Today we’d like to introduce you to Campbell Wright.
Campbell, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am from Claremont, California, attended Whittier College and Cal Poly Pomona. I worked in the private club industry as a General Manager of several private country clubs, receiving my initial training at The Los Angeles Country Club and Braemar Country Club.
In 2005, after twenty years in the club industry, I embarked on an entrepreneurial opportunity with my then spouse to start an ID printer, software and supply company. We sold the supplies, software and printers to produce photo ID badges, from simple membership cards to more sophisticated high security credentials. After several years of doing this it became apparent to me that we needed to diversify our offerings and I began learning about and partnering with other companies to offer card access control systems to operate doors electronically. This also lead to many customers also requesting video surveillance systems. Over the course of 2007 – 2009 I learned this side of the business from the ground up, pulling cable at various installations, installing the equipment and being involved in the programming of the software. I would often times also sell an ID System. In 2009, the ID Business was divested and I started SoCal Access and Video. I acquired my C7 Low Voltage Contractors license and certification from the American Society of Industrial Security – ASIS as a Certified Protection Professional – CPP.
Has it been a smooth road?
At times, the business has struggled. It is often a feast or famine type of sales cycle with a month or sometimes a quarter being very slow. Over the years it has been easier to predict the ups and downs and working on developing a recurring revenue model has also helped to smooth out the slower months.
Developing good employees and installers has also been a struggle, but now I am very fortunate to have a stable of installers who can meet and at times exceed my high standards.
Lastly, there are a lot of different products out on the market today. Many of the products are junk, many are very good, but it seems every day I have someone wanting to sell me their product line. At the same time, technology is evolving so fast, it’s important for us to keep up and maintain consistency with our product offerings while also keeping up with the latest developments in technology.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with SoCal Access and Video – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in card access control systems/electronic locks and video surveillance systems. The last couple of years we have been more active in the card access system area, but it’s an ebb and flow kind of 60/40 split depending on the needs of current and new customers.
I think what I am most proud of and what sets us apart from others is my background in facility management and therefore my ability to work with just about any organization and understand their budget demands, restrictions and process. At the same time also understanding their organizational structure and operational processes that then allow me to custom design a system to best meet their needs and their budget. I am the owner of the business, the salesperson, the project manager and the customer service manager. The customer gets my number at the beginning of the estimation and design process and has my number throughout the life of the system. We have a 24/7 switchboard, but every customer also has my personal cell phone and can and is encouraged to contact me if they need anything. Many other companies are sectioned into sales, design, installation and service so the customer gets moved around from department to department with a different contact that doesn’t know or fully understand the customer. The initial meeting and install is a critical part of why things were done a certain way and having that continuity throughout is important. We do a superior job of achieving this as compared to our competitors and I am proud of that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity and the market opportunities. While I do pretty well at avoiding traffic, it is an inevitable reality of living in Southern California, on that I would say I like least.