This business idea may appeal to you if you have some background in the military, law enforcement or other types of security.
For many small businesses, it is very expensive to be able to employ private security guards to work for them on a regular basis.
In some areas of towns and cities, the crime rates will rise against small businesses on certain days of the week, such as the weekends.
You could build a good business for yourself and help alleviate this problem by offering a security service on certain days and nights of the week, when businesses need it most.
If you coordinate the services of people who have some type of security background, and are looking for extra income you could put together a hub of professionals to provide the security services while you earn a portion of the fees.
But it’s imperative that you only employ the services of retired or off duty police officers, or people with a military background.
The reason for this is that they have received excellent training in fields of self-defense and in following proper procedures during risky moments.
They many times will already have a license to carry their own firearms, which is one less matter for you to concern yourself with.
You should be able to charge a good per hour rate of at least $20 - $25.00 per hour and keep about a 20% fee, with the rest going to the security person.
This can vary depending on where you start your business and what the typical rate is for this service in your area.
Most of this work will probably be night time shifts, but you can also offer to have guards work during the day if businesses are experiencing a lot of theft during business hours.
Usually as long as a guard's presence is obvious, it will work as a safeguard against robbery during day or nighttime.
Most businesses would like to be able to afford security 24 hours a day, everyday, but it is just too expensive for them
Rotating the days and hours that the guards are present can be helpful for these businesses.
Offer to do this and see if they are more secure with the limited time that they are able to pay for. This can also confuse anyone trying to figure out the schedule of security to plan a break-in.
Because you will be offering these services to many different businesses and working with several different security people, you will need to be able to keep all of your information and records well organized.
This is extremely important to insure that your business runs smoothly for you.
Have your security people fill out time cards and if the businesses prefer, have them signed by management that is present, when security arrives and leaves.
The best way to start this business idea is by hiring guards that are willing to work for you as private contractors, as opposed to employees. This will keep a lot of your paperwork much easier to handle.
Make sure that you have them sign a disclaimer that states that you will not be held financially responsible if they are hurt while performing these services for you.
As your business grows, you may need to hire them as employees, but at first so that the paperwork is not too overwhelming you may want to start with independent contractors providing their services.
Before offering a business like this, be sure and check with all your local and state requirements for this type of work, so that you will not break any laws or miss the fact that you were required to get certain permits and such.
You will also need to check into the types of liability insurance you will need and whether or not you or any of your security guards will need to be bonded.
It is also a good idea to make sure that you have thorough background checks on the security people that you work with.
Make sure your guards are well respected by the community and local police departments.
Since they may have to rely on the local police to back them up at times, they should strive to have a good relationship with the local police departments.
You should also provide some type of uniform and require it to be worn when the guard is on duty. This will help give credibility to your guard and also give your business some exposure.
To begin marketing a business idea like this you will need a dedicated phone line and listings in phone and internet business directories.
You could use the site to explain your services and the benefits to potential clients.
And it would give you a place to send prospective clients that may receive your printed advertisements such as newspaper ads, flyers, business cards and specific mailings to local business owners.
This is one of those small business ideas that would take a lot of confidence, organizational and people skills, along with a certain level of skill and understanding of what’s needed in providing a quality security presence for a business.
