Locksmithbiz.....reliable?

[Eyes_Only]

I just sent an order to Chris Pearcy for his Lockout Specialist Course about 6 days ago and Im starting to get a lil worried because I havent recieved any confirmation by e-mail, by phone or anything yet that he has recieved my order. I know everyone here who has taken the course or whatever has nothing but good things to say about it so Im sure I dont have to be worried......but I am. Does it normally take this long to get some word from Mr. Pearcy about your order?

[TimmieTheGeek]

I ordered the same program yesterday (9/29) and received an email acknowledgement this morning saying the package had been sent out today by UPS ground. My experience with UPS ground usually means about a week, depending of course on how far away my order is coming from.

I have corresponded with Mr. Pearcy several times over the last two years regarding his course and always felt like he would be a solid person to do business with. I feel confident that you and I will receive our packages as promised.

You might email him at his info@locksmithbiz.com address and share your concerns. Ask him for a UPS tracking number, which he should have. Once you have that it is easy to get very detailed tracking info on the UPS site.

[Eyes_Only]

Thanks for your reply. I just e-mailed him addressing my concerns with my personal info and junk so he can find my order incase he lost it or something. Im trying to apply for a locksmith license so im hoping ill get the course soon.

[TimmieTheGeek]

I hope you get a quick and plausible explanation for the delay. I'll be interested to hear that you have received your course as promised.

If we get going on this program at about the same time, maybe we can help each other through the confusing moments. I haven't heard anything negative about the course so we should get some good education and be happy with our decision to purchase it.

[Eyes_Only]

I am ecstatic!!! I finally recieved confirmation of my order today, guess it wasnt lost after all. I just wonder why it took so long. But anyways, yeah Im up for a lil correspondence now and then to help each other out if its good with you. Just PM me and ill give you my e-mail addy or something.

[TimmieTheGeek]

When I got home today my course from LockSmithBiz was waiting on my step. Everything was in the kit as promised.

I'm anxious to get started with this once I get some domestic chores out of the way ...

Let me know when you get your package.

[TimmieTheGeek]

This may be a good place to share a thought I have.

My motivation for getting into locksmithing as a business, albeit a side business now until I can learn, learn, learn, then get over the initial shock and embarrassment of failing a few times until I get a good grip on the learn part, is that it fits my desires and goals for a 51-year old. I've found that I most enjoy direct interaction with the customer, I like not being tied to an office, I like being held responsible and accountable, and I like being my own boss. I work long hours and usually 7 days a week. I just like to help people accomplish things.

One of my prior jobs was as a private detective and I got into the covert and overt security monitoring areas. Then I sold cell phones ("smart phones" like the Handspring Treo 600) and home automation concepts. As a carpenter and home builder I worked with the home owners to design and install security systems as the house was being built.

The career field I spent the most time in was as a computer engineer for some major manufacturing companies until the bottom fell out of the mainframe computer industry and we all got the boot. Then I went into networked PC consulting work and wrote Windows-based applications.

I have to think that all this experience is going to come to a focus somewhere and that brings me to my thought.

I believe for anyone wanting to get into the locksmith business this is a great time. Homeowners are smart and often self-educated regarding security issues of any kind and they are getting on board with the home automation idea. They can remotely interrogate almost any system in their house, right down to the outlet in the wall, plus unlock the doors, view people in their house, etc., all from any location on the planet. Besides the pure geek part of this that appeals to the tech savvy crowd, this is a powerful advantage for a home owner, business owner, etc.

I demonstarted using a smart phone to a business owner that would alert him when a motion detector in his office (closed for the evening) sensed someone in his building, and immediately his PC connected to the camera matrix in his office and began recording, on his PC at home where the intruder couldn't gain access to, and also fired off a call to the local police and security monitoring company.

Man, verbosity has taken control here, I apologize.

My point is that I believe the locksmith/security field is going to almost explode with opportunity for anyone who wants to advertise themselves as providers of services from basic & normal locksmithing, all the way to full home automation capabilities. We don't all have to be experts at all of this but for those of us that are prone to the tech side it's almost unlimited what we can do for our customers. I can assert from my experience that customers want very much to have a "personal" service person who advises and provides for their needs. They are coming back to the close, personal relationship concept that used to be so common. We can capitalize on all this.

