realistic earnings of a uk locksmith

[gee252]

We have all seen the the training and franchise adds telling us that newly trained locksmiths can earn thousands a week.
And as there are quite a few new to the locksmith trade on here i thought we could come to a more realistic figure. Hope i'm not prying too much just want to know roudabout?
hoping this is the year for me to bite the bullet pack in my job and become a trading locksmith some realistic figures would be nice, THANX.

[toomush2drink]

Dont pack in the day job yet, try and get some work before you rely on it as an income or you may find yourself very disappointed. you may find yourself needing the income from another job to help finance on going things like advertsing especially as its a new business.

[oldlock]

Figures are going to be hard, but in general terms I would say not enough to make a profit / live on for the first 1 - 3 years, perhaps much longer.

All the talk of 1000's per week is bull, pure and simple.

I used to turnover 1000's per week (sometimes) when I left the UK - but that was after 10 years of trading and lots of bloody hard work. But even then there are weeks with hardly any work at all.

Paul

[gee252]

the trouble with my job is i spend quite a bit of time away and when i'm not working away from home i spend that much time at work it leaves me little time to practice.
the only bonus at the moment about the work i'm in now is that it does give me the money to invest in tools but i never get the time to practice using them.
had the letter box tool months never used it once the only tools i get to practice with is cylinder picks as they are realy the only ones i can take away with me.
it seems like catch 22 you neeb to work to finance a new trade but you also need the time to learn.

[acl]

Oldlocks right .I meet guys whove been going for a few months that cant beleive theyre not taking home a couple of grand a week.I often get "well youre doing alright so should i be" what they fail to realise is that ive put a lot of hard work into it and yes im getting the rewards now but ive been on my own for 10 yrs now. Ive also spoken to guys who tell me they are desparate for work and will do anything and then you ask them to do ajob a few miles outside their area or after 5pm and they ask for stupid money.
I do think some new guys have been mislead but some just think its easy money.
Incidently Paul how does Aus compare with the uk regarding earnings(obviously no figures but would we be able to make as good a living over there?)
Regards Andy

[pinky]

you can sub to firms like reactfast , and a year ago you could get £600 pw from them alone, not so on a regular basis now, you may have a good week but be prepared for bad ones.
im well established in my area , but without my contract work i would not survive on call out work alone, sadly even the likes of reactfast are overun with people calling themselves locksmiths and have alot of work, but not enough to go round all the people who want it in any volume.

the industry has got tougher, real locksmiths are shutting up shop as being undercut by cowboys, the industry is dying, and it will get worse before it gets better.

a few years ago ken was the only one training, the other night he counted up all adds in uk of locksmiths offering training, there is now 60 , if all of these only trained 10 people a month then 600 new people a month trying to come into the industry , i will be surprised if just 10% succeed.
the sad thing is many who are training are not what i would call locksmiths, so what they teach is not going to be adequate.

i think its a crime that these franchises and trainers advertise that £1000 to £2000 is easily earnt, following their course, sadly its not.
anybody asking me for advice on industry or asking me how much is needed, i wont lie and i openly tell them how it is and how much they must invest to have a chance of success, and how long i believe it will take to see a return on that investment, this is why i try to teach NDE opening and tools only, and any novice wanting training i will tell him or her how it really is, not what they want to hear, there are posts on site by me and others trying to tell how it really is and how much it will cost.

the only newbies who have a hope of survival must either have very deep pockets, be extremely lucky or start as many have on this site, part time, using a job to subsadise their set up, its a good 3 years before you will be able to hope to live on what you earn, considering the build up and investment capital required.

contract holders can now be choosy and insist on NDE openers only who are fully tooled, as they now have alot of struggling lockeys , master locksmiths included snapping their hands off for the work, so what chance has a newbie ???

it can still happen, you need a sound business plan , a solid marketing stratergie, and either deep pockets or a job to subsadise set up, otherwise it wont happen.

though their will still be a host of dreamers who wont read or believe this, prefering to believe that they can learn an entire industry in 2 days from a shoddy course, then buy a magic harry potter tool for a few quid and go earn £2k pw, while gullable fools exist , the shoddy courses will still make money, and most will learn too late.

change is needed, governments etc have no time for organising industry, change for better must come from within, and sooner rather than later.

my advice is dont quit job till you have built your business up, you may be lucky, but very few are, only the clever and committed will survive.

[pinky]

i will add however , earnings are still available to honest , non destructive lockeys who are willing to put the work and unsocial hours in, not rip off the customer or contract holders with silly prices and who are flexible.

carry out proper research in your area
do a proper business plan
get properly trained
invest in your business
heavily market yourself honestly
and work your guts out, shit hours and long hours
be realistic

[oldlock]

Incidently Paul how does Aus compare with the uk regarding earnings(obviously no figures but would we be able to make as good a living over there?)
Regards Andy

I can only comment as an employee, as I have had a bellyful of working for myself I decided to take a stress break and go back to working for someone else. The money is probably on a par (exchange rates permitting) ie not very good, the main difference is the cost of living, for someone working for a locksmith in the UK it's very hard (if not impossible) to make ends meet, a tradesman here however can live reasonably well.

We do OK on one wage, yes we are in Adelaide which is cheaper than melbourne and a hell of a lot cheaper than Sydney so I cannot comment on how working in those states would compare.

Paul

[Sabin37]

Am I correct to assume that the earnings of a locksmith in Canada is in the same range as in the UK or Australia? I was thinking about becoming a locksmith and wanted to get as much information as I could before making a decision that could affect the rest of my life. Any advice is appreciated. The information given by pinky and oldlock about subsidizing your developing business with a second job, working hard, and knowing that you won't be able to just be a locksmith for the first couple years was very helpful.

