In this special edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with Rebekah Johnson, co-founder and executive director of Embers of Hope.

Rebekah's story starts in May 2002, when an electrical spark from the outlet behind her headboard set her mattress, and her, on fire. She woke up engulfed, ran out the front door, dropped, and rolled in the grass. Then she ran back inside for her roommates and her pets. She was treated at Shands Burn Unit in Gainesville. What followed is the part most people never hear: years of revisions and skin grafts that don't grow with a child, the social and emotional weight burn-injured kids carry back into a school of 400 classmates, and the life she has since built advocating for arc-fault protectors, working smoke detectors, and residential fire sprinklers. She and her husband, a Florida firefighter, founded Embers of Hope to run a Florida burn camp where kids don't have to wear a hoodie in 85-degree weather to hide their scars.

In this episode, we talk about...

✅ The night Rebekah woke up on fire, what stop-drop-and-roll actually looked like in the moment, and why a practiced plan beats any single product on the wall
✅ The recovery story most people never hear: the social and emotional aftermath, including what life is like for a kid going back to school covered in scars
✅ How a 30-minute transformation happens at Embers of Hope camp, including the boy who took off the do-rag he had worn since his injury and never put it back on
✅ The sixth-grade boy who begged Rebekah to help him get back to school after his district denied medical transport, and how she made it happen
✅ Why the low-battery smoke detector signal central station keeps reporting is a bigger deal than dealers sometimes treat it (Jake includes a confession of his own)
✅ The advocacy fight for arc-fault protectors, residential fire sprinklers, and code changes that prevent these injuries in the first place
✅ The Kidde Commercial partnership: 10% of gross profit on Kidde Commercial sales through SS&Si this year, up to $10,000, matched dollar for dollar by Kidde, all going to Embers of Hope

Learn more about Embers of Hope: https://www.embersofhopefl.org/

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

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In this special edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with Manish Dalal, Founder and President of ZKTeco USA, to dig into where biometrics fits in the modern access control stack and why the physical credential is quietly becoming the weakest link on your customer's door.

Manish has been working in biometrics since 1998, starting with the first biometric time and attendance systems in India and building ZKTeco into a global operation with presence in more than 50 countries, 3,500 employees, three manufacturing plants, and a U.S. factory coming online within six months. In this conversation, he and Jake walk through fingerprint, face, and palm vein recognition, unpack the privacy misconceptions that still slow adoption here in the States, and talk honestly about what it actually costs a dealer to bring biometrics to a customer site.

In this episode, we talk about...

✅ Why physical credentials (even encrypted ones) have become a real security risk and the bank-badge-in-the-parking-lot story that makes it obvious
✅ How palm vein works, why it's inherently private, and why you can't spoof it with a photo (or a severed hand)
✅ Why the Amazon One rollout quietly moved palm biometrics into the mainstream
✅ The privacy misconception that's keeping U.S. adoption behind Asia and the Middle East
✅ The TSA PreCheck and Clear analogy Manish uses when enterprise customers push back
✅ What the Houston customer actually did when they replaced 650 card readers with biometric readers across 13,000 employees
✅ Why the cost of a biometric reader is basically the same as a card reader once you look at total cost of ownership
✅ The hidden cost of mobile credentials nobody is calculating (hint: every time an employee gets a new phone)
✅ Why a single password reset costs healthcare $80 to $100 and what that means for the biometrics pitch
✅ Where the door reader is headed: multifunctional devices that handle credential, intercom, visitor QR, and face in one box
✅ Manish's advice to integrators leaning into biometrics: sell on value and total cost of ownership, not price

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

Join Jake Voll as he sits down with Lee Odess, globally recognized access control industry analyst, author of The Six Phase Changes Shaping Access Control, and founder of PhySec Collective, to talk about where access control is really headed and what that means for every dealer and integrator selling into this market today.

In this episode, Jake and Lee break down the thesis that has defined Lee's work: the access control industry isn't a $10B security market. It's a $100B enterprise software opportunity hiding inside one. They unpack why that gap exists, where it shows up in real dealer conversations, and what the shift from "security industry" to "enterprise software industry" actually means for how you sell, what you carry, and who you partner with.

In this episode, we talk about...

✅ Why the $10B vs. $100B framing should change how every dealer thinks about their market
✅ The "utility plus" shift — access control isn't just keeping bad people out anymore
✅ Why COVID broke the legacy trust model and what enterprise buyers expect now
✅ The identity shift: from controlling the door to managing who people are and what they can access
✅ Why the value of pure system configuration is going down (and what takes its place)
✅ The "access care" concept — a different lens for thinking about what you sell
✅ Where AI and operational intelligence are creating real value (and where it's still noisy)
✅ Why open platform might be the most overrated buzzword in access control right now
✅ The locksmith opportunity: physical expertise in a software-dominated world
✅ One old truth Lee says the industry needs to stop believing

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

Join Jake Voll as he sits down with Josh Trim of Pennington & Trim to talk about what it takes to grow a security company across generations — and why “sales” isn’t about pressure or commissions, it’s about trust, character, and delivering the right solution for the customer.

