From my experience, where we find ourselves today is the result of blind luck combined with our ability to reflect and act on our past experiences and actions.
Suzanna Alsayed is a trilingual (French, English, Russian) emergency management and security specialist in Toronto, that was named #2 in the IFSEC Global “Top Influencers in Security & Fire” 2020 “Commercial Security Association Figures/Academics/Thought Leaders” category. Suzanna has over 8 years of diverse experience in various roles within the Public and Private Sector with expertise in facilitating multi-disciplinary projects involving internal and external stakeholders.
In 2020, Suzanna Alsayed founded Evolutz, an independent brand, design, copywriting, and website development agency. The aim is to elevate the security industry branding standards and help security companies and professionals get a competitive edge, expand their client reach, and increase revenue.
Suzanna also founded Hilt International Security, a holistic security firm – with the goal to work with different international platforms, in order to protect people and assets worldwide. She believes that by showcasing different skills, languages, cultures, and expertise, the world can come together, one project at a time, one client at a time.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Suzanna Alsayed: My pleasure!
A series of interesting events led me down this career path. My background (Russian and Lebanese) played a big role in my choice of career and deciding what type of life I wanted to live. My family and I immigrated to Canada in the mid-90s. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed my parents’ degrees not being recognized, working minimum wage to make ends meet, learning both official languages in less than a year, and adapting to North American culture. All of this was done to provide opportunities and a better life for me and my sister. On top of that, countless hours were dedicated to our education, extracurricular activities, and to ensure that we had the strength and skills to adapt and persevere. As a woman dedicated to my family, I am on a mission to ‘repay’ my parents for their sacrifices by helping them much in the same way they helped me.
I mentioned this in a previous interview, but my fascination with TV shows (X-Files, Fringe, etc.) that focused on crime, action, and espionage piqued my interest. I always felt that I was best suited to function and thrive in chaotic environments. While growing up, we always had the news on; my parents never tried to protect me from the stark realities of the world. As a result, I began to grasp geopolitics and economics at a young age. I was particularly interested in understanding the causes and consequences of major political disruptions around the globe.
I decided to pursue studies related to my pre-existing interests, graduating with a Bilingual B.A. in Political Science, a Bilingual Honours B.A. in International Studies, and a Masters in Disaster and Emergency Management, all within a 6 year period. Throughout university, I also worked full-time in the corporate world, because I knew that academia alone was not enough.
I discovered the security industry in 2017 and never looked back. The industry has welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to expand my wings. I am part of the new wave of professionals who entered the industry through academia, instead of transitioning from investigations, law enforcement, the military, or other avenues. I love what I do every day and I am very grateful!
By the end of 2019, I felt like I needed a new challenge; my personal and professional lives changed dramatically as a result. I founded Hilt International Security, my first venture. The amount of information I was forced to learn within a few months fundamentally changed my understanding of business and people for the best. At the end of the day, business is both an art and a psychological game, and the trick is to find the perfect balance between creativity and strategy. The interplay between relationship building and providing a finished product still fascinates me to this day.
Less than a year later, COVID19 hit; as a Security and Emergency Management Specialist, I was challenged in ways that nobody could have predicted. Luckily, my Masters degree included an internship specializing in Pandemic Plan Development, which proved to be incredibly practical in retrospect. The next six months proved to be both grueling and rewarding; I am very proud of my team and their continued commitment to professionalism throughout this unprecedented global crisis.
The stay-at-home order and the elimination of commuting gave me additional free time, so I decided to be productive and throw myself headfirst at certain passion projects of mine. In mid-2020, I founded Evolutz Inc. Evolutz is a business that reflects what goes on in my mind—it allows the patterns, colors, and words to come to life. My goal with Evolutz is to help rebrand the security industry. We are such a powerful industry, and amazing work is done on a daily basis, but it usually goes unnoticed. I want the world to know how impactful we truly are, one project at a time. I am very fortunate that the security industry has fostered my mission and is supporting me in this endeavor.
If you asked me 2-3 years ago what my life would look like today, my guess would have been dead wrong. However, once you get a real taste of entrepreneurship, I am sure many can attest to that; the experience is addicting, to say the least. You find yourself in a constant state of flux, where the desire for learning, achieving and contributing becomes part of your life in a way that few other experiences necessitate such commitment and drive. It’s akin to playing a continuous game of chess with a constant stream of amazing opponents who force you to hone your skills or perish.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Suzanna Alsayed: A collection of extreme events and coincidences intertwine to create my story. My journey began when I entered professional sports at the age of four. I trained as a rhythmic gymnast in Canada and Russia for over a decade. This inevitably forced me to adopt a discipline, consistency, and a consequential work ethic. Did I ever think about giving up during those 13 years of training and competition? Absolutely, especially after failed competitions or serious injuries. Yet, I somehow found a way to push through. I trained daily through blood, sweat, tears, pain, and criticism. This all helped shape a foundation of mental fortitude, which became very useful later in my professional career.
