Successfully Yours: Steve Graham

by Dr. Iain Corness

The managing director of European Safety Concepts is a young Englishman, Steve Graham. He is a man with a sense of humour which sparkled through during the interview, and is someone who has always had the ability to see an opportunity, and work on it through to a successful conclusion.
He was born in the North West of England, the eldest in the family, with two younger sisters. His father was in the hospitality business, while his mother stayed at home to look after the brood. “She was the domestic engineer,” said Steve.
He went to a comprehensive (government) school, and it was here that his entrepreneurial flair became apparent. The school used to organise bus trips to the ice skating rink, using a small mini-bus to take interested students. Steve began to organise his own trips, selling the concept so well that he ran 15 trips using 50-seat coaches, eclipsing the school’s efforts and eventually putting over one thousand pounds in his bank account. He was 15 years old!
At this stage, Steve wanted a career with “travel, excitement and action” and decided that this would be fulfilled by enlisting in the army. His mother was not really in favour, but Dad said, “It’ll do ‘im good,” and the 16 year old joined up as an infantryman.
Steve really enjoyed his time in the army. “It gave me discipline and a better head on my shoulders.” It also gave him a trip to Asia for a short tour of duty and special training in security and protection, both of which were to become important factors in his later life.
He retired from the army after seeing active service in the Gulf War and chose learning to be a chef as the subject of his army sponsored retraining into civilian life, as he had always enjoyed cooking. Boots and battledress gave way to pots and pans and he spent the next 18 months working in quiet country inns in the UK, a little bit of a change from Desert Storm! However, he became disillusioned with life in the UK, “With taxes and everything, it was just getting ridiculous.”
He had some savings and since he had enjoyed the short period in Asia while in the army, ventured forth on a journey which was to encompass the next seven years of his life and take him to the Philippines, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Hong Kong and even India. To avoid putting his hand in his pocket too much he used his skills and abilities, adding more practical experience to his training in cooking - and the security business.
While on this voyage of exploration, Steve used Thailand as the stopping point for his holidays. “The climate is one of the best in Asia. It’s not too hot or sticky and there’s a good expat population. It was like a homing beacon for me.”
So, two years ago he arrived in Thailand with the intention of staying. His choice was either Phuket or Pattaya, as he is not overly fond of cities. His intention was to try each for three weeks and then decide. Phuket got its three week chance, but it was here that he settled. “I went on the town and then realised I couldn’t do that for the rest of my life. I’d be dead in 2 to 3 years!”
He looked around for what he should do. “There were too many restaurants and bars, so I fell back on my security experience. I could see there was a niche market here for central monitoring of alarm systems and then send out a response team.” From that initial concept, European Safety Concepts was conceived; a company that today employs nearly 100 personnel with a computerized central monitoring station and contracts with many major hotels and commercial enterprises. It is also the only company of its kind here that can deploy trained security dogs, a fact that Steve is obviously quite proud of.
On asking about his ambition, he came straight back with, “I want to become a Thai citizen. I have just got married and I want to raise a family, have a quiet life, raise my kids, give them a good education and then sit back and relax.” So here is a man who intends staying here for quite some time.
He spoke further about his wife, whom he obviously adores. “I met her in McDonalds, where she was dispensing hamburgers. I ate hamburgers for three days on the trot before she agreed to go out with me!” She has also been a large influence on his life, coming from a rural depressed area in Udon Thani, with Steve’s European Safety Concepts company now carrying out several ongoing charity projects in the region. These include sponsoring a village there and supplying the local school with computers.
I asked him about his ideas on success to be met with, “I never think about success. I suppose it could be just staying in business in Thailand,” all said with a smile. He continued with, “Reaching 65 and being in good health with a couple of kids.”
Regarding his business, he is a man who firmly believes in goal setting, and not five year, ten year plans either. He sets what he believes are realistic goals and reviews them every three months. These goals have included training courses to help his guards with essential literacy.
His hobbies include “Heineken, Heineken, Heineken,” according to his wife, and he does admit to enjoy sitting back at the end of the day to watch TV with a cold one in his hand. He does have a home gymnasium, but working out on it is sporadic and at best weekly (or perhaps that should have been ‘weakly’)!
Steve Graham is a happy man. “I have no regrets. Wouldn’t change a day. At the end of the day, what you get out of life depends upon what you put into it.” How true!