By: Kelly Bond, Bridgepoint Advisors
Featuring: Taylor Sears, SilentGuard and Davis HVAC Experts
Running a business can be incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with its share of unique challenges. In the security industry especially, many owners know what it’s like to lose a little sleep, whether they’re thinking about protecting customers, supporting employees, or keeping operations running smoothly around the clock.
Between adopting new technologies, keeping up with rising customer expectations and staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats, the demands can add up quickly. It’s no surprise that many leaders find themselves awake at night thinking about what comes next.
Over the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many companies across the industry. In this series, I’ll continue sharing real conversations about what’s weighing most heavily on business owners today and the practical strategies they’re using to address those challenges head-on.
This month I had the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Sears, Chief Operating Officer at Silent Guard & Davis HVAC Experts. Silent Guard is a 32-year-old, second-generation family-owned security and fire protection company providing integrated solutions for homes and businesses across Kentucky and the surrounding states.
The company specializes in intrusion detection, fire alarm systems, video surveillance, access control, and smart automation, delivering customized systems designed to protect people and property.
KB: What’s something that you find keeps you up at night?
TS: As I sit here writing this, it’s late at night and I am trying to catch up on some work. There’s a newborn crying in the next room that is quite literally keeping me up. On other nights, it’s a two-year-old who had too much sugar at daycare and doesn’t want to go to bed.
While I know the question probably isn’t meant to be taken quite that literally, the real answer isn’t all that different. What keeps me up at night is trying to find the right balance between being fully present at work and fully present at home. It’s something I constantly think about—not just for myself, but also in how we foster a culture where our team can do the same.
Our jobs aren’t who we are; they’re what we do. But the reality is that we spend as much, or sometimes more, time with our coworkers as we do with our families. And just like it’s often said that our environment at home can affect our performance at work, the environment at work can have an even bigger impact on our lives at home.
Our family business has been around for a long time, and we’ve always had a very close-knit team. Thankfully, even as we’ve grown, we’ve been able to maintain that and, in many ways, grow even closer.
The priority in our business is, has been, and always will be our team and their families first, our customers second, and profit third. I believe that if you truly take care of the first, they’ll take care of the second, and if that happens, the third will take care of itself.
There are nearly 50 families who depend on our business to provide food, clothing, and shelter, including my own. That responsibility weighs heavy some nights… and even more so some mornings when I pull into the office and see all those trucks sitting in the parking lot or when I hear a teammate is having a new baby!
Behind every one of those trucks is a family counting on us to get it right. The work has to be in the pipeline, designed and quoted correctly, installed with a high level of quality, billed accurately, and supported long after the job is done so customers want to stay with us and come back again.
When you realize how many people depend on that happening every single day, it’s hard not to lose a little sleep over it.
KB: How has it already impacted your business?
TS: Because our team comes first, we invest a lot of time, energy, and resources into making sure they have what they need to be successful in every facet of their lives.
For some people, that simply means making sure there’s plenty of hot coffee ready in the mornings. For others, it means making sure they can leave early on Fridays during high school football season so they don’t miss a minute of their son’s senior year.
Recently, it meant installing a golf simulator and a fitness center in our office so our team, and their families, can enjoy those benefits together.
Other times, it means making tougher decisions like firing a customer who is rude or disrespectful to our team. And on other days, it means dropping everything and heading to the hospital because a coworker called to say their parent passed away unexpectedly.
When you truly believe your team comes first, those aren’t difficult decisions, they’re simply the right ones.
Culture isn’t built in a mission statement or on a poster on the wall. It’s built in the moments when you show people that they matter more than the job.
And when your team knows that, they show up every day ready to take care of your customers in the same manner.
KB: How have you worked to overcome it?
TS: I’m still working on it every day!
KB: What advice do you offer other business owners that are experiencing a similar issue?
TS: A former boss once told me that no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I should make sure my head and my heart are in the same place as my feet. What that meant to me was that you need to be mentally focused and emotionally engaged in whatever setting you’re in. Sometimes the most important leadership decision you can make is simply being present where your feet already are.
For business owners especially, there will always be another problem to solve, another deal to chase, or another email waiting to be answered. But the best thing we can do for the people around us, both at work and at home, is to give them our full attention when we’re with them.
All these moments matter, and each one gives you the opportunity to make an impact. If your feet are going to be there, make sure your head and your heart are too.
Taylor, I appreciate you sharing with us. I am guessing that you are in very good company as you lay awake thinking of all the families that count on you for their livelihood. Fortunately, you and your family have built a wonderful business that I’m sure everyone on your team is thankful to be a part of. Stay tuned for next month’s issue.
Kelly Bond brings over twenty-five years of industry experience to her clients. A 2024 inductee into the Security Sales and Integration Hall of Fame, she serves as Partner of Bridgepoint Advisors LLC, representing buyers and sellers of alarm and integration companies. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn
Taylor Sears is the Chief Operating Officer for Silent Guard Security and Davis HVAC Experts. Taylor joined the team in 2019 and is a second-generation operator at Silent Guard, while being the third generation at Davis. Prior to joining the family businesses, Taylor played baseball at Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University. After college he spent time working for the Cincinnati Bengals, the office of Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Internal Links URLs
https://security.world/security-leadership-strategies
https://security.world/security-company-culture
External Links URLs
https://bridgepointadvisors.com
https://linkedin.com
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What challenges keep security business owners up at night?
Common concerns include balancing work and personal life, managing team responsibilities, maintaining customer satisfaction, and ensuring consistent business growth.
2. Why is work-life balance difficult in the security industry?
The industry operates around the clock, requiring constant attention to customer safety, system performance, and operational demands.
3. How can business owners improve work-life balance?
By setting clear priorities, fostering a supportive team culture, and being fully present in both work and personal environments.
4. Why is company culture important in security businesses?
A strong culture builds trust, improves employee satisfaction, and leads to better customer service and long-term business success.
5. What leadership advice is shared in this article?
Leaders should ensure their “head and heart are where their feet are,” meaning they should stay mentally and emotionally present in each moment.
6. How does prioritizing employees impact business success?
When employees feel valued and supported, they are more engaged and motivated to deliver high-quality service to customers.