Table Of Contents:

Chapter: Page:

Introduction 6

#1 Take This Job And… 11

#2 Fear Of Flying And Other Nonsense! 17

#3 Eight Ball Corner Pocket! 25

#4 Consortin’ With the Enemy! 32

#5 Sellin’ The Sizzle and Not The Steak! 44

#6 How to Easily Add Thousands of

Dollars to Your Profits Every Year! 54

#7 Lockin’ in Bidness! 66

#8 Holdin’ Tight To Your Wallet! 76

#9 Targeting Your Market and

Marketing Your Target! 89

#10 A Profit Without Accounting, Ain’t! 97

INTRODUCTION

Like much of what I have written over the years, there is something in this book for everyone. The wannabe who’s dreaming of his or her own business, beginner, the experienced ‘smith, the part-timer, full-timer and even the successful shop owner. I think you will find this material fresh (in both meanings of the word), sometimes unconventional, often pointed and occasionally

funny.

This series of books started out as a collage of article titles! No kidding! I sat down and wrote down a bunch of titles for articles that I intended to write for The National Locksmith Magazine. Some of those articles were actually written and, consequently, some of the material in this book might seem familiar to many of you that have been following my, oft-times, non-purist approach to making money in the locksmith "bidness". That does not necessarily mean that the chapter content will be the same as the original article published under that title.

Anyway, when I decided to write this book (As well as some others—keep your eye out for them) on the various aspects of doing "bidness", I resurrected that old title list and decided many of them would make good chapter headings for “How To Jumpstart Your Business”.

Since this is a book about doing "bidness" rather then a "how-to" manual of lock work, you will find very little that will help you make a sidewinder key to a Mercedes or information on how to by-pass a high-security lock (That’s grist for other mills). Of course, like always, you will find the exception to the rule.

What you will find, are lots of my unadulterated views, opinions, dictums, ideas, philosophies and precepts on "bidness" and how to do it without losing your shirt, your significant other, your sanity—or too much money.

What I am offering is not a single guaranteed way to make money. I’m presenting you with a series of ideas—each of which can stand alone—that you can select and choose from. Any single concept, if you choose to use it, can help you add a shekel or two to your paycheck at the end of the week. Or, make your day’s work a little easier—even if you’re working for another locksmith!

Some of you will not like what I have to say about doin' "bidness" in the locksmithing bidness. Some of you will agree with a lot of what I have to say and a lot of you will agree with a little of what I have to say. None of you, I’m sure, will agree with everything, I have to say. C’est la Vie! The main thing is that you read the book and take an idea, or two, away with you—use it, and find out you really can use it to make money, or make your job easier, or just give you a different perspective on ‘smithing.

If you read this book and get just one idea from it that helps you increase your sales, your profit or your credibility in your community ... then, by golly, I did good. If you get a chuckle or two from some of the anecdotes…then I did good. For those of you who read this book and want to throw it against the wall: I don't mind. I don’t mind because I either got you to thinking, or I stepped on your toes … and got you to thinking! Either way, we all benefit. I benefit from the sale of the book; the reader who found the book helpful profits and … the frustrated reader is ahead of the game because they have someone (me) to vent their frustration on.

So, it’s a win-win situation.

I have been in one kind of business, or another, for over forty years. I have, before and in between operating my own businesses, worked for individuals and companies ever since I was a kid. Those jobs covered everything from hustling newspapers—on a street corner in Baltimore—to selling produce from a horse-drawn (also in Baltimore) wagon and picking peaches in Georgia! Later on, those jobs included selling used cars, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners, to managing a credit department for the former Grants (I swear, I had nothing to do with their demise!) to being a department manager for Sears.

As you can see, some of the companies I worked for were large and some were small. Hell, some weren't even companies; just a guy trying to make a living and using kids to do the grunt work. There's nothing like running two tomatoes up four flights of steps, collecting a nickel for each one and running all the way back down to give the huckster (the guy that owned the produce "bidness") the money. Of course, if Mrs. Rosen gave you a quarter, you had to do the four-flight

round trip again to take her change back to her. After doing that all day, getting paid (if I was lucky) fifty cents for the day plus, the occasional — and I do mean occasional — nickel tip: it had to teach me something about doing bidness! If nothing more, I got the idea that it was better to be the guy who owned the wagon then the kid that did the running!

Ah, shoot! Look at all the great exercise and fresh

air I got. So, along the way to owning my own business, I picked up some ideas about what a business owner should and should not do. Also, along the way, I have had some memorable successes and a spectacular failure or two. In the following chapters you’ll also find a distillation of the experiences that I’ve gained as the owner of several businesses over the years; Additionally, you’ll benefit from some of the experience I garnered working for others, like the huckster in Baltimore. In other words, I’ve been down the pike and over a couple of rough roads.

I'll show you a way to drastically cut down on your losses from bad checks and getting beat out of opening fees by deadbeats. In another chapter: I'll show you how to promote your "bidness" on a shoestring budget and get people to believe you are really bigger and better then you are. Why? Because perceptions play a big part in the way a customer reacts to you, your products and services. In this book and others, I’ll show you how to drive you competitors to distraction, “run with the big dawgs, why you don’t need a shop and other tips, tricks and “stuff” that will put money in your pocket whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional.

There’s something here for everyone. Y'all heah what Ah'm 'a sayin' now?

Jake Jakubuwski