October 2022 - Page 10 of 12

How to Succeed With an Online Store Business

The internet is a global marketplace that has opened a universe of opportunities to entrepreneurs worldwide. If you are thinking about setting up an online store business of your own, this is the right time to make that idea happen. Here are some points to remember.

Establish your niche. You can sell virtually anything online, so focusing on one product to sell can be quite a daunting task. However, selecting a niche and focusing on that market is one of the most important steps to succeeding in online marketing. Selecting your niche market can be done in several ways. The most effective way would be to look at gaps in the market and see if you can fill that gap. Or, you can put a new twist on a popular product based on the demands of the market.

Set up your e commerce website and commercial accounts. This should be easily navigable, filled with updated information about products and prices as well as should be secure. You can hire professional designers or create your website on your own. Accounts for dropping and receiving payments should also be set up.

Market yourself. This is where half of the work comes in. in order to start doing business customers have to know that you exist. Establishing an online presence can be done with a website, a good sales letter, and some advertising. If you are starting from the bottom, posting on forums, blogs and networking sites information about your website and products will help get the word out. The wider your contacts, the bigger pool of potential customers you have.

When it comes to selling the quickest way would be to sell items that need to be sold. Most entrepreneurs turn to eBay for this. Selling drop ship products is one way to sell stuff on eBay. The good thing about this method is that you do not need to take inventory and do not have to have your products with you. You simply accept orders and payments, inform the drop ship supplier of the purchases and they will send the products directly to the clients. There are a lot of drop ship suppliers doing business with online merchants on eBay.

The Importance of an E-Commerce Website for your Online Store Business

An e-commerce website is one of the basic requirements if you are building an online store business. This is basically your online store where you post your products and where your customers look for products. This is also where they make their purchases so your website has to be secure. There are many reasons why an e-commerce website is the better alternative to a traditional brick and mortar store. For one, you don’t have to pay the rent. Domain hosts usually costs a few dollars a month, you do not have to worry about up the place and you don’t have to pay for maintenance costs. Granted, you do need to pay for a professional to design your website. You also need to buy security and ecommerce software to get your business off the ground.

Types of Business Licenses and Permits

The last thing you want to find out after starting your business is that you have failed to conform to the law by not filing for the right permits for your business. Before establishing a small business, you should pay attention to your town, city, and county regulations. In most locations, every business needs a basic license which is sometimes called a tax registration certificate. Apart from this, other permits and licenses may be required as well.

Business licenses and permits are issued at all levels of government – federal, state and local (city, county, or town). Depending upon the kind of business you are running, you may need to apply for licenses at multiple levels. For example, if you decide to open a restaurant in the city of San Francisco, you will need a business license and health permit from the city of San Francisco, sales tax license from the state of California and a federal tax ID number from the U.S. federal government.

Not sure what kind of license or permit you need for your business venture? Well, as usual, we’ve made it simple for you. Below is a quick checklist covering the most common federal, state, and local licenses and permits you may need to acquire before commencing business:

Business License – This is the basic license that you will need to operate a business legally. If the business is located within city limits, a license must be obtained from the city; if outside, it is procured from the county. Contact your city’s business license department to file an application. Also remember that you need to pay an annual fee.

Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) – Also known as a tax identification number, this is required for almost all types of businesses. Depending on where your business is located, you may also need to acquire a similar tax identification number from your state.

Zoning and Land Use Permits – Before you start your business, you have to find out if the space you are going to use is properly zoned for the kind of usage that is planned. You may need a zoning compliance permit. Zoning laws regulate off-street parking, waste disposal, and the size, construction and placement of signs.

Health Department Permits – If your business involves the preparation and/or sale of food, you will need a county health department permit. Note that the health department will inspect your facilities before issuing one.

Sales Tax License – This license is essential before you can sell almost any product or service in any state.

Fire Department Permits – Businesses such as restaurants, day-care centers or any other that attract a large crowd need a permit from the fire department.

Special State-Issued Business Licenses or Permits – You may need special licenses if your business involves the sale of certain types of products including liquor, lottery tickets, gasoline and firearms.

Special State-Issued Occupational / Professional Licenses – In many states, people in certain occupations must have licenses or occupational permits. State licensing is typically required for auto mechanics, plumbers, electricians, building contractors, collection agents, insurance agents, real estate brokers, repossessors and personal service providers (beauticians, cosmetologists, therapists and masseurs). If you are thinking of starting any of these businesses, you will have to pass state examinations in order to get the permit. Contact your state government offices to get a complete list of occupations that require licensing.

