Meet Gary Sumpter II | Smart Home & Security Company CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gary Sumpter II and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gary, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Growing up in a military house hold my parents always showed me a work ethic out of this world. Not to mention my Dad being one of my coaches growing up. Working multiple jobs to open their own businesses themselves, layed the example ground work that would inspire me years later to start a business devoted to help make others lives better and safer. They instilled integrity, graditude, and grit into my psyche as a child and i believe these 3 habits are some of the main reasons for Virtual Smart Home’s ongoing success.

The integrity I saw growing up from my Air Force parents helped me realize that doing right by others even behind closed doors would cause more and more people to join whatever cause I undertook.

My journey has been filled with many ups and downs, from the highs of Div 1. Athletics, to the lows of financial struggles and living pay check to paycheck. My journey has made me stronger and a  more resiliant urge to succeed.

One habit I have found to be a landmark of our success is continuing to remember that graditude is one of the most powerful tools on the planet. Being thankful for both the hard losses and the big wins helped keep me grounded in the fact that inside of every small setback or victory is a lesson to be learned. I feel that finding gratitude in every situation whether it be good or not so good has only allowed my franchise to become a magnet for the greater good.

Lastly, Grit is my middle name. ( it’s not) Choosing HBCU Norfolk State University to attend on a full Track & Field scholarship, then becoming MEAC champions while attending, is a small testiment to putting your all and into something. I believe seeing my role models follow their passions, becoming entrepreneurs while in full military service definitely gave me the courage to turn my dreams into action. We believe these are just a few contributing factors making them the Nation’s Largest Black Owned Smart Home Security Provider.

 Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a Smart Home company that partners with top name brands to make your average house feel safe and like a Home of the future. We offer Surveillance and security services to Homes and businesses protecting life and priceless possessions.

As a military Veteran himself, he knows a little bit about protecting yourself and your family. Before starting this Atlanta born Nationwide company, He worked as a National Director for ADT years. Working his way up from a craigslist job posting in entry level sales,  to National Director. Starting from the ground up provided him with a thorough and in depth understanding of how to save more lives during a moment of crisis in a home emergency.

His tenure allowed him to develop important relationships in his industry that would later prove very useful when negotiating with big corporate execs and home builders being granted the best possible rates for his clients.

In other words, I was able to walk into the board room with years of experience and accolades to negotiate the best rates for my franchise before partaking in ownership of such a large company.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I wanted to convince an out of town friend to move to Atlanta it wouldnt be a very hard task to accomplish. On monday We would start with breakfast at the the Flying Biscuit cafe where I’d recommend the peach cobbler pancakes or shrimp and grits. It’s an amazing way to start your day. Since we are the city I’d show them a few tourist sites like the Coca-Cola Factory and maybe the Atlanta Aquarium, which is the largest in America I believe.
Then for dinner maybe head to Atlantic Station where they have multiple great restaurants to choose from then a relaxed walk around a few stores after dinner or catch an outdoor movie in the center of the plaza.

I would want to take my friends to places to create memories, places like the Roswell Mill Water fall, or the Atlanta belt line to see the art around the city. Those are two places I’ll never forget during my first visit here.

For a fun early evening, I’d take them to the Ponce Market where its a hustle and bustle of unique shops, restaurants, and music events from time to time. Before we left I would suprise my friend by taking them to the roof top of the market. Seeing the look on their face when they see the mini golf/carnival/lounge over looking the skyline for the first time.

If they were into the night life, I’d have them meet me at MJQ, a hidden underground lounge with a large diverse community looking to have a fun night with affordable drinks and amazing music, including some local talent.

Since I love good food, we would find a few of my favorite places to eat, like Poor Calvin’s or Fogo de chao. Other down home places like OLG and Grips Good Eats & Sweets would definitely be on the list of places to eat while in town.

For family fun, Places like The stone mountain laser show and anyone of the many outdoor festivals are a big winner for me.

With kids, I’d take my visitors to places like Andretti’s racing, top golf, or I-fly.

Altanta is an Amazing city full of one of adventures and places to wet your whistle, like The Red Phone Booth Lounge with the hidden entrance. There is something for everyone here. Not to mention the cost of living is some of the best in the country.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I like to dedicate a big portion of our growing success to my wife Harmonie. She has survived and supported every Idea and undertaking you could think of. I believe teamwork makes the dream work and I found a good one. My support system also would include my parents. My Dad, CMSgt. Gary Sumpter Sr. was my first coach. He was big role model in my hunger for more and standing on my own 2 feet. Growing up traveling to California for the summers to visit my second family, I competed Nationally, Running Track since the age of 10.  My Mom Rhonda and Pops Calvin were 2 of the biggest examples of following your dreams and putting the work in. While serving our country in the military my mother also Owned and operated several successful Hair Salon’s and founded Thriving & Surviving Cancer support group, a Major Non-profit here in Atlanta. My Pops Calvin also Retired Military, owned his own Drywall company and would let me tag along here and there to help. I learned the value of taking pride in everything you do especially when your name is attached to it. Along the way a few books helped pave the way with new knowledge. Before Starting Virtual Smart Home llc Lets face it I was stuck in the rat race. Having what I thought was a decent job in the corporate world left me with enough for bills but not much else. I was tired of being “broke” even with a title of Branch manager of large company. financially, I felt like I was underwater trying to breath through a straw.

Wanting to make a change I took a look at a few books for self growth. I adopted the pay myself first mentality. Instead of keeping whats left over after bills and expenses. Instead I learned take my 10-30% of my income off the top and invest it. I soon found out that changing my view on money would change my entire life. Increasing financial literacy helped mr grow from a middle class mindset of paycheck to paycheck to a financially productive lifestyle of assets over liabilities.

Lastly, I believe the culture within our company helps keep the focus on our clients. More importantly having a customer centric foundation has been responsible for our consistent and continuous growth. I learned that the power of your thoughts and words spoken outloud, whether they are self defeating or productive to your growth will become your reality.

Recognizing that if I wanted more for me and my family, that it would have to come from a place I had not seen or known before. Keeping the thought that, the more people I help, the more good will be attracted to my ventures. To this day we have grossed over $300,000.00 in revenue in each of our first 2 years. Now that we are expanding into the builder side of our industry, we look to become a household name here in Atlanta.

Website: MyVirtualSmartHome.com

Instagram: @Yourrealtorknowsme

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysumpter2

Facebook: Facebook.com/VirtualSmartHome