Mobile Locksmith Services

These services have nothing to do with your mobile, my mobile or our relatives' mobiles. Locksmiths' works are about cutting keys, selling new locks to customers and installing, repairing and replacing parts of something at home, offices, shops etc ... Mobile services moves in local areas to sell some services or to fix something, etc ... I should note this here.

The locks on the doors of most homes keep the skilled burglar out for about 30 seconds! This is especially true if the only thing slowing him down is a standard key-in-the-knob lock.

Statistically, there is about one residential burglary every 30 seconds in this country (he meant America actually). Traditionally, as the economy falters and times get harder, the number tends to rise.

Quite naturally, people are concerned and frightened. As a result, (locksmithing) is not only one of the new "demand" businesses; it is rapidly becoming one of the more profitable businesses for entrepreneurs with not too much capital to invest.

Today's locksmiths are usually well versed in mathematics and basic electronics. They almost have to be, what with the new types of locks being introduced. Today's locksmith is more likely to be known as a "Security Specialist", than as just ordinary locksmith, as in the past.

Even so, most locksmithing businesses are still one-man operations. In many instances, it is a husband and wife family affair, with the husband handling the mechanical end and the wife the books and financial end of the business.

Most of these small operations concentrate on the repair side of the business, and deliberately choose to remain small in size. As we will discuss later, however, this need not be the case; these small businesses can "grow up."

According to the area in which he is located, an established, well-organized and trained locksmith may gross between $50,000 and $60,000 per year, using a van as a mobile "workshop," and space in his home as an office. Remember: As the economy turns toward recession, burglaries increase and people become aware of the need for better locks to protect what they own; thus the locksmith enjoys an increased income during hard times.

Just because locksmithing is a "personal" kind of business and can be started on a shoestring and operated out of the home, that's not to say that a locksmithing service cannot be developed into a million dollar business. On the contrary, there are a number of operations in some of the larger metropolitan areas, which have several mobile locksmith vans on the road, in addition to retail store locations. These operations are grossing well into the million dollar figures every year.

It is a matter of desire, determination and personal fulfilment and satisfaction. Attitude, marketing skills and general business knowledge are also positive attributes necessary for real success. Very definitely, the sharp businessman with determined ambition can dominate any market with a modern locksmithing service.

The key ingredient to this business is the utilization of proper marketing and selling skills. It goes without saying: You can know all there is about the mechanical functioning of a business, but without innovative marketing and selling skills, your business will surely flounder.

However, given the marketing know-how, plus persistent sales efforts, you can succeed in this business with the knowledge you can acquire of the technical side. The success of any business is built upon the marketing and sales expertise of its founder, because after all, "mechanics" can always be hired, if you decide to go that route rather than learn the trade and the business.

Your marketing efforts should stress the theme that your services will allay the fears of your buyers. You want to get across to your prospective customers the sense of security your service will provide. You can make them safe in their own homes; no longer will they have to worry about being rudely awakened in the middle of the night by a burglar rustling around in their house; no longer will they have to worry about coming home to a house that has been cleaned out or ransacked.

Once you understand that fear is a basic human instinct, it's easy to see that virtually everyone can be a prospect for your services as a locksmith. Your potential market includes everyone in your area, because everyone has possessions. Therefore, every homeowner, every apartment dweller, every business owner, all the schools, churches, government institutions, and a wide variety of other commercial and industrial accounts can be yours.

In this day and age, new homeowners and apartment dwellers want the locks changed the day they move in, so that former occupants and other keyholders will not have access to their place. In addition, there will probably be the need for additional keys for each member of the new family, now that new, safer locks have been installed.

Commercial and industrial accounts present an even more lucrative market. Larger companies tend to want their keys "departmentalized," so that office workers can get into the building on weekends, but not into the factory or shipping areas, and vice versa. Banks and savings institutions frequently need the safe deposit locks changed.

Generally speaking, newcomers to this field should focus their efforts on the commercial and industrial area as soon as possible. The commercial market is vast and often up for grabs in many areas. In addition, the profit margins in these areas are excellent!