Special Federal Business Licenses or Permits – You may also require special business licenses from the federal government if your business involves investment advising, drug manufacturing, preparation of meat products, broadcasting, manufacturing tobacco, alcohol or firearms.

Licensing and permit requirements for small businesses vary from state to state; it is therefore a good idea for you to contact your state and local government to determine the specific obligations for your new business.

Top Franchise Opportunities Up For Grabs In India

The potential for growth is immense in a number of market sectors

While many people see the sheer size and the population of India as a bane, in the world market the country has grown tremendously in stature merely because of these two factors. Increasing consumerism coupled with mammoth populated cosmopolitan centers and the sheer diversity of this huge nation has made India one of the most sought after markets, internationally.

This has helped India attract big international firms who are keen to grab a slice of India’s rich consumer pie.

Although almost every sector in India has a success story to tell on its own, there are some specific areas which are marked by an even more phenomenal growth. It is some of these sectors in which top franchise opportunities literally lure the smart entrepreneurs. The sectors include, retail, food, beverages (especially up scale coffee houses which seem to be on every market corner), beauty, Information Technology, automotive, healthcare, business consultants, marketing and textiles.

Rather than starting from scratch with an unknown product, investing in top franchise opportunities has tremendous benefits. To begin with you really do not need to begin introducing the product to the market from scratch. Business entities, which offer these top franchise opportunity, may be either nationally renowned names or hot brands that carry an international following. They have a ready brand recall.

Take for example a top franchise opportunity like a Hyundai automobile showroom. You need not worry about shouting out to the market how good a car Hyundai is. Like wise, a Pizza Hut franchise is an already known brand. All you really need to tell the potential consumers is that this store has opened and it’s going to sell Apple Macs at so and so address. You then ensure is that once the customer walks in the service is good and a red carpet is handy. A bit of base level marketing is all that is required to make sure a top franchise opportunity gives you proper results.

Big International companies which offer franchises also look after their franchisees well in terms of back up and they tend to ensure that the process of product familiarization is thorough, which makes the new franchise owner less worried about the product and more focused on selling it.

Once you are aware of these factors, its really not difficult to understand the long snaking queue of international companies waiting to offer Indian and non-Indian businessmen with top franchise opportunities in India.

Location – A Key Parameter For Starting a New Franchise Business

Starting a franchise business is the safest and easiest way to enter the business world and enjoy success. Well, once you have decided upon a new franchise business that is likely to provide a high ROI (return on investment), the next big step is to look for a good and appropriate site location to start the business. For any business, location plays a key role in making it successful and the same goes with any top franchise opportunities.

Choosing the right location to start your new franchise business can be something of a balancing act. Ideally, the location should be convenient for your customers, employees and suppliers – without being too expensive. For shops and other retail franchise businesses, location is of critical importance. The location of your franchise outlet or shop must attract customers without which no business can be successful.

Preferably, for the success of any new franchise business, it is must to find a location in an area where enough people who want your product or service can see you. This means your brand should be visible to the targeted audience. For example, coffee shops are often located in or around busy market places or malls as you targeted customers after hours of shopping can relax in your coffee shop and enjoy a cup of coffee. Plus, the location must have good public transport links and local parking facilities or spaces. Also, you may want to be near suppliers for a quick, flexible service. Deliveries may be easier if there are good road and transport links.

Another important factor to consider is that never start a business in a place that is too near your competitors, though clusters of similar businesses sometimes attracts more customers. Plus, until and unless there is scope for high return, there is no point in investing in a location to start your own franchise business. Hence, in a location where you want to start your retail franchise or any other business, there should be enough demand for the service or product you are dealing with.

As far as new franchise business is considered, most of the franchisors provide a clear outline of what they are looking for in their franchisees’ site locations. These specifications are made, in order to ensure the success of the franchisees and the company as a whole. Hence, before you start your search for a good location, it is better to ask the franchisor to suggest the type of location they would prefer for the expansion of their business. It is the franchisors only, who can provide you the best criteria for searching an appropriate location for your business. Check out the requirements of top franchise opportunities and look for a location. Now, once you have found some sites which seem to fulfill the requirements put forwarded by the franchisor, the next very important step is to get their approval. This will be done by the franchisors as they always want to see their business flourish.