[99atlantic]

Am I correct to assume that the earnings of a locksmith in Canada is in the same range as in the UK or Australia? I was thinking about becoming a locksmith and wanted to get as much information as I could before making a decision that could affect the rest of my life. Any advice is appreciated. The information given by pinky and oldlock about subsidizing your developing business with a second job, working hard, and knowing that you won't be able to just be a locksmith for the first couple years was very helpful.

heya - I'm from Calgary. Things may have changed, but one of my friends, about 12years ago, had a business as a locksmith - he ended up getting out of the business (and into the job of 'security consultant') because he said there just wasn't that much business out here.

[Romstar]

A good locksmith, in a good location (30,000+ people within a 30 minute drive) can expect to make between $1,000.00 - $3,000.00 per week GROSS.

This is after spending the time to learn the trade, and realizing that it is a FULL SERVICE trade in Canada. Locksmiths here don't make a decent living doing only lockouts.

The upside to the US and Canadian trade is that the entry price is significantly lower because we don't need as many picks as the common UK locksmith. Quite honestly, I was shocked as hell to find a Euro profile cylinder on one of my jobs. Lever locks are next to unheard of, although they do exist. They are also becoming a tad more popular in the larger population centers in Canada. I don't believe they are even an option in most places in the US.

Bear in mind that there are always expenses, and you will have to budget for those. Regardless of whether or not you are a store front or mobile. The simple fact of the matter is that you have bills to pay that belong to the business, and then you have to be able to pay yourself.

Sit down and figure out how much you need to live on a monthly basis. Then, add some money so that you are getting something out of it. A good job (business) is one that lets you get something more out of life than just a roof over your head, and a meal in your stomach.

My personal monthly costs are about $2,000.00 per month, so I want to be getting about $2,500.00 -$3,000.00 per month JUST IN MY POCKET.

That means that after my business expenses, there still has to be around $800.00 per week. Bear in mind that you are almost always still responsible for your personal income taxes and other deductions.

So, what do I need to keep my business in a profitable range? About $6,000.00 + per month. Some months the expenses are small, other months they are more. The point is that you have to consider all of these things.

Starting out here costs, no doubt about it. Just like in the UK, you are chasing the business for the first year or three. After that, you just have to be good at what you do, and be completely willing to offer full service and learn more and more all the time. It can be stressful, don't add to your stress by working for cheapskates. There are more than enough idiots that will do that for nothing.

Always, always, always buy quality tools and equipment. A $1.00 screw driver is a throw away tool. A $4.00 screw driver is a lifetime tool. The same goes for all of your tools. You can improvise lock picks, even build them yourself, but a good quality drill is not something you build in the garage.

In the end, it is you who will determine if your business lives or dies. It will survive on how you do your work, and how you treat your customers. They want punctuality, quality, and honesty. You should strive to appear neat at all times, be on time as often as possible and never take advantage of your customers. Eventually your business will live more on word of mouth than any advertising you do.

Good luck and take care,
Romstar

[oldlock]

Good advice from Romstar - especially re tools. allways buy quality. No matter what the tool maybe, cheap tools are a total waste of time, and remember tools are tax deductable, now who would you rather had the money ? you in quality equipment or the tax man ?

Paul

[pinky]

all excellent advice, especially tools , its all well and good a hobbiest making his own picks for sport, but a commercial locksmith needs tools and now, look at your tools as how many openings to pay for the tool ?
most locksmiths are not machineists or dont have lathes and milling machines, so its not a good idea to think you can make all of your own tools, this is skilled and time consuming, the time spent copying a tool to try and make your own is better served marketing your business, spend the extra and buy quality tools, as romstar said buy quality picks and quality hand and power tools, it will save you long term.

in the uk your tools are tax deductable, but you cannot claim the whole cost against tax straight away, you claim 25% of tool value per year over 4 years, so within 4 years the tax man has paid for your tools, god bless em.

its often tempting to by picks especially bs picks for a cash deal, great you save £50 on cost of tool, but you now cannot claim it back on your books, this is actualy a foolish way to buy tools and costs you long term.

enter any business with your eyes open, to start up with no business plan , no career and market research up front and you may as well spend the money at the race track, with an equal chance of success, caution and some research up front pays dividends, but you must research your area, its no good using another lockeys research figures as every area is different.

if this thread has stopped some from going for it yet then good, better to be put off for now , rather than bust later on.

[gee252]

I for one am under no illusion that to become a trading locksmith from scratch is hard work and to make a good living from it takes time and investment(money and personal).
That said when the time is right and when i think i am up to a satisfactory standard i will give it a go for me it's not just about the money you can earn(i know that people will say well thats what we all go out to work for to pay the bills) but i think there must be some satisfaction in the work you do.
for far too long i've been chasing the money working all the hours god sends and earning good money but if your hearts not in the job whats the point?. i would rather be earning less and enjoy the job i'm doing.
plus some would say working for yourself is hard work in it's self but if you have to put in the time and graft isn't it better knowing all your hard work is for you.
there is quite a few different jobs i could have looked at doing as i have experience in in a few fields but none give me buzz lock picking does. (most of you on here will understand that buzz and sense of achivement when you do finaly beat that lock).
My only hope is that the locksmith profession does get ride of the cowboys that are flooding and pulling down the industry and the real professionals who do put in the time to learn the trade start getting paid accordingly for the art and skill which is locksmithing.

[EvoRed]

You're right, this job is very satisfying, for me anyway. You've got people relying on you to get them in and, when you do that very quickly and, a majority of the time, with no damage at all, it is very rewarding for yourself and the customer.

Some customers can have a little moan about the charges but if they knew the amount of money us honest Locksmith's have invested in training and tools, to help us get them in non-destructively, I'm sure they would think again...