comments on Missed opportunities and changed times December 17, 2018

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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comments on Missed opportunities and changed times
December 17, 2018
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Ken,
    You are right on the money with your message to alarm dealers about the need to diversify their service offerings to remain relevant and competitive. I have seen too many dealers selling way too soon. Dealers don't need to sell; they need to diversify and one way to do that is to offer live outdoor video monitoring.         Most alarm dealers have a good working knowledge of cameras and camera systems and many dealers already have cameras installed in outdoor areas. I encourage alarm dealers to monetize those cameras by offering video monitoring to those customers.         Our company, Pro-Vigil, is looking to help alarm dealers get up to speed on live outdoor video monitoring. We want to help them understand that they are more than capable of capitalizing on this lucrative market and we'll give them the tools to be successful.           Ken, its not time to sell; its time to diversify! 
Mark Matlock, VP Indirect Revenue Channel 
Pro-Vigil
mark.matlock@pro-vigil.com
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Ken,
    Great article on December 11, 2018 about the Blacksmithing market and how it was disrupted by the horseless carriage. I love stories about market disruption so I researched the topic a bit more. It seems that as automobiles gained popularity, the rank and file horse people who lived in cities with nice dirt roads and even paved streets abandoned their horses for cars. This caused the demand for the mass market Blacksmiths to plummet. About this time a big disrupter, Simpli Shoes, came along and offered a Shoe it Yourself (SIY) option that included four shoes, some nails, and a flask of whiskey for when the horse kicked you in the head.      Many Blacksmiths saw this as the end and fled the market. 
Some blacksmiths recognized that horses would never completely go away and targeted the high end market. Horses are majestic animals and some owners kept them for various reasons, herding cattle, showing, racing, and navigating areas that cars just couldn’t conquer. Other blacksmiths knew that a little Model T couldn’t pull a wagon full of water to a fire or pull a large carriage so they focused on the fire and commercial market. 
    Other Blacksmiths saw a need for custom iron and steel work to support the burgeoning auto industry. Others realized that when two horses ran into each other the riders just tipped their hats and said “howdy.” When two automobiles ran into each other they needed body work. These Blacksmiths used their skills to open body shops. Some Blacksmiths went to law school an set up toll free telegraph lines to sue the drivers that hit each other, but that’s a whole other story.
    So the moral is, while the traditional Blacksmithing business changed, those who embraced the change succeeded, those who didn’t either sold or packed up their anvils and retired.
Mitch Reitman
Reitman Consulting Group
Fort Worth, TX
817-698-9999
http://www.reitman.us
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Response
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    The alarm, security, fire, pers industries have to understand that change is inevitable and those that adapt best will succeed the most. Think about the changes that occurred between 1920 and 1940. That's 20 years. Think about the changes that occured between 1998 and 2008. That's 10 years. Think about the changes that occured between 2013 and 2018. That's 5 years. I doubt that we can reliably imagine the changes that will occur between now and 35 years from now, 2053. Will there be an electronic alarm, burglary or fire, industry? 
    Well, consider. There will hopefully still be people. They will be living and working somewhere. It's a good bet that there will be crime and fires; that people will need emergency services. Sure, there might be buttons in our hand or brain, but someone has to put them in and someone has to get and respond to the signal.         The alarm industry will still be here in 2053. It will certainly look much different, as different as the protection racket thugs from the 1920s in NYC who left a card in their customers door, as opposed to a brick through a window to non-customers, look to today's security companies [only a few still throw bricks through windows]. 
    You're smart enough to be reading these articles; smart enough to be using Kirschenbaum TM contracts; smart enough to be using K&K legal services. You are smart enough to figure out how to evolve, adapt and grow your security business. Keep your eyes and ears alert and be open to change for the better. Me, and most of you, won't be around in 2053, but our kids and grandkids will be. I hope your business is still thriving and still using Kirschenbaum TM contracts and K&K legal services.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com