Making Money Unlocking Cars: A Short Book To Get You Up and Running

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"The perfect book if you need extra cash!!"

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UNLOCKING

CARS

A

SHORT

BOOK

TO

GET

YOU

UP

AND

RUNNING

DAVID CALVIN ES

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Making Money Opening Cars By David Calvin Copyright, 2016 Before I begin, let me thank you for choosing my book entitled Make Money Opening Cars! I know it will help you earn additional income by showing you what this business is all about. And let me say that starting a car-opening business is easier than you think! And, if you would, please leave me a review at Amazon Books! I would be grateful to you for the time you spend doing so. Also, here is a list of other books I have published. All of them are available at Amazon Books. 1. The Dollar-A-Minute Locksmith — Part-Time and Full Time Income

Servicing House Locks 2. The Residential Lock Repair Coach 3. The Simple Commercial Locksmith 4. Drilling Open and Bypassing Locks — Tips and Tricks 5. David Calvin’s Locksmith Bundle

6. The Basics of Lock Cylinder Keying 7. Servicing and Replacing Commercial Door Closers

8. Vandal Proofing Commercial Doors for Profit 9. Tent-Making Preachers Locksmithing for Extra Income

-

10. Skyrocket Your Sales by Throwing Google Overboard 11. The Locksmith’s Commercial Glass Door Deadbolt Repair Coach 12. The Locksmith’s Device Coach 13.

The

Locksmith’s

Dor-O-Matic Pick,

Rake,

Exit and

Drill Repair Coach

Introduction I remember when I got my first car opening kit. After opening the box, I took out the manual, looked up the instructions on how to open a Chevy Nova, and opened my wife’s car. I don’t

think I spent more than two minutes getting the door unlocked. I could have charged her $50 right then and there; but I expect she would’ve told me we didn’t have that kind of money to spend. Then it hit me. If she had really been locked out of her car, and if she was truly broke, somebody else would have covered the bill for her. It might have been a parent, a friend, her church, her place of work, or even the State Farm insurance agent. And all of these people would have been glad to have helped her.

When somebody gets locked out of their car, getting that car opened is not part of discretionary spending. The car must be opened. Getting a car unlocked ranks right up there with paying the electric bill. It isn’t a matter of “which bill can I pay now and which can I put off until later?” As of this writing, the economy is not booming. Millions of people are not in

the work force and millions are on public assistance. Because the economy is anemic, people are careful about how they spend their money. But they have no choice if they are locked out of their cars. You bought this book because you need or

want

some

extra

cash.

You

may

even be someone who is working only part-time because full-time work is not available. Maybe you want to start a full-time business of opening cars. If you are, this is the summary book that will inform you and help get you up and running. In fact, you can have a car opening kit in a week and be making money fairly quickly. You know, you don’t have to open cars on a full-time basis in order to make an extra $75 each month. Of course, you want to make more than that, I would suspect. But, what if you only open five

cars each month at $65 each? $325 is more than some car payments. You'll take that kind of money, right?

But you are wondering how you are ever going to get acar opening business started because you have no clear picture of where to begin. That’s why you bought this book. This book will teach you the steps you need to take in order to start opening cars for profit. It will give you some hypothetical situations to consider, tell you what is involved in opening cars, teach you what tools you will need, show you how to go about getting a business license if you think you are going to need one, and inform you about how to keep from damaging cars. In this book, you will also learn how to advertise, get invoices and business tools made, and how to price your services. I will also show you how people are being scammed by pay-per-click locksmiths. We'll look briefly at advertising, but I will refer to my book on that topic whichis a field all in itself.

Maybe you don’t want to start a business, but you want to unlock cars when the need arises in your neighborhood. Can you make money operating that

way? Yes. People who know and trust you will never go looking for a locksmith if they know you are equipped and trained to open cars. However, you may decide to make your business official and get a business license. Do you have to dothis? No. But, if you can get a business license issued

to you, you can buy all the lock opening products you need from US Locks and IDN Armstrong’s. They sell the very best products; but they only sell to people with business licenses. You do not have to start with

a business

license,

and you can still get some great tools online. If you do get a business license and decide to grow, you will also need to purchase some business insurance. More on that later. Let’s spend a little time looking at some hypothetical and actual car opening scenarios so you can get a feel for what this business is like.

Car Opening Scenarios

1. Early in my locksmith career, I got a phone call from a man who had locked his keys in his car. The call came in at 2 in the morning. He gave me his address. He was locked out thirty minutes away from where I lived. I drove to the address, which was a closed business location in the middle of nowhere,

and nobody was there. What happened? First, the man may have gotten his car opened by himself. Second, he could have called other locksmiths and used the first one to arrive to open his car. Three, the call may have been a prank call made by one of my competitors to make my life more difficult. I wasted over an hour of my time. 2. I once received a phone call to open a car in an apartment complex. The call came in around one in the morning. I showed up and knocked on the door. Nobody answered. I knocked and knocked. Then, I walked around to the side of the apartment and looked

through the glass doors. The man was passed out on the sofa. I finally got him to wake up, but it took me ten minutes. I opened the car, got paid, and left.

3. A girl once called me to come and open her car. It was two-thirty in the morning. I showed up. A friend of hers was trying to get into the car. I proceeded to work on the car, and the guy decided he liked my tools better. So he proceeded to work on the car using one of my tools. The girl was adamant that, if the guy opened the car, she wouldn't be paying me. I did get the car open.

