 Hello there. I hope you're having an amazing, fantastic day. Welcome back to Why In The Morning. I try to prefer channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles that Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social in studio. I am joined with a gentleman who will be taking us through all matters pertaining security. So our topic of conversation is we're looking at what it takes in running a successful security agency. In studio I'm joined by Charles Muema who is the managing director at the National Guard Kenya. Thank you very much Charles for creating time to be with us today. Thank you too. Karibusana. You look very very nice. Thank you. Thank you. So Charles take us through where this journey all began. At what particular point did you decide to you know I am going to open a whole security firm and what problem are you solving at that particular time? Yeah it began at a point when I realized that we despite the fact that we had a lot of players private players in the industry but very many of them were not committed to quality and they were rather doing business. They were in need for business. They were in need for the revenue that the industry can bring to their pockets but they were not there for the benefit of the clients. They were offering presence and not the service as it is supposed to be. And for you what did that mean? That meant that we there was the need to have a professional player in the industry. We have a few who are very committed to quality but again we have a myriad who are not committed to quality and that is why a few years ago a year the government formed the private security industrial regulatory authority so that the standards could be regulated. However it has been difficult for the authority to do that. We have a few companies that have complied with the authority and a myriad of them have not complied but we are getting there. The standards have to be where the customer is happy with the service. So for you it's all about the quality and quantity and profits? Yeah it's all about the quality. Profits come later. Oh right, important. Very important. I agree with you 100%. That is what makes business. So how did it all start? When did you start? National Guard was founded in 2014. Apparently running a security company is not easy because you can find yourself in the market for around three or four years without a single client and you are doing a lot of marketing. It is very possible. So it is weird and it is difficult but once you break into the market, once you break into the industry then you are gone. Things become easy for you. For how long have you guys been running? Okay the company was founded in 2014. Our first client was in 2017. Wow. What was the disconnect? What did you learn? Because from 2014 to 2017, three years later that's when you got your first client. Marketing is a factor. Okay. But besides that, the client has to comply to your standards. So you will find clients who are ready to give you business but they are not willing to comply to your standards. Okay. When I say that you must make the client comply to your standards is that they must understand that you have a staff you are supposed to pay and they must be happy while working. They must be well-kitted. When I talk about kitten, I mean their uniform. They must be probably they must have an insurance cover to cater for them and their families. So the client has to understand this and the reason why they have to understand is because it all recourse back to them because they have to cater for that cost. Okay. Let's get to look at the kind of services that you people offer the National Guard Kenya. We offer several. We offer critical infrastructure security. We offer transportation security. We offer cash management that is a many people refer to it as a cash in transit. We have a K9 department. Okay. What's a K9 department? A K9 department is what many people refer to as a dog unit. Okay. When there's a crime, we see officers with dogs try to sniff if they probably drug or something. Yeah. K9 is a professional name while the dog is an old title that probably does not give the right the right meaning to the professional work. What do you feel that way? You know a dog? Okay. You understand a dog? A dog may simply not be the trained one. A dog may be the dog we know that we find we will meet in the streets. Yes. We have the small ones that we keep in the houses. Oh, domesticated. Yes. But now a K9 is a trained dog. Either trained in sniffing, either trained in tracking, trained in attacks. Yeah. Okay. All right. All right. Okay then. So what is the painter picture for us if I'm a client coming to you guys? So from all their services that you provide, do you listen? How do you get to engage me to feel how to understand that I meet the requirements to your standard that you mentioned earlier on? We listen to their needs. We carry out our needs assessment. We evaluate their capability to meet our standards. We engage them in areas where we find they are wanting. And in very many cases, we find that they may not be able to achieve what we require from them as at the first beginning. But with time, they can get there. Okay. So what is Unish in the market because you have so many security firms currently? I can say we are in the top 10. What's Unish? What's your value proposition? Is it a different now? We offer different things. Okay. For example, we have just rolled out an application. Okay. As a matter of trying to improve the street safety of everyone. So we are rolling this out to everyone. It's a mobile phone application that can send alerts to you throughout the country. Okay. How incidences are taking place, where they are taking place, so that you can know which routes to use and which routes not to use. We have theft cases. The issue of crime has really increased currently. We have seen whereby a traffic officer, this phone got stolen. And then we have also seen also civilians whereby there's so many coverage from CCTV cameras that showing that. So what is, how do you, is there where we can curb that situation or that problem? Yeah, there is a possibility of curbing that kind of a problem. But the biggest players here has to be, the government has to be the biggest player because unemployment is a factor that is playing out in matter security. And we have very many idle people. And in this plane has a crept into the society. So trying to manage that is a challenge to everyone. But for those who value safety and security, we will always try to do our best to bring it down. Okay. For someone who is watching this conversation and they love this sort of a kind of a business and they would like to get into the security industry. What sort of educational background does one need to be? Who is eligible to work in this space? One thing they need to have secure, prior security experience, because again, they will go through vetting by the government to, so that the government can understand you. Where are you educated? Where have you been working? What kind of experience are you bringing into the industry? Then from there, they will gauge whether you are someone who is capable of running a security company or not capable. In cases where they are finding you are not capable, then they advise the government, advises through the relevant institution on the way forward. All right. So let's look at what determines the prices of your services and how do you calculate your security guard by billing? These ones are determined by very many factors. You have to evaluate the risk ratio. There are areas where the risk is high. Other areas