We start the march to 200 Best Advice Q&As with Jeremy White, founder and chief executive officer at Pro-Vigil. He shares the best advice he’s ever gotten, gives tips to young security industry professionals and names the person to whom all others in the security industry should always listen.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Jeremy White: The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was to not be a bystander to change and to instead be a participant in it. Industries evolve, markets change and, today, everything is changing much more rapidly. If you fall behind the latest technological advancements, you might just become obsolete without realizing it.
Change is an incredible thing. It can certainly be frustrating at times but change is what keeps you competitive. Embracing it means committing to ongoing education and learning the latest technology.
Adopt. Adapt. That’s how you stay relevant and that’s how you keep delivering for your customers. Being open to change is how companies succeed and it can decide whether they can brace the storm winds of economic uncertainty or major technological developments.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
White: Breaking into the security industry requires many qualities but being open-minded takes the cake. Being open-minded in this industry means exploring all the solutions and products out there without getting dragged down the rabbit holes of robotics or drones or other late-breaking tech.
You have to look critically at what solutions are available that can make you successful. It’s important to dive into sales, the installation process, installation costs and more because if you’re an executive, you have to know how to grow your business from an idea to an operation.
When I started Pro-Vigil, the industry was product-based. I came with an open mind and wanted to enter this space offering a service so I worked to build a solution that provided a positive return on investment for our customers.
And delivering a solution means constantly staying open-minded because even today we’re sculpting our solutions to fit our customers’ unique situations.
SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, “Make sure to listen to what they have to say,” whom would you pick and why?
White: In truth, I think it’s more than one person for me. It’s many and they’re all my competitors. They’re leaders who run other remote video monitoring (RVM) companies.
Although we’re competitors in the market, we approach everything with mutual respect and appreciation for how we’ve come together to build the RVM industry.
I also think it’s crucial to listen to my Pro-Vigil team and frontline employees. They’re the ones hearing important information that Pro-Vigil, if not the entire industry, needs to hear.
And, of course, I listen to my customers. Their voice is central in shaping our roadmap and pushing our strategies to ensure that we’re providing the best-in-class RVM and physical security solutions they know us for.
The best thing you can do is watch and listen to your competitors, talk to your employees and hear what concerns your customers. That’s the way forward.
Click here to check out all entries in SSI’s Best Advice series!
