The following article has been reprinted with permission from the Locksmith Ledger International . While it reflects insights from the American market, we believe its themes and takeaways are highly relevant to our industry here.

The question every locksmith should ask is “what business am I in?”

More than 60 years ago, Theodore Levitt famously asserted that the railroad industry weakened, not because the necessity to move passengers or freight had declined, but because those who ran the railroads saw themselves in the railroad business rather than the transportation business.

Only a few years ago, the locksmith might have been described simply as a tradesperson who duplicated keys, installed and replaced door locks or got into an old safe that had a forgotten combination. All that’s history now, or is it?

Indeed, the bread and butter for a great many locksmiths is getting someone “in” as soon as possible. Lost car keys? Locked out of a home or business? The locksmith is there to help — night or day. However, the often-used word “evolution” has arrived in the locksmithing space, with technology and digital transformation at the forefront of the growth movement for the locksmith industry.

Physical security systems, touchless access and video surveillance are all part of the new world of the locksmith. So, the question remains: What business are you in? Is it the security business? The access control business? Is it an all-encompassing locking-solutions business that provides for the new worlds and the old all in one?

It’s true that a locksmith can and does thrive purely doing the aspects of the business mentioned earlier – lock replacement, keying and emergency services for auto and safes, among others. What we’ll explore here are some areas of growth for the locksmith industry on strategies to build a locksmith business in these key ways:

• Shifting from door locks to access control
• Learning and training on security systems
• Scaling up and owning the entire building

Shifting to Access Control

For locksmiths who consider themselves to be in the business of providing access to buildings, the easiest and most logical step in the evolution of locksmithing is to embrace access control, because, in the simplest terms, access control starts with a door closing and latching properly.

Some locksmiths are akin to a security integrator already, while others never have implemented access control. One of the best ways to begin the journey into access control is through starter products that are easy to understand and simple to install. After you have a handle on those products, it will open more possibilities for advanced projects.

"One of the best ways to begin the journey into access control is through starter products”

Many who are new to access control believe it might be difficult to cross over from mechanical to electronic security. In practice, however, it’s the other way around. Pure access control technicians might have a more difficult time understanding and learning mechanical security than the locksmith, who already understands mechanical security, has in adapting to access control solutions.

The effect of the pandemic created another potential area of growth for the locksmith industry around health and safety concerns. The drive to add that extra layer of health security for employees and visitors has manifested in the installation of touchless and antimicrobial hardware in commercial buildings across the country.

This is a trend the industry already experienced in a similar fashion. Twenty years ago, accessibility for people who had disabilities wasn’t a foremost concern, but the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) [our equivalent is DDA] changed that in the same way the pandemic has affected the current choice of products. In the future, many of the healthrelated solutions that recently have been adopted will be the norm, and it’s likely that most openings will continue to have features of health protection as well as security.

Key Takeaways

1) Get trained on access control solutions and learn the capabilities of products, so you can lead informed conversations with customers and offer the best options for their unique demands.

2) Starting small will help you prepare for more-advanced projects.

3) Focus on health-safety solutions and the ADA (DDA) analogy as a conversation starter with customers to find touchless and antimicrobial hardware opportunities. For example, you might tell your customer, “Just like the ADA (DDA) changed how we provided accessibility for people who have disabilities, access control will include health-related solutions for customers now and in the future. Is your company working to incorporate safety solutions through products, such as antimicrobial hardware, low-touch hardware and touchless access?”

Tune in next time for part 2!

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Changing World Of Locksmithing

The question every locksmith should ask is “what business am I in?”

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