With a good location to start a new franchise business, success will surely be on your side. Promote your franchise company well and soon people will get to know about your company and will become your loyal customers.

IT Outsourcing Services Companies In Eastern Europe

Worldwide IT Outsourcing: Looking For New Places

The world IT outsourcing services market includes a number of countries and regions which due to their specific conditions are attractive for starting such a business. In fact a certain geographic division of labor can be observed in this field. Throughout the history the division of labor was driving the universal economy ahead, do no wonder that outsourcing is so popular in the software development industry. Some countries are best in producing ideas and concepts, while others provide better conditions to do the technical part of the job.

IT outsourcing services companies are mostly located in less economically developed countries which nevertheless have prominent level of technical science and engineering resources. China and India were monopolists in this market for a long time utilizing the big gap between local prices and prices in Western Europe and USA. Today we certainly can speak about another great opportunity: European outsourcing.

Eastern European Countries Join The Game

Eastern European region contains a number of countries which are different from each other and from their Western neighbors by economy level and by industrial development. Most of them were under the influence of the USSR for some period of time and had economic hardships after its collapse. Though many have joined the EU by this time, they still have much lower prices and salaries.

Industrial downfall in Eastern European countries urged people to look for new markets where they could gain better positions. Software development turned out to be a real alternative. Being purely intellectual branch (a number of brains – that’s all you need to start), programming does not require big expenditures for starting a new project. The only thing one has to invest in is good education.

IT Outsourcing To Ukraine – A Nice Alternative?

Among other members of the Eastern European region, Ukraine is one of the most attractive for Western IT companies. At the moment it possesses about the biggest quantity of software and web professionals, while salary levels here are among the lowest in Europe. As for education, it is one of the Ukraine’s strong qualities – there a multiple big technical universities in major cities of the state. Hundreds of IT students are graduated each year creating rich substrate for national software development businesses. On the other hand, Ukrainian IT companies are strongly oriented at collaboration with Western European and American businesses and therefore IT outsourcing is very popular here.

In the beginning of 2012 there were nearly 6 thousand IT outsourcing services companies performing in Ukraine. They are working with clients from various places. Major countries outsourcing to Ukraine are Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Italy, USA, ANZ. Geographic location of the country is rather encouraging: it takes only about couple of hours to get here by plane from any of Western Europe’s cities. This is a great advantage as a project owner who has outsourced his project to a Ukrainian team of developers can easily pay visits to his collaborators’ location from time to time in case he needs to interact with them personally.

So Ukraine is an emerging regional leader of IT outsourcing in Eastern Europe. As the demand for IT outsourcing services is growing faster and faster worldwide, it is possible that increasingly more software development companies will consider using the services of Ukrainian IT outsourcing vendors. Well, what about joining this promising trend?

How One Can Set Up a Prosperous Firm of Import Export in India?

Selling products or commodities in the global marketplace is actually a great prospect for the growth of the business. There was a period when it was really tough for people to set-up and run the firm of Import Export in India. Making your service or product famous in the world was an expensive and long process. But through the virtue of the internet, import export has been made stress-free. The Indian export and import business significantly enlarge the market for your products by offering lots of opportunities to work with customers all across the borders.

After so many years, operating the global trade business is still the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs. The global trade is the other word for import-export business. This kind of business deals in exchange for services, products, technology and so on to all around the world.

Today’s article explains how one can set-up his/her business of Import Export in India. First of all, we look at the documents compulsory for establishing a global trading business:

ïƒ˜ IES number: Import and export code

ïƒ˜ CST registration: Central sales tax registration if products are being moved across diverse states.

ïƒ˜ TAN: Tax deduction account number

ïƒ˜ Bank account on the name of your firm

ïƒ˜ PAN Card

Steps to begin the business of Import Export in India

• Business Planning

Your primary step should be deciding the future plan for the firm. The proper business plan assists in the smooth working of the business. The proper planning includes some steps that have given below:

1. Selection of goods: First of all, you need to choose the kind of goods you’ll deal in the business of export import India. Goods can be related to fashion, handicrafts, consumable and many more.

2. Selection of clients: Next, you have to find people to sell your products. Finding clients in any state or country where the company runs is quite easier. But it becomes difficult when it comes to the global trade.

• Registration

One’s next step should be registering his/her company as a single entity. You can simply register firm either as an LLP, partnership, sole proprietor or a firm depending on the investment and number of owners in the company.

