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lets say last Thursday, Feb. 23 2012, I came up with the idea to make some money by mass producing lockpicks... got linked to a home lasercutter website and bing bam boom I devised a plan to make and sell mass produced lockpicks at an affordable rate from home...

Well the entire idea has flopped except the initial idea of mass producing lockpicks... home laser cutters wont work (not strong enough) laser cutting in general wont work for the metal i want (messes up the temper) so ive moved on... got a nice quote on some other cutting meathods and (being an ex archetect) i even drafted my pick designs (had to to get the quote duh)...

now, assuming all this is true... i have done in 1 week what it has taken a certain other community member nearly a year to do...
basically if I had the money and a quote on the metal id have prototypes in under 2 weeks...
to start me off im looking at around $2000 investment, thats prototyping and first run sales... not 87000 and a few vacations...

Im not asking for money here... im asking if you guys think there is room for another lockpick company in this very dominated world, and if there is any advice or ideas you would suggest for said company... or just tips to keep in mind... i have huge pick making and picking expierience... i can talk business to get what i wont from people who want something from me (in this case my contract for work from my business) and i can run my own drafts all day... but what i dont know how to do is actually run a business... any tips would be appreciated

thanks,
LSA

just another tidbit... the reason i dont have a quote on the material is cause NOONE RESPONDS... ive sent off numerout RFQ (request for Quotes) with not a single response... wourcing this metal is damned hard.

so if anyone knows where i can find 301 High Yield Stainless Steel let me know...
not 301 Full Hard (which is what most modern companies use, with the exception of peterson and southords max line)

thanks

No idea on where to get the steel... have you considered getting starrett 666 sheet? Just a thought... that is some remarkable tough metal.

LSA, I can't help you with anything except to say I would like to sign on for a set of picks. Good luck with this endeavor. I think you will do well with this.

I fully agree

I wholeheartedly support the effort. As for opinions of if there is room in the marketplace for another manufacturer, I'd say that depends on your goals and business model. None of us can say with any certainty hot much market potential there is for another manufacturer but if you can produce a truly superior (or even equivalent) product to the current big players for a better price, then I don't see why there wouldn't be room. Marketing would then be the biggest challenge in my opinion.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-stain ... ts/=ghk81i

Click the link to Wear-Resistant Multipurpose Stainless Steel (Type 301). they have 1/4 hard 1/2 hard and full hard varieties. 12x12 or 12x36 sheets in .015, .024, .029

Great idea. I would be down for a set of picks as well.

The only thing I have that may be helpful about running a businesses is to let you know about the book-keeping software I run and have set up for my fathers Fire Suppression Systems biz and for a few friends. It's called GNUcash it's just as good as quickbooks but is free and open-source. There are plenty of tutorials on youtube for it too. It lets you keep track of bank accounts, cost, profit, customer accounts, anything you can think of.
Hope this is of some use.

If you get a company off the ground don't EVER let anyone else have the capacity to write checks. My uncle had a multi-million dollar construction company, twice he had people who were very highly recommended and very qualified rip him off for hundreds of of thousands of dollars. (It was a bad government contract that ultimately did the company in but thats another story)

Have something different to offer. You are right, the market is saturated. Peterson makes some fantastic picks, Sparrows makes great rakes, and there are a hundred other companies offering cheap picks that are decent to mediocre quality. You have to have something special. Not like one pick that stands above the rest, but there needs to be a reason I (a person who knows nothing of this website or your personal picking and pick making prowess) would want to try your picks first.

I believe you know what the hell you are talking about when it comes to picks, your videos speak volumes to that. But business is business and if you don't have something that you truly believe in, that is so much better than all the rest then you will be another company making picks. I encourage you to make this happen but if it is something that you can't stand behind as the best quality then don't bother. Manufacturing on any scale is going to be expensive but people are right now looking for value but at the same time there are people like me who are looking to buy American made product whenever I can.

If you get a line started I will buy some for our company to sell from our website. We can help start to spread the word that way, and I will also help spread the word by mouth because I do believe that you want to make a great quality pick. Right now we are selling Southord and some other crappy picks and I hate it but we are a small startup and we can't afford to buy into a larger companies line like Sparrows yet. I think Sparrows wants $2500 first purchase for resale and we are not quite there yet. We are standing on our own right now and finally able to make some profit. Until recently advertising was eating up what we made past re-supplying our product and raw material.

One last thing, a good accountant will tell you when it is time to buy new machinery etc. Sometimes you make it to the end of the year and still have not purchased what you can write off.

Just a quick thought from some one who has tried to do it. I started a company selling led based forensic light sources as a second job. I had so much fun designing and building them I thought why not have a company that sells these? Sourced all of the materials. I formed an LLC (for just$40). Trademarked the name. Filed a patent pending. I got an occupational license. I filed all of the tax forms. Even setup all of the above mentioned accounting software. I was mass producing these babies in my basement every night after work making decent money. I had orders from universities and law enforcement companies around the country. The paperwork built to the point that I spent just as much time on it as I did building units. Eventually the business end of the thing sucked the fun right out of it. Once it wan't fun I closed the business. What they don't tell you is that closing a business is twice as hard as opening one. Pain in the ass. I had all kinds of tax issues for 5 years after. Bottom line if its about feeding your family then do it. If its about doing something that you love and making some money at the same time then don't let a few extra bucks suck the fun out of what you love doing. Sell some on the down low to the folks here, at hacker cons, and other fun places. That being said: I'm in for a set too.

What stock of metal are you looking for? blanks, sheet, strip

I'm a business owner of 8 years, and come from a family of small business owners if you need any specific advice.

As for market share, if you can come up with a higher quality product with a better standard of finish than the stamped ones being pushed out now, at a similar cost you can dominate the market, but keep in mind that all of the larger companies can purchase everything in bulk at significant discounts sometimes as high as 50%, that is something a small business can never accomplish. Which is why you will see special handcrafted versions of just about anything (tools, cars, art, food) quality and style are the two factors which a small business can offer over a large enterprise and charge more per unit.

I could go on for ever about business models.

Of you had someone with an EDM you could make some really nice picks in bulk those things can cut thru a stack of metal my dad says it is axing watching it work at his job

My 2 cents worth: Wouldn't be great to see a pick set that is compact and efficient. The fewest tools that work the best, with the least amount of bypass tools needed. Coupled with your known quality. What competition? If a customer wants to open locks fine, if they want to impress their friends go elsewhere. Super idea. IMHO.

id be more then willing to put money into your investment.. would be cool if investors got somthing limited edition ;p