First Steps to Take After Licensure

[ufd538]

Absolutely, you need to make money first!

You can undercut more if you are doing lockouts only. Your overhead is a car of your choosing and maybe $500 in tools, as opposed to full service locksmiths who have a van and probably $5-10 thousand in tools and stock. However, you need to be in an area that will give you plenty of business in lockouts only. I would definitely not recommend starting this way if there are any other lockout only businesses.

I would also find this the least satisfying professionally, lockouts would get real boring after a while.

This day in age, of Wal-mart and all other big box stores people think less about the service(products) than they do price. I have never had anybody tell me I was too cheap for them to use.

For that matter, you are just getting started, you can probably not offer the service of a seasoned veteran.

I am sorry to all other locksmiths here for ever mentioning this sort of business idea, although it is a good idea, it could inhibit our full service businesses. I am pretty sure I violated at least 3 laws in the unwritten book of locksmith guidelines by ever mentioning the idea. I promise I will never mention it here again.

Again, I can not say it enough....you need to be in a heavily populated area to be able to do enough lockouts to survive.

If you are going to offer more locksmith services than just lockouts, only undercut a few bucks.

[lt6206]

I'm by no means an expert and don't know much about this myself, but this is what I've gathered.

There are no state-sponsered 'Locksmith licenses' in the United States (I think there's a lockpick license of sorts in one of the Canadian Provinces if I remember correctly). The only thing you really need to be a locksmith is to have a registered business. Then you would want to get bonded, and possibly join the BBB. On top of that, it would probobly be a good idea to join the ALOA and take some of their tests for cirtification (RL, CL, CML, etc.).

Best of luck.
mcm

NC requires you to take an exam or be a certified RL from the ALOA BEFORE they will issue you a license to practice as a locksmith in the state of North Carolina.