In this episode, Jake and Josh unpack the early grind of building a company, the advantage technical people often have in sales, and the mindset shift that separates short-term transactions from long-term customers. Josh shares the principles he learned from his dad (industry legend Ed Trim) and the day-to-day habits that build credibility fast — especially when you’re young and trying to earn respect in a tough trade.

In this episode, we talk about...

✅ Why technical people often make the best sales reps in security
✅ The “early grind” reality of starting and scaling a security business
✅ How selling the right solution creates long-term customers (and referrals)
✅ The character-first mindset that builds trust faster than product knowledge
✅ Josh’s best advice for younger leaders: outwork everyone, show up early, earn respect
✅ Why caring about the customer beats caring about commissions (and improves close rates)

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

Join Jake Voll as he sits with industry consultant Robert Few, managing partner of The Connection Exchange (TCX), to unpack one of the biggest growth bottlenecks in the security industry: hiring and keeping the right salespeople. For many dealers, growth stalls not because of a lack of opportunity, but because they are afraid to invest in sales talent without the systems, pricing structure, and accountability to support them.

In this episode, Jake and Robert break down what it really takes to build a sales program that works. They cover how to structure compensation, how to train new hires without expecting them to "clone the owner," and how to protect margins while still giving salespeople enough freedom to close deals.

✅ Stop waiting to “clone yourself” and build real systems for training, pricing, and accountability
✅ Decide whether to hire a salesperson or installer first when cash flow only allows one move
✅ Set practical sales quotas for upfront revenue and RMR so reps know what success looks like
✅ Build pricing guardrails and simple packages that help reps sell confidently without constant approvals
✅ Create commission plans that drive profitable jobs and recurring revenue, not just top-line sales
✅ Avoid common sales-management mistakes, including promoting your top rep into the wrong role
✅ Learn better hiring tactics, from where to find candidates to how to evaluate fit beyond the interview

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

Professionalism isn’t branding; it’s operations. In this episode, Jake is joined by several seasoned pros across the industry to break down what “high standards” actually look like in the alarm and security integration world.

From hiring sales reps for character and integrity, to building packages, pricing guardrails, and quote approvals, to tech behaviors as simple as booties + moving blankets, this conversation connects the dots between professional execution and what matters most: customer trust, retention, and long-term RMR.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

✅ How dealers are hiring salespeople around character, ownership, and integrity (not just charisma)
✅ Why “packages/kits” and clear product standards prevent sales-tech conflict
✅ How using the right tools can speed onboarding and reduce quote errors
✅ The 2-layer safeguard that stops bad quotes before they reach the customer
✅ Field professionalism that costs almost nothing but changes everything
✅ Why tech soft skills can be more valuable than speed, and how to measure it
✅ How to use post-install feedback to catch issues before customers quietly churn

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

Most alarm systems still deliver the same thing they did decades ago: a binary signal from a door or motion sensor. But customers don’t buy “a signal”; they buy the belief that you’ll stop crime. In this episode, Jake sits down with Wes Usie (Founder/CEO, Guardian Alarm Systems and CHeKT) to unpack why traditional intrusion is hitting a ceiling and why proactive video monitoring is becoming the new standard.

Wes shares what he learned building an alarm company, running a monitoring center, and then building a platform to scale video monitoring. You’ll hear how to sell and price proactive video in the real world, how to reduce false alarms with smarter detection, and why SMB outdoor assets behind a fence might be the biggest untapped opportunity dealers have right now.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

✅ Why “binary door info” won’t meet customer expectations going forward
✅ The real business risk of the 99% false alarm rate
✅ How proactive video changes the game: deterrence before the crime
✅ Why a fence matters (and how it reduces events and improves monitoring outcomes)
✅ How to price video monitoring without getting wrecked by central station event costs
✅ A simple mental shift: stop selling “cameras”; start selling detection devices
✅ A practical on-ramp: self-monitoring + automated deterrence as a baby step into video

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak

What does it really mean to be unapologetically client-focused in the security industry? In this episode of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake sits down with Marvin Smith, owner of Orlando Emergency Signal, to unpack nearly two decades of lessons on service, culture, and building a brand people trust.

From growing up on a farm with a love for electronics to walking away from Disney to build a security company rooted in values, Marvin shares why attitude, appearance, and accountability matter more than any piece of hardware you install. This conversation is a masterclass in how service failures, when handled right, can become your biggest differentiator.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

✅ Turn service into a competitive advantage that fuels referrals
✅ Transition from solo operator to team leader without losing standards
✅ Set and celebrate milestones without chasing a moving goalpost
✅ Handle high-maintenance clients without firing them prematurely
✅ Use technology like texting and video to elevate customer experience
✅ Stay relevant to long-term customers as the industry evolves
✅ Build brand recognition through consistency, visibility, and trust

Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET.
Join us live or register to attend at 👉 https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak