Security company grows under Mike Ware’s care

Vidya Rao

Millions of dollars, good looks, lackadaisical talent, professional bodyguards — all the key ingredients to being a celebrity. Brighton native Mike Ware takes care of the latter ingredient, providing both armed and unarmed security to high-end celebrities and establishments through his company, Ware Security Consultants.

Ware, who attended Northeastern University on a full scholarship to study criminal justice, was always interested in working as either an attorney or Boston police officer.

Ware stumbled upon a position working for the city of Boston as a youth worker in Mission Hill. Initially, Ware planned on using the job as a temporary stepping-stone towards his real goal of joining the Boston Police Department. What he didn’t count on was developing a 14-year relationship with Mission Hill Community Centers that allowed him to grow from youth worker to becoming the youngest executive director in Boston at that time.

“It was a great opportunity for me,” says Ware. “I am really proud of my work as a youth worker, and the level of promotion that I was able to experience was a great achievement for me.”

After exhausting all of his opportunities at the community center, Ware began using his criminal justice background at Renrick Security Consultants, working as personal protection for professional athletes and celebrities who came through Boston. When the company began extending itself far beyond Boston, its owner was forced to travel so much that he could not continue running the company locally. It was then, in November 2002, that Ware saw the chance to become CEO of the company — maintaining the client base and changing the name to Ware Security Consultants.

Immediately, Ware expanded the company to include personal protection for comedians and other entertainers, as well as more consistent work at fixed sites such as banks, hotels and restaurants.

“Once I got [the company] started, it really took off,” says Ware. “And my client base grew with no advertising — only word of mouth.”

In fact, Ware picked up several contracts simply by referral from his clients and, as a result, increased the number of his employees to 16 field officers plus 2 administrative staff.

One of the clients that Ware picked up was Houston’s Restaurant, which opened in Boston in 2002. “Mike has been here since the beginning,” says Houston’s general manager Amber Hartman. “He’s so much more than just security — and as a person, he is very genuine and concerned, always out to do 110 percent.”

Ware has also faced a number of challenges in getting his company off the ground, but has been able to overcome them thus far. “This city has a lot of racial issues, it’s still one of the most racist cities,” says Ware. “Many companies don’t consider minority-owned companies for their contracts, so trying to reach high end contracts has been a challenge.”

Overall, however, Ware feels that the transition and growth of his company has been very smooth. A challenge that he does not have to face is disgruntled employees — most of whom are people of color — as Ware takes good care of the people that work for him. “It’s important to me that my employees can take care of their families,” he says. “Many of them are law enforcement officers who work for me part time because they make more money with me than they do on detail.”

Eric Smalls, an employee who has also been a close friend of Ware’s for over 20 years, explains that “Mike definitely respects and values his employees. He proves that there is a lot more to being a good manager than being able to tell someone what to.”

As a result of all of his success, Ware, who has never taken a bank loan, is continuing to invest in the growth of his company. Ideally, he would like to see the company grow to 60-70 field officers spread across seven different offices in the metro area. He now has two offices — one in Hyde Park and the other in downtown Boston, adjacent to City Hall.

As the father of three children, Ware has very little time beyond work and family life, and takes great pride in his work in security.

“I am very excited about where I am today, coming from a family where many people didn’t go to college or have high paying jobs,” he says. “My heart will always be with working with young people, but I have grown to love the security industry and the feeling I get from being in charge of my own destiny.”