I see a solid and hopefully complete understanding and skill set in the locksmith business, as we generally see it today, as the last area I need to learn to break into this field and prosper well. I think anyone who has an interest in the more techy areas of security should pursue knowledge in these other areas to augment their current set of skills, and more importantly, improve their opportunities for income and enjoyment.

Some of the locksmith companies in my area are starting to show an interest in this so that tells me they have decided it might be a good idea to get into.

This is very exciting to me and the LP 101 forum has been the catalyst to get me fired up about this. Everytime I search for or stumble onto new posts and absorb myself into them I bless the day I found this forum. What an awesome resource for people wanting to learn and share knowledge. Simply incredible. I can't thank all of you enough.

Yes, locksmithing as a business is a great one with unlimited potential for everyone employed in it.

[Romstar]

Dear lord!

I think that may rival a few of my posts.

Timie, your assessment is dead on, and I think you are coming into the field at an excellent time.

In the future, I think that this post will be pointed out as both inspirational and educational for all of our members.

Continue your learning, and I hope that same enthusiasm continues for as long as you are in the field.

Thanks,
Romstar

[TimmieTheGeek]

Thanks!

I can be brief too

[WhiteHat]

I agree with timmy -

appologies in advance for long post, Business theory and practice is a
passion of mine (doesn't mean I'm an expert though).

I have a strong entrepreneurial (if only I could spell it every time) streak
in me and have often thought about business restricting themselves
(either subconsciously or not) by the name of their business and their
perceved mission.

here's a well known anecdote:

Two companies in the late 1800's sell high quality horse saddles made out
of real good quality leather. pretty soon Cars start appearing and sales of
horse saddles start going south. Company A Saddles thinks to itself: "well
our mission is to provide the best saddles in the world - obviously
we need to cut costs and provide cheaper saddles at the same quality to
increase sales". dispite the decrease in cost, saddle sales for company A
continue to go down.

Company B Saddles realises that they are not just providing saddles, but
rather we're assisting people to get arround efficiently. - "Company B
Saddles" renames to "CBS" (which sounds modern and inovative), invests
some money in some R&D and comes up with their own brand of engine
which they then sell to automobile companies - sales only go up for CBS
and Company A Saddles goes under.

If locksmiths saw themselves as not just "locksmiths" but rather "home
security providers" or even just "security consultants", then the scope for
business expansion is greatly increased. like timmy said - the
opportunities are only increasing for businesses that want to grab them.
Instead of calling a locksmith, some guy to install an alarm, some guy to
install video cameras, another guy to install bars on my windows, a builder
to reinforce my doors - I would prefer to call someone to "Secure my
home" and provide various options for security levels.

I like the fact that Romstar's Business is registered as "Romstar Systems"
and his business card says "Romstar Systems Security Services" (see
viewtopic.php?t=3182) and not "Romstar
Locksmithing" which could be restrictive to business expansion beyond
locksmithing.

There are numerous examples of corporations that do this sort of thing -
3M is a good example "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing" have
branched out and become very succesfull. just look at all the Japanese
kiretsu, the massive family conglomerates that own banks, car companies,
transport companies, oil companies etc. heck - did you know that
mitsubishi makes felt pens?! by doing this, they can leverage such funky
things as vertical integration to reduce costs and transfer pricing to
increase profit. this is getting a bit extreme, but you get the idea. - for
owners of businesses on this site - are you a "business person" or
a "locksmith"? an example of vertical integration for a locksmith would be
to purchase or build a locksmith supply company - this would create an
additonal source of revenue and reduce your costs of buying equipment.
on a smaller scale, you could just make your own good quality picks and
then sell them to other people also.

not that there's anything wrong with calling a locksmithing business "xyz
locksmiths" - in fact the advantage to that is that when people look up the
yellow pages - they'll go for the locksmith if that's what they want.
so in that situation - if you want to expand into other areas of security
you start your own conglomerate, united under a trade mark or name
as Assa-Abloy have done. also see Lab - lab lockpins is what it started
out as - now they make many other products other than pins - they weren't
limited by their name.

..and so it depends on what your business strategy is and where you want
to be in 10 years time. most people have a "perfect job" where they'd be
happy doing that for the rest of their lives - for some, it's locksmithing,
and that's awesome.

my personal mission statement is "Whatever!" - which, although seems a
bit blazé, to me means "I'll take whatever opportunity presents itself
should it be a good one" i.e. if for some strange reason someone offered
me (currently a programmer) a large and profitable stake in a
marshmallow making business in exchange for a bit of venture capital,
then hey - I'd quite happily run with it and spend the next however many
years working on efficiently producing soft squishy packages of
yumminess which you can toast over a fire or put in hot chocolate.

so good on Timmy and Rommie for thinking outside the lock!