With one of these accounts, you will have work paying about $500 or more per visit, compared with $25 to $50 per visit for a residential job. With commercial/industrial accounts, there is also the possibility of ongoing service and maintenance.

Definitely, the commercial/industrial business is well worth going after, and can put your business in the black very rapidly. However, it does take aggressiveness, and the determination to sell these accounts.

Start small. Consider working out of your home in the beginning. Most of today's successful locksmiths began by working out of their homes, with the family car or van outfitted with the tools and equipment needed. Such an approach will enable you to get started for as little as $1,000.

You should be aware however, that this is just a beginning, and not all it is going to take to really establish your business. With this level of investment, you are more or less limited in the business you can handle and the money you can make.

Locksmiths who want to make the really big money should be investing all their early profits into more equipment and inventory up to a level where they can offer complete full-service locksmithing. Such a business would require at least $5,000 in equipment, perhaps even $10,000, depending on how many different services you want to offer. This estimate for start-up costs does not include your van or inventory of spare parts and new locks.

Perhaps a quick word of caution is in order here. You have no doubt seen or heard some of the advertisements promising all kinds of big money to be made with your own locksmithing service; "Just send for the learn-at-home correspondence course and you'll be home free."

It is true that you can earn big money in this business, but as we have noted earlier, without a lot of sharp marketing and selling expertise, plus at least the essential equipment to handle the kind of work these courses teach, enrolling in one of these courses will put you no further ahead than you are right now. This business requires equipment and knowledge.

You can make excellent money as a locksmith, so long as you operate your business capably and in a professional manner. However, without a full line of the equipment required to handle a wide variety of jobs, you will be limiting your total income potential.

The more you invest in quality equipment, the more different kinds of jobs you can handle, and thus the more money you will be capable of making.

You definitely decide for yourself exactly how far and how fast you want to go in this business. As we have said, some operators are perfectly content to work out of their homes, using a mobile van. They do not want the larger problems involved in hiring employees, or the expense of maintaining a retail location.

But to make the really big money in this business, starting small and working out of your home, you should plan to put more mobile trucks on the road, and as soon as possible, open a retail location. Each mobile van will give you another satellite business, and a retail location will afford you a base headquarters for your mobile vans.

It is of the utmost importance that you build and maintain a professional image as a quality locksmithing operation from the start. Clinging to the craftsman type of image will be of advantage only if you wish to stay in the "Mom and Pop" category.

You should endeavor to handle all jobs as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Outfitting yourself and your help in sharp looking uniforms will help. Making your calls in a clean, well-organized van will also play an important part in the image your customers have of your business.

You want your customers to have confidence in your business, and in the quality of work you do for them. When they do, you will find they are more likely to pay their bills with fewer reminders.

Think of it like this: A large invoice presented by a man in a clean uniform who drives up in a good looking truck and does quality work is going to be paid more readily than one for $25 presented by a guy in grubby jeans who drove up in a 10-year old decrepit truck.

With so many technological changes occurring within this field on an almost monthly basis, it is to your advantage to stay on top of what is happening within the locksmithing field. This means subscribing to some of the better trade publications.

You should be attending the various Locksmithing Association promoted seminars and workshops that offer on-going help in both the technical and financial side of this business. In other words, you should plan to keep yourself up to date with a program of continuous learning.

There are several ways to get started in this business. You can buy an existing operation from a retiring craftsman. Ask him to help you with the technical side of the operation while you spend most of your time actively promoting and managing the business. Or, you can hire the technical help you need, and the sales force to build the business while you do the managing.

You can enrol in one of the popular correspondence courses, become involved in the business as you learn from the various trade publications and progress at your own speed. Our recommendation is that you learn the fiscal and management side of the business, and hire others to handle the mechanical or technical side. Thus, the purpose of this report is to indoctrinate you on the business side. To explain the technical details of this business would take volumes, and probably much of the information contained would be out-dated by the time it came off the press.

However, we will provide you with an outline of the most common types of jobs a locksmith should be able to handle.

TO BE CONTINUED ... The Article is SO LONG and I NEED to UPDATE regularly.