Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to PAUL PENG. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

PAUL, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

Throughout my entrepreneurial journey with Sentri Institute, I encountered several problems that resulted in setbacks for my business, especially during the embryo phase of the business. However one of the biggest setbacks that I encountered was my attempt to become a training provider for the County in which I reside.

The idea first hit me when I realized I could use State and local resources as satellite arms to promote my business and the services I provide in order to give its residents the certifications necessary to work in the security field. The certification courses would be free of charge as the cost of training would be covered by state and local funds; essentially making it a win/win situation. All I would need to do was apply, right?

Let me start off by saying that I would not wish the application process to become a training provider for the county in which I reside on my worst enemy. The whole process took about ten months and it was in my professional opinion the most arduous, painstaking and expensive process I have ever seen.

I will not go into too much detail on the n96 page application packet that had to be turned in…instead I will summarize it by stating that it required a lot of information and all guidelines had to be followed to the T, otherwise it would be sent by for revision by the approving body.

The first unexpected hurdle occurred when I discovered that in order to be approved as a training provider for the county, I must first be approved by a state run organization called BPPE (Bureau of Private Post Secondary Education) so that I can be put on the ETPL (Eligible Training Provider List). In order to be approved, it was another application that needed to be filled out accompanied by a non-refundable payment of $5000! This floored me as I was told by many sources in the county that it was free!

At this point I was going to give up but eventually then found a loop hole. I could apply to become a certified Apprenticeship program through the US Department of Labor and automatically be placed on the ETPL list and the best part? It was free! So after I got approved to be a Federal apprenticeship program and put on the ETPL list for California I ran into my second hurdle. I had to pay for my own audit of my company and send in the results, this set me back $3000.

Oh wait, it aint over yet! After submitting all the paperwork, I then had to go on CalJobs to be approved through the state worksource program BEFORE I could be approved by the county on the condition that I subject me and my business to the state’s own worksite audit accompanied by an industry professional.

As you can see from the abridged journey mentioned above that there were several points in which I could of given up. Instead of just quitting I powered through it and tried to find alternative methods to achieve what I wanted. At the end of the day was it worth it? I would say yes because it is very limited competition on the other end.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am an army veteran of 9 years with 2 combat tours. I possess extensive experience in the realm of security operations. I have worked with foreign dignitaries, headed training programs for various police stations in the Middle East and the lead section leader of his squad-based unit have provided him the leadership and practical experience necessary to organize and teach an effective course on firearms, situational awareness, emergency response, as well as local security operations.

I have also worked the film industry with two films “The 4 Points” and “The Charisma Killers” both set to come out late 2023/early 2024. During these film shoots I worked both as an actor, set armorer and assistant stunt coordinator.
I also have multiple publications under my name for US Veterans Magazine and debuting as a contributor for USCCA’s Concealed Carry Magazine coming out March of this year.

I got into the industry based on an urging from my partner at the time because she thought that I was very good at what I did and she has seen me help other people in terms of improving marksmanship accuracy. I started Sentri Institute Inc. with a tag line “We Save Lives Through Training” a little over 3 years ago and we focus on the following certificaitons: BSIS Security Guard, Exposed Firearm Permit, Baton Permit, LE OC Spray, Concealed Carry Weapon, ALIVE Active Shooter Response, First Aid/CPR/AED and Situational Awareness.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I am sure you may be aware, California is not exactly the most friendly state when it comes to firearm ownership or utilization despite the fact that it is enshrined in the United States constitution, right behind the most important amendment…free speech.

For a long time, the CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon) certifications were a significant portion of our revenue and was ultimately subject to the whims of Sheriff elections. If the Sheriff was friendly towards CCW’s then OK I am alight, but if the duly elected Sheriff was not friendly towards CCWs then I would see a dramatic slowdown as applications would likely be slowed down on purpose.

Because of this fear, I decided to pivot and work with local worksources and counties to provide security certification services. Why? Regardless of the political climate or agenda’s ideologies on the best way to govern a society, security will always be needed, and people ultimately will need jobs. So there it is.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Just like a lot of other businesses, Sentri Institute Inc. was my side hustle for about a year. During my first year of Sentri Institute I was promoting/working on my business during the weekend and full time as an Operations Manager at the Port of Los Angeles.

I did not choose to make my side-hustle my full time career…I was forced into it. As we all know COVID happened at the beginning of 2020 and a lot of traffic shipping traffic slowed or stopped because the entire US economy practically shut down overnight. 6 months into this, I was pulled in and laid off from my position at the port and told that the company “was going in a different direction”.

I was devastated. Here I am with bills stacking up and freshly laid off. For days I just stayed home and did absolutely nothing, I barely ate anything either. After about a week of sulking in my own misery, I had a fire that lit inside of me, I got out of my bed and started to promote and build my business one step at a time. Did I have setbacks? Oh yes, many. My main motivator was to prove the doubters wrong, many of whom were people that I thought were my friends and my own family

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sentriinstitute.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sentriinstituteinc/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sentri-institute-stanton-4