Business Questions? Ask a Locksmith.

by **davidgjr** » 8 Oct 2004 9:13

Timmie,

I was in your position in January so take this for what it is worth or not worth. I tried every locksmith in town. I was willing to work for free, but most of them wasn't interested. I took the Foley Belsaw Course and learned everything I could. The course is real outlined. I think if you bought some books and tools it may be a bit overwhelming. I was gonna do that also, but a but am glad I didnt. The course gives you a basic knowledge of what you need to learn for basic locksmithing. Back on topic - I finished the course and was ready to go. I went to the local locksmith shop and bought a bunch of junk locks. I took them home and tried to take them apart. Some were tricky. I bought the Door
Lock Encyclopedia and it helped me tremendously. With the help of that book, and the practice locks I sat around changing pins, decoding locks shimming locks and so forth. Now I go to a job confident that I will be able to service the locks. I do this with every aspect of locksmithing. For example, last month someone wanted a deadbolt installed on a residence. I took my junk schlage deadbolt, a 2X6 16" long and practiced laying out the holes, drilling and so forth. When I did the job I had practiced on 8 pieces. The customer said it looked as if the holes were manufactured into the door. I did this with automotive. I went to the junk yard got some fords, gm's and went at it. Now back to what Varjeal talked about. Being business savvy will pay off. A customer called the other day wanting some new door knobs and and deadbolts drilled and installed. I took one of the 2x6's made a T out of it, stained it and mounted the locks in it. The customer was impressed and didnt hesitate to give me the work. I listen to what people on here say. Varjeal had mentioned most locksmiths lack sales skills. I picked up on that. I go to a customer's house with literature in a nice presentation binder and some mounted samples. It hasn't failed me yet. As far as a store front- I didnt even buy a van. I have a small pick up with a cargo cover and it so far has worked fine. When I need something bigger I will get it. I saw another locksmith with a big van the other day and all I thought about was the gas prices around here. I have all the basic tools. To keep the cost down I buy new tools when I need them. I would hate to buy a tool that just sits. Sorry for being so long winded. I guess what I am trying to say is that it is possible with motivation and a desire to learn to make a go of it without working for someone else first. I see businees failing all the time. Even if you are the greatest business man in the world, if you invest too much in the beginning you will be low on cash before the business even gets a chance to take off.

by **Varjeal** » 8 Oct 2004 12:04

You're exactly right...concerning a van, that was something I mentioned kinda off-hand concerning a mobile business. Truth is whatever vehicle you use turn into a rolling advertisement for your business. In fact, at this time I don't use a van either..hehehe..I have a bright yellow Nissan Xterra with my logos on the windows which currently also acts as my personal vehicle...

The first words I hear usually when I get to a customer is "OH yeah...I THOUGHT you were the guy with the yellow vehicle."

Correctly placed advertisement is very important.

As far as buying tools as you need them, it's really the only way to go unless you have a lot of cash to start out with, be in good contact with your supplier to insure fast delivery.

by **Cameron Flint** » 11 Oct 2004 14:05

WHile You're at the question and answering...
Where can you get the cheapest key blanks? I think I get them for about $1.20 at lowes

(I'm a penny-pincher) :twisted:

by **Varjeal** » 11 Oct 2004 14:11

I get the cheapest blanks from my supplier as buying in bulk, is of course the least expensive way to go. Purchasing individually get's expensive. Generally, most suppliers will want you to buy in minimum quantities of 10.

If you can get on good terms with a locksmith they may be willing to sell them at near cost to you, otherwise your option is to visit smaller key-cutters such as those found in smaller stationary stores or mall kiosks.

by **davidgjr** » 11 Oct 2004 19:34

You will go broke at 1.20 a piece. The local locksmith sells me mine for .22 cents a piece.

by **WhiteHat** » 12 Oct 2004 7:31

I have a question:

for those with small businesses (i.e. sole trader or one or two employees/subcontractors) - What do you use to keep track of your customers?

pen and paper?
Spreadsheet?
Database of some kind?
or a Comercial Product?

And - how usefull is it - what are the limitations that you found of your particular method?

by **hung82000** » 12 Oct 2004 8:10

Though it's not exactly the same, I keep my key records for our buildings in a spreadsheet. I have columns for key number, key sequence, who has a copy of the key, a descriptor of the location, and what the location number is. I separate them out by building, having a separate worksheet for each building. This way if someone asks, I can easily pop in and sort by key number, key holder, etc. I can also do a quick ctrl-F and find info if it's faster than sorting.