One particular instance comes to mind when I had to compete on a badly injured foot (I did not know the severity of the injury at the time). Usually, professional athletes develop a high pain threshold and often train through injuries. What I believed to be a minor sprain ended up being a fracture paired with torn ligaments. I placed 4th in that competition, which would be my last. That injury led to another one, forcing me to resign. My dream of reaching the Olympics has ended. In my head, I had failed myself, my team, and somehow the future of my country. It took me almost 8 years to start talking about it and share my experience with others. Only then did I appreciate the impact that professional sports had on me and the way it shaped my approach to life, career, and goals. I developed a deep understanding of the value of motivation, but I also realized the importance of knowing and finding one’s personal limitations in order to work around them and continuously improve. The overall experience might have ended negatively, but the motivation and grit that I built throughout those years provided me with a springboard for future challenges.
From my experience, where we find ourselves today is the result of blind luck combined with our ability to reflect and act on our past experiences and actions. Thus, if we want to change our present and future, we need to change our current circumstances and our way of thinking. Specifically, we need to be acutely aware of our control over internal and external factors; knowing my limitations in conjunction with the ability to learn from my mistakes and work incredibly hard when necessary has allowed me to find success in several domains.
Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. What’s the worst advice you received?
Suzanna Alsayed: Unfortunately, several answers immediately come to mind.
In the second year of my university studies, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a diplomat who was stationed internationally. I asked him what someone should do in order to become a diplomat or an international lawyer; I did not expect the answer that followed. The diplomat told me that I would most likely not succeed in his field and that I should instead become an interpreter because people with an accent in North America are not often taken seriously or find success in such fields. He then proceeded to advise me to find another field of study, outside of politics, one where I might have a better chance to succeed.
I heeded his advice; I did not pursue a career in diplomacy or law. Instead, I explored other avenues, eventually leading me to my graduate work in Disaster and Emergency Management, and subsequently discovering the security industry and the joys of entrepreneurship.
In hindsight, I now know that what he told me was a lie. Sometimes I wonder where I would be today had I pursued a more traditional legal or political path. I realized through this experience that advice, even from experts and professionals, isn’t as valuable as one’s personal motivation, drive, or sense of purpose. Generally speaking, if someone is motivated enough to achieve some particular goal, and the goal is not completely unreasonable, a strong work ethic and a personal sense of purpose will be sufficient to find success. Everything else is just noise.
Is there a particular podcast you listened to, or business thought leader that you find helpful while maneuvering this pandemic?
Suzanna Alsayed: Former Navy Seal and current author, podcaster, and motivational speaker Jocko Willink have inspired me vis-a-vis dealing with adversity and leading employees through tough times. Specifically, I have benefited from the following advice:
- Whenever you are faced with adversity or failure, say GOOD. Don’t complain, and don’t try to negotiate with your failure. Don’t become a nihilistic pessimist, but also don’t become a daydreaming optimist. Simply realistically acknowledge and assess your failure, learn from your mistakes, and try not to repeat them. Appreciate failure as a GOOD thing, as an opportunity to build yourself back up into a stronger, less fragile human being.
- In dealing with leadership, always take the blame when your subordinates make mistakes, and always allow your subordinates to bask in the organization’s success, even if you were responsible for it. Finally, NEVER micromanage employees; give them ownership over their tasks by telling them what to do, but not how to do them. When employees have extreme ownership over their work, the quality will inevitably skyrocket, and employee satisfaction will remain high. Micromanagement is perhaps the single worst thing an employer or company can do to their employees and their bottom line.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Suzanna Alsayed: In five years, I will be in my early 30’s—scary to think! I usually create a three-year dream board and focus on achieving those specific goals, but for the sake of answering this question, my five-year plan would consist of the following:
- Hiring a strong team of experts within different industries who possess various skills, come from different cultures, and speak different languages.
- Developing a solid client base for Evolutz (mostly repeat clients, catering to copywriting and social media management services).
- Becoming a dominant force in the e-commerce space for my various companies.
- Finishing my book and doing book tours/conferences/speaking engagements and encouraging people to pursue their dreams and aspirations.
- Make enough revenue to give back to my community and engage in philanthropy.
Life has taught me a lot in the past few years. I feel like I have lived 10-15 years since 2019. As a result, I don’t plan too far ahead anymore. COVID19 has taught me to live more in the present and enjoy small successes as they occur, instead of obsessing over insignificant details. Thus, I believe it is crucial to have a plan, goals, and a strategy in place, but to simultaneously remember to humanize work and make it as enjoyable as possible; otherwise, you’ll never discover your passions or achieve your potential.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Suzanna Alsayed: I am still learning how to be a better leader and business owner. Every single day I find out something new about my clients, their demands, and in a broader sense, how to conduct my business. My three most important traits are the following:
- Grit: In other words, a combination of tenacity and intuition. Usually, when I set my mind on something, I tend to research it, get my facts straight, and act on it. Even when I do not have all the answers, I still take action. I follow my gut and work as hard as possible.
