needed guidance on how to do it.

AI assessment note: “So in Tanzania, they felt more hopeless... in Ecuador, they're very proud people.”

Q Why do you think it is that it's so difficult to find high quality people to be security guards?

A It's a combination of work ethic, their attitude, and of course a lot of people that were older retired because they want to spend more time with their families now that COVID hit. And which that's understandable. They work, they work their entire lives. Uh, that's not the issue. We've had guards say, well, I'm worth 27 dollars an hour. I'm like, but you have no training. You really can't make the company more. How can we pay you that? And we've offered training to people. I'm like, I can pay you 35 dollars an hour if you want to be an alarm technician. They're like, well, I don't like the latter. I don't want to be outside in the heat. I don't want to be in the attic. I'm like, you say you want 27. I'm offering 35 if you do this, because we really need technicians also. They're like, no, no, it's okay. I'll go, I'll find a job somewhere else. And it's like, you guys, we're offering you the training for free. We're going to train you on the job and pay you more. Why don't you want to work? I mean, we offer more that they want. Uh, the other thing is, a lot of security guards are jaded because they're screwed over by the security industry very often. They'll get the, like, there was one guard that left us for another company because they promised him 30 dollars an hour. We were paying him 19, which is very good in San Antonio, and he calls back three weeks later, like, they have…

AI assessment note: “It's a combination of work ethic, their attitude, and of course a lot of people”

Q this? Let's say a hundred years ago, you know, my grandfather or great grandfather would have maybe built a house by hands because you couldn't afford to hire someone to do it, or you didn't have the materials. You would cut the trees down yourself, these kinds of things. Would you say you kind of experienced something like that where you, you had to learn to do things for yourself?

A Yeah, so at an early age, I started selling livestock, primarily, uh, prized, uh, roosters, and I got them through friends and family as gifts, and then I started breeding my own and selling mixed, uh, roosters that were very colorful and stuff like that, so I made quite a bit of money at a young age doing that, and then I also started selling, uh, pit bulls, uh, registered, uh, pit bulls that I was able to adopt that were scheduled to be Put down because they're very aggressive. So I rehabilitated those pit bulls and bred them, and I sold the puppies for quite a bit of money. Uh, they were, uh, blue pit bulls. They kind of look gray. They're very nice, beautiful dogs. Hard to get, uh, for that color. And that's how I basically started my entrepreneurship, uh, journey was selling animals, basically.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, so at an early age, I started selling livestock”

Q Why do you think it is that it's so difficult to find high quality people to be security guards?

A It's a combination of work ethic, their attitude, and of course a lot of people that were older retired because they want to spend more time with their families now that COVID hit. And which that's understandable. They work, they work their entire lives. Uh, that's not the issue. We've had guards say, well, I'm worth 27 dollars an hour. I'm like, but you have no training. You really can't make the company more. How can we pay you that? And we've offered training to people. I'm like, I can pay you 35 dollars an hour if you want to be an alarm technician. They're like, well, I don't like the latter. I don't want to be outside in the heat. I don't want to be in the attic. I'm like, you say you want 27. I'm offering 35 if you do this, because we really need technicians also. They're like, no, no, it's okay. I'll go, I'll find a job somewhere else. And it's like, you guys, we're offering you the training for free. We're going to train you on the job and pay you more. Why don't you want to work? I mean, we offer more that they want. Uh, the other thing is, a lot of security guards are jaded because they're screwed over by the security industry very often. They'll get the, like, there was one guard that left us for another company because they promised him 30 dollars an hour. We were paying him 19, which is very good in San Antonio, and he calls back three weeks later, like, they have…

AI assessment note: “It's a combination of work ethic, their attitude, and of course a lot of people”

Q Nice. Yeah. I love the logo. That stuff is so important. I've talked about branding with a few people, personal branding, corporate identities. Uh, yeah, it's, it's very, very important. What made you realize that you needed to make that change?

A I, we had clients coming in, but they weren't buying all the time, uh, before we did the change. And A lot of security guards were like, well, you're new. There's not much information about you online. I don't feel comfortable working for you. And if that's how the guard feels, then the client probably feels the same way. Uh, because we're all human. And I mean, we're going to have similar feelings towards a logo, a company, depending on how they look like. Uh, we start, and I just never trusted the other companies that say, oh, we do SEO pay-per-click. I didn't think that was the way for us to do it. So I found a person that I kind of agreed with me on that. And we went the organic route of just pushing social media, pushing logos, branding, and it worked really well for us.

