During the past three years, most businesses in BC have taken their lumps. Not Crusade Security. During that time, Crusade aggressively grew by 40 percent annually to become the Fraser Valley’s largest security company – and one of the top 10 in the province.
Started in 2005 by Seth Fruson, Crusade today has 150 employees, and offices in Vancouver and Abbotsford. And Fruson says that, in 2012, Crusade is positioned to grow by 100 percent.
“When I started the company, I thought I would have it made in the shade if we could do a million a year in revenue. We’ve dwarfed that number,” says Fruson, who began his crusade when he was only 22.
With 1,000 customers across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Crusade has two streams of business: security guard services and security systems to both residential and commercial customers.
What is Fruson’s secret to success? Undoubtedly, he is the key. As an individual he stands out – literally. He’s a big guy (6’1”, 230 pounds). His voice booms. He exudes confidence, a positive outlook, and loves to socialize. Everything about him is big except his age: he is only 29.
And, oh yes, there’s the wrestling.
“Wrestling was the backbone to me having the work ethic to build my business,” says Fruson, winner of the Canadian national title (light heavyweight category) in 2000.
Wrestling has also honed his winning attitude: “You’re competing through adversity, so you never consider yourself down and out. You learn to push through anything, even an injury.”
As a student at Douglas College for two years, Fruson balanced his studies with training twice a day, six times a week, plus travelling to tournaments throughout North America on weekends.
“It was horrendously challenging. So, when I finished school, everything was a breeze.”
He was 20 at the time. Like many young kids, he didn’t know what to do next. “But I knew I wanted to get out of wrestling. There were no financial incentives there.”
Financial success was important, especially since it hadn’t been part of his childhood. As early as grade five, Fruson had worked full-time in the summers on a flower-bulb farm in Abbotsford to earn his pocket money.
Start-up
In 2002, Fruson landed a job as a security guard. Within three weeks the owner asked him to run the business – which he did for almost two years. Managing, he discovered, came naturally.
In 2005, Fruson started his own security business. Initially he simply hoped to get a modest contract that would support his return to school. But he surprised himself. He discovered that sales came naturally, too.
“I just started closing deals. One of the first stores I closed was Staples, then Trinity Western University and Joey Tomato’s Restaurant.”
The company’s growth was tremendous. So were the challenges.
“Growing my business for the first four years: that’s the hardest thing I’ve done, bar none!”
How did he manage?
“You’ve got to be creative when you’re trying to figure out how to finance your business. For a long time I didn’t pay myself. You take small draws and you retain your earnings. Retain, retain, retain! And then, when your business can afford it, you start drawing wages.”
Fruson received some funds from the Business Development Bank of Canada. He also opted to turn over the accounts receivables as quickly as possible. “We billed more frequently: twice a month to help with cash flow.”
As well, his company asked first-time customers to prepay on their credit cards. “We still do that, and then we don’t have to worry about being paid at the end of the day.”
Recession
As noted earlier, Crusade didn’t lack business in the recession. But the company faced a different challenge: “Our customers extended us.”
A majority of Crusade’s customers stretched their payments beyond 30 days to 60, and sometimes even 90. Crusade was plunged into a cash-flow crisis.
In wrestling terms, the company might have been down for the three-count. But Fruson had the foresight to put in cash in the bank before the full force of the recession hit. As an added measure, his strong relationship with his principal bank, BMO, ensured Crusade weathered the storm.
“The reason we survived the recession was 100 percent thanks to our financial institution assisting us. During those tough months when our customers drew us out 60 to 90 days, we had to come up with a lot more money in a very short amount of time,” he said.
“They [BMO] were able to increase our line of credit by 50 percent to help us cope. That was huge for us.”
Fruson had done his homework. He’d brought in a consultant to help prepare the lending proposal for the bank. It was money well spent.
“Be prepared when you’re asking for money from the bank, so that you’re not just in a position where you say, ‘I need a 100 grand; give me 100 grand.’ If you put a formal presentation together with the right information they’re looking for, it’s a different game.”
He advises fostering a continuing good relationship with your bank. “You have to meet certain criteria, but some of the lending is discretionary. It comes down to the relationship you have with your banker and what they’re willing to do for you.
“As important as customers are, vendors are also important. The bank is a vendor to us.”
Marketing
How has the company grown so quickly? It hasn’t been a marketing strategy, says Fruson. In fact, as far as promoting the guard aspect of the business, Crusade has spent very little on advertising.
Instead, the company has a direct approach. “We see the customers we want, and we pursue them.”
In particular, Fruson keeps his eye out for businesses that aren’t happy with the service they are receiving from other security providers. “We have a list of businesses that we stay in contact with in the event they have service failures.”
