Business Questions? Ask a Locksmith.

[mtt.tr]

in the UK is the pay of being a locksmith okish. and how much could you expect to make as a 24-7 mobile lockie.

[aussielocky]

in the UK is the pay of being a locksmith okish. and how much could you expect to make as a 24-7 mobile lockie.

Assume no income to speak of for the 1st three years (you'll be very lucky indeed to break even) and very hard going after that - if your good at what you do you might be on a living wage after 5 - 8 years. The market is saturated, and the general mess the economy is in will not make things any better.

[LocksmithArmy]

can you provide a decent list of the prices of services...

like how much is:
opening a car
opening a house
cutting a key
kutting a high security key
re keying a lock
installing a door knob
installing a bolt lock
and just other services that an up and coming locksmith might want to include in his repertoire

thanks

[79commando]

Do yourself a favour and save your money. The UK market is flooded with two day wonders failing. It's more a case of how do you get work than how much to charge. Do a good search on the site about the state of the market then try not to strangle the person that trained you with the promise of making money.

[LocksmithArmy]

lol

there are 2 locksmiths in knoxville and surrounding counties and 1 wont even come to you to do work.

so i figure if i base mine in a county just outside knoxcounty ill be fine. i picked a county that is the retirment capitol in the US... all the old retirees come to jefferson county when there done working so its full of rich people that need some security. plus the fact that there are no other locksmiths in the imediate area... cant b 2 bad for buisness...

just not sure what to charge for various services...

[thestick]

you know what, im stunned at all this talk of lockies not having any work and it'd be really hard to start up now.

i work in an estate agency and the lock smiths that we meet who do our reposessions are choc-a-block with work

the bloke i was talking to yest is hitting 10k per month regularly. £375 to do a key change and drain down for a repo. Our repo companies have told us they are crying out for new contractors as well!

is this scaremongering to keep new people out of your industry?

cheers, nice board btw

[Mark A]

You must live in a little bubble that bucks the trend found in the rest of the country then....

(or run a locksmith training school of course )

[thestick]

ha no jus saying what i see mark! do you get involved with contract work on repo's etc or are you mainly domestic?

[Mark A]

Mainly domestic.

From what I'm told by the local estate/property agents I wouldn't have the right tools to do repos anymore, (dont carry Sledge hammers or big enough hole saws).

[globallockytoo]

can you provide a decent list of the prices of services...

like how much is:
opening a car
opening a house
cutting a key
kutting a high security key
re keying a lock
installing a door knob
installing a bolt lock
and just other services that an up and coming locksmith might want to include in his repertoire

thanks

Prices vary region to region. There are ways and means to determine prices and you should not base your prices on what others charge.

You need to take into consideration your annual costs, set up costs, ongoing marketing costs, tools, vehicles, maintenance etc. Work everything out based on a 5 year period.

Once you total your estimated costs over 5 years, divide that total into an annual amount. Then divide that total into a monthly amount. Then divide that total into a daily amount. Then divide that total into an hourly amount (based on an 8 hour day).

Suppose all your calculations indicate that in order to break even in 5 years, you are required to make $240 per day (8 hr period). That means that in order to break even over 5 years, you need to earn at least $30 per hour.

That is the absolute minimum takings you require to break even, after 5 years.

Lets say you want to make a profit of at least that same amount every day (after 5 years). That's $240 per day. You will need to be taking at least $60 per hour to earn that money.

Comprende?

[LocksmithArmy]

Thank you that is pretty much what I was looking for.

So that is saying if I get a ton of lockout calls I can charge less and still hit my 60 dollar quota but if I get fewer installations I can charge more profit and so I can hit my quota. Of course for an instalarrion I would be charging for the products left in the door aswel.

Thanks agin I get it now.

[globallockytoo]

Thank you that is pretty much what I was looking for.

So that is saying if I get a ton of lockout calls I can charge less and still hit my 60 dollar quota but if I get fewer installations I can charge more profit and so I can hit my quota. Of course for an instalarrion I would be charging for the products left in the door aswel.

Thanks agin I get it now.

What I stated before is based on $60/hr x 8 hours x 5 days per week.

However you make up that $60 is your business. Whether or not you include your profit margin (on stock) in there or just your labor, is up to you.

You could conceivably be earning a great deal more if you were not including your profit margin in the $60.

You need to ask yourself 3 questions.

1. How much do I want to earn?
2. How much do I need to cover my costs?
3. How soon do I want to be showing a profit?

[WOT]

The vehicle should definitely be professionally marked if you work in the city. I find that property manangers and parking enforcement are more forgiving to contractors.

If you park in a commercial vehicle only zone(common in cities) or university properties in a civilian plate normal looking car, expect a ticket. If you've got a vehicle that is clearly marked as a contractor vehicle, people are more understanding that you're there to do something there, and not just commute-and-park guy.

[Rickthepick]

its no good as a primary income, but pretty good on the side.

you can have no work for ages and then go do £500+ in a day... its that varied.

To make a living you need to cover the boarding up, glazing, door/grill/shutter fitting with the locksmithing.

Be prepared to spend a lot on advertising with little guarantee of making any profit.

[marginal]

Hello.

I am looking forward to meet a locksmith in the Montreal area (Quebec, Canada) who would be willing to help a newbie like me with some valuable information about the profession.
I've read a lot, bought some equipment and practiced a little, but there's nothing that can replace the direct contact with an experienced locksmith.

Thank you in advance.
PS I speak both English and french.