- “Panicker”: A word my parents used to describe me when I got overwhelmed or some major event occurred. I would literally panic, thinking about the worst-case scenarios (I would’ve made a good lawyer!), often breaking down into tears. However, once I went through the “panic” stage, I would become cold/level-headed and come up with a robust strategic action plan. Once I am level-headed, there is no stopping me. I do not ‘panic’ as much anymore, but I do know that once I get over the preliminary anxiety that comes with facing the unknown (part of our fight, flight or freeze evolutionary system), I will be able to overcome anything that is thrown my way.
- Organization: Since I can remember, I always had an agenda, colorful pens, and 12 different types of highlighters. I would bookmark everything, make detailed notes, and ensure to have a detailed daily checklist at hand with all of the tasks that need to be accomplished. Today, being organized is incredibly helpful in business, as I rarely lose track of tasks, meetings, etc.
Each individual has their own special skills that they can exploit and turn into a strength. We all have unique traits; it’s just about investing the time and energy needed to develop yourself to discover these inner assets and use them to turn ideas into tangible profits.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Suzanna Alsayed: Absolutely! I have positioned myself to ensure that any work my company performs and any interaction I have with my clients reflects the values I hold dear (both personally and professionally). My brand is focused on being completely transparent, even verging on being ‘vulnerable’ with my audience. By solidifying your personal brand and keeping it consistent, you will create trust between you and your clients, further cementing a long-term reputation within the industry.
These days, social media can be used for deceptive and nefarious reasons; it’s often a misconception that the entrepreneurial world is full of schemers and greedy people who are looking for the next one-hit wonder, make millions of dollars and run for the exits. The reality is much more nuanced, and the struggle is very real (something that you can see on a weekly basis by visiting my LinkedIn page). Through my online persona, I regularly share my wins and failures with my audience in order to keep my entrepreneurial journey as transparent and realistic as possible. I try to encourage and motivate my audience as a way of paying it forward for all the people who provided me with help and advice on my business journey up to this point. I also have a (figurative) open-door policy for anyone who is seeking guidance or help.
We are all on a mission to better ourselves. Hence, if I can help someone by using my brand or knowledge gained through my experience overcoming several challenges, I will do my very best to provide guidance to those willing to listen.
How would you define “leadership”?
Suzanna Alsayed: I believe leadership is about understanding the people you are working with, identifying their skills, strengths, passions, goals, and then building a delivery/task plan around their unique characteristics. Some have career goals, some have financial needs, and some are still finding their passion; it is crucial to properly identify these attributes to give individuals the opportunity to work in an environment where they will strive. Finally, I refuse to micromanage; as previously stated, micromanagement is a recipe for disaster.
As Steve Jobs once said, “it doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do.”
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Suzanna Alsayed: You will meet many “naysayers” in your life—they can be family, friends, colleagues, or even strangers. However, if you have an idea or a vision, please do yourself a favor and pursue it. Even if it’s just doing a simple Google search and determining whether your idea is unique or viable. I know it’s cliché, but Wayne Gretsky was right when he said that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
I originally believed that starting a successful business and being taken seriously by my peers and other professionals required 20-25 years of slogging through the corporate world. I soon discovered (through the help of online networking) that many people my age were creating content and doing what I am passionate about (and better yet, making a profit at the same time). I thought to myself, why can’t I do it? And I just jumped into it. If you have enough competitive hunger, grit, determination, and lack an extreme aversion to risk, you should make the jump as well. But remember, the entrepreneurial journey is a hard, lonely, and demanding journey. It will pull you into different directions, might ruin friendships and relationships, and will likely challenge your current views, perspectives, culture, politics, etc.
Whatever you want to accomplish in life, it is never too early or too late to start, and often, you will be required to deviate from the status quo and your habituation to comfort and consistency if you are fully devoted to the entrepreneurial path. Be prepared to fail over and over again. But remember, each failure is a lesson. Not everything will be fruitful. You will miss many parties and will have late nights in front of your computer with several cups of coffee by your side. Just know it is a journey, and you will feel discouraged and uninspired at times, but that remaining motivation during these low points will make all the difference in the long run. Do not give up!
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Suzanna Alsayed: I have several quotes that I read daily, in order to keep me going. I follow many Instagram pages that focus on entrepreneurship, business, and life. There are many quotes that altered my views on life, such as:
- “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” – Brené Brown
- – “Discipline, consistency, and perseverance will take you places motivation never could.” – Unknown
- “Lessons in life will be repeated until they are learned.” – Frank Sonnenberg
However, I recently discovered an interesting quote that touches upon living in the present moment. How I interpret it is that we usually take advantage of moments, opportunities, and people in our life without realizing that those were the happy and most impactful moments in our lives. This quote explains the importance of staying grounded and aware:
- “I don’t know how to explain it all. The gap between the pieces of my heart. The jitteriness in my stomach when I remember that I can never go back to some of the most incredible moments of my life. The emptiness. The silence. The relationships that have left a hole inside my soul but filled my mind with so many memories that I don’t know what to do with them. That I don’t know how to make sense of it all. Isn’t it weird? You can have the most adventurous moments ever without knowing it, without being aware that this time will go down in history as your happiest.” – Ruby Dhal
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
