Wanting to start a 1 man mobile locksmthing business.

[Zeusophobia]

I want to do everything one person can do, except emergency calls. Is it going to be hard to get work without doing lockouts?

Does anyone here do something similar? Is the money good?

[cledry]

I want to do everything one person can do, except emergency calls. Is it going to be hard to get work without doing lockouts?

Does anyone here do something similar? Is the money good?

Emergency calls are gravy. Lockouts are gravy. Usually no parts involved and a premium is charged.

[2octops]

I want to do everything one person can do, except emergency calls. Is it going to be hard to get work without doing lockouts?

I know many that do exactly what you are talking about and make a very good living. I know many that do exactly what you are talking about that can not afford to pay their power bill each month and have to pawn the title to their work van every few months.

It's all what you put into it.

I'm not exactly a one man show and can not remember the last time that we ran an emergency call for the general public. I DO remember the last emergency call I ran for a commercial customer. It was last night around 1am. They could not secure their building because of a piece of crap Simplex would not lock. I replaced it with a DL2700, 2 hours labor and service call (both at double time). Yeah, I'll go to work at 1am for $1800 and be back in bed in 2 hours.

[Sinifar]

Let me start by saying, mobile only is one way to go, but you should have a "shop" someplace - even if it is in your basement. There are things which need to get done before you go out and install things, like key up locks, and make keys - especially high security keys which need special machines to do that.

You also need a back shop to store your inventory of locks and parts. Don't have everything out on the road. If you somehow "lose" your road unit, you are out of business. Take about 1/2 of your stuff with you, in ones and twos, and leave the rest at "home". Make up "service kits" of small parts to fix commercial hardware. These will make you money big time, but you will need experience to know which parts to carry. ASK an older smith for advice.

Unless you are made out of money, don't risk your expensive machines on the road. Things do get "lost" out there, and if I lose one of my "road machines" it isn't a total loss, and we are out of business. There are better ones down here in the bunker.

Having said that - when we started out 42 years ago, we were in a shop on the street, and this biz grew into three shops and nine employees. We had four trucks / well units available to roll as road units, three trucks and a "chaser car" for lockouts and other quickie work.

Economic hard times, big boxes, D I Y outlets and the attitude of people around this part of the world, slowly forced us back, then back again. We lost one shop to a property flipper and with that went almost 18 years of "street cred" - we never got that back. As "Sinifar Lock" contracted, we lost most of our retail business. BUT HELD onto our commercial accounts. This is where we stand today.

For a mobile shop to make it, you will need commercial work. There is not enough residential work out there anymore to make a living from. Plan on advertising both YP and web. Get "advertising" give aways like pens and other novelty items and pass those out like candy to anyone who will take one. Get professionally made business cards and pass those out as well, even to your existing clients. It shows you are moving forward, and not staying as you were.

This is how you spread you name. ALSO do excellent work, leave nothing behind which does not work more than 100%. Never just stuff in a job, throw a band-aid on it and run. If you don't know how to do something, ask an older smith. Many of us want the younger crowd to make it. We aren't getting any younger. Your reputation for "fixing things", and doing good work will go very far. AND CLEAN UP after yourself. Even if the place has a janitorial service, never leave a mess behind. Carry a small vacuum in your road unit and use it on every job.

Your word is your bond. If you say you will show up at 9, then show up at 9 or a little before. Never leave a client wondering where you are. If you quote a job at $X.XX then stick to it. EAT it if you screwed up. Only charge more than you quoted if the job radically changes, like extra locks were added after your original quote. OR you got ambushed, and not just the original job, but a laundry list was suddenly asked for. Then you can charge more.

Become known for keeping your word. Be as honest as the day is long. Never take interest in what the client is "making" - except for protecting it. ALWAYS MIND YOUR MANNERS. Have a "happy attitude" even when the job is going down the toilet faster than you can handle. Never grumble on the job around the client.

LOOK professional. Get uniforms with your name on them, always be "clean" - don't go out on a job looking like you just got out from under a car, and are still covered in grease and dirt. Clean hands, a shave, and good clothing. Put a shine on your shoes. LOOK SHARP !!! That builds confidence.

Lose the pagers, cell phones and other "hanger" stuff on your body. Nothing looks worse than tons of stuff hanging off your belt. I have two items. A small case which is securely closed for my cell phone, and a Swiss Tool - along with a key snap for my keys. That's it! Don't have "open pockets" with everything hanging out. Get Dickies Uniform shirts with the flaps over the pockets, and securely button those down. It looks more professional. (Aramark Uniforms)

Does it make money?

