Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Saunders and Amanda McCracken.
Second City Locksmith was founded in 2014 by Joseph and Amanda. Joseph had 7+ years in the locksmithing industry and saw a need in the market for disruptive principles. Joe and Amanda have worked together to create a local locksmith company that embodies honesty, transparent pricing, and expert service. Second City Locksmith has dual licensing from both the State of Illinois and the ALOA (Associated Locksmith Organization of America), in