How to Start a Home Security Service Company

For people who care about safety, starting a home security company may offer the right mix of challenges and rewards. Starting your own home security company allows you to spend your time advising others on the best home security systems. Over time, you'll build expertise and start standing out for your customer service and quality. Your new business can provide you with a chance to grow within an exciting and competitive industry.

By offering product recommendations, installation, support, and repair services, your company becomes a one-stop-shop for home security needs. Small home security service businesses often form relationships with vendors and with other professionals involved in home services, real estate, and construction. Get started off on the right track with the tips and information below.

Home Security Industry Outlook

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the home security industry will likely grow now through 2026 as a result of increases in demand for home security and surveillance systems. Experts expect 8.3% yearly growth worldwide. That means lots of room for more home security systems! You can fill a real need and make a career out of helping homeowners stay safe.

Your New Home Security Business

Many homeowners have concerns about crime in their communities and want to keep their families safe. For that matter, a lot of people who live in very safe areas have interest in using home security systems to bolster the safety of their homes.

This is also the era of smart homes. A lot of today's home security vendors offer impressive equipment and software designed to manage home appliances and home environmental systems. As you build your business, you may become an authorized reseller of these technologies and services, representing one vendor or several at once.

What it Takes to Build a Home Security Business

Do you have the right skills and personality for home security? Consider how well you fit:

• Know security issues: Maintain a basic knowledge of home security needs. Understand why and how thieves break in. Know where they'd look. If you can study break-in issues and statistics for your area, do so.
• Technical skills: Some basic skills for installing, repairing, and troubleshooting security systems will definitely come in handy when helping customers.
• Sales skills: To succeed in this field, you have to sell security systems and convince customers to spend money. Thus, you'll need sales skills to build your business effectively.
• Entrepreneurial skills: Starting your own home security business likely means you'll make your profits off of commissions or retail markups. Having the business skills to help you plan and increase profits over time will prove helpful.
• Networking: You'll have to build relationships in your town with real estate agents, home builders, homeowner organizations, and others. Developing great relationships with security companies is a good practice, too. They provide the products you'll sell.
• The ability to pass a background check: This represents a major trust issue for many customers.

How You Build Your Home Security Business

Once you're ready to start, it's time to begin making connections and researching products. Here are some steps you'll need to take along the way:

• Business structure and plan: Prepare a business plan. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, but you should have a good idea of how you want to move forward with your new business. Do you want to sell systems door-to-door? Use referrals to find customers? Hire salespeople on commission-only arrangements?
• Research products: Decide if you'll represent security system manufacturers and gather information on what each company offers to their sales partners and marketers. If you plan to retail these products, find out how you can purchase systems on a wholesale basis.
• Plan how you'll find customers: Every sales-based business needs customers. Determine how you'll market your services and security products.
• Hiring and retail locations: You don't necessarily need to run out and hire or choose a physical location—especially right away. Taking your time with these steps can save you time and money as you build your business. Before you decide to run a business out of your home though, you should check local zoning and small business licensing laws.

Above all, don't be afraid to do your own research and get started as your own boss. Preparing in advance allows you to plan and act on your goals.