question for any established locksmiths

[vector40]

What are your referrals from, Auto? Just friends telling friends telling friends? That's quite a clientbase to have built up, if so.

[acl]

Shrub, we have area phone nos ie we have a Milton Keynes no for the MK book we have a Northants no for the Kettering book and so on,i dont see that this is the thing killing our trade. as the man says this is what people are looking for when they call a lockie,sure it may be cheating a little but i dont find it as bad as many of the ploys used by our friends at Rf et al
Andy

[NKT]

I've gone with an 0845, as it makes me look more like a big company. I'm getting a lot more interest from mid-sized companies wanting stuff done, and I'm sure that and the URL/name help. A local number seems kind of lame these days, as "everyone" has a non-geographic. Of course, I might be wrong!

I've got an 0800 too, but I'm not advertising that yet, it's going to be for carding only, as I don't want to be paying to get all these crappy sales calls from the idoit companies that work throguh the Yellow Pages!

[Loc Doc]

ive been thinking deeply about what all of you had contributed to this thread. keep in mind that all points are appreciated and well taken. a more accurate way of me gathering info is to look at my home market and ive done some of this in the past few days to see what kind of issues local lockies have and what kind of money they are making. seems as though hawaii is a great place for lockies. i spoke with a friend of a friend who does auto lockout exclusively and he clears 10k/mo

actually out of the 5 small business locksmith/lockout specialists ive spoken with, 5/5 clear 100k easily.

still not sure if i'd want to pursue this industry. some of what ive heard here scares me.

if i do, its something id have to learn in my spare time on a hobbie basis. and spare time is not something a have a whole lot of.

thank you very much for all of the replies and information that you all have shared.

aloha!

scot

[Auto45]

What are your referrals from, Auto? Just friends telling friends telling friends? That's quite a clientbase to have built up, if so.

Yes stats with one friend telling others, I do past out cards at all the gas station I go to, I show them right on the spot I can code a key or pick a lock,jack open a car door. I do carry all my tool in my van read to go, I cut keys even at McDonald's, I get lots of costumers there, I have over 250 Kwikset blank keys and a few transponder keys with me all the time. Look for sells,I got 250 blanks Kwikest for $24, and cut them for $3.00 each. if you know how to do transponder blanks are $4.00 to $17.00 cut and code for $75.00 or more. I am not looking for work, work finds me. If I ran adds could make a good living out of this, I am 52 years old I don't need to work anymore sold a business I owned over 6 years ago,unrelated to locks. This my hobby and love it, had to get licensed I am very high profile now and I do have tools that only licensed locksmith should have don't want to go to jail
auto

[vector40]

Just out of curiosity, when you pass out business cards at gas stations and the like, what's your rap? How do you handle that encounter?

[Auto45]

Just out of curiosity, when you pass out business cards at gas stations and the like, what's your rap? How do you handle that encounter?

I fist stop and get gas, then I ask to talk to the manager or mechanic and tell him I am a license locksmith and show him my license and if it would be ok to put some cards near his cash register. The last place I went to he ask me if I could pick a lock on a display case they had locked to the wall with a #3 Master lock, they lost the key. I pick it within 15 seconds and he ask me for 50 cards. I did not charge him, getting him to placing 50 cards was payment for me. I will go back in a week or two and see if I can put more cards up.
auto