And I did get paid. I made $35 for that call. After that, I never again took alate night call. In my area, I have to drive far and wide to survive. If you are in living in a larger city, you can take late night calls because you probably will not have far to drive. You can also charge $150 or more for those calls today. 4. I got a call from a woman who was locked out of her car. I walked over the passenger side of the car, where I always do my opening work, and the window was open. 5. I once opened a car and I disconnected the lock linkage down inside the door. I had to take the inside door panel

off and clip the rod back into the plastic clip. I hate doing that. 6. Imagine getting a car opened for someone and they tell you, “I don’t have any money.” It has happened to me more than once. Usually, I take their gold rings instead — which they never come back to reclaim. 7. Sometimes, a local insurance company will call me and say, “One of our customers is locked out at such and

such a place.

Will you go open it and

send us the bill?” SWEET.

8. I once got called to open a truck at a truck stop. I left my small ladder at home by accident. I had to hold on to the truck’s mirror support to keep from falling off the truck while I worked on the door. When you open cars for people, be prepared for anything to happen. Just keep an

open

mind,

be

courteous,

smile,

and pretend like you know what you’re doing.

Now, let’s get down to the basics. Be sure to read through this entire book before you take the plunge and buy a tool kit. If you already have one, that’s okay. We will start with some current discussions about car opening methods and some of the dangers you may run into.

Car Opening Methods Slim Jim A lot has changed in the way cars are locked since I first started back in 1989. Back in 1989, there were plenty of cars that could still be opened by using the Slim Jim. I know you have seen these tools. These are long, flat pieces of metal with a handle on one end and a notch in the other. The Slim Jim was used by bowing out the notched end, and inserting it with that end facing towards the car. It was inserted between the car door weather stripping and the window near the vertical lock button. Once the Slim Jim was inserted, it was lowered far down in to the door’s cavity,

and the person using the Slim Jim slid it over until he saw the lock button move. Then, the person with the tool jerked up on the Slim Jim. The only problem with

this

method,

though,

was

that

people often grabbed the door handle activation rod and jerked it out of the door handle or off the door’s locking mechanism. Not only that, they also jerked the lock button rod clean off the locking device as well. Back in 1989, I knew of the dangers of the Slim Jim and usually never used it. Today, in 2016, people are using this tool on new cars. Doasearch for “Slim Jim” or HPC’s HPCO 11. There are stories about a police officer who used a Slim Jim to open a new car and, when he put the tool down into the car door, he tripped the airbag and got killed. Thisisa myth. There is very little chance you will deploy an airbag while using a tool to open a car. Can that change? Everything changes over time. However, I want to say right here and now that there is no reason for you to use a Slim Jim in today’s car opening market. Others may disagree. All I

can tell you is that I like to finesse locks open, not jerk on them.

Under-the-Window Tool The under-the-window tool is one of the finest inventions to come along in years. This tool is designed to slip in between the door and the car window, pass under the window, and come up into the car between the inside door panel and the glass. Once the tool is in the inside of the car, it can be used to push down on an automatic door lock button or pull the manual lock button to the open position. However,

when

someone

tries

to

use

tool on every make and model of car, it creates problems. I know one locksmith who used it on a Toyota back in the 1990s and got it jammed in the window. He could not get the tool out. He finally opened the car for the customer, but he left the tool in the window, and the customer drove off with the toolin stuckin the door. There have been times when locksmiths have had to cut this tool in half to get it out. Why

does this happen? Because some people do not read the directions that tell them which tool opens which car and how that tool is to be used. When you start using any tool in your kit to open a car without consulting the book that comes with your kit, you are going to get into trouble. The under-the-window tool had other drawbacks

as well.

At first, the lock-

smith had to adjust the tool so that it would fit over the door panel. If the tool was inserted into the car, and if it was adjusted too short, the tool would hang up on the top of the inner panel where people rest their arms. If it was adjusted too long, the tip of the tool would not reach the lock button. The under-the-window tool would then have been fully committed to the insertion, so-to-speak. Once it had popped up into the inside of the car, it could not be removed unless the car door was open. Another problem with this tool - and, at one time, this was the only tool to use on certain models — is that when it

came up inside the car, it tore the window tinting or scratched it. Locksmiths using this tool would always tell the customers before opening the car that they needed to sign a waiver because the tint was going to be scratched or torn.

Over time, the car opening tool manufacturers began making different sizes of under-the-window tools. By the time they were through, a locksmith may have had four or five different sizes of this tool, from small to tall, from wide to narrow. You can see this tool at HPC’s website. Look at the Super Killer.

The Z-Tool Revolution I have used the Z-Tool car opening kit since I started. This kit was originally billed as the only tool you would ever need for unlocking cars. I do not need to tell you that, over the years, Z-Tool did add a bunch more tools their kit. So much for the one-tool revolution.

The idea of the Z-Tool was based upon sound reasoning. Since all cars had locks that were activated with rods, rods running horizontally and vertically, it made sense to design a tool that could reach down inside a car door, grab onto the proper rod, and open the lock. Even today, all cars, or most of them, use horizontal and/or vertical rods that are attached to door locking mechanisms and buttons and knobs. The idea with the Z-Tool was to get the small hook at the end of the tool onto the right rod and have it lock onto that rod so that, when the tool was pushed or pulled, the rod was activated. Another idea behind this tool was that,

if you used primarily one tool to open most cars, you would be able to open cars easier because you would eventually come to get the feel of the one tool. In a sense, this idea was good. But in reality, there isn’t just one tool that goes into the car through the body of the door and grabs rods or buttons. Due to the wise diversity of makes and models, locksmiths found that the one-tool concept was impossible.

Some car manufacturers began to cover their locking rods with plastic sheaths. Or they did away the rods and went to cables instead. Sometimes they covered them with metal guards. So, over the years, Z-Tool designed other tools that would open cars in different ways. Find Z-Tool online. Note the “box” ends which are designed to slip over the locking rods and bind them when the tool is twisted.