where the risk is very minimal. You also have to evaluate the standards of your client, because we have a client level. You need to understand their level so that you don't end up offering a sub-standard service to them or you don't end up burning out the company resources on something that is not relevant to the required requirements. So you evaluate the needs first. They must give you the opportunity to evaluate their needs. Probably they might not understand their needs as you understand them when you meet in the first instance. But with time, once you explain to them, then they understand where they should now start talking from. Oh, the same thing that you mentioned earlier about the insurance cover for your employees and what they need probably when it comes to the outfits, the uniform. So from your experience, you've been running for approximately seven years now. So what are the crucial things a business startup should consider? Pay attention to when just starting out. They should pay attention to training. One thing, if you want to make sure that your services are appreciated, then you must train your staff. You must train them regularly, not just training once. Once you train them, you must also learn to conduct a on-job training on areas where you feel that they are lacking or they are not competent. You must also give attention to appearance. Your services must be offered with passion, not simply to make a living. They must be passionate about what they are doing. That's the only way to make the client happy. So how do you guys offer training before you even continue? Yes, we do. And who is eligible? We are concentrating on a curricula that has been approved by the government. That curricula sets standards right from who is eligible to become a security guard. We are trying to move away from the previous situation where school dropouts looked at security as their point of employment. We are getting to a point where you have to complete your education so that you can be eligible to be trained as a security officer. Security is not simply about watching. Because you need someone who can evaluate situations. While they are working, they can evaluate situations, they can make independent decisions, and they can know when to act and when not to act. I like the way you have put it, because most people look down. We have a section of people who look down at the security industry aspect of it. And just to get into in depth and how broad it is, we've even brought about the issue. Is it K9? K9, the issue of the cargo and transit. So there are so many different sections that people can actually get into this particular industry. Allow me to take you back. You mentioned something which is very intriguing that you guys started in 2014, but you got your first client in 2017. And you gave the reason to why. And I would like to us to go through the, how did you guys go about finding your customers in your new security guard company? And apart from marketing, what else can someone do? Just to increase their chances of meeting their potential client. Apart from marketing, you also have to attend forums with other directors and other security managers, where discussions are made on the best practices in the industry. Then from there, you get a selling point. I also mentioned to you that we conduct consultancy, travel consultancy. For example, our first client was a foreign institution that had won a certain contract to come and construct something. Now, we had already engaged previously because we were offering them travel advisory. They would ask when it is best for them to come, what the situation is in the country. And they might not depend on what very many people read in the newspapers because they wanted to depend on something that is coming from people who understand safety properly. So, when they were coming here, they already knew that they have a security provider around. That's how we landed our first client. Actually, you have to put in the efforts. You must put in the efforts. So, what are the things that have enabled the growth of your business? Commitment, sticking to quality, and ensuring that the client is happy. Because again, very many of them will refer others to you if they are comfortable and they find that your services are of quality. Yeah, referrals also is a factor. Others, very many of my clients have referred their friends to us. Yeah. All right. For this particular type of business, which is in the security sector, which is the best platform for marketing? Social media. Although when you market in the social media, again, there are very many people who call, want a job. Oh, yes. I can imagine. You see that. So, you can use outdoor marketing like billboards. You can brand vehicles. The social media is a challenge, is a factor that is challenging. Because you can imagine, very many investors are not into social media. So, it is difficult for you to find someone who wants to become your client through the social media. But very many of them, especially Facebook, very many of them will get to you through your websites. They'll get to you to get to know you probably through vehicle branding or billboards. Yeah. A couple of challenges that you're facing in this business? Security equipment, especially the cost. The cost of security equipment is very expensive. It is very high. However, we have a few players who lease out. We have a few companies that sell security equipment and they're willing to lease them out. That is an area that we have considered. We find it working for us. We don't know whether it has worked for other companies, but it is an approach that we are using. Okay. Fantastic. Would you confidently say that security agency is a scalable and viable business to start? Yeah, it is scalable and viable, but you must stick to professional conduct if you want to succeed. What I mean by professional conduct is that you must treat people like people. You must treat your staff with care. You must make sure that they are happy. You must provide the right equipment for the right job. You must make sure that your staff are well trained. You must make sure that they are well-kitted. They are smart. Well, they are working. You must keep on finding out what the client finds is a challenge to them. Are they happy or they are not happy? In areas where they are not happy, then you find a way of addressing that. All right. For the four of you who are young people watching this, what is your life mantra that they can live up to? To do what they want to do with passion. Let them do what their heart tells them that it is the right thing to do with passion. If they want to make a living, let them do it with passion. Whatever they are going to do, let them do it with passion. Okay. How can people find their cross-social media handles? We are on Facebook, National Guard Kenya. We are on LinkedIn, National Guard Kenya. We are on Instagram, National Guard Kenya. We are on LinkedIn. Yes. All right. Thank you very much, Sir Charles, for creating time to be with us. We appreciate a lot. Thank you. Thank you very much for this time. All right. If you want to keep the composition going with Charles Muema, who is the Managing Director of National Guard Kenya, make sure you follow up with them across all the social media handles that is National Guard Kenya and keep the composition going at white with a four-channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles at Michela Shirai, so you can find me across all my social media handles at Michela Shirai. She will be right back with so much right here on Why in the Morning Interpretation Tuesday.