My name is Grant Rayner and I’m an independent security consultant.
I started my journey in 1989. Over the years, I’ve worked in a range of military, security consulting, and corporate security roles. All in all, I’ve been practicing security and crisis management in some form or another for 36 years.
After 7 years working for global security consulting firms, I decided to go out alone and set up my company - Spartan9 - in Singapore in 2009. All told, I’ve managed to survive 16 years of being in business as an independent security consultant.
It certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing. The COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented me from travelling for projects, was a particularly challenging period.
The key difference with my approach to running an independent consulting practice is my willingness to innovate and try different things. I’ve built comprehensive consulting frameworks, developed software, written and published books, and productised services.
In January 2023, I started the Business of Security on Substack.
I’ve since moved away from Substack to set up shop here.
My objective in writing the Business of Security is to answer this question:
What do you need to know to set up and run a successful and impactful security consulting company as an independent security professional?
I’ll be covering a host of important topics, including:
And much more…
If you’re in a government role and considering stepping out into a security role in the private sector, I’m confident you’ll find these articles useful to guide your career choices.
If you’re currently in a corporate security role, and you’re wondering whether the grass is indeed greener on the other side, you might find what I write to be useful in guiding your decision-making process.
If you’re in a large security consulting firm and you’re lying awake at night wondering whether you should step out on your own, you’ll find what I write to be useful.
If you’re currently like me and running your own consulting company, I’m hoping you’ll learn from some of my mistakes and gain some validation along the way.
This is not a get rich quick grift.
You won’t find any hustle culture here. I get 8 hours of sleep a night and have never taken an ice bath.
What you will find is approaches to build a sustainable and resilient business.
I do advocate taking a few risks here and there, and I’m certainly a proponent of experimentation.
I’m not the final arbiter on all things relating to business.
Sure, I have an MBA, have worked in senior corporate and consulting roles, and have been running my own business for 16 years but the reality is that I’m now in a business of one. For this reason, I’m going to focus my writing on operating a successful security business as an individual.
I’ll be sharing my thoughts and opinions, based on my own experience. Some of you reading this may not agree with my perspectives and may have your own views based on your own experience. That’s perfectly fine, and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to learn a few things from your experience as well.
In addition to my posts here, I’ve also written a number of books on crisis management, travel security, and security evacuations. You can find these books here.
I also have a monthly newsletter called the S9 Dispatch.
You can reach me by email using the button below.