The Long-Reach Tool Now locksmiths have the long-reach tool. This tool is used in conjunction with up to three inflatable air wedges. One air wedge is inserted into the frame of the window and is pumped up, much like a blood pressure device used by doctors. When the air wedge is pumped up, the frame of the door separates from the body of the car and creates a gap. When the gap is just wide enough, the locksmith gets his long-reach tool.

The long-reach tool is easy to bend and some long-reach tools come with an assortment of different types of hooks. One of the hooks is designed to grab the car door handle (my Ford Focus is unlocked and opened only when the handle is pulled), and the other is made to touch the electric lock button or pull the manual lock button to the unlocked position. When using the long-reach tool, be careful to use your air wedges carefully. You will only want to separate the door frame from the car only as much as is necessary to insert your long-reach tool. I have never sprung a door or bent one. Doors are fairly strong. The long-reach tool used today and emergency not rely on the much. I use the tool specified in manual.

tool is often the only by some locksmiths services people. I do long-reach tool that Z-Tool kit and use the the Z-Tool car opening

Here’s a note. Car makers will not give up without a fight. Some cars seem to

have a life all their own.

Sometimes,

when you use a long-reach tool and hit the manual button and unlock it, the lock locks back in less than a second. Sometimes, you have to ask the customer to hold the outside door handle and jerk it open when they see and hear the lock pop. And, sometimes, when the keys are in the ignition and the door is locked, the electric lock button will

not operate. However, if you get a kit, your manual will point some of these things out. See the next picture for an example of a long reach tool. They come in many different styles and lengths. Look online for the Pro-Lok POAK42LAXL. It comes with an air wedge, a protection sleeve, and a standard wedge. You can get this at US Lock. You might be able to open most cars with this.

The Button Lifter This is always a nifty tool to have. This tool is made by Pro-Lok. It goes under the window and comes up on the other

side of the window. This tool is great for those cars that have square vertical lock buttons. The top of this tool is pressed against the button and lifted up. Look for a button-lifter online at HPC’s website.

The Car Opening Light This is a nifty tool to have when you first start opening cars, though I have not used one for over twenty years. This light is bright and powerful and will light up the interior of a car door like you wouldn’t believe. With this light, you can often see what you are doing and guide your appropriate tool to just the right rod. If somebody has disconnected a rod, you will often see it. Look for Pro-Lok’s Hardbody CarOpening Light. The stock number at US Lock is POAL15500. You can buy extra light bulbs for this as well.

The Euro Strip

Here is one tool you should never be without. The Euro Strip is a piece of thin plastic with a heavy duty rubber band on one end. This is used for foreign cars, namely Mercedes Benz, using a vertical lock button. This tool slips in behind the window. Once the rubber band falls around the vertical button knob, it is easy to pop! Be sure to have two of these. Do a search for the Euro Strip.

The Gold Finger These days, I use this tool for 9 out 10 car openings. HPC makes this tool and it is probably the single best tool ever developed for car-openers. It has a hook-end for pushing, and it has a pull-end that is great for flipping manual buttons and door handles. What makes it so nice, besides the fact that it does have two separate ends, is that it is five feet long, itis durable, and you can bend it into any shape you can think of. Because it can be effortlessly shaped,

you can adjust it so that it hits just about anything you are aiming for in the car. This device is made by HPC and sold by US Lock Corporation. It is very inexpensive as well. Go to US Lock’s website or HPC’s and look up Gold Finger.

The Long Reach Tool Sleeve There is always a danger that, when you insert you long-reach tool into a car, you will scratch the paint. If you do, and if the customer minds, he will make you pay to have it touched up. You can use a soft terry cloth to protect the car, or you can get the sleeve shown here. These sleeves are cheap. You can get them for about three dollars.

The Standard Wedge Getting your tools down into the door or through the crack between the door and the car have been made easy for you with the invention of the wedge. The standard wedge has been around for a long time, is made of plastic, and has a taper. When it is inserted in between the glass of the car and the weather stripping, it is simply pushed in. When it is pushed in, a gap is created between the glass and the weather stripping and your tool will easily slide down into the door. Do a search at HPC and Pro-Lok for standard wedges. Look for the HPAW38 made by HPC. This wedge is wonderful because it has a special illumination hole through which you can insert a flex light. A light will help you see down into the car door. Itis advisable that you have a few different types of wedges, some thin, some thick.

The Air Wedge

The finest invention to date for the caropener is the air wedge. This is nothing more than a rubber air bag that can be pumped up. It looks a lot like the medical device doctors use to read your blood pressure. This tool is used primarily for separating the door frame from the vehicle so that you can insert your tool into the passenger compartment to flip buttons or grab onto keys. If you are going to open cars, it is best to have three. Sometimes, you must insert one wedge and pump it up so that you can get the next wedge in easily. Over time they will wear out, but they are usually very durable. Doa search for the HPAW99. The HPAW100 is longer. I like the longer one myself, but I own both. Below is a picture of the air wedges in action. I inserted the first air wedge, which is the bottom one you see on the left. Then, after I pumped it up, I inserted the top air wedge. This car is a 2008 Ford Focus that has a vertical button. I could use a Z-Tool on this and open it up very quickly. Although the manual does not call for air wedges and

the first one and then insert it into the door ahead of the second. Basically, you are playing a game of leap-frog with wedges until you get the door cracked open where you can best fish for the button or handle.

The Lever Wedge Here is a wonderful tool that you can use to help you get your wedges started. I have one of these and I use it on almost every job. It is made of plastic, so it will not scratch any metal. However, you must use it with care and pry the opening only as much as is needed to get your wedges into place. The lever wedge is made by HPC. It is HOLW 100 and it is available at US Lock.

