Winston Stewart is a graduate of Seneca’s Law Enforcement program.
Winston Stewart graduated from the Law Enforcement program at Seneca College and went right back to his high school job.
Except this time, instead of just working security at the local mall, his own newly-formed company — Winston Security and Investigative Services — was in charge of security for the local mall. “That was pretty cool,” he says of his firm’s first contract.
As a student starting out in the Law Enforcement program, Stewart was intent on becoming a police officer, but in his second year, he discovered all that the private sector of law enforcement had to offer.
“That was a great part of the course, it gave you all kinds of options,” he explains.
Today, Winston Security offers a multitude of services, including security consulting, private investigation, mobile patrol and digital surveillance systems. The firm employs 47 people, has 26 clients and is pushing $1 million in annual revenue.
It’s a long way away from where he started out — with a small investment from his mom, the income he had from working three part-time jobs, and the one client .
“We were competing against well-established companies,” explains Stewart, who says his youth was also an obstacle. “Who wants to work for a 21-year-old?” he laughs. “I probably wouldn’t go work for someone who is 21.” Dealing with potential clients was also a problem. A fresh-faced college grad doesn’t necessarily bring to mind security. “We didn’t have the business experience or the track record.”
What he did have was his alma mater. “Apart from learning a lot, I was also able to use a few of the professors to help me network. They were coming from the industry.”
For example Winston’s forensics teacher was with the OPP and “was able to fast track a lot of stuff,” says Winston. “It worked out really well.”