Locksmiths are Everyday People - Marty Arnold Speaks Wisdom

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According to Mary Finch on Pinterest, this is Marty....the traveling locksmith for 30 years. 

Marty is everyday people, a guy just putting bread on his table and working within the best of his means. A soloprenuer, a one-man-band mobile locksmith. From the back of a van, "everyday people" provide needed services to millions of customers. They bring the shop to you and create their own employment. Marty and many others enjoy the freedom of being mobile and traveling around drumming up business. 

I can still remember the sounds of empty cans clanging from the sides of the junk man truck when I was a kid. These sounds were not only a warning sign to the all the kids in neighborhood playing stick-ball to clear the street, it was also the calling card to all those to bring out their junk and the scissor and knife sharpener was right behind him! 

These everyday people were and are good folk, who we all know. They come from all kinds of backgrounds and they are what makes the world tick. The mobile locksmith is on the move and on the rise. Many locksmiths who have had retail locations are now opting to hit the road and leave behind the burdens and costs of a store. In a recent conversation with one locksmith who runs a big operation he stated, "It's just not worth it!" 

Blame it on the economy, blame it on rent, blame it on the limited employment talent pool or blame it on locksmith licensing which has created many barriers to maintain or recruit a large staff.

For years the mobile locksmith was the target of some (not all) larger retail shops as being trunk slammers, jack legs, hacks, and worse! At one time there was even some shop owners trying to say that if a locksmith didn't have a retail location of a certain square footage, they were not legitimate locksmiths! All because they chose to operate an efficient mobile business model. 

In today's marketplace more sophisticated mobile shops are running around with high tech equipment, computers and wireless Internet.  When compared to Marty's humbled setup, it only makes you smile and appreciate what he and other everyday locksmith represents. 

Big or small, the locksmith comes to the customer in a variety of ways. Whether it is a milk crate strapped to a luggage cart on a subway, or in a Mecredes Benz (this has happened!), they are all everyday people. Good people just trying to earn a living and it appears that Marty's choice to travel is now a modern trend others are now rethinking and adopting.

The man in the picture below is Marty Arnold of Arnold's Lock & Safe, who is NOT the subject of this blog entry or the person in the van above. But he sure looks like it could be him! 

Marty Arnold ran a successful retail location and groomed many young locksmiths to become masters of the craft.  Mr. Arnold is now retired and provides some of the best advice and history lessons I have had the privileged of recording. As a proud member of the Greater Philadelphia Locksmith Association (GPLA) he shares his years of wisdom for all the everyday people like me and you, so listen to him!

Click on Marty Arnold's picture to learn more about him.

So to all the Marty's of the world......everyday is a good day with guys like you in it!