199. Putting People First with Danica McLeod | The Moment You Knew Pt. 3

Corey: Can we ask you something? When did you know you'd made it?

Melissa: Not the version with the revenue screenshots, not the one people clap for on Instagram, but the real one.

Corey: This summer on the Business Reboot podcast, we're asking entrepreneurs one question and letting their answers redefine what success actually looks like.

Melissa: Because more often than not, it's not what you think.

Corey: This is the moment you knew, and we have a feeling it might have you looking at success, uh, a little differently.

Melissa: Welcome back to the podcast, friends. We are so excited to have you here. And we are even more excited to have our guest today, Danica McLeod. Oh my goodness. We cannot wait to introduce you to her and hear her story and what success means to her. But let me start by saying that Danica has been a dear friend for years and years. First of all, we were stationed in Hawaii together as military spouses and did not know each other. But once we met here on the coast of North Carolina, um, our paths crossed and people introduced us and I actually did her kiddos, um, senior portraits and then recently did a surprise engagement for her daughter. Um, so I, and did college graduation pictures too. So we have been connected for years and years. But, um, so Danica, can I go way back? But then a couple of, I don't know, a year or so ago, Danica and I were having a, a, a chat and um, we were talking about what Melissa and I are doing with the business reboot and she was like, you know what, I'm going to talk to you guys. Can I book a call? I was like, sure. And she was like, I. And she'll tell you all about her company and the amazing work that she's doing there. But she was like, I just kind of want to have a space where I can have a creative con, some creative conversations, um, with people that will help me kind of think outside of the box as to where I can grow this company and, and kind of the new era. And so welcome to today's podcast. Danica, we are super excited, um, to have you here. Will you start? Before we get into some of the other stuff, will you start with telling us about your company and a little bit about yourself?

Corey: Sure, sure.

Danica McLeod: I am a, ah, second generation in this company. My dad started it about 55, 60 years ago and it's a very interesting company to me. It is full of technology and growth and it started off in an industry and security where it was just simple alarm systems with old fashioned foil and literal tin foil. And now we are a very security company. And we work across the United States. And I can't even tell you how many clients that we service. And we do everything from virtual presence to CCTV systems, access control, electronic security. You name it, we do it. We're one of the leaders in our field. Um, and I can't say enough about it because I find it very interesting. And all the wonderful people I work with and work for, I find, uh, I'm incredibly lucky to have them. I was a military spouse, for I still am. And now I'm a military mom. And, um, I married my high school sweetheart. So we've been married, uh, 20, almost 28 years. But I worked with Actron since I've been 12. Our name of our company is Actron Systems, or Actron Security Alarm Systems was the original name. Um, Actron Systems, Inc. And I started working for them when I was 12. Started off janitorial service.

Melissa: Look at you.

Corey: You're real rags to riches, Danica. Look at you.

Danica McLeod: I made a whole $12 a week to scrub toilets. Dang. And the thing my dad always said, well, the toilets need to be scrubbed, and it's going to be you or it's going to be me. And I assure you, it's not going to be me. So to the toilet cleaning, my sister and I went, and I grew up in the company, there literally isn't anything I haven't done. I have, uh, done the monitoring portion of it, which is very, very interesting to me. That's my baby. That's where I cut my biggest teeth on. First of all, learning how to monitor alarm systems and camera systems and then learning how the systems work and then developing a command. Ah, we call it a command center, but it's a central station. Developing one and managing it. And I learned how to do a little bit of technician work. I even went to school and learned some electronics. And don't ask me any questions about it because it was a long time ago. But I took a hiatus when I got married and I, uh, moved around the world with my husband. Very, very blessed to be part of the Marine Corps family. Raised my children and came back to the company as a, uh, part of our government sales. We are GSA certified, so we sell directly to the government, uh, for a lot of sales. And because I speak government and I speak acronyms, I started and stood that division up, and I'm very proud of it. And, uh, it's a big part of our company and I grew from there. And eventually my dad wanted to take some time, he wanted to relax, enjoy the Fruits of his labor. So now I'm the CEO, and I have been running the company for about, um, three, four years. And it has been an amazing journey, and one that started off very rocky for me. We had some issues going on that were new to me to address, and now I feel like I am the luckiest woman in the world to work with the most amazing people. And when I found that what you did, all I could think of is Melissa and Corey helped me get my creativity on. They helped me find how can I make the company that I love better, how can I grow. Grow it, and in what directions can I go, and how do I take everybody with me? Because sometimes people don't see the same visions. And I needed a sounding board and a, uh, crew that could tell me your. Your idea. Yeah, not so good. Or you're.