• Get IEC

Then, obtain import export code (IEC) that has ten digit numbers issued by DGFT (director general of foreign trade). The business of India import export cannot be accepted without IEC.

• Other crucial documents

Here are listed few other documents that one need for the firm like docs for taxation. These docs have mentioned below-

1. VAT code- stands on Value Added Tax collected by the seller from clients for consumption of goods or services.

2. CST- is another tax for selling products from one state to another.

3. TAN- It is an alphanumeric number issued to people for tax deductions on the basis of tax payment made by them.

• Appoint a Custom Clearing Agent

Any firm cannot operate all the functions involved in the functioning of the import and export business. Therefore, it is required to hire a custom clearing agent who will be responsible for inspecting payment of taxes and the functioning of import procedures. That person has to make sure that there are no issues in the process of import-export.

• Use your own cargo forwarder

There are a lot of things happen while arranging global shipping. Any seller cannot handle all of these things alone. Having a great cargo forwarder service provider is required to decrease pressure on the seller as well as save time. Any cargo forwarder company or person works as an agent that manages the shipping and storage of products on the behalf of sellers. A cargo forwarder works as an intermediate among seller and several transportation services.

To run a successful business of Import Export in India, you have to give attention to all its aspects and you also need to have a pronounced head for shaping different things.

Social Business: How to Clarify Your Idea – From Vague to Focused and Actionable

How to Clarify Your Social Business Idea – From vague to focused and actionable

It is common among many entrepreneurial thinkers. They had a big and great idea. However, in her head it was too large and too overwhelming. Clarity is needed in your social entrepreneurship pursuit, or any business idea. Make it simple. Otherwise it will be too big and too random and you will be unable to make it actionable.

Now get a notebook and pen, computer, or iPad, and get ready to work through these techniques. Make sure to write it out. This is very important. If you do not write it out it will keep on fixed in your head looping the same un-actionable cycles over and over.

Here are two frameworks to help you clarify your idea:

Hedgehog Concept (from Jim Collins Good to Great)
Tony Robbins OPA

Hedgehog Concept:

What are you most passionate about in the world? (What social issue are you trying to solve?) Don’t limit it to your social business idea. Just list all the things out that you are thinking. This is a crucial component for a social business entrepreneur, what social matters are you most passionate about solving? What makes you most angry when you hear about it? write them out.

Now rate them. What are your top two? Once you do this it will give you more clarity into what the social business should really be focusing on.

What are you best at in the world? Or another way to say it, what do you love achieving most in the globe? This will structure the way the corporation is run. It may even adjust the whole direction of the your social business idea. Are you best at speaking, networking, writing, selling, talking, connecting with people, administration?

What drives your economic engine? (Or if you are a non-profit, in his book Good to Great in the Social Sector, Collins says this circle can be changed to How can we develop a sustainable resource engine to deliver superior performance relative to our mission). What is your business model? How are you going to make money from this venture. you’ve clarified the one biggest passion or social problem you want to overcome. you’ve stated out what you are best at in the world (how you are going to personally solve the social problem). And additionally, how you can make money, in the best way, through your socially impacting idea.

From time to time there are aspects of our ideas that we hold extremely tightly to for no reason. Which items in your social enterprise idea are non-negotiables? What utterly makes the business? What definitely HAS to be there?

If you believe it really is important then WHY? Does it align with what you are most passionate about, what your best at, or your business model? If not, then maybe it shouldn’t be there. OPA Model – Tony Robbins Now that you have done that you should have quite a bit more clarity already. Now let’s take it one step further. By the end of this, hopefully you’ll have a specific set of action items to take away and do.

OPA – Outcome / Result, Purpose, Actions

Outcome: Write out the final outcome. Try to be very specific. Don’t just say, I want to help feed orphans. Say:

My Business is going to clothe orphans all over the globe; beginning with India. I will do this through selling my own distinctive designed t-shirts and donating one shirt for everyone purchased. These shirts will be sold in boutique clothing retailers starting in Texas, and growing from there.

This is merely a quick example off the top of my head. It should overlap what you came up with in the Hedgehog principle above.

Purpose: List out 10-15 reasons WHY you are doing this.

Actions: Brainstorm as many action items you can think of that you need to do. From the biggest to the smallest. Many of them will be big projects in themselves with their own set of action items. For example, you might have:

Call John to see about the price of buying product x from him.
Create a business plan
Create a website
Start blogging regularly
Meet with x about possible partnership

Obviously calling John is a one step process. Nevertheless, generating a business plan is a large project within itself. Similarly, designing a website is a project with several action items to finish. Don’t worry about this for now. Later on, after you have finished this whole exercise. You should go through each of these, pick out the projects and do another OPA framework for that. Rate each item on its importance. Go through each item, pick out the bigger projects and create another OPA for it.

