Hello!
Thank you for joining me. In celebration of ten years in business, we are starting a blog to keep in touch with customers and anyone who is interested in learning more about our business and security & automation. So much has changed over the last decade and what better way to talk about it than right here? For today, you’ll learn a little about our beginnings and some of what has happened since.
JAL Custom Home Security started out as a small business in Philadelphia led by a husband (Jim) and wife (Lisa) team. Jim spent several years installing security systems in the area before being offered the opportunity to become an ADT Authorized Dealer in 2016 and I was thrilled to join him in his venture. After a decade of having run a business of my own, I was actively seeking something new. You might be thinking JAL stands for “Jim And Lisa”, as people have told us over the years. Well, I have a fun little fact for you! The truth is Jim wanted to honor our three children with the name of the business, so the letters JAL represent the first letter of each of their names.
There was so much to learn in the beginning. Jim adjusted well from installer to president while I was excited and nervous to jump into something that I essentially knew nothing about. Ten years doesn’t seem like that long ago but believe it or not, some of the paperwork was actual paper. Things needed to be filled out and mailed. Computer systems and software programs needed to be mastered. These were all self taught and as time went on, we became pros and were able to train employees. Together we learned the communication process with ADT and how to stay organized with customers, employees, accounting, and scheduling.
The early years were filled with residential security system installations, often with the addition of a video doorbell. Speed ahead to 2026 and our offerings have grown to include everything in modern smart home automation plus technology for commercial spaces. Utilizing ADT together with Google, we help home and business owners customize their spaces for safety and comfort. For this reason, we recently updated our name to JAL Advanced Security & Automation to better describe our business.
Over the years, more locations were added to include not just Pennsylvania, but also New Jersey, Delaware & Florida. We have employed many people, consisting of some who started off as strangers and came to be like family to college students who needed a summer job. The ability to provide people with work and a paycheck is truly fulfilling and has always been one of my favorite tasks related to the business. Early on, a retiree joined us to get out and work sometimes. Another person started out in Philly and moved to Florida and was able to continue with us for several years even after having moved south. We saw others get engaged to be married, graduate from college, buy their first house. A hairstylist joined us as a side hustle to earn extra income part time. There have also been parents who could flexibly work from home, reliable armed forces veterans and recent high school grads trying to learn some skills and find their way. We have been so fortunate that so many wonderful people have joined our team over the years.
JAL is proud of the work we’ve done to become an award-winning ADT Authorized Dealer, a ButterflyMX Certified Partner and an alarm.com Premier Partner. We will continue to learn and grow with new technology, always with our customers’ satisfaction and peace of mind being the top priority.
The plan is for a blog post each week. Stay tuned to hear all about what we’re up to!