Corey: I don't know that we. I don't know that we've ever said that.

Danica McLeod: Maybe. Maybe you have very nicely told me you might want to say that in a little bit different.

Corey: Okay, yeah, we have said that.

Danica McLeod: Yes. And it's especially Corey, who's known me for so long, could tell me very delicately, yeah, that's a little rough. There's a nicer way to say that, um, because a lot of those people had worked there when I wasn't there, when I was raising my children. So there is. I call him my counterpart, Rich, who works there, who I'm very lucky to work with, that has worked as long as I have. Except he didn't take a break. And he knew everything about our clients, and he knew about our growth, and he knew about the internal workings. And thankfully, he was very patient and worked with me and let me grow and let me. I still tap on his knowledge, and he always has the best interest of Actron at heart, and that makes my job infinitely easier.

Corey: I love that. I love that. Now, here's a couple of things about Danica that you don't know, is that Danica and I both, like. Corey is the one. The three of us, okay? It's like Laverne and Shirley and their little friend that lives next door. And, um, we. What was it this week? We were on a call because we're doing some, like, website development and content mapping and all kinds of things for things that are happening in their company now. And we were on a call with Sweet Mike, who handles, um, their website development, and he started talking techie to us, and Danica's eyes kind of glassed over, and Corey was like, are you guys. Melissa's leaning to the. I was like, we're both about anxiety nap right here on this call. Listen, Corey is handling it.

Melissa: She is.

Danica McLeod: I stuck a lolly pop in my mouth, for God's sake.

Corey: You did.

Melissa: You really did. And what was so funny was I was like, okay, I'm gonna have to grab the bull by the horns or, like, take the reins on this. Because Melissa was anxiety nabbing her eyes. Danica popped a lollipop in her mouth, and then she started moving papers on her desk.

Corey: I was like, oh, hell, we have her crochet. She's like.

Melissa: And Melissa is like, how, uh, hell can I stay awake for this?

Danica McLeod: Only so much my brain can take. And I'll say that's the creative aspect, is I'm a little add.

Corey: Yeah. Welcome to entrepreneurship. What are you talking about?

Danica McLeod: And then they pop right back out, and then I'm done. Like, I need to move on. I can't sit there and listen to. Mike is too smart for me about all the techie stuff. And I just need to know, Mike, just tell me what you need from me. And Corey was like, let me ask the specific questions and get down to the nitty gritty. Cause I'd have hung up on the call like, 10 minutes in, like, yep, got it.

Corey: Thanks. And, um, I'm like, I'm the karma of the frog meme that's in the back going, like, that's me. Because I. I'm going, okay, I'm gonna rock in the back of the corner and yell, tick tock. Yeah, it's too much. It's fine. We're fine. It's fine. No, but, um, the. Okay. The reason that we wanted Danika here is because one thing about this series that we hope that you find throughout the entire summer is that success looks different for all of us, for every single person you will find on the Internet, um, in the world of, you know, influencers and people who quickly rise to the top. And it's like, they don't have that lag time of having to figure out and to feel and to develop. Um, it's like success just comes overnight. Well, it doesn't exist. That's not. That's not a real thing. Uh, especially in the year 2026 of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Okay? It don't exist that way anymore. And, um, and so for us, the. The whole point of this series, this season, is to remind you that success looks different for all of us. And the only thing that you can do and that you can control is the success that you individ nobody's opinion of what is the most important for your company matters as much as yours does. And so, um, we have just, we're going to be interviewing people this, this summer. Um, you know, we talked about it, you heard about it last week with our friends Eduardo and Vanessa from Revamp. And uh, and you know, they mentioned like, buying back time. For Corey and I, it's a variety of different things. It's time flexibility, it's being able to be the mom that could always pick up my kids from school. It's Corey being able to work from Hawaii as her first daughter welcomes her first daughter, um, for a couple of months. And it's those kind of things count as much as, um, you know, seven figure revenue and um, having private jets. Okay. For like realistic real people, we want to dig through what success is. So, Danica, I'm going to ask you the question that this entire podcast hinges on. So don't mess it up. Okay? I'm just kidding.

Danica McLeod: No pressure.

Melissa: No pressure or sweat.

Corey: No pressure. What is the moment that you knew that you had made it in your business?

Danica McLeod: I wish I had something very profound to say, but, you know, there are different ways that I feel it professionally. I feel it when I can look at the people that work for me and say, you know what, I can pay your salary or your hourly bills, uh, every week. And I can assure you there's going to be a paycheck and growth and development. And I can take somebody that started working for me at a young age of 19. I have a gentleman that's worked for me for eight years and he has grown from the, the command center operator that answers the phone and dispatch the police to now the directorship of that command center.

