Small Business Owners..

Ive been thinking about starting a security consulting business. I need some help on how to start a small business and advice on marketing and such. Also if anyone knows of a decent organization that does security work (not rentacops) That I might be able to look in to.

Thanks

~Stoner

IMO
marketing is a waste
sales is valuable.

work on sales.

If your not in the security business already, I think you going to be in a steep uphill battle.
If you have potential clients, then you have a shot. I looked into this a few years ago
and this was my biggest barrier was getting an "in" with companies or individuals
who would need a security detail for them or their business. I wasnt part of the industry
and made it hard to meet with potential clients or get a client base.


By being in the sucrity business, meaning your working for a contractor now and have an established resume etc.

Mil security is nice and all, but doesnt give you that "in"

Not directly security, but from a small business standpoint:

Research the ever loving hell out of everything!

Self employment taxes
Quarterly estimated taxes
Forming at least an LLC to separate your business from your personal, i.e. you don't lose your house if something goes wrong.
Liability insurance.
IF you plan on having employees; Payroll tax, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, Obummercare/ health insurance and the whole b.s. package that makes being an employer a nightmare.

If you're not good at keeping track of expenses (like me), tax time sucks...well, even more than it would anyway.

As far as marketing;
On the cheap, vistaprint.com does a bajillion business cards for about $10.
Go Daddy does cheap domain names and web hosting. Pretty much anyone doing any business these days needs a website. Plan on adding a comments section, as that kinda counts as 'word of mouth" to potential customers.

The state website is pretty informative and you can do most things like register a company name, form an LLC, and other things online. Usually cheaper, like if you fill out the paperwork and mail it in it's $120. If you do it online and pay with credit card its like $20.

Get a business credit card to help track expenses. Learn to find or make write-offs. Home office, taking people/clients to lunches/dinners. Vehicles are either actual cost to operate or you can use mileage, about .52 cents a mile last year I think.

I think this ^^^^^ is probably sage advice. If you need general business start up advice, I might be able to assist. I own a small management consulting business that I started in 2001. Business is slow right now so I unfortunately have time available.

What kind of security consulting are you thinking of? Physical security, loss prevention, high risk firings? There are alot of well known and well established firms that do this and trying to enter that market as a small biz is going to be tough. From a liability perspective, they are going to want solid back grounds and years of experience.

I am not sure what you mean by organizations that do security work (not rent a cops)? Most stateside security is just that......rent a cops. If you are talking EP work then thats different. Its not something that you can just use your military background to break into.

I want to do physical security and threat assessments. And what pisses me off about the rent a cop companies is their lack of willingness to hear employees experience.

Networking, networking , and more networking....and don't forget about your cage code, Dunn & Bradstreet registry, GSA schedule, and the ever needed PAST PERFORMANCE. Don't have any of those, have a McD's application handy because it take more than a few years in service to be competitive with companies that have 30+ years experience in .mil and private sector. It's not impossible, just improbable.

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I want to do physical security and threat assessments. And what pisses me off about the rent a cop companies is their lack of willingness to hear employees experience.
[/quote]

First off physical security stateside=rent a cop and alarm companies unless you are a government entity (and even then...). There arent many places that are putting up t-walls and hesco out front stateside.

I feel your pain about unwillingness to hear employees experience however, it means nothing to them. These companies have been doing business long before you started working for them and they will be in business long after you leave. It was a tough pill for me to swallow too but the reality is they hire you because of your background but that doesnt mean they care to use what you know. It is a different world and you have to adapt to it.

If you still want to try and break out on your own......good luck.

I want to do physical security and threat assessments. And what pisses me off about the rent a cop companies is their lack of willingness to hear employees experience.
[/quote]

First off physical security stateside=rent a cop and alarm companies unless you are a government entity (and even then...). There arent many places that are putting up t-walls and hesco out front stateside.

I feel your pain about unwillingness to hear employees experience however, it means nothing to them. These companies have been doing business long before you started working for them and they will be in business long after you leave. It was a tough pill for me to swallow too but the reality is they hire you because of your background but that doesnt mean they care to use what you know. It is a different world and you have to adapt to it.

If you still want to try and break out on your own......good luck.

[/quote]

yha i worked for a couple security companys years ago and i worked right next to people that had records!! If you can belive that..and working for a security company to boot! even the company i work for now is taking people that have a record...just saw some guy at work the other night that had those little tattoos of the tear drops on the side of his face. four of them! times sure have changed and not for the better

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