What to Expect Inside the Car Door Car doors are a lot more complex that they were twenty years ago. Today,

the first one and then insert it into the door ahead of the second. Basically, you are playing a game of leap-frog with wedges until you get the door cracked open where you can best fish for the button or handle.

The Lever Wedge Here is a wonderful tool that you can use to help you get your wedges started. I have one of these and I use it on almost every job. It is made of plastic, so it will not scratch any metal. However, you must use it with care and pry the opening only as much as is needed to get your wedges into place. The lever wedge is made by HPC. It is HOLW 100 and it is available at US Lock.

What to Expect Inside the Car Door Car doors are a lot more complex that they were twenty years ago. Today,

when I open cars, I often encounter anti-theft guards that run along the length of the door at the base of the weather stripping. It is very difficult getting a tool into a door with a guard on it, but there are always ways around them. I also find that there are interior door walls as well, and that the rods I

am trying to reach are barely exposed or not at all.

(This is what we love the

long-reach tool!) Sometimes you will be called to open a car and the rods to the latch, the handle, and the lock may be disconnected.

That usually means an untrained person has tried to open the car. However, because of the obstructions inside the car door, some car-openers have gone over exclusively to the long-reach tool and the long-reach tool only. I know one locksmith who has used that tool for years, never once opening his Z-Tool kit. Sometimes, if the car 1s older, the rods inside the door will be hard to move. It seems that older Ford’s suffer from this problem. Even if you are using the

long-reach tool, and you get it onto the sliding or pivoting, manually-operated lock button, the car will still be hard to unlock. What do you do? You just keep at it. How much do you need to know about every car that is out there? Not much, really. There are way too many cars out there, and newer models are always hitting the streets, for you to memorize them all. I don’t even bother. But one thing to keep in mind is that, to open any car, you will be grabbing a horizontal rod, a vertical rod, or you'll be coming through the door frame and car body with a long-reach tool. Many different types of cars utilize the same style locking devices. That means that

you need only to learn the three or four techniques, and they will get you into most cars.

Also, when

you buy your

tool or tool kit, it will come with a manual indexed by make, model, and

year. All you will need to do is go to the index, find the vehicle you’ve been asked to open, and use the tool the manual tells you to use. The Z-Tool manual has instructions and drawings

to show you what you are looking for inside the car door and how to unlock the car. I love that manual. Be sure to check out their website.

Unlocking a car is as much about feel as itis about knowledge. It is art, ina sense. If you are using a tool that opens a car by going down into the door, you will lower your tool to the place recommended by the manual and watch for the lock button to move. When the lock button moves, you know you are where you are supposed to be. Then, you twist your tool to bind the rod, and push the rod either forward or backward, depending on what the manual tells you to do. Trust the manual, do what it says, and you will open any car you come across.

Safety Measures Whenever you open a car, especially if you are using a long-reach tool, be careful you do not scratch the customer’s

paint. You can avoid this by following the instructions that come with the tool. Many people use a piece of cloth and insert it between the car and the long-reach tool. This will protect the customer’s paint job. Or, as I have already pointed out, you can use the longreach tool sleeve. But be careful even then; and never use your air wedge to open the door more than what you need in order to insert the tool. You do not want to bend the door, though it is hard to do. Just don’t risk it. Another safety measure you must take is to make sure you do not lean up against the car so that your belt buckle scratches the paint.

Also, when using the air wedges, you must be careful that you do not have them slice and pass through the foam rubber weather strip that runs along the window. Sometimes, you will slice right through that material. If you do, I do not know that it will be much of a problem in most cases. But, be aware of that.

When using the long-reach tool, it will often be difficult to hit the button, pull the handle, or trip the manual lock button the first try. Just be gentle so that you do not scratch the interior door panel. Many times, when I feel there is a slight chance of some scratching of the paint, or other slight damage, I just tell the customer that, given the circumstances, there just may be a scratch or two. I tell them that especially when Iam using the under-the-window tool and the customer’s car windows are dark-tinted. If you ever suspect that you might scratch the tint or other part of the car, and it will always be tiny or not easily noticeable, you can have them initial your invoice where you have written clearly that there is a slight possibility of scratching either the paint of the tint or the panel. Do this before you start. And itis always a good idea to do an inspection of the vehicles doors, frames, and windows before you begin, and note any problems. Check for scratches, cracks, dings, bent

doors, etc. Have the customer sign off before you start. But be careful to look at the car door before you open it. Somebody else may have opened it before and scratched the paint or even sprung the door. You don’t want the customer saying you did it. If you see any kind of damage whatsoever on the car door, write it down on the invoice and have the customer initial it.

Recommended Tools for your Car Opening Business Just how many tools do you really need to get started in the car-opening business? If you have some money to spend, and if you can afford it, look into getting a kit. The pricing I will give you will be approximate. However, the cheapest kit will be at the end of this list. I do want you to go to HPC, Inc., Pro-Lok, and Z-Tool on the web and re-

search their products. The more tools you look at, the better you will understand the techniques and concepts.

The

HPC

Professional

Car

Opening Killer Kit AKK-66 This kit has the lasso (just like the euro tool), a collapsible long-reach tool, four wedges, a light, and under-the-window tool, and a Z-Tool copycat. This is not the Z-Tool. This kit as of 2-12-16 lists at US Lock for $287. However, if you area dealer, you can get from 35% to 50% off on this kit. You can open plenty of cars with this kit. If you are on a tight budget, call US Lock and ask what it will take for you buy this. I will give you their phone number towards the end of the book.

The Ultimate Car Killer Kit AKK-99

Opening

This kit retails at around $870.00.

If

you buy it from US Lock, you can buy at a discount. Maybe half off! Be sure to call them. Be sure to go to HPC’s website and research this kit. It comes with a pick set, which you may not need, and it comes with an interactive car opening DVD.

