BE: How old were you when you came to Jamaica?

KB: I was 18 and I came on vacation and never left. I went to school here and began to study to become an accountant. I even started working with the firm Capleton, Jones and Company but during this time my hobby was training dogs for security companies. I rented out the dogs but they were not properly treated so I got my own handlers and Guardsman began. I began the company as a partnership but I soon bought the partner out because he had conflicts with his day job.

BE: What was your vision for Guardsman in those early days?

KB: That we must be the best at what we do. The motivation was never money because I always felt that if we do a good job the money will follow. I was only 22 in 1977 when we started and it has grown. We have retained all our clients because we make each one feel he's the only one. No matter their size, we make sure that they are able to trust us implicitly and we also develop a relationship with them socially.

BE: What is your biggest hurdle or challenge?

KB: I don't consider anything a hurdle; anything that you set your mind to is always achievable. We have been through all the decades from the 1970s to the '90s we have seen zero economic activity, high crime rate, boom times, low tourist arrivals, different governments, different commissioners of police and we have continued on.

BE: How do you respond to the view that security companies thrive on and profit from the insecurities of businesses, the high crime rate and people's fears?

KB: It's a presumption but Jamaica's high crime rate is only judged by the number of murders. I don't agree because I serve on the board of the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA), when it was set up in the early '90s, all security companies had to be registered.

At that time, there were 24,000 guards and today the figure is 1,400. Jamaica is among few countries where crime has escalated and the private security industry has shrunk. Perhaps the reasons are affordability or the increased use of electronic devices.

BE: But you also have an alarm company in your mix that will keep you in the game even if manpower is unaffordable.

KB: Yes, we were the pioneers in that service islandwide. We had our own private response mechanism because we recognised and responded to what people needed.

BE: What is the latest technological advancement in home security alarms, particularly something that would not be triggered by a pet?

KB: Wireless. People are moving away from wires and there are gadgets to monitor break-ins and even a vibration on the grill. We used to use radio frequency to communicate between ourselves and our alarm systems, now we can do this via cellular networks and Clear Track Limited is piggy-backing on this technology.

BE: One of the things I have experienced and it's a common complaint - is that many security guards do not seem to know the difference between being difficult and being efficient. Many abuse their perceived power rather than be helpful. How are your guards expected to behave on the job?

KB: First, there is the selection process, followed by quality control by supervisors, managers and the clients they serve. Many times when a guard is rude, insolent or difficult, the client gives them no flexibility to make a decision on their own.

If a guard is told to close a door at two o'clock sharp and a customer comes one minute past, he will not open the door because the same client will come down on his head later.

So although some instructions may be unreasonable, the guard follows rules, but we are exposed to many situations from industrial to residential where we cannot move a guard for up to 10 years because they enjoy such a good relationship with the client who sometimes see them as part of the family. Our clients are happy with our guards.

BE: What is your attrition rate?

KB: Very low. At Marksman's 21st anniversary, we had to restrict awards to 10 years and over or we would have had to hand out hundreds. We have grown from attracting people who could find nothing else to do because the job was considered dangerous, to getting people now who want to leave where they are and come work with us.

BE: Do you plan to start more companies?

KB: We will continue to grow and stick to our area of expertise, which is service but if we see opportunities, we will definitely look at them.

BE: Is it a personal reason/passion that drives you to form a new business?

KB: Yes. All of them have come out of a hobby or something I do for pleasure - from breeding and showing dogs to the gardens and farming or the Serenity Park with the animals. Every property we own has to be properly landscaped and manicured because we believe the environment is important.

BE: What gives you the greatest joy?

KB: The growth and expansion and providing employment for people. It makes me very happy to see babies born in the company and then see those same babies graduate from university. I feel proud that the group has been a part of their livelihood and it has now gone beyond my personal success, it's the group's success; if we move ahead, everyone else does..

BE: Do you still have family in India?

KB: No, home is Jamaica, my sister is here but my mother and two brothers are in the United States. My father, who is deceased, was an army officer. I have been back to India about five times since moving here but I only go as a tourist but I still speak my mother tongue, Hindi.

BE: How do you give back to the society?