Corey: And how many employees do you have? Tell us how many employees you have.

Danica McLeod: We have 34 employees and we do work with a lot of subcontractors across the country, but in Michigan, we have 34 employees on foot there. And to me, being able to make sure that our techn technicians have the equipment that they need, the uh, pay that they deserve, um, the safety things that are required and I can hire more. That to me brings me great, great. I don't know what the right word is, but relief that I can do that. I feel like, okay, we've made it. We're not in fear of, oh my gosh, will we make payroll this week? That's one of the greatest accomplishments that I can say is that I feed 34 families and it's growing. Personally, my greatest accomplishment, uh, is that I can still do the most important job I've ever had, and that's be a mom and a wife. That means when my family needs me, this job's portable. I take it where I want to go. My daughter just closed on a house today, and next week I'm going to be on the road. I'm going to be going to see my daughter in her first house, and I'm so proud of her. And my son is a Marine. A couple weeks ago, maybe a month now, I packed up and went up to Quantico, Virginia to visit with him, and I worked from there. That is a great personal success for me because those are the two most important things. Being a wife and a mother to me that I can possibly personally find and being able to accommodate that, that's the most important personal, uh, marker of success I have.

Corey: I love that. That's so good. And. And that's the stuff that's the most important because it's not, uh. There's not a specific dollar amount tied to it. There's not a particular PTO tied to it. There's. That. That is just something for you. And I just think that's awesome.

Danica McLeod: I feel like it falls in line if I'm happy professionally and I'm happy personally. It doesn't matter. I don't have a personal jet. I don't have a personal chef. Um, if anybody would like to for free, come and be my personal return of death.

Corey: Yeah.

Danica McLeod: But, uh, you know, I don't have that. But I have a successful company that feeds a lot of people. And, you know, even the purchases of our equipment, we, um, feed families through that, our vendors, we. We help produce family. Our subcontractors, we spend money, a lot of money with product and subcontractors and, you know, all sorts of things that feed additional people and the more we grow. And we are literally, uh, all over this country, all the way from Maine to Seattle, Washington to New Mexico and Texas and Florida. We're all over the place. And the more we do and the better we are. And I do have to say I think we're one of the best in the country. Um, I think that's success, too, because we're. We're adding into other people's lives.

Melissa: Right. I like. And I am hearing the common thread in what you're talking about with both professional success and what that means to you and personal is legacy and impact, is that it gets to your company and the work that you're doing and what makes you feel fulfilled and Successful is that you are having a great impact on not only the 34 families that you employ and their families, but also the community at large. And I think that's the cool thing about entrepreneurship, is that you're having a direct economic impact. And you can watch that, the economics and the money, like, roll down the hill. Like, you can see the trail and you know where you're making a great impact in our country. And go ahead.

Danica McLeod: The other thing in being a legacy, what's very important to me as. As my dad gets to enjoy some retirement, that he can sit back and say, you know what? I raised you right. You're doing a good job. You work hard. We all get to enjoy the fruits of his labor because he worked tirelessly for generations and decades, and we get to grow from there. And to hear him say he's proud of me, that means a great deal to me.

Melissa: I love that. And talking about the personal side of it, where I think that legacy and impact comes in, and you've heard all three of us women talk about that, is that the success is great, but how, uh, we define it is in how it allows us to still be a part of our families. And we don't want, at the end of the day, to have built this really successful, awesome thing that has stolen us from our families or our families from us. And I think.

Corey: I mean, how many marriages do we know that fall apart because never had

Melissa: their mom or their dad show up because they were always flying here or flying there or doing this or doing that. And I think that. I hope that that is a part of the conversation that our listeners get from this, is that there are choices to be made and there are sacrifices to be made on all accounts, but that when you define success for what it means to you and not look at the outside world and what they tell you success should, should look like or should feel like or should equal, uh, your heads and tails above lots of other people.

Corey: I love that. It's so true.

Danica McLeod: Yeah. I don't think there's a financial, uh, amount that you can put, but, man, do you feel it when your kids tell you they love you or give you that extra hug or your husband gives you that extra hug or kiss and says, you know, I know you're working hard, you've done a good job, or thank you, whatever. Those are the priceless moments.

