Event and Short-Contract Security Guards

Event organizers, venues, bars and restaurants, builders, property managers and local businesses that need cover for a night, a weekend or a few weeks.

You charge clients an hourly rate per guard and pay guards a lower hourly wage. The difference covers insurance, admin, uniforms and your profit.

• Calm, professional manner under pressure
• Scheduling and organizing people
• Selling to local businesses and organizers

• Most provinces require a security agency or business licence, and guards usually need their own licence and training, so check your provincial regulator before you take any work
• Quebec has its own regulator and French-language requirements, so check the local rules if you plan to work there
• Commercial general liability insurance, and ask whether clients will want proof of cover or bonding
• Whether your guards count as employees, which usually means payroll, source deductions and WCB/WSIB coverage, so check provincial rules
• Late-night and winter outdoor shifts, and clear rules on what guards can and cannot do

Startup costs are typically estimated at around $3,000 to $12,000, depending on licensing, uniforms, insurance and how you build your guard pool. Ask whether clients will want proof of cover or bonding.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $2,000 to $10,000, depending on how many events and short contracts you win and how many shifts you staff. Late-night and winter outdoor shifts are part of the work.

Most provinces require a security agency or business licence, and guards usually need their own licence and training, so check your provincial regulator first. Quebec has its own regulator and French-language requirements. Also check employee rules, payroll and WCB/WSIB.