Today we’d like to introduce you to Perry Myers.
Perry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a private investigator since 1981, I was trained by my father, Stan Myers, a former MI-6 investigator from Great Britain. While my father was less technically oriented, I embraced the technology aspect of investigations and became trained in covert operations, hidden cameras, electronic countermeasures and other related technical fields.
In 2001, I decided to expand the detective agency into other states and Florida was one of the states I became licensed in. I was approached by another PI who was retiring and wanting to sell his business called the U-Spy Store. The store was a great fit and the price was right. It sold electronic countermeasure equipment, spy cameras and recorders, GPS trackers and other tools for the do it yourself PI as well as those actually employed in the security field. I purchased the one store and the rights to the name and then opened a second location inside my detective agency in Chicago. Soon, the U-Spy Store began to grow and eventually became a larger revenue stream than the detective agency. We expanded into the installation and service of CCTV systems and security cameras and today are one of the better-known companies in this business.
Today, we have 2 Chicago area stores and are looking to expand further. We closed the Florida stores a few years ago due to the difficulty of managing them remotely and wanting to further focus on the Chicago market.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Business is never smooth. Personnel, managing the business, legal and financial issues as well as marketing are always a challenge. We struggled with the 2 Florida stores and how to handle and finally decided that after about 12 years, closing them for good would be the best solution. Competition on the Internet and keeping up with technology are always a challenge.
U-Spy Store – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our company has many things to be proud of. We are the CCTV installer for the Lincoln Park Zoo. We handle all of their security camera servicing and installation. We also handle many condominium associations in the Chicagoland area as well as small and large businesses and homes. We have solved many crimes with the use of our cameras, both hidden and non-hidden. We work with the police and assist them when needed. We provided video recordings from our own system to solve an armed robbery to our neighbor last year.
While many CCTV companies sell the same equipment as we do, we pride ourselves in having 2 brick and mortar stores that allow our customers to look at touch and feel equipment before they buy it. They can also see the video quality on our test monitors in our stores. Great customer service by having full-time techs in our stores that are able to answer questions and provide solutions quickly.
Closely associated with the detective agency we are able to solve many problems for our customers that other CCTV companies may not be able to. Investigative mind of our staff enables us to come up with solutions quickly and effectively.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s difficult to say when my proudest moment was. I’ve been interviewed on television many times over the years and have provided the valuable information to the public through these interviews. Operating a business is a challenge and staying competitive and in business is no easy feat.
Winning the contract at Lincoln Park Zoo was a big achievement for us. We were the only company to offer a wireless solution for their camera system. Everyone else was suggesting trenching under the ground in order to run wires. We came up with a solution of transmitting the cameras from one end of the zoo to the other and had great success. We tested it out with them prior to being hired and proved to them that it could be done.
Pricing:
- A 4-camera video security system installed with remote access runs approximately $1500
Contact Info:
- Address: 2406 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
& 5627 Dempster St., Morton Grove, IL 60053 - Website: www.uspystore.com & www.provideosecurity.com
- Phone: (773) 529-2779
- Email: info@uspystore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uspystore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uspystore/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/uspystore?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/u-spy-store-chicago
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