Corey: Now, I will say that Anthony Pepin, God love him, uh, because for a year, for like a decade and a half, well, I guess almost two decades, I, uh, owned a photography company and that was, like, the main thing that I did. And, um, so for the joke was always, well, do I get half? Like, it was just me, and it's just m. Me. Well, then me and Corey joined together. He's like, well, do I get half of your half? I was like, you don't get no half. We get no halfs. Success. Nobody gets a half. It's very funny. But. But I do. I also think just to, like, you know, tip my hat again at what you said about being able to pay your people. We talked to so many entrepreneurs, especially because they're going into that second season of business or they're pivoting and they're starting something new, and, um, they realize quickly that outsourcing is going to be the thing that helps them succeed. Well, when you need extra hands on deck to help you, that first hire can feel totally paralyzing. Well, I'm sitting here going, danic, you've got 34 people, 34 mouths you feed every month. So, like, nobody. If you have never had employees that you're responsible for, you do not realize how stressful it can be to wake up on a Monday morning knowing you got to pay people, and it feels like you could sweat blood any minute. And we have worked with some clients where, um, they have, like, crawled out of financial situations or. Or have sold businesses where it literally, like, that. That is so weighty and so hard.

Danica McLeod: And I love it ages you. It does, right?

Corey: But. But I love that that's. That that's a marker of success for you, is not just that you've got all these people that work for you, which is typically where a lot of people will stop. Like, our company's so big. We've got a hundred employees. Well, cool, cool, cool. Are they all getting fed every week? And are you getting a paycheck, too? And are you. All the things that are happening. So I. I just love that. And I think that it is just really important for us, not, uh, just as women, but as. As small business owners, to remember that the parts of our companies that are going to have the most impact, um, are going to be the hands and feet that work for us, and that that's including ourselves. And it's just. It's. It is. It is nice to have that be, uh, kind of like a universal thought on this podcast today. Um, just because, uh, like, they're just. Money fades. Your stuff goes away. If you could lose everything that's important to you, uh, outside of people at a house fire, I go, then that's not the stuff that's irreplaceable. And it's the people, it's the interactions, it's the taking care of each other. And I can say, actron, from everything that we have experienced in the last year, and we'll, we'll be going with Danica, uh, to Detroit next month to shoot some pictures for content, uh, for her team, and cannot wait to meet some of these people. Rich, I'm coming at you, I'm coming at you. I'm going to hug you. Um, but it's going to be really good, Danica. I think this will release right before we come, which will be really fun. Like the week of, they're either going

Melissa: to love us or hate us.

Corey: They're going to be like, they're going to be the worst.

Danica McLeod: Well, I do have one other thing with that to add is I do think it's important in order to feel success, to understand you never get there on your own. You never, uh. Those people that work for you, those 34 families, those 34 people, I am on their shoulders. They are the ones that show up night and day, day and night. They're the ones that put on the hard hat or work in the command center or go and sell. And honestly, that gives you the biggest joy and makes you want to do it if you surround yourself by wonderful people, even our subcontractors. I spoke with Juan Carlos last night at what, 6, 30, 7 o' clock at night. And you know what I find? Uh, that we're laughing and talking about our children more than work. And, you know, uh, that's nice that you can have wonderful people to work with. And that's what builds success for me in my company.

Corey: That's awesome. Okay, Danica, tell everybody where they can find you. Now, you don't do residential security.

Danica McLeod: We don't.

Corey: But you got a lot of businesses. Yep.

Danica McLeod: We do a lot of car lots, schools, courthouses, um, we do industrial complexes, um, you name it. Business wise, we cover it with different things like the access control, the command center, or the camera systems, or we integrate it all and we monitor it. And you can find us@actronsystems.com or you can contact me@danicactronsystems.com um, and we're located in, um, it's called Lincoln Park, Michigan, right outside of Detroit. And it is a wonderful company with a lot of wonderful people.

Corey: That's awesome. That's awesome. M. Okay, well, this has been so much fun. Thank you, Danica, for being here. And, uh, thank you for having me. Yes. We cannot wait to keep bringing you stories of people this summer that we love and we adore and we just, uh, this is the stuff that fuels us. So we are all about figuring out exactly what success looks like to you as the individual, so that that becomes the. The fire that fuels you and the thing that you chase in your business. So, um, if you would, uh, love to stay connected to us, we would love to stay connected to do you as well. That was the weirdest way to say that. I don't know. We're gonna.

Danica McLeod: I don't know.

Corey: We're going with it. It's fine. Here we are. Uh, you know where to find us. You've been here for a minute. You can go and follow us on Instagram and drop us a DM at Business reboot. You can check out our website@thebusinessreboot.com and we will be back next week with another episode. Episode number 200 next week. We're so excited about the guest that's gonna be with us. It's gonna be so fun. So come back and, uh, we'll see you next week on another episode of the Business Reboot podcast. It.