What you need to start a uk locksmith business

by **pinky** » 27 May 2006 10:15

thats an accuarte account of a domestic commercial lockies day. many of us are different, i do 5 days a week warrant openings, which is 95% picking.
of my call outs, most are auto, lock changes on upvc and upgrades are common, but i do alot of police opening and repair work.

from all jobs i do, picking is 75% of what i do as it is with most warrant guys.

by **acl** » 28 May 2006 15:42

Er not all Mr Pink not not all.....

by **secondcity** » 28 May 2006 18:19

by **pinky** » 29 May 2006 4:13

andy , you are forgiven for that yale ?

by **CaptB** » 14 Jun 2006 18:35

I totally agree with it being an uphill struggle.
I took a course with 1stcalllockouts with Richard in November. The course covered the basics well enough for me to get started. But like everyone else it`s a learning curve that never seems to stop.
I`m just about to start shopping for Curtain wheel picks which may seem a bit odd that I haven`t done it sooner to some. But 90% of doors I open are Cylinders. I have only had to drill 1 lock since I started.
Salary wise my earnings although getting 1 - 5 calls a week is still Â£0.00
since everything I have earned is reinvested, and will be for at least the next 12 months. Prime example this week made Â£200.00 on Saturday and have already placed an order for Â£160.00 with SKS for more locks.
It`s not an easy industry to start from scratch in without another income,
I am quite lucky that I have a full-time job with a National Maintenance company which pays the bills while I build up my reputation and become better known.

I did try a couple of months with Absolute Emergencies on a contract basis but to say they take the lion`s share is an understatement.
60% of my earnings and the same on the profit from any of "my locks" then not re-embursed they would hold onto the lock value until it reached Â£80.00 before sending replacement locks. Wouldnt release money until another invoice was received (which is very poor considering they only gave me 2 - 3 jobs a week at best). Now I have decided it was more hassle than it was worth they`ve held onto my final payment for 100 days.

Getting away from all that, the one thing I will say is quality of service at sensible pricing is what makes me different from my local competition, and the reason my business is progressively growing.

I don`t expect to be leaving my other job for at least 2 yrs. But Locksmithing keeps me saine! and thats why im doing it not for the money. Maybe for the shiny tools mind..

by **Rob Gray** » 16 Jun 2006 6:42

so pinky you said you do most of you work these day on UPVC and AUTO's so that is a cash rich area and more of an untaped market? maybe this is where most lockies should be heading? or are you going to tell me! that you need hundereds of thousands to set up in these? yes you would need to invest but i know a rough cost of what training and tools etc are for upvc and autos is. and as with all parts of locksmithing you can have basics and the cream of all tools you don't need every pick under the sun, yes it can help but is not a must and any new venture has its costs.

by **Shrub** » 16 Jun 2006 6:51

Auto work is costly if you cover it all, the transponder machine, copying machine and key cutting machine alone is not cheap stuff.

A good stock of transponder keys is very expensive.

It can of course be done like everything else, it does depend on whether you want to go all in and cover all auto work or just do lockouts in which a set of overlifters, the falle tibbe pick and a few wires will sort you out, rough cost? Â£1000 ish max (which includes practice locks to get you going) but again practice and time spent learning the vehicles is the costly thing.

UPVC, well i guess as the locks still work the same and with the advent of repair strips you can possably get away with stocking a few common strips in your area, some repair strips, handles and all the euro and oval sizes etc and again possably get going for Â£1000 to cover the work most of the time.

I know of someone currently setting up a UPVC course and i dont think there are any decent vehicle courses now available in the uk,

by **pinky** » 16 Jun 2006 13:25

rob

as shrub has said, auto entry as you know can be covered for as little as Â£1000 properly.
but only 1 in 6 of my auto calls are entry only, the majority being lost keys and as we both know this is not a cheap start up.
to cover key cutting and programming for all most common makes, then a start up of Â£25 to Â£35k is usual for those serious about this as a career.

yes options exist where this can be bodged up on the cheap with cheap equipment and 2nd user stuff, but really no point if you wish to compete seriously and offer a professional job.
leasing is another option to reduce costs also.

i trained a guy up for warrants last month from an auto repair shop in hinkley who did your auto course and mb auto locks course, chatting to him on his views was interesting, his investment to date is Â£22,000 , and he is struggling, so cash rich its not at all.

i have Â£35k of equipment for autos including stock, and yes as you are aware ive gone for top end machines, which although not necessary make the job alot quicker and easier, i also have 8k of advertising now also, so yes it can be a good living, if you have the correct equipment and adequate advertising, to start up small, then no its no more cash rich than doing the lottery.

also access to a friendly breaker to practice and learn is a must, as it takes a long time to perfect these skills, many that should not be practiced on the customers cars.