AI assessment note: “we had clients coming in, but they weren't buying all the time”

Q needs. When someone is poor, they are stuck thinking about maybe what, you know, can I afford, can I afford to eat today? And if you're in that mentality, it's impossible to think about the future. And so it's impossible to learn the skills you need to be able to change your situation. So then you can teach your kids how to get out of that situation. Would you agree?

A Yes, uh, and I experienced that firsthand with, um, I went to Tanzania, and I was helping a group of females that are single mothers, uh, they're widows, and they have their small businesses, and the nonprofit that was there helping them, and I was there as like a, I wouldn't say special guests. I was just there just to observe and stuff like that. And they were talking about SWOT analysis and all this stuff like first or first world companies do. And I'm like, well, I told the lady to the side, I'm like, Hey, SWOT analysis all fine and dandy, but that's the old school. That shit don't work anymore. Uh, one they're worried about if they're going to eat today or tomorrow, they're not worried about making more money and making changes to their business so they can make more money. That's not what they're thinking. You need to give them quick, dirty advice that will get them ahead tomorrow. So after one hour of them talking, I spoke for five minutes to this group, and one lady said, why sell fresh milk? And, but everybody sells fresh milk, so there's no difference between their product. I'm like, oh, why don't you sell flavored milk? What are some good flavors that people like? You're like, and she's like, oh, strawberry, mango, uh, vanilla. And I'm like, okay, we'll start making your own flavored milk. And practice with natural juices, practice with syrups. You can buy the syrups…

AI assessment note: “Yes, uh, and I experienced that firsthand”

Q Right. So beyond that, like, have you ever tried any sort of like explicit training with them about like how to manage their finances so they can save something?

A Yes. So there was one female that I had, she was a very good worker as a security guard, and I saw a lot of potential for her to be, or PR manager. Cause it was a new position that had created last year. And she was very upset while I was Having her trained by the marketing director that she wanted a lot more money, uh, because she had the title, but she didn't have the skills yet. We were trying to train her in financial responsibility, um, for one, how to get clients, how to reach out to clients, how to talk to them. Uh, how to manage money was one of them because she was, uh, gonna be Earning commission. And we were teaching her how the math works on commissions and how, uh, if she talked to a client that brought in so much money, then you get a percentage of this from the net profits. Uh, so we're, we were starting that process and she quit a month into her training because she failed, uh, because of the title that she was going to have, she was entitled to a lot more money right away without having the skills. Uh, so I told her, I'm like, well, if you want that money, go get a four year degree, come back to me and I'll pay you what you want. She wanted 27 dollars an hour instead of 23. And she's like, well, Mr. Glenn, if that's how you think, that's wrong. You should pay me 27 right away. I don't need to go to a school for four years if that, if, uh, when other people are …

AI assessment note: “Yes. So there was one female that I had... We were trying to train her in financial responsibility”

Q What's an example of something you noticed in the law change and how you were able to implement that?

A So, a long time ago, uh, net 30 came about before I was born, and I was reading a lot of large companies, if you're the squeaky wheel that keeps wanting to be paid early, that they, they'll make exceptions to pay a couple of companies up front, net seven, uh, same day, and they'll try to get other companies to pay net 30. Just because it's more money in their, in their pocket as a free loan basically. My wife told me you need to start making companies pay us upfront. I'm like, nobody's gonna pay us upfront. People don't like to be told this is your only option and that's it. So I went back to my psychology training and I'm like, okay, well, people are okay with options, but they don't like to be told no. So I started telling clients, uh, we charge upfront, uh, before sources are rendered. And then they would tell me, well, we only do net 30 and net 45. Uh, those are your two options. That's what they would tell me. I'm like, well, we charge a 20% price increase. So if we're going to charge you 25 dollars, you can add a couple of dollars to that more, uh, for your net 30. They're like, oh, we're not going to pay the 20%. I'm like, well, tell you what, pay me every week and I won't give you a price increase. I'll waive that fee for you. So that's how we started getting clients to pay us every week on the dot. And we added a clause that said, if you don't pay, we can, we can suspe…

AI assessment note: “So, a long time ago, uh, net 30 came about before I was born”