Austin Lifestyle Magazine does its best to guard and protect every facet of the Austin Lifestyle. With the rampant growth of the city comes more than a few challenges, including increased traffic, dwindling space and a fear of losing the defining characteristics that most Austinites have come to love and cherish.
From fashion to food to scenes, the landscape within the city limits is shifting, and with the changes, there is an increased desire to secure what we have.
It is this thought that motivated a young John Dyess, in the days following September 11, 2001, to forge out on his own and begin a security company with the unique character inherent in Austin as part of its DNA. And, like most of the success stories in the city, it began as a complete startup. “. I had no small business loan. I had $400 to start and no backing. I bought one camera and then I bought two and did it out of my garage and my kitchen,” Dyess recalls. “I didn’t think it would take off,” he laughingly admits. “I even spelled the name weird. My last name is spelled differently. I couldn’t build a website from that [actual name], so I just put ‘Z’s in it.”
From small beginnings came a company, Dyezz Surveillance, that not only secured valuables and protected businesses, but one that grew alongside the ity and now protects other businesses like itself – independent, vibrant and distinctly Austin. More than a few of downtown Austin’s mainstays are on the client roster, including Austin Lifestyle favorites, Black Sheep Lodge and Hopdoddy. Dyess explains that they garner “about 80% of every restaurant or bar downtown, from your Benji’s to your Kung Fu [Saloon] to Imperia, even down to Oilcan Harry’s.”
Dyess fell in love with the city some years ago, opting for Austin as his home base, rather than the sprawling landscapes of Dallas or Houston. “I came to Austin and fell in love with the atmosphere after a couple of weeks. I was about 23 or 24 years old and just fell in love with it,” the entrepreneur gushes. “My kids want to go to UT,” Dyess elaborates. “I feel like I’m at home here.”
Needless to say, Austin and the Central Texas area provide a hometown that his family and his company have seen grow in leaps and bounds, as other share his regard for the culture and way of life. Such growth, from his educated perspective, is already starting to affect the downtown area, though Dyess’ efforts have kept theft from rising within their client base. “We’re seeing more and more cameras going up in the downtown area, because of the crime. The more we grow, the more drama and more problems we’ll find,” Dyess reminds Austinites. But his solution is simple and more than reasonably priced, not only working to monitor the site, but the surrounding area, should a client feel the need.
With increased surveillance, a passive message is sent by the mere presence of cameras and other Dyezz provisions. Sometimes, that is more than enough of a deterrent. “It’s almost an intimidation thing. People see them and think, ‘I don’t want to get caught on camera, let’s go to the next place,’” Dyess explains. “It’s just like alarm systems. If someone has an alarm system sign in the yard, a criminal will move on because they don’t want to deal with more obstacles.”
Dyess’ company provides additional services that not only secure, but automate entire establishments, to not only make his client’s possessions and livelihoods safer, but can make them more profitable. “It isn’t just about preventing theft. There are climate controls that can be put in place that save money for the owner who can make sure that the A/C isn’t set on 62 in the Texas summer all the time.”
Electronic monitoring systems tie into fire, climate, lighting and door access, making everything accessible from a control center that is as near as one’s smartphone.
One might wonder what the head of a security business does at his own home. To that, Dyess gives two answers. One is personal, as he freely admits a slight embarrassment, saying, “At my house, I have 18 cameras, which I’ll admit is a little overdone.” But his second piece of counsel is helpful for all business owners and individual households throughout Austin.
“You can get access control keypads,” he explains. “Even the do it yourself stuff works,” Dyess adds, though he admits it isn’t the most secure a site or home can be made. True to both the drive that helped build his company and his ambition to keep Austin safe, as well as ‘weird,” he is quick to express that, “Obviously, an alarm system is the best thing.”
This article appeared in Austin Lifestyle Magazine written by the ALM Staff.