i know Rob you would love tthis to be a cash rich area, to put bums on seats on your auto course , but as you said in another post, like every business it depends what you put into it,and a minimum recipe for survival is , TRAINING , INVESTMENT , ADVERTISING , PRACTICE, and also needed is a good business plan and a bit of good fortune.

though i suppose one could always buy kit on credit cards and lease, and if it fails , well whats a ccj against a name or two , so i suppose a cheap way in can be found, but the way to make it and survive is a little harder.

as said before Rob , good luck with your training and tools, as long as all done above board , im sure it will work out , only those with something to hide need worry and look over their shoulders.

by **SEVEN** » 25 Jun 2006 20:27

St. Mary's Training Centre, Oystershell Lane,Newcastle Upon Tyne. Has anyone tried this course. As thinking of trying it myself.

by **Rob Gray** » 28 Jun 2006 17:43

yes i hear what you are saying pinky but Â£35k is a bit steep of just auto? I know you would be hard pressed to spend that on only auto unless you have gone and got a brand new van just for the auto as well. and yes as for our friend he may of spent that to dat but that is not just on auto kit and if that is so was it 3 of evrything? there are a lot of ways to get business in the door not just the yell thompson thing. and as i have said in the past if I was not pushing for a better form of training what is the point of doing it? yes you may say money but hey is there that much money to be made? all i would say to that pinky is 24/7 tax bill? you will make money but there is a lot of he=ard work you have to do before you get it! its not all wine and roses. as with all training even done by you martin we give the base and it is up to the student to go and use it. if you want to make it and put in the foot work then you can make a living. as for progaming well there are some great bits of kit about and we soon will be offering help to anyone that has done our course as far as kit chips blanks and cut to code to bring down the costs you have had to pay ie Â£35k!!
and as for practise yes it is a big part as it is any time you lean something new anyone that has done our courses is welcome to come back free to do anything again.

As i said before i will try to set a good standard in training so as it is worth every penny you pay. as is your training!

as for ccjs that i will have to take your word for as i know not about them but with any business there is risk? as well you know.

and as offered before come down and see the training room and have a coffee you maybe suprised.

T T F N Honey

by **CaptB** » 6 Jul 2006 6:22

I get auto calls,
But at the moment staying clear until i`ve got the domestic and commercial areas covered. Don`t know if there`s anyone in the Worcester area interested in taking the calls for 10% finders fee on all work passed to you??

by **Airborne** » 28 Jul 2006 13:52

Sounds to me like you're trying to put people off caused you're not happy other people are getting"you're work". Business is business. If a guy has enough motivation, a brain, and the determination to suceed. He will. It doesn't matter if you're a new locksmith or if you've been trading 30 years. We're all learning as in any other trade. Yes you are right. Nobody is an expert from the start in anything, and those who think they are deserve to fail and probably will. But as I said. Don't get your knickers in a twist cause someone else can do what you do. Grow up.

by **toomush2drink** » 28 Jul 2006 17:51

Airbourne believe what you may but at least do the maths first. 2 years ago their were only about 10 training schools so not too many were entering the trade but since then there must now be about 60. Now if each school is turning out only 2 new lockies per week (thats a very conservative estimate,there were 8 on my course) thats at least 120 new people entering the trade each week or 480 per month or 5760 per year. Ive only been trading 2 years but in that time ive seen loads come and go and also seen the calls drop, lock out work being the biggest drop. Most courses focus on lockout work so without any other skills within the trade your on a loser before you start. Look at how the supermarkets have knocked out the small shops, well the same is happening in the lockie game, reactfast,A&E,timpsons plus a few more to boot are all getting bigger and bigger and mainly due to al these lockies subbing for them then going under themselves due to lack of work.
May i ask are you already a lockie or considering it ? I wrote this guide to tell it how it is and even myself im looking at other areas to expand into, some away form the lockie world, it really is that tough a trade to get into and succeed.

by **nhughz** » 28 Jul 2006 17:54

That is not what is being said at all. The fact is the market is saturated and there is not enough work to go round in most areas; you are simply being made aware of this fact so that if you do enter into the trade you do so with your eyes open.

by **Airborne** » 29 Jul 2006 5:29

I do agree with what you're saying about the market being saturated. However, if you've got a good business head you can expand into other areas. The so called "2 day experts" don't have the experience or the knowledge to adapt the skills they've aquired over the years as a locksmith to enable them to grow outside of doing lockouts, hence they fail because they have no experience. I don't think established locksmiths need to worry to much as these clowns disapear as quickly as they come. As you know a good reputation equals recommendation which equals more work for you.

What you need to start a uk locksmith business

uphill struggle`

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