Think Before You Put The Keys In The Ignition
Whether you are taking your Protectee on a drive across town from Hollywood to Anaheim, or a road trip from San Diego to San Francisco. It is important to take every necessary precaution to ensure a safe trip for you and your Protectee.
The last two decades have seen an increased in national awareness of the dangers involved in daily travel and the simple preventative measures that can be taken to greatly reduce the risks of accidents and injuries. This awareness has spilled onto the Web and information is readily available that deals with every conceivable aspect of t motorized travel and travel safety.
The crusade to spread the word about travel safety has grown to include more aggressive and progressive tactics, including defensive driving strategies, drunken driving legislation, speed limit enforcement programs, and much more. With devices such as cellular phones and GPS advanced automobile capabilities offering luxuries that present potential distractions for drivers, our nation’s highways are potentially more dangerous than ever before.
Perhaps that is the reason why more information is now available about safety laws and precautions than at any other time in the history of motorized travel. Something to think about before you put the keys in the ignition.
Key to Marketing Yourself
By Hucky Austin
One of the questions I’m asked most is, “How do I find work?” It can be very difficult to secure bodyguard or executive protection contracts and I’d like to address what I perceive as a shortcoming in terms of landing good jobs: Self-Promotion.
If going solo is your desire, go after the work diligently and persistently. Sales and marketing is very much a numbers game. You’ll be rejected or ignored a hundred times for every nibble or yes you’ll receive. It’s rough going at first but in time, if you conduct yourself well, apply yourself to personal and professional development, your reputation will bring work to your door or nowadays, your email inbox.
Know Your Audience
Analyze which people are critical to your organization. Have any of these people been subject to threats? In what situations are they most vulnerable? Do they keep a low profile or court media attention? Is it easy for outsiders to gain information about them and their families? Answers to these questions help determine if you need a little caution or a full-time security detail.
INNOVATIVE
By: Sean Spellecy
Smile Bodyguard Smile…
No Neck, No Smile, Intimidating Stare, Mean Looking, No Smile, etc… Sound familiar? It is the way bodyguards have been described for years. It is time we changed the way we look. I own a personal protection agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma and one of the first things I look for in a prospective agent is the ability to smile. Why you ask? Are not bodyguards supposed to scare people off without even so much as a movement? Do we not want people to intimidate just on a glance, a glance that tells any would be threat that coming near our asset would be a mistake? The answer is of course we do!
However, the problem rests in being mindful enough to turn it on and off. The “Bodyguard Industry” needs rejuvenation and reinvention and it starts with a smile. What we have done here in Tulsa, and what will be replicated throughout the country in the next two years is not just learning the importance of smiling. However, it does lend itself to the recipe for our success. “Smiling” lets your client know that you have a personality, that you know how to enjoy life, and most importantly, you are confident in who you are and what you are doing. Does the ability to smile make up for the ability to recognize a dangerous situation beforehand? How about the ability to disarm a threat, or move your asset through a hostile crowd? Absolutely not. Yet, I have had men and women through my door (and then out again) that I am sure could handle themselves quite well.
They just never smiled!
Myths about Celebrity Protection
I’m sure that my colleagues would agree that there is a certain “mystique” to the Bodyguard and Executive Protection industry. It is a world that can be somewhat shrouded in secrecy, and unfortunately, impressions of this business can be formed based on what the public sees on television and in the movies. In the interest of getting to some truth about this business, I thought it would be interesting to share some real world information that might help those who are interested in this career to understand that what is portrayed in the media is not always the whole (or realistic) picture.
Just to be clear, there are several terms that are used and are somewhat interchangeable for “Executive Protection Specialist.” They include: CPO (Close Protection Operative), and also “Bodyguard.” Wikipedia describes a bodyguard or EPS as: a type of security guard or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, loss of confidential information, or other threats.