The Z-Tool Kit The Z-Tool kit, which I do not have a picture for, but which you can see online, is a kit you might consider buying. Tuse this kit - but ifI hada choice today, I would seriously consider HPC and Pro-Lok before buying anything. Go to http://z-tool.com/kits.htm and look at the kits Z-Tool offers. The Complete Grand Master Kit is priced at under $300. Be sure to check it out. Yes, I do think this is a great kit. However, if I purchased this kit, I would still buy the Gold Finger by HPC. This is a nice and complete kit.

The Jam-Packed Thru Killer Kit AKK-JPTC

Car

Here is a kit that lists for $599.00. Again, if you become a US Lock dealer, which I think you should, you can get it for a vastly reduced price. It comes with

a CD,

a case,

two

air

wedges,

and a host of other things. Just be sure to go to HPC online — http:// www.hpcworld.com/ - and just look through their products. Click on the “Car Openers” tab. This is truly an unbelievable company. I have used their products for years.

Pro-Lok

18-Piece

Ultra

Comb

Car-Opening Kit Check this out at their site. This kit retails for $400 in the US Lock catalog. But remember — when you become a US Lock dealer, you get this at a reduced price. This kit is a great value. Be sure

to go to https://www.pro-lok.com/ and research their products.

David’s Choice Tools I think you can open quite a few cars with the following tools. These are “must-have” items. With the kit below, you will be able to get a long-reach tool

into the car and pull or push buttons and levers. With this kit, you will not have any instructions. In fact, people who use this system do not refer to instructions. But, you will need to take care and only use enough of the air wedges to open the smallest possible opening in order to insert your longreach tool. Over time, you will probably want one of the kits. Remember that

even a $500 kit will only take you ten openings to pay for, probably less.

But do try to get a kit. But also add the Gold Finger and the Lever Wedge - ‘no matter what!

1. 2 air wedges 2. 1 Lever Wedge 3. The Golf Finger Auto Kit (which comes with 1 air wedge anda sleeve) 4. A hands-free flashlight which you can wear on your hat or head. A must for nighttime car openings.

Let’s Talk About

Practicing The first car you are going to work on will be your own. Once you get your kit, or if you are using only the longreach tool, get to it. Just be patient. When you use your wedges, go slowly at first. Remember what I have said — use your wedges UP TO THE POINT where you have just enough room to insert your tool AND NO MORE. Yes, you can damage

cars.

However, I have

never bent a door or cracked a window. (But be careful when they are frozen!!!)

Cars can take the wedges.

But remem-

ber - KEEP THE OPENINGS AS THIN AS

POSSIBLE! If you do this, you should have no problem. Don’t be afraid to go the local junk yard. Be sure to ask the manager if you can practice opening a few cars.

Bring along a $10 gift card to Wendy’s, hand it to him, and say, “Would you let me practice opening cars if buy you lunche” Then hand him the card. More than likely, he’ll start recommending you to people who are locked out! Tell him you'll give him a finder’s fee if he

calls you out to the junkyard to open a locked-up car for one of his customers. You can always ask your friends for permission to open their cars. If they are driving exotic or brand new cars, don’t ask. Ask those who have older cars that look like they’ve got some road wear. “How long do I practice for?” I opened one car and started the next day. However, I also had the ZTool kit with their amazing little book. AMAZING LITTLE BOOK. Opening cars

is not hard. There will be times when you will spend twenty minutes or more struggling witha vehicle. After a short while, it will be easy.

Time to Address Your Fears and Hesitations Before we go on to explore how we set this thing up, sell it, and get past the regulatory Nazis that run your state (which will be easy because I am going to show you a way to do this legally without having to become a licensed locksmith in your state), I want to talk about the income generating aspect of this business and how you can justify the expense of a nice kit. You might want to check around town and find out what car openings cost people. You can do this by calling a truly local locksmith and asking, “I have a 2008 Ford Focus and Iam in Normandy, TN. How much will I cost me for you to open my car?”

Use your car

and your town. However, if you click on a pay-per-click advertisement at the top of the search engine, be prepared to be lied to. I hate to say it, but the payper-click ads are dominated by scam artists who lie to people by telling them their car lockout is cheap, and who end

up charging the customer $200 for a $65 job. (Which is why you should never hire a service provider from a pay-per-click ad unless you get upfront guarantees.)

You might get lucky during the first week that you own some car-opening tools and open acar for someone. After people know you open cars, you will get more work. A fair pricing struc-

ture would be to charge customers $65 during the day, and $75 a after five pm, and, after nine pm, $95. If you get a

call after midnight, $150 and up would be acceptable.

Your $500 investment

in car opening tools will pay for itself fairly quickly if you do what I tell. you to do. You may also be afraid of damaging a customer’s car. As I have already said,

you will only damage a customer’s car if you are using tools and methods not designed to open that car, or you are going overboard with the air-wedging, or you are not using a sleeve or cloth with your long-reach tool. Let me tell right now that I am so careful about car openings that I NEVER us a cloth or a sleeve. If you are just starting, you should use a cloth or sleeve. Just take you time. You may be wondering how you are going to be perceived in the eyes of the customer. After almost thirty years in the lock business, I still encounter locks I have never seen before. Do you think I walk up to them and say, “Well, I have never worked on one of those and I’m not too sure about it?” Guess again. I just pretend I know what I am doing and get the job done. Why? Because I know all of the basics about working on locks; and all those basics are part of the new job in front of me. And let’s face it: how hard can opening a car be? What’s the basic skill? Getting the tool into the car, onto the right rod or button, and

pulling. Your customer will always feel good about you when you act like you know what you’re doing and when you exude self-confidence that, “Yes, the car

will be opened in the next ten minutes.”