There you have it. Hopefully you’ve clarified your business idea; boiled it down to one area to focus on. You should also have a clear set of action items ordered in priority to get you going.

Write out the outcome and purpose on your computer, maybe add some fitting invigorating pictures and quotes, and hang it on the wall to look at everyday. This is important. There’ll be days when you don’t want to do it, when you don’t want to get out of bed, and don’t want to write that next article. Days when you don’t want to make that next sales call, or book that next meeting. Look at it, let it re-stimulate you!

How To Start A Mobile App Development Business With Little Investment

Most of the people who are planning to come up with their iOS Application development company usually think that they will immediately start earning twice as much for half the work which they use to do their regular jobs. Some folks do get lucky, but not everyone has that kind of luck. Before you enter the entrepreneurial world, it will be good that chalk out a solid business plan and a proper understanding of how the mobile app development industry works.

Given below are the few tips which will help you establish your mobile app development business:

Sign up as a developer: Let’s begin with basics i.e. gaining access to the Android and iOS app stores. As Google and Apple are one of the biggest players in the market, it is essential that you first sign up on these two stores. Once you completed the app, you need to submit it to these two app stores and each company will review your app before making it official on their store. The review process involves a check of app quality, interface, etc. And make sure you’re not embedding any malware or spam in the app.

Once your app is accepted by the app store, your app will be officially listed in their store, and you will get 70% of the selling price, and rest of the amount will be kept by the app stores. In order to get into the game, you to sign up for Apple’s iOS developer program which costs $99/year and for Android you need to register for Developer Console which has a one-time fees of $25.

Additional hats to wear: Having your own business means more flexibility with your time, but it also brings various other responsibilities which you have to handle efficiently. For instance, if you have started your business on sole proprietorship basis then you have to deal with different things like app testing, designing, interacting with clients, marketing and even have to handle the legal matters related to app ownership & contracts.

If you have a good budget, then you can Hire an iOS app developer who will design, developer and test the app on your behalf so that you can properly handle the marketing and legal tasks. Besides this, you can also start your business on the partnership basis and can take full advantage of pooled capital resources and manpower.

Build your app: If you have a small budget and have a good programming or coding knowledge, then you can write the app by yourself. Given below are four tools that will help you in building a feature-rich app:

Appery.io- A bit complicated for beginners, this tool packs an excellent integration of data services with apps. Appery.io comes with a free plan that allows maximum three pages and one user. And at the initial stage, three pages are enough, to begin.

Good Barber- This tool comes with a 30-day free trial package and after that, you choose their premium plan starting from $16/month. What makes this tool stand apart from others is its design elements, Google Font Integration and plenty of icons to choose from. Besides this, you can also find several online tutorials and webinars related to this tool.

Appy Pie: You can enjoy this tools free services if you let them run ads in your app else you can upgrade to ad-free plan which starts from $7/month. Appy Pie comes with pre-set app categories like restaurant, banking, radio, photo-sharing, etc. Apart from that, they also offer the wide range of features by which you can add different functionalities like GPS location, push notifications, and much more.

Game-Salad: If you are planning to create a mobile game then this tool is perfect for you. Most of the Android application development services provider have this tool. The free version of this tool consists of ads, but there’s a $299 version which removes ads completely and makes in-app purchases available. If you want to earn money via in-app purchases, then this tool will help you add this feature in your game.

Test, Test & Retest: Before you submit your app to the app store, it will be good that you check your app correctly. This is something which you cannot do it on your own; you can ask your friends to run the beta version of your app and tell them to provide you with the proper details of any issues, lags or bugs they detected while using the app.

Besides this, you can also roll out the early versions of your app that consists of limited features. By this, you will get a real-time response related to the functionality and user-interface of your app. You can also Hire Android app developers who will test the app on your behalf.

Submit your app to the app stores: After testing and re-testing your app, it’s finally the time you submit yours to the respective app stores. Once you have submitted your app, it will be reviewed by the developers working for the app store. An average time taken to review an app is 13 days. If your app excels in the app store’s quality tests, then they will list your app on their store, and you will receive a welcome mail related to the acceptance of your app.

