Dave Davis grew up in a working-class family in Baltimore. With multiple siblings in his family, college wasn’t a practical option for him. Instead, Dave attended a vocational-technical school and studied industrial electronics. After graduation in 1982, Dave hoped to find a job in his field of study, but the job market was very tough at that time. So Dave walked into a military recruitment office and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He spent four years in the Marines, 1982-86, and attained the rank of seargent before deciding to return to the private sector. 

He looked for a job working with satellite radios where he could use the skills he learned from his vocational school education and his military service. He found a position in Iowa and enjoyed the work. But it meant spending too much time away from his wife, who was back home in Baltimore. He decided to look for something closer to home and found a position with an alarm company in Baltimore. That led to a series of other jobs, which ultimately helped him decide that he wanted to take a shot at working for himself. With another friend, he started a home-building business that operated successfully for about five years. Unfortunately, the economy and the housing market turned negative, and they ultimately closed their business. 

With a wife and two children, he was in no position to take time off and immediately began a job search. Alarm Engineering in Salisbury, Md., had just lost its service manager, and Dave was happy to move into that role. He remained with Alarm Engineering for many years, eventually becoming operations manager. In 2018, a group of investors started a new commercial and residential alarm business in Easton, Md., called Safe House. They asked Dave to come work for their company.

“I’m probably not the most interesting CEO you have interviewed," Dave said. "But I am one of those guys who looks forward to every day and will do whatever it takes to help our people be successful."

As it was a start-up company, Dave wore multiple hats with Safe House. Soon after starting, Dave hired people to market/sell the business as well as do the estimating and installation work. The company had three workers on the road with a couple of vans when he started. Eight years later, with the acquisition of another local business as well as organic growth in the company, Safe House now has 23 employees, 17 vans and functions as a full-service alarm company for the entire Delmarva Peninsula. 

With a growing company, he recognized the need to ensure Safe House promoted a culture that emphasized excellent service for the customers as well as a cohesive team of employees who supported each other and the business. To foster that culture and have his team feel they had more of a stake in the success of the business, he worked on developing a set of core values for the company. Dave solicited input from his people as he crafted Safe House’s values and has found that by getting his team involved in the development of the values, he has not had to spend the time he thought would be necessary to reinforce them. As Dave says, “The staff has really embraced and taken ownership of our values.”

When Dave looks into his crystal ball to see what the next five years will bring, he sees Safe House continuing to grow. He believes that will happen with the reputation his company has developed, but he also believes growth will come with the acquisition of other smaller or perhaps similar-sized businesses in the region. Expanding into related lines of business, like doing fire extinguisher inspections when they are installing commercial fire systems, is also something Dave envisions. 

Dave encourages his folks to think about community involvement and connections, and lets his people identify programs or activities that Safe House can get behind as a sponsor. He wants his folks to stay connected with local chambers of commerce and now has a budget for Safe House to make sure they are giving back and supporting worthwhile causes in the community. 

When asked what advice he would give his 18-year-old self, Dave would encourage him to make education more of a priority. While he is thrilled and grateful to be in the role he now has with Safe House, he wonders whether a college degree would have helped him take greater advantage of the skills he has developed. Regardless of his background, Dave’s varied experiences and people skills have helped him build a solid foundation for himself and the business.