And Fruson perseveres. He doesn’t get discouraged if potential clients say they’re not looking to change their service provider. He checks in with them consistently and re-offers his sales pitch.
“Staples is a prime example. They were doing business with one of the biggest companies in Canada and not getting the service they wanted. So, we went in there, gave them comparable pricing but way better service, and now they have been our customer for seven years.
“That strategy doesn’t work all the time, and that’s fine. We’re not out to sell to people. We’re out to say, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ and create partnerships with them.”
Big companies often dictate how things are done. “We don’t do it that way. We meet with our customers, we try to understand everything that they need, and then we design a program to meet their needs.”
Business also comes as a result of a group that Fruson helped create, the Western Canada Loss Prevention Association. WCLPA educates retail customers on retail crimes. Thirty-five people attended the first meeting, and now he plans to hold the meetings quarterly. “It’s a great way to reach the customers we want to do business with.”
But what’s most important for growth is networking. “That’s really what drives your business. You just have to be out and about. I would say a high percentage of the business we get is from the people we know.”
While the socializing is enjoyable, the hours are long, and that can be tough, even for a guy who describes himself as a Type A personality type who goes 100 miles an hour at all times.
“I used to want to have a separation between my personal life and business. I’ve realized that you can’t have that. It all blends into one, and you may as well accept that.
“A lot of the business stuff I go to, my wife comes along. Or my family visits me at work. If I work on Saturday, I bring my two-year-old, and he hangs out with me while I get some stuff done,” says Langley dweller Fruson, who works about 55 hours a week – or, like most entrepreneurs, “whatever is required.”
Human resources
As an employer of 150, Fruson has learned a lot about human resources, mostly from a retired police officer – a key employee – who designed Crusade’s hiring procedures.
“Number one, we look for a record of success in a candidate. If you’re successful in life, you’re going to be successful no matter what you do,” said Fruson, whose company has an 80 percent employee retention rate.
“The second part is that the honesty of what they put forth on their resumés is important.” After all, for a security company, honesty must be a key quality.
It’s an important quality for an employer, too. “If you don’t have honesty and integrity, and don’t hire the right people, and don’t do your job the way it needs to be done, you can’t expect to retain customers.”
Lastly, Fruson advises being transparent in the hiring process, ensuring there’s a match between what the company is hiring for, and what the person is looking for.
“If you don’t hire the right person, you can train them all you want and they won’t do what you need.”
Best secret
One of Fruson’s savviest moves was hiring three retired police officers to help Crusade focus on quality of delivery, staff training, and liaising with customers.
“They’ve been in the industry so long, in the protective services in the public sector, that when they come into the private sector they have so much to offer to us, not only on a knowledge basis, but also with our customers.
“And they demand excellence. They bring with them a certain way of doing things, and that certain way of doing things is nothing but the best. When you’re a police officer, that’s how you’re trained.
“If you have a guard on-site, and they are lacking site information or need some mentorship, when it comes from a retired police officer it means more.
“If you own a car, you need a great mechanic. We’re in the private security industry. The only people above us who we can bring in are the police. They’re the ones who can help really dictate the professionalism of our business.”
He also advocates mentorship for entrepreneurs.
“I joined a group, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, that’s been instrumental in helping me understand business owners, understand myself, and understand all the things I’ve been struggling with. It’s been a huge part of my life for the past year. I have had a business mentor, and I turn to him for advice quite a bit.”
Having a mentor is also a departure from Fruson’s method of going into a situation and making the best of it. “I learned through the School of Hard Knocks. I made a lot of mistakes [in growing the business] that probably could have been avoided. I had to learn the hard way, and fast.
“There’s an amazing correlation between how hard I work and how lucky I am.”
Future
To date, about 10 percent of Crusade’s business revenue comes from systems side of his business; 90 percent from the guarding component.
To further the company’s growth, Fruson recently hired a new sales manager to promote the systems aspect. He’s carving out Crusade’s niche to offer both guard service and systems service.
“Not a lot of companies our size offer the fully integrated service that we do. It’s like going to Superstore. You want to be able to go to one place and get all your stuff. It’s the same for security. You want to be able to go to one vendor and get everything you need from one person.
“We have quite a few customers whom we do all the integration for. So, instead of having two security companies to deal with, they have one.”
One rapidly changing component is how fast technology is changing, from the quality of cameras, to the quality of access control systems, to the quality and integration of the intrusion systems.
And what does success mean for Fruson now?
“Spiritual well-being,” Crusade’s owner replies.
He explains that his focus has broadened from strictly financial success: “Seriously. It’s being able to be just happy with where you are in life and what you have. We’ve got nothing to bitch about!”