That depends on how hard you work. If you are going to be casual about this you won't make much. Put every hour you can into it and you will succeed.

Around here - back 12 years ago when we still had the chain stores (grocery) we were rolling in cash. When those chains closed up - it was back to hard times. The answer? Keep on re-inventing yourself and your company. Keep looking for new opportunities to sell to your clients. Go to every class you can grab, especially those offered by your local lock supplier. Get as much knowledge, up to date, that you can. Spend nights studying catalogs, especially the deeper parts of them where the "odd function" parts are listed. You can then "make" your own functions and modify the clients existing locks to suit their needs. AND ALWAYS look for ways to offer new and exciting products to solve your clients problems.

Today "Sinifar Lock" is a one man mobile shop, with a back shop down in the bunker. (basement) - I do have a full showroom full of stuff from the shops and lots of historical stuff on display, if anyone ever ventures down here. There is lots of new stuff as well. It draws interest and shows your commitment to working in the trade. We have cut away displays of many types of locks, alarm stuff from when we were big in that field, and current access controls mounted on displays and ready to demonstrate.

ALL in all, it shows that we are ready for new clients as well as supporting our almost 200 existing ones as well. It takes time. You build one client at a time, and in time you will succeed. Don't expect this to be an overnight success.

Sinifar

[cledry]

Some good advice posted above.

Obviously as a one man shop you will be limited. For example one national service provider we do work for may throw 4 jobs our way and expect them all done at the same time, they do not give you the option of staggering the calls. However these accounts throw so much work our way we work within their requirements. Also many commercial customers will want you insured to the hilt. Often we will have one client that will want us to increase our insurance just for them. If they are throwing $10K a month at you then $1500 additional a year in insurance isn't bad. Make sure you are properly insured for the type of work you will be doing.

[Sinifar]

Insurance -- this is NOT a luxury.

ALL commercial accounts will want an insurance certificate from your agent. IF you are not insured, they won't even let you on their property.

You need General Liability, at least 2 to 5 mill worth, and that should cover all. Your commercial vehicle needs it's own commercial car / truck policy, and should be shown on the insurance certificate.

Inland Marine is another one you WILL WANT. This covers loss of equipment on the job, or stolen out of your commercial vehicle. Have photos of all your gear, especially the expensive machines and kits inside your vehicle for proof of ownership in case of loss.

One other thought - engrave your company name on all "movable and non movable" stuff which is worth anything. It is permanent and if it disappears, they have some way of tracing your ownership if it is ever found. (Craig's List - E-bay)

AND don't forget to get an "EIN" - Entity Identification Number from the IRS. NEVER send out your social security number to anyone. Under any circumstances. You will need this for the "W-9" form they request when paying you. If you are not a corporation, then get your number as a "D B A" - "Doing business As". This also projects a professional and business attitude.

Sinifar

[viking84]

Insurance -- this is NOT a luxury.

ALL commercial accounts will want an insurance certificate from your agent. IF you are not insured, they won't even let you on their property.

You need General Liability, at least 2 to 5 mill worth, and that should cover all. Your commercial vehicle needs it's own commercial car / truck policy, and should be shown on the insurance certificate.

Inland Marine is another one you WILL WANT. This covers loss of equipment on the job, or stolen out of your commercial vehicle. Have photos of all your gear, especially the expensive machines and kits inside your vehicle for proof of ownership in case of loss.

One other thought - engrave your company name on all "movable and non movable" stuff which is worth anything. It is permanent and if it disappears, they have some way of tracing your ownership if it is ever found. (Craig's List - E-bay)

AND don't forget to get an "EIN" - Entity Identification Number from the IRS. NEVER send out your social security number to anyone. Under any circumstances. You will need this for the "W-9" form they request when paying you. If you are not a corporation, then get your number as a "D B A" - "Doing business As". This also projects a professional and business attitude.

Sinifar

Sinifar, I really enjoy reading your feedback to these threads. I wanted to ask of your opinion of using a home vehicle for commercial service. Do you need to have some type of Commercial license or other form of registration to use a home vehicle? Also, is their a standard list of residential and business keys that a locksmith should have always? I been thinking about starting my own as well, and maybe go through Foley-Belsaw! Thanks for your feedback!

