starting up a locksmith

[wolfie]

how much trouble is it to start up a locksmithing business? im heavily pondering either joining one or starting on myself, any info would be wonderful =)

[freakparade3]

It takes a whole ton of money for tools and advertising. Parts are also a big expense. Advertising is very expensive but without it you will never get anywhere.

[wolfie]

any idear how much im looking at? 3-500k?more? O.o;

[freakparade3]

A minimum of 15 to 20 thousand to start.

[wolfie]

oh, that's not too bad o.o;

[Olson Burry]

It might be a good idea to see if you can befriend a locky and get to hang out on the job, helping out or something to get an idea of what tools they use regularly and get some experience of what it's like.

Just a thought; Go with him/her over the weekend for free and see if you could be useful enough to get paid sometime too.

[wolfie]

thats a good idear =3 theres a locksmith near me thats been around for a while.

[prag]

Its is good advice to befriend a locksmith. This way you can learn about the trade and all its tricks. A second reason is to also learn what locks and blanks are used for your particular area.
Also see what machinery he has. While you are helping him, take note and if you see a similiar machine at a good price buy it and stock up. Buying your locks, blanks and machinery can be very expensive. You can also check this site for good prices on secondhand machines to start off with.
Advertising is a must. I have just spent a small fortune on advertising and am planning on spending this amount on future campaigns. Had a good response with a flyer campaign. Am going to try our local papers etc

[johnthelocksmith]

I would say from what I've learned so far. Is that it will take atleast $4,000-$7,000.00 to get somewhat setup in the begining with the tools and suppliies you'll need to have on a job. That is just the begining there is alot more you'll need to spend money on but I guess it depends on what you wanna start out doing first. I'm planning on buying alot of tools and getting my business set up around march. Right after tax time cause that's the only way I'll have the money to invest in my business. In the mean time I'm making a business plan. That's another thing you'll ned to do is have some kind of idea where you want your business to go after it's all setup and running. Hope this helped you a little.

[globallockytoo]

I was lucky. I purchased a fully equipped vehicle with stock and machinery to enable a turn-key operation. $15,000

It's 12 years old the truck and had to converted and repaired for use in my state, just to get registered.

In the 1st year I spent another $5k on stock and at least $20k on advertising and other startup costs.

Advertising is a continuing expense, much of it not necessarily paying off, but sometimes you need to spend a lot initially to realize any return.

Arguably, I have already spent $20k this year advertising, but turn over is running at approximately $60 - $70 K so far.

I expect to make a loss for at least the next 2 years.

If you go into the business expecting to see a profit in the short term....forget about it (IMHO)