We used to use a program (called Key-z I believe) but I thought it was poorly put together, and a spreadsheet was more versatile and did exactly what I want. The only limitation is that if I decide to add a piece of information, I have to go back and track down the info for all the existing entries. Like I said, I know it's not exactly answering your question, but it is related. Hopefully others will pipe up.

by **Varjeal** » 12 Oct 2004 10:02

Whitehat: I use Quickbooks Pro, and find it to be pretty easy to use. It's a bit of a pain to get set up initially, but once done you're pretty much good to go. There are "contractor" versions which I've heard good reports on too, but I have no experience with those. QB Pro is a program I've used for most of my locksmithing career that the various shops I've worked for also use.

You can quite literally keep track of everything that you want to, and at the end of the year you simply put a saved copy on a disk and hand it to your accountant.

You can print invoices, sales receipts (and customize in both cases) and cheques directly through the program and if you want to get fancy you can also keep accurate records on your bank accounts (this requires good receipt entry habits). Also, you can receive inventory reminders, bill payment reminders, and get charts and graphs on your sales and purchases to get a view of how business has gone throughout the year.

As far as limitations, in order to get the best out of the software, it requires you to really hone your bookkeeping skills, keep organized with your paperwork, and take time to DO it, otherwise the program is useless. Also, entering 500-1000 different types of keys into the database can be, well, daunting to say the least. Luckily I currently only have about 300. :shock:

Anyways, if there's a limitation to the program, it's in terms of set up for keys...otherwise a great program.

by **Lockpick Dan** » 15 Oct 2004 17:33

I was wondering about what size vehicle you would need to be a full services mobile locksmith. Like say, would it work in an suv, or do u pretty much need a van of some sort? Also do you guys have any suggestions for a supplier, I finished the Foley-Belsaw course a while ago and am looking for a supplier. Thanx for this great thread, it's a lot of help.

by **Romstar** » 15 Oct 2004 21:32

I can run a full service mobile locksmithing service out of the back of a 1988 Chrysler Daytona hatchback.

You'd be amazed at what you can do it you put a ladder rack on top of the car, and only ever use the front two seats.

There isn't a lot of room in the back seats anyways. <G>

Seriously, the best thing to have is a mini van, or full sized van if you can afford one.

Although, you can get by with much less.

Romstar

by **toomush2drink** » 16 Oct 2004 10:24

Just read the earlier post on how do you book keep and im using clearly book keeping which is basically barclays bank's version of quickbooks just under a different name. Like varjeal mentioned its a pain to set up but once you get into it its great. You can track everything and work out at the push off a button where your profits or losses :oops:

are. Like varjeal mentioned just give a copy to the accountant and let them get on with it.

by **Varjeal** » 19 Oct 2004 9:15

Lockpick Dan: I don't recall which part of the world you're in. (fill out your profile location, hint hint..

)Anyways, if you can get your hands on a mini-van with good shocks, that would be the optimum. As Romstar has suggested you can pretty much make do with anything, but it takes some sacrifice and some very good space planning.

If you do not have the use of a minivan, here's a tip for organization:

Keep your equipment in seperate "kits", for example:

-auto kit
-residential and commercial door kit
-safe kit.
-keys...etc..

Also, keep your inventory in "easy to carry" boxes where possibly too, that way if you cannot carry everything, you can quickly grab your "commercial inventory" box on the way out the door when a call comes.

by **randmguy** » 19 Oct 2004 12:37

Lockpick Dan: You're in Indiana so midwestern suppliers would include...Zipf Lock in Colombus, OH http://www.zipflockco.com, IDN in Indianapolis http://www.IDN-INC.com , EL Reinhardt in Minneapolis http://www.elreinhardt.com, HL Flake http://www.hlflake.com/, and Accredited Lock Supply http://www.acclock.com. HL Flake has some of the best prices I've found anywhere BTW.

by **Lockpick Dan** » 25 Oct 2004 6:32

yeah, i live in northern indiana. Would it be better if the seats could be taken out? Thanx for all the help. I dunno what i'd do withought it

by **locksmistress** » 25 Oct 2004 15:24

Lockpick Dan: There's also http://www.doylesecurity.com in Minneapolis and http://www.clarksecurity.com in Chicago, I think. I haven't dealt with Clark much - they're huge - but I'm a regular at Doyle and they have decent stock and a very knowledgeable and personable sales staff.

Also, I have run a pretty broad variety of service calls off of my bicycle. I've also gotten pretty good at getting a lot of information out of my customers and just packing carefully. A small tool bag, sometimes a power drill and a milk crate over the back wheel for hardware: I'm set up to do a pretty good business.

This is obviously not practical for a fully independent locksmith - especially not in the winter in the midwest. It is an example of what's do-able though - if you're really careful about what you pack and if you plan ahead. Plus, the overhead can't be beat - especially when you consider what some people are paying for gym memberships.

That and customers tend to think it's sort of charming.

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