This article is for someone who wants to start a private security business in Victoria but has little or no knowledge of where to start from. The article enlightens about the internal facts and hindrances of the business to the depth, so that interested applicants can make an ethical decision.
A private security business is a huge commitment, just like any other business, and it is very different from performing security jobs as it involves end-to-end multiple job tasks, a lot of time for research and study, resources, and a never-ending job responsibility to start and run a business. Of course, getting into private security business is exciting, but at the same time, it can also be stressful and challenging. Further, there are several aspects that need to be considered, as they can impact your decision whether to get into business or not, as it won’t be rewarding (profitable) for a very long time. From my experience and knowledge, every state Security licensing governing body has almost the same requirements with some changes as per state rules and regulations.
Frankly speaking, the content motive is to purely educate the reader based on facts, and in any way, the intention is not to discourage anyone.
Having our own business gives a different kind of satisfaction, but every business has its own risks and inputs, and in order to manage the risk, a better understanding is very important. The security business is one of the most competitive industries with limited clients. On top of it, most of the client’s choice security manpower services first in line to eliminate in order to maintain control of the budget. There are about 11,108 private security businesses and 153,256 individual security licenses in Australia, as per the ASIAL report at the time of writing the content. Click here to check the detailed report. Keep in mind that most of the state iconic landmarks are contracted to a handful of large-scale private security businesses. When a private security business wins long-term contracts, this means 24/7 hour commitment, and the client expects the contracted security to have an ability to be the first in line to respond to any critical issue and handle the situation.
There are several important factors to bear in mind when planning to start a private security business, such as understanding legal issues, having sufficient capital and cash flow, a marketing strategy, managing human resources, liability protection, a strong plan, and vision of a business and much more. But according to me, the most important one is a strong determination and will to succeed. The majority of businesses struggle in the starting few years to achieve long-term contracts and will be clueless, even though they have a solid business plan and good marketing strategy. Some of the reasons for this are the high-risk propositions being linked where adopted business strategy and plan failures act as triggers. There are several solutions to it such as given enough time could be key for a business to succeed, further keys to success are adopting innovative technology, changing time to time according to competitor strategy, dedicated team in business, matching security service product that suits client needs and budget. Part of the reason behind this is the high-risk propositions being associated with startups where strategy adoption and execution failures act as triggers. Make sure you’re reaching the audience who needs your product or service.
Now I will walk through what the private security model looks like. Applying for a private security business/master license is a simple process to fulfill the requirement of each state and territory security licensing industry, but not easy. An applicant has to invest his time in research and acquire documents from the government body to be eligible for a private security business license. In some cases, an applicant may have to achieve training or further training.
The security licensing governing body expects that private security business applicants should have enough knowledge and a better understanding of security protocols, and the ability to manage risks. These skills will be assessed through the submitted application. However, there are some keen interest applicants who engage an organization or individual to prepare their business documentation and charge fees to fulfill those requirements. Personally, there is nothing wrong with this, but if an applicant is unaware of security protocols, policies, and procedures, and relies on someone else to fill their application requirements, I am very concerned. When their master license is approved, how will they tackle critical issues at contracted sites with a lack of knowledge and understanding of threats, risks, and public safety issues? They will have no ability to minimize or eliminate these issues, and most clients will see this kind of business as incompetent to carry out security risk management. It is unlikely that this kind of business will win any work on its own, which may lead to demotivation and eventually less interest in the business or worst-case scenario, a decision to dissolve the company.
There are other strategies, such as being a sub-contractor or hiring professional staff to manage the company’s day-to-day activity, but both of these business models are capital-intensive and, depending on the achieved contracts, could be less profitable.
Instead of relying on others, if an interested applicant invests some time to learn the severity of security issues and, if possible, works at the management level in security companies, they can improve their knowledge and understanding, making them successful and capable of competing with other security businesses. As I said, the easiest part of the security business is applying for a private security business/master license, but if an applicant struggles to fill the private security business license application form, then I doubt they will be able to fulfill the client’s required documentation, run, or succeed in the private security business industry.
In the eyes of a client, security business is all about trust. If you have to hire a security officer from a list of private security businesses to protect your valuable assets, would you choose a new company that has never worked in the market and has limited knowledge and ability to fulfill your desired requirements, or a security company with a good reputation in the market, and has been around long enough to be trusted? Of course, you would choose a company that can be trusted and has a good name in the market. Furthermore, every client who provides a long-term contract will always have a list of requisites that need to be fulfilled according to their standards. In order to understand their needs, the company management needs to have a very good understanding of the security industry.
When it comes to finances, each state and territory’s security licensing governing body has different requirements and understanding, but as a general minimum, $50,000 savings should be enough (depending on the activity you are applying for and the business plan prepared) to start. Another requirement is to have public liability insurance, which will start from $5000 per annum, and work cover insurance can be $1500 quarterly. For your information, when you get hired for a long-term contract, most clients need to be invoiced monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. These terms and conditions will be incorporated into the contract, so the bigger the contract, the larger the amount of capital required. Below is a theoretical diagram of start-up costs in detail (excluding public liability and work cover insurance).
The below diagram is used for Illustrating purpose only and you may need to add or subtract the list of expenses depending on your business plan.
Insurance $ 5000 + work cover $ 1500
Due to heavy competition, rival
- Re-invest in training
- Record keeping
- Up to date with the insurances
- Making money (Can’t be millionaire in short span of time)
- Lack of skilled security officer
- Pricing of competition
- Unique service product
- Keeping up to date with regulation
- Marketing strategy
- Networking with client
- Adopting technology
- ASICAL subscription
Having deeping understanding of security protocol Policy and practice
Any enquiry or to discuss about your personal circumstance whether you qualify to apply for private security business licence in victoria the easiest way is to contact LRD via email so that your enquiry can be answered by professional and they are very helpful but may take time to response back.