Confirm registration before recruiting guards
Private security is a regulated and safety-sensitive business. Before marketing guarding, alarm response, investigations, or related services, contact the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) to verify current company and individual licensing, training, uniform, equipment, recordkeeping, and renewal requirements that apply to the exact services you intend to provide. Confirm what may be advertised and who is eligible to deliver each function.
Do not recruit people into operational posts or sell a contract while assuming approval can be obtained later. Ask about background checks, training providers, staffing ratios or qualifications if applicable, and how client sites are assessed. Have a qualified adviser review your proposed service model and contracts. Requirements can change and may differ among guarding, electronic surveillance, and other security functions.
Sell a defined scope, not a promise of perfect safety
Specify whether you provide static guarding, access control, patrols, event security, or another permitted service. Describe hours, number of personnel, supervisor visits, reporting, escalation, and equipment. Avoid absolute promises such as “crime-proof” or “guaranteed security”; no provider can remove every risk.
Before quoting a site, conduct a risk and operational assessment within your competence. Record entrances, lighting, visitor process, valuables, emergency contacts, and client expectations. Explain what the guard can and cannot do, how incidents are escalated, and when police or emergency services should be contacted. Do not market an armed service unless specifically authorised and compliant with applicable law.
Calculate the cost of responsible staffing
Budget for recruitment and vetting, training, wages, statutory obligations, uniforms, protective equipment, transport, supervision, communication, insurance, licensing, and backup staff. A contract that appears profitable on the monthly fee can lose money when leave, sickness, relief shifts, or transport are ignored. Check current labour obligations with a professional and include them in the cost model.
Price by post, hours, shift structure, supervision, and equipment. State what is included and how extra shifts or special events are billed. A client may request a lower quote by reducing staffing, but document the resulting coverage limits rather than implying the original protection remains unchanged.
Write procedures that guards can follow at 2 a.m.
Prepare site orders for each contract: post location, visitor log, patrol route, keys, emergency contacts, incident reporting, restricted access, handover, and use-of-force boundaries consistent with law and training. Supervisors should check attendance and welfare, not only collect a signature. Protect incident and client records from unauthorised access.
Train guards to communicate calmly, observe and report, protect personal information, and avoid discriminatory treatment. Create a way for a client or guard to raise a concern. Review incidents for process changes and do not share a client’s security layout or incident details in marketing.
Prove credibility to prospective clients
Prepare a capability document with current PSRA status where applicable, service categories, supervision model, insurance information, staff training, references you may disclose, and a contact person. Be clear about experience: a new company can describe its founder’s relevant background without claiming a corporate track record it has not earned.
A KobStore business page may organise permitted service descriptions and enquiry details, but it does not vet guards, certify a security company, or verify regulatory approval. Obtain regulator guidance before publishing any badge or claim and keep credentials current. For a sensitive service, a marketing page must support, not substitute for, due diligence.
Only scale after you can staff, supervise, and pay each post reliably. In security, winning a contract that cannot be covered puts clients and guards at risk and can damage a business more than declining the work.
Report incidents consistently and protect confidentiality
Use an incident form that captures date, time, location, people notified, observations, action taken, and follow-up owner. Separate what a guard saw from what another person reported; this keeps a report factual. Share it only with authorised client contacts and preserve records under an agreed retention policy. Never post a client incident, visitor log, or site layout as a marketing example.
Review patterns with the client at an agreed interval. Repeated access-control problems may require a change in the visitor process, lighting, or staffing instructions. A guard should not be expected to solve a site-design problem alone. Record recommendations, who approved them, and any change to the contract scope or risk allocation.
Sources and verification: Private Security Regulatory Authority for current licensing and compliance guidance; Kenya Law for applicable legal texts; obtain qualified legal and labour advice before operating.