JC

[Sinifar]

JC -

Just passing on 42 years on the street wisdom to those who are starting out. there are so many traps and big holes people can and do fall into. Just pointing out some of those, and why business don't make it past the first year.

AS far as using a "home vehicle" for commercial service. It really doesn't matter WHAT exactly you run for a road unit. In the past we ran Ford E-250's, with everything on them, including rear heat and air. ALSO we had a "Rediline" DA20, which is a 20 amp 110 volt auto start unit, which gave us real power on the road to run key machines and everything else -- also -- provided power on construction sties, and places where the power was out. Today due to high costs of operation, we are running a 2002 Ford Focus Wagon. Small compact, and taking the inventory out in ones and twos which is what our sales records showed we were moving "off the wagon" -- not sending out from the shop.

Keeping good records is not only job # 1, but at tax time like now, it is the basis for your tax reporting. We run Quick Books, and use all of it including the inventory control part to keep track on that. Inventory is your investment in your business. SO treat anything you buy and hold for clients like the cash it represents. A study of what you sold, and if you have to, go over your invoices and find out which items you sold off the wagon as replacement / add on / extra units for the sale. The rest should come out of your base's inventory, which will be your "office" - no matter if it is in a store front, a commercial building, or your basement.

Good accounting records are the score sheet of business.

For tax purposes, you should have a "dedicated" service vehicle. This way you can deduct the TOTAL cost of running the unit. Don't cheat on this item. GET something for a road unit, and use it for that purpose only. Carry your tools, inventory, and parts, along with ladders and everything else in it. ONLY. Have it "lettered" showing your company name and some advertising if you wish. This looks professional even though you are using a "car" instead of a truck. Many businesses today are downsizing into "cars" instead of trucks.

AS far as needed in "CDL" - Commercial Driver's License, this isn't needed in this class of unit, at least not in the USA. I am not sure about other countries.

AS far as the "assortment" of keys -- we have a "Kee Kan" in the car, it hold 500 different numbers. Well it has 500 hooks, and is a closed unit which keeps the noise down. Flake sells one quite similar to ours, in the "American" key cabinet. Get the one with the cushion on top, you can "sit on your key inventory". There is enough room for about 10 to 15 keys on each hook. For numbers like KW-1, SC-1 and others which you might sell a lot of use two hooks. Always leave some spaces in the total layout of boards so you can expand without having to rework your total key inventory.

TAKE the Foley class. For the newbie, this is #1. It doesn't cover everything, and a lot of the lessons are just "read and answer" - no practical work involved. This is one shortcoming to the Foley class. HOWEVER - there are old timers like me who will mentor a newbie, and have the materials on hand for you to work with and will expand the Foley lessons to not only cover more, but to give you practical hands on training on the subject of the lesson.

The Foley 200 key machine is okay. It is light duty, but it works like a champ. Once you get to know this little dynamo, you will find it can do just about anything you ask of it. Get a good set of spacer keys made by somebody like us made on a Framon. This will give you the best start for making originals. Just know you will have to know how to use a micrometer to use this machine. I bought one about 20 years ago from Foley when they had a sale on them, and use it on the road today as my second unit. It makes wonderful keys --- LIKE Dremel, it gets the job done one small bite at a time. DON'T force key cutting or try to run thru keys on this machine fast, it won't do it. Work slowly and you will get the results you desire. ALSO it will work on a 200 watt power unit, so you don't need the huge Rediline.

For you, buy a standard key assortment from one of the suppliers. You need to start someplace, we did too. This will give you a broad range of key stock to work with. BUY as you need from there.

Hope this helps....

Cordially,

Sinifar

[phrygianradar]

This has been such an informative thread! Thank you Sinifar and all, what a wealth of information. I am like the fly on the wall soaking it all in. Your last post just persuaded to take the Foley class. I was on the fence about it but I just got knocked over, so thank you!

[viking84]

Thank you Sinifar for posting your response! That provided me a good insight on what I aim to do. I also have looked into Foley-Belsaw. Good program, but as anything else you need to learn in the field.

Thanks
JC!

[dll932]

If you can, get a job for a local locksmith-if he's a good one, you can learn a lot quickly. You'll also learn about how the business works, what you like to do, where your talents lie.

[yono]

Sinifar, thats one thorough advice. very well documented from one,s own experienced. thanks man.