Setting Your Business Up Before You Get the Tools In

some

states,

you

cannot

get

car

opening tools unless you are a licensed locksmith. Even owning them can get you fined. However, there are two ways around this. First, you can get car opening tools online. Just do a search for the brands and kits we have already mentioned. If you want to buy just a long-reach tool kit, you can find all kinds of makers online. In fact, you could probably make a Gold Finger yourself. And you can even find people who will sell you HPC tools, but you will probably pay retail. Second, you can become a roadside service company. Here is the nice, tidy way of doing business.

In the State of Tennessee, if you are a roadside assistance company, you can change flat tires, open cars, give people gasoline, and jump their batteries. You can do this and own a car opening kit and be within the law. If I were starting all over again, I might go this route. But let’s face the facts. Changing tires on the side of the interstate at 3 am increases your chances of getting killed. Besides, if you are over fifty years old, why do you want to change someone’s tire at 3 am? But what if you set a certain time of day that you offer tire change services? Maybe you make it your policy that you only change tires between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm.

(That’s $80.) That way, you can still be a roadside assistance company, but get out of that late night, dangerous, grueling work. But you can easily add a nice, commercial-grade car starter to your trunk, and you can always keep a gallon of gas somewhere. If you don’t want to keep gas in your car — I wouldn't I would keep a can. If someone needs gas, just go to the gas station before heading out.

If you set up a roadside assistance company with your state’s Department of Revenue and get your business license, you can set up an account with all kinds of locksmith distributors. Some of these would be US Lock, McDonald Dash Locksmith Supply, IDN Armstrong’ s in Nashville or Atlanta, and a host of other distributors. IDN Armstrong’s in Nashville has told me that all you need in order to buy anything from them is a business license. Call them for the specifics at 615-724-2226. Ask for Wayne and tell him David Calvin sent you. He is ready to sell to you IF you have a business license. So, if I were you, this would be the first step I would take. Go online to your state’s Department of Revenue and call them. Tell them you want to start a roadside assistance company and ask them how you proceed to set up your business with them. If you decide later you do not want to be in this business, close down your business account with your Department of Revenue.

But doing this, you will be legal and you will be able to get the locksmith tools you need without a fuss. I have no interest in changing tires for people. Nor do I have any desire to deliver to them a gallon of gasoline. However, one must work if one wishes to pay the bills. Do not overlook the potential of offering all of the roadside assistance services. You might just start a franchise. Trust me. Roadside assistance

service is not discretionary

spending. It’s mandatory who are in trouble.

for people

If you do go this route and start a roadside assistance business, and if you do car lock outs mainly, the i invoices you give your customer can list the service you provided them as, “Roadside assistance- $65.”

Your First Three Goals Up to this point, you have learned about the tools of the car-opening trade, how to get them, and how you need to set up your business with your state’s Department of Revenue. You have decided you want to make the car-

opening business happen. 1. Learn the tools and the brands and decide on a kit or specific set of tools. 2. Set up your business with state’s Department of Revenue.

your

3. Get set up with a locksmith distributor and buy your tools.

Insurance You will need at least one million dollars of liability insurance. Find a local insurance person and get the rates. As of this writing, mine is two million dollars of coverage for about $400 per year. Let’s put this into perspective. That’s

less than ten car openings per year. (If you are doing battery-jumps and tirechanges, you can add those in as well.) Check with Auto Owners Insurance. I’ve been with them for almost thirty years.

Setting up Your Website You can call someone like Yodle and have them set up a website for you.

But that will cost you about $300 per month. They are handling one of my websites on a six-month contract. However, I am not so sure about their services yet. I have them in a trial phase.

If you decide to set up your own website, try out Vistaprint. You can get a website with them, one with all the bells and whistles, for less than $40 per

month. If you want to see how I name my pages on one of my Vistaprint websites, go to www.tullahomalockedkeysincar.com. Do you notice the domain name? Call me if you need help with one. I open cars;

and

that

name

contains

words

people in my area are going to search for when they get locked out. Feel free to use my page naming system. For more on this subject (and this is not hard sell), go to Amazon Books and get

my book, Skyrocket Your Sales. I inserted a link here, so just click on it. This book sells for $2.99.

There is an

entire section on my philosophy about building your website.

Advertising Your Business Again, Sky Rocket Your Sales, by David Calvin, is an advertising book designed for small service businesses. In this book you will learn techniques, some of which are original, that I have used to generate business for years. I am sorry to plug for myself. But, a book like this for $2.99 is a deal. But here is the first thing you will need to do in order to get your caropening business (roadside assistance company), up and running. Forget the standard business cards. Go online and get five hundred business card magnets. I talk about that in my advertising book. If you can put your picture in the upper right hand corner, the name of your business, your phone number — and even offer a ten percent off coupon

on it — you will have a valuable card. Red, white, and blue are always catchy.

If you need any ideas, Iam sure youcan do a search for magnetic business card design pictures on Google. Lots of companies who make these magnets offer templates that reflect different types of services. All you will have to do is type in your information. Once you have your magnets in hand — and do not doubt me - go by every convenience store you can find and hand them out. Can you offer a referral fee to the clerks? Perhaps you can offer the clerks $5 for each car lockout they send you. More than likely, they will turn it down.

Schools, churches, mall security,

police departments —just to name a few — all need your services. Just be sure that, when you show up, you are wearing a custom-logo short of some type. Yes, get the shirts and look the part. You don’t want to look like some street person pulling a fast one. If you are going to ask people to recommend you to others, you cannot give them any reason to think that you will embarrass

them. Right? If you are opening cars, you are in the security field. Look the part. Maybe even get a matching ball cap to go with your shirt. You can get five button-down shirts with a custom

logo for under $200 at Embroidme.

