We’ve recently had the privilege to interview the friendly team of professional automotive locksmiths at Aurora Colorado Locksmith 247 located in Aurora, CO. Below is a transcript of our valued member partner on Auto Locksmiths:
Business profile
Business name: Aurora Colorado Locksmith 247
Location: Aurora, Colorado
Name of founder: Andrew Gonzales
Age of the founder: 34
Date launched: January 2018
Number of employees: 2
Why did you get into automotive locksmithing?
We had been planning to get into it for a while due to our longstanding passion for automotive locksmithing. Although we’ve been working in the industry for a number of years before starting up in 2018, we decided to lean more into the automotive side of the locksmithing industry. Before 2018, we mostly did residential and commercial locksmithing as well as security camera installation, and we still provide these services for our valued customers in and around Aurora, CO.
What’s a day in the life of an auto locksmith like?
Well, that’s a pretty good question. It really depends from day to day and there’s just so much variety to it. Normally, we just wake up and hit the ground and respond to several calls. It normally goes like that, but you never know.
Sometimes, we’ll only get a couple of calls and sometimes you’ve got a little downtime, then all of a sudden you get callouts at the last second.
Overall, we think it’s all good though. It gives us plenty of variety and there’s lots of moving around. We really prefer having no fixed schedule and would definitely prefer this way of working than to be in a cubicle all day, you know?
Care to tell us a funny or interesting job you’ve done?
Gosh, we’ve had a lot of interesting calls. Well, one time we had a job where a guy was calling us all day long looking for a car key and asking for a price. By 7-8 PM at night, he asks us to come down and take a look at his vehicle, a 2005 Ford Explorer. Turns out he tore up everything trying to start up the vehicle… he even hotwired it trying to get the thing to start.
While it’s one thing to understand his frustration and need to get back on the road again, he turned what could have been a pretty simple 20-30 minute job into a full theft rebuild and we had to go back the next day to finish the job.
What is the most common reason for customers to call you for automotive locksmithing services?
In Aurora, CO, with the highest rate of car theft in the nation, we definitely get a lot of callouts for attempted thefts. Indeed, we’ve specialized in attempted theft recovery for customers located in Aurora, although we naturally offer a wide and comprehensive range of other automotive locksmithing services as well.
Most of the car thieves here tend to go for Fords, Kias, Chevys… but they’ll basically try and get into any vehicle they can. Actually, a lot of recent car thefts are so brazen that thieves will be trying to break in regardless of the time of day or how visible they might be in the parking lot. Most of the time they just want to break in and get out.
After that, I guess most of our callouts are for replacing door cylinders, immobilizer rings, and even steering columns.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a business owner?
So although I mentioned that we like the flexibility of our schedule, one downside is that we’re always challenged by the consistency of work we get. It really comes and goes. Like I said, we might get a bunch of calls throughout the day; other times, we only get a couple of calls.
Also, competition in Aurora, CO is pretty stiff for locksmiths. Part of it is due to the fact that there are no licensing requirements to be an auto locksmith in Colorado, so the industry is flooded with a lot of locksmiths that carry out basic jobs only.
In order to stand out from the competition, we’ve specialized in automotive locksmithing and services like theft recovery, so we do a lot of things that take skills beyond what a basic locksmith can do.
If you could give one piece of advice to drivers in the Denver area, what would it be?
Keep your vehicle locked! It should be common sense, especially in this day and age, but far too many people are lax and open up their vehicle to theft.
Depending on the make and model, make sure you use a steering wheel club. You can pick up a basic lock for maybe $50-60 at Walmart and that can be enough to deter thieves from approaching your vehicle in the first place.
Lastly, don’t keep anything inside of your vehicle that you would want to lose. Got a laptop or bag inside? Take it with you. Anything that looks like it may have value will definitely attract a thief at one point or another.
If you could give one piece of advice to apprentice locksmiths across the US, what would it be?
Don’t do stuff for the cheapest. Be the best at what you do. This simple piece of advice can go a long way to building a great career as a locksmith and to starting your own business.
The problem is that lowballing is rampant in this industry, and it only ends up hurting you in the end. The cost of living is going up and you simply can’t afford to drive out 40 miles to cut a car key for a few bucks… the cost of gas will just eat into your business expenses. Be fair, be transparent, and be competitive, but don’t lowball or make promises you can’t keep.
Where do you see your business in the next few years?
In the coming years, I’d really like to see our business move to a storefront. Yes, it’s true that we’re on the road for our line of work, meeting customers at their homes or where their vehicles are located, but having a physical storefront would – I believe – put us in a much better position to establish ourselves as a brand with a great reputation, improve our listings, and bring in more business.
Are you an automotive locksmith in the US? Take your business to the next level by joining Auto Locksmiths
We’d like to thank the friendly team at Aurora Colorado Locksmiths 247 for taking the time to answer our questions and to provide genuine and honest feedback about their business and the industry.
If you’re an auto locksmith in the US and want to get quality leads near you, why not become a valued member partner of the Auto Locksmiths community?