As lots of locksmiths on this site seem to have their own businesses - I'd
very very highly recomend reading "the E-myth" by Michael Gerber. It
talks about moving from working IN your business to working ON your
business. Extremely good book for small business owners to have.

[/business lecture]

[TimmieTheGeek]

You hit that subject dead on WhiteHat. Some of that Corporate America "thinking outside of the box" philosophy.

My company name is Concept-Systems which I came up with in 1997. Your diatribe makes me glad I chose that kind of name.

I can still list in the Yellow Pages under locksmithing (when I am so qualified of course) and can also include as my byline "Home Security Professional" for exactly the reasons you specified.

Now we're thinking in the right direction. We are after all professionals who exist to meet our customer's needs, and they are evolving.

[Varjeal]

WhiteHat: How about some more information on that book you mentioned...like perhaps an ISBN number or link...is it an E-book?

I, too, admit that I perform work in more than "just" locksmithing. I do some setup's for new computer systems for individuals, some minor trouble-shooting for computers as well. I also assist another small-business friend who does tree-service (topping, slashing, etc) making to sure to always bring my own vehicle and lots of cards. The idea is to take advantage of every opportunity to promote what I consider to be my main line of business, and to remember that wherever I am, I'm representing it in either a good or bad way depending on my conduct.

[WhiteHat]

This is the latest edition/revision of the classic book. by michael Gerber:

"The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It"
Paperback: 288 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.72 x 8.04 x 5.36
Publisher: HarperBusiness; Updated edition (April 12, 1995)
ISBN: 0887307280
average amazon customer review is 4.5 stars based on 119 reviews.

the 'E' stands for that word that I can't freaking spell Entrepraner... french language....

the basic idea that the book starts off with is that approximately 80% of small business fail within the first year. "employees" believe that they can do it themselves and decide to become business owners (whether sole traders or otherwise). the businesses fail because the people used to working in a business don't have any clue about working on their business.

basically - if you are happy doing one particular job for the rest of your life, you should be an employee of a large secure company. but if you want to expand and grow your business, then you are an Entraprinure...( french language)... and you should study business ownership techniques.

the above book is not a complete guide to business ownership but it definately is an extremely good starting place. I'd rate it 5 stars.

[TimmieTheGeek]

That sounds like a very good book to have close at hand for the style of work we all either do or hope to. I'm going to go get it at the local Barnes & Noble tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

My wife and I owned a restaurant for 15 years and I've had a couple side businesses going for about 8 years. Most people fail because they don't start out with a plan on paper, don't understand that $0.15 of EVERY dollar they earn goes to Social Security (here in the states), and about 20% to 30% more goes to the other taxes which you have to religiously pay every quarter, sometimes every month. Many people don't have the dscipline to work very hard after start up only to see most of their income go to the government.

If you have any employees the unemployment insurance, Workers Comp insurance, disability, liability insurance, etc., not to mention other expenses that keep taking money out of your till make you want to quit. Don't even think about benefits for you or your employees. Our medical insurance cost $703 a month with a $2,500 annual deductible and then only paid 80% of anything they couldn't prove was a pre-existing condition. Where are you going to get any money to invest, buy new equipment, travel to neat places to take refresher training? What about all those nice "business lunches" you expect to enjoy and write off? They take your income too.

Leasing office space, paying the utility bills and business insurance, lawyer fees for the occasional lawsuit against you or one you file in an attempt to collect your accounts receivable all take your hard earned money. It's maddening sometimes.

It's very expensive to run a small business and most people will tell you they don't do it for the money, they do it because they love it. Hopefully after a significant number of years go by they will start building a self-sustaining customer base and then the money improves to where you expect it should be.

A lot of people don't have the fortitude to put up with all this and forego living life like the peer pressure and media advertising brainwash us into thinking we need to be living like.

So it's not surprising that most startup businesses fail.

But if you succeed, man, that's heaven and it's all worth it.

[WhiteHat]

That sounds like a very good book to have close at hand for the style of work we all either do or hope to. I'm going to go get it at the local Barnes & Noble tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

when you do read it - would you care posting a review?