Go

online and check them out. But be sure to get navy blue because, when you get grease and dirt on them, it won’t show.

Next Three Steps 1. Get your insurance

2. Set up your website 3. Advertise your business

What

About

Paid

Advertis-

ing Online? I mentioned already that I am using Yodle —- but Iam only testing them right now. After my six months are up, I may walk away from them. Yodle offers a pay-per-click product, but they are more into getting businesses ranked higher in the organic results. So far, my results with Yodle have not been stellar; but that does not mean it won’t work

over time.

AT $300 per month, how-

ever, it had better start pulling. After my contract with Yodle expires, I may go to YELP and put them through a testing phase. YELP will allow you a three-month trial period. I am not a huge pay-per-click fan because of all the fraud that goes on online, but

YELP does have click-fraud software it uses with its products. With YELP, you can buy a pay-per-click product or

an impression product.

For $300 per

month, YELP will advertise you to people searching for your services in your area. And remember: when people get locked out of their cars, they are going to have to call you. They won't have a choice. But, what about the price-per-click? The price-per-click will vary depending on how much competition you have out there. But I think I am right in saying that your clicks may cost you from

$7 to $16 each. Ouch, right? If you go the pay-per-click route, you will have to factor in additional money for your services. And, for car lockouts, that could be delicate. That means a $65 car lock

out might have to go for $75 to $80. Such a price might lose you a lot of business. My mind is ruminating on this presently. YELP, as I have already said, offers an impression product. When you use an

impression product, you are charged depending on how many people SEE your offering. Usually it is priced so much per thousand views. People who see your ad can click all day, and you will not be charged for clicks. So, if you want to only open cars, the impression program may be the way to go. By the way, YELP seems to discourage the impression product. In my mind, that throws up a flag. It may be that YELP must show you to more people in order for you to get your money’s worth. If that is the case, I’ll take it. Besides, you don’t want people wo want to have ignition keys made clicking all your money away if you only open cars, right?

When you have a YELP page and when you buy their services, you can word your page so that only the people you want calling you will call you. But Iam presently very interested in the impressions, not so much the clicks.

Does

$300

frighten

a month

you?

Again,

for advertising think

of that

money in terms of how many cars you must unlock. If you open cars for $65, and Ithink you should, you will need to open 4.615 cars a month to cover your

ad. How’s that for a bargain? Right? If YELP cannot get you 4.615 car openings a month, the sky is falling. As of this writing, I have not used YELP. But I plan to starting in June of 2016.

Should You Use Adwords? That depends on if you are trained to use Adwords. My advertising book talks about this. If you use Adwords on your own, just know that click-fraud cannot be entirely stopped. Your competitors who are more tech savvy than you, and who are ruthless and unethical, will know the moment you go live. They will use every and any means to click your ads, ring up your bill with Google, and shut you down. You will get your clicks; but you will not have landed a single customer. Remember — if you want to use pay-per-click, which I do not think you should do - let YELP do it for you. Or, get an education in pay=per-click. Just don’t go to Adwords Express or you will have your hat handed to you.

The Magic Words That Land the Job Hopefully

you

have

gone

to my

car-

opening website. If not, go check it out and read everything. That web address is www.tullahomalockedkeysincar.com. If you read through my site, you will see that I mention the fact that, if a person has full-coverage insurance on their car, they MORE THAN LIKELY have roadside assistance coverage as well. When someone calls me and asks about the pricing for a car opening, I tell them this: “The charge to open your car is $65 plus tax. But, if you have full-coverage insurance, you probably have the roadside protection coverage as well. Roadside protection coverage pays for your towing, battery jump, car lockouts, and things like that. Your insurance company will probably reimburse you. Also, by using your insurance on roadside situations, your rates will not be raised nor will you be penalized.” All of this is true, by the way. You may not have known this. Basically, many people who get locked out of their cars do not have to pay for it. Of course, they will pay you — but they will be able to get reimbursed by their insurance. How cool is that? And that means you

can quote a nice price and get it. Not only that, your customers will know that you really care about them. They will thank you for telling them. Most people do not know this.

About the Price of Your Services I hope that you are not the kind of person who believes the lowest price is the best price. If you believe that, you are deluding yourself. When it comes to services like yours, the lowest price bid comes from one of two kinds of service providers. The first one is desperate and broke because nobody calls him. The second is a scam locksmith who advertises in the pay-per-click section of the search results.

Let’s talk about the scam locksmith. At present, the tops, sides, and bot-

toms of the search engine results in Middle Tennessee are dominated by ads that lead with “$15 service calls!”

When a person clicks on one of these ads, the locksmith is charged anywhere

from

$6 to $19

or more,

depending

on the keyword. For example, one of the most heavily-searched and expensive keywords related to your car-opening business is “emergency locksmith”. Let’s say you search for someone to open your car using this keyword. That means that, when you click on the paid ad result AFTER YOUR SEARCH,

the locksmith is hit with a $19 charge RIGHT

OUT

OF THE

CHUTE!

Now, his

ad says he is charging only $15 for a service call. When you call this locksmith, you are usually not going to get a locksmith - you are going to get a phone bank. When you ask for a price, the person on the phone will not give you one. They will talk quickly and tell you they aren’t sure how much the job will be - but they will also lead you into believing that the price will be fairly cheap. However, you will hang up thinking your car opening charge will be around $30 to $45. When the locksmith shows up and completes the

job, he will present you with a $175 to $200 bill! When you tell him you never

agreed to that price, he will threaten you with a lawsuit. In fact, he will call the dispatcher and they will call you and threaten you again! If you are scared, you will pay the bill - as most

people do - and be out $200.

