KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Is guard service smart move for alarm company / ISC schedule
April 8, 2019
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Notice:  On way to ISC West.  Private meeting times are coordinated by our  Concierge Program Coordinator Stacy Spector,Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304.  Call her to confirm your meeting. 
Open Meet and greet schedule at ISC:   Meet me at any of the below booths: 
Wednesday 11:00 am – COPS booth ; 2:30 pm – Avant guard booth; 3:30 pm – All American Monitoring booth  Thursday 11:00 am – Rapid booth;  2:30 pm – J. Krug booth 
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Is guard service smart move for alarm company
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            DIY may not be the only threat, or opportunity, depending on how you look at it, to the electronic alarm industry.  How about guard service?  I am referring to stationary guards, not patrol or alarm response guards, though that certainly may be a middle ground.
            Two thoughts inspired this article.  First, a friend commented that she would not shop at the regional mall where my office complex is located.  Second, the largest hospital operation in the area announced that they would now have armed guards at all the hospital locations.  I suppose I should let you in on a possible third thought; I am a fan of The Walking Dead and other apocalyptic shows and movies.  
            Are private armies in our future?  Will those who can afford it have armed guards on duty and will they still need or want electronic alarms and surveillance?  
            Though not many, we have had collection cases where the subscribers have canceled their alarm service because they have engaged on premises guards 24/7.  Of course it doesn’t have to be one or the other, especially when the two security services complement each other.  One could argue persuasively that effective or efficient guard service is not even possible without electronic security services.  
            So guard service may go hand in hand with alarm services.  Why not get in on the business before you get shut out?  
            Once you accept that you are not in the “alarm” business, but the “security” business, it’s easier to accept that there are other branches of security that you can and should be offering your subscribers.  Just like offering DIY to the lower end subscriber may be the smart move, offering armed guard services to the up-scale subscribers may give you the edge to get and keep the business.  
            There are two ways to enter the guard business.  Start your own guard company or partner up with a guard company.
            Starting your own company could be challenging.  You’ll need a license and insurance.  But the guard business is very different than the alarm business when it comes to employees and cash flow.  I recall getting a call from a guard company who told me they wanted to sell the business and the owner tried to impress me by telling me he did 10 million dollars a year.  My first question was, how much money do you lose a year?  He laughed and said I obviously understood the guard business.  
            But partnering with a guard service seems strategically easier.  You make a deal that you’ll introduce the guard service to your subscribers, get a cut off the hourly charges and lock in the guard company with restrictive covenants that it will not push the alarm service out.  Basically all you do is add another service to the services you offer your subscribers.  The problem may be finding a guard service.  
            The Standard Form Agreements do provide for guard service, though it’s not stationary guards.
            Let me know what you think and it the idea works for you.
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CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY PROGRAM
You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304.

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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com