Marketing your app: To increase the number of downloads and active installs it is essential that you promote your app using different marketing channels. You can start from word of mouth promotion by asking your friends and family members to download and use the app. Beside this, you can also deploy social media advertising techniques and list your app on various pages that will help your app reach international audiences.

Conclusion

In this post, you will read few tips that will help you start your app development business. Before you start, it will be good that you gain a good knowledge of ongoing & upcoming market trends and also chalk out a solid work plan which will help you achieve the desired target.

$200 Per Hour Opening Cars — How To Become A Lockout Specialist

If you haven’t yet locked your keys inside your car, you will someday. The odds are heavily against you, because this is one of the most common slip-ups to haunt the civilized world. Personally I’ve done it no less than ten times myself over a period of, say, twenty years…and I’m a Locksmith!

Now, how can you turn this into a benefit?

If you happen to be looking for a high profit, super interesting career you could do a lot worse than to consider becoming a Lockout Specialist. I know whereof I speak, because as a working Locksmith since 1983 I’ve opened (literally) countless vehicles and I’ve had many instances where I made upwards of $200 per hour over several hours at a time. I can recall one incredible day in which I serviced twenty-three lockouts, at an average price of $40 and an average labor time of 10 minutes per vehicle — for most of a day. This was near Christmas in 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was self-employed and doing very well as a full service Locksmith, but the bulk of my business during Holidays has always been in the form of lockouts.

It is important to make a distinction here, to avoid confusion. I am not proposing that you will make that kind of money day after day. There will be average days, and there will be busy days. But if you set up a business, in a fairly large city or base yourself at least near one, you stand to make unconscionably easy money once you get settled in and your business becomes visible. Opening locked cars is as easy a profession as ever has been conceived. It takes some skill, of course, and you will have to do some studying before you break out the lockout tools and advertise yourself — but compared to many other professions it just can’t be beat for simplicity. You will also have to do some homework with respect to legality. Some states require Lockout Specialists to be registered Locksmiths, but most do not! This is something you have to determine before you take another step.

If you find that you are living in a jurisdiction that requires registering, it is not that difficult to do. You will have to gain a wider knowledge of Locksmithing, but this certainly is not a detriment as it will likely lead to a fantastic career that goes well beyond opening locked mini-vans. If on the other hand you are fortunate enough to be living in an area in which Lockout Specialists can be licensed without having to be full-fledged Locksmiths, the path to a cushy career sprawls before you.

I started my business in Salt Lake City when I was 37 years of age. Up until then I had never so much as dreamt of being involved with locks, car openings or keys. I was in dire straights, having just lost most everything I owned through a business failure that occurred as collateral damage from a divorce. Someone suggested I go door to door and sell “door viewers” — those little peepholes people put in their front doors. This actually worked well, but only because at that time I had no bills (everything got disposed of). After a while I was being asked to install locks. I started doing that and was buying deadbolts at a local Locksmith shop one day when the guy behind the counter, who by then had gotten to know me, suggested I start a Locksmith business. I thought he was kidding me, seriously. But he told me that Locksmiths make incredible profit from most everything they do, especially doing lockouts. He sold me a few tools — which in Utah is perfectly legal (or was at that time at least) — and also a small book on opening cars.

That was a turning point in my life. I went on, within six months, to taking on small Locksmith jobs and teaching myself. I put a small ad in the Yellow Pages, hoping against hope I wouldn’t go bust in the first few months because those ads can’t be canceled, and I soon realized there was enough business out there that I was opening cars almost every day. I got better at it the more I did it (there were nightmare jobs in which it took me hours to open a single car, but that was in the very early days). Eventually the calls started coming in quite regularly and I started making good money, doing something I enjoyed. The feeling of helping others who really need your specialized service is a great one, and knowing you are working for yourself and no one else is beyond description.

I had to do all this without a road map. There was nothing available to beginners in those days, not like there is today. The explosion of information that is the Internet has made all the difference. I wish back in 1983 I’d had the advantages available to career seekers today. There are many self-help manuals and DVD courses now that can teach you to set up a Lockout Specialist business, or a full-fledged Locksmith business. The prices are surprisingly affordable, and the information in at least some of them is staggering. In many cases, you can actually earn certification by purchasing one of these courses.

It is worth considering if you like the idea of working for ten minutes, assisting a motorist in need, and putting up to $50 or $60 dollars in your pocket for your trouble.

Month: October 2022