How-

ever, people I have met have stood up to these conmen and paid only $60. If you stand your ground, the scammers will back down. They do not want any legal entanglements. No, they will not take you to court for the simple reason that it would be too expensive and they would be exposed as the frauds they are. When you advertise your service to the world, tell them you are willing to give them a firm, upfront price. If they tell you they are just shopping, tell them to beware of the $15 service calls they find online and tell them what I just told you. When I do this, I always get the job. Why? Because the prospective customers I am talking to know what I am telling them makes sense and is true. Nobody can survive on a $15 service call!

But here is something else. Many people have no idea that pay-per-click ads exist. They think that, because a service is listed at the top of the search engine, that service is the best and most trusted.

If a friend or family member asks you to open their car, be careful about offering your services for a reduced price or for free. Of course, if that friend or fam-

ily member has helped you in the past, you should be willing to help them. When you start your business, let every one of your friends and family members know that you are investing in a car opening business. Tellthem you are spending money on tools, insurance, and supplies and you hope to make some extra money to get you through the month. People who know and love you, people that want to see you succeed, are not going to ask you for free services. Those who do are either broke themselves or selfish scoundrels. If you get into the habit of customizing your prices for certain people, you will get into trouble. Why? Because Freddy

over there just told opened his car for Freddy called you. a higher price, you ally bad.

a coworker that you $20; and that’s why When you give him are going to look re-

If you feel you have to offer free services

to

someone,

at least

tell them

that, since their insurance will probably pay the bill, you will charge them. In the event their insurance doesn’t pay the bill, you will give the car-opening to them for free. Just make sure people know that you spent a nice chunk of money getting this business started. Decent people will take care of you, use your services, and refer you to others — and they won’t gripe and hate you because you charged them! Act like a business and people will treat you like a business.

There are going to be times when the phone does not ring. We all go through it. Then, there are times when you have five car lockouts all at once. As long as

your prices are fair - I am not saying “cheap” — you will get the jobs. Yes, you can always lower your price. However, when I do that, I get some pretty bad customers who aren’t happy about any price.

Here Come the National Roadside Assistance Resellers! Now that you are in the business, and now that you have a website, all kinds of nationally-known roadside companies may call you. I will not list all of those companies here. Just go online and do a search for roadside assistance companies. If you want to do business with them, contact them and ask them how you can become a vendor. I do not

do work for these companies because I am getting older and I have enough work of my own to do. But do check into this as soon as you can. Ask these companies for a vendor’s packet. Be sure to read all of the fine print and be

sure you understand their terms of service and payment.

Ask Local Locksmiths for Referrals Once you feel comfortable opening cars, call some of your competitors who own full-service locksmith shops. Tell them who you are and that you are insured. Tell them you unlock cars only and would like handle some of their overflow for them. But be careful. Make sure you ask reputable locksmiths. Please, do not get hired on by a pay-per-click scam company. Once you do, you will get a bad name around town and, if somebody decides to sue you for fraud, they will know where to find you. (The scammers can never be found - they leave no trail.) Do not hesitate to call as many locksmiths as you can and ask for referrals. Tell them you will send them 25% of each call - maybe more, maybe less.

Just decide on what kind of percentage you can afford. Make sure you tell them that you are a roadside assistance company, not a locksmith service. They will be more willing to give you work if they know you are not a direct competitor.

Call Towing Companies and Offer to Open Cars for Them! Towing companies get calls for caropening services on a regular basis. Look them up and give them a call. You might be able to handle some of their overflow.

Invoices Be sure to call NEBS an order invoices. Without an invoice, a customer of yours cannot get reimbursed for their

car lockout.

I usually use a three-part

system. You can get books of invoices with a white, a yellow, and a pink slip. You always give the pink copy to the customer. The yellow you can hold if you billed the customer. The white you keep as a record so you can pay sales taxes to the state. Be sure to ask your Department of Revenue if your services are sales taxable and ask them for assistance on paying those taxes online. I pay mine monthly instead of quarterly.

Summary I do not know anything more I can tell you about this business other than what I have just written. This is an easy business to do. What is the worst you can do starting up a car opening business? Let’s look at some of the more dismal figures. Let’s say you only do two car openings a month for whatever reason. Let’s say you do two calls a month and you charge

$75 for each opening. That’s $150 per month. That’s $1800 per year. If you are going to complete just a few lock-

outs for friends and family, I wouldn’t even bother with registering myself as a business. I would go online and find somebody willing to sell me a kit and work off the radar. (Just check and make sure you can legally own the tools — the sellers online don’t usually care.) However, $150 each month is half a car payment or a small vacation each year. What if you open only one car each month? I’d take it if I needed the money. And don’t forget that you might just end up starting and running a great roadside assistance company that has twenty employees! It can happen! You can become rich if you do it right. Me? I could have been big, probably one of the biggest in my area. I opted for a simple, quiet life that gets me $45,000 a year part-time. I’m happy with that.

Suppliers 1. US Lock Corporation. 631-492-1746 and ask for Myrna.

Call Tell

her David Calvin sent you.

2. IDN Armstrong’s of Nashville, TN. 615-724-2226. Ask for Wayne. 3.

McDonald

Dash

in Memphis,

TN.

1-800-238-7541

Web Sites to Search 1. US Lock.com

2. Hpc,inc.com 3. Pro-Lok.com 4.Z-Tool.com

As always, people who buy my books can email me 4a [email protected]. Also, please do leave a review for me at Amazon Books. If this book has helped you, I want to know about it. If you have any specific questions, please contact me. My main website is www.abestlocksmith.com. You can find my phone number there as well.

Make this happen; and remember - this is recession-proof work! And I'll bet you'll have your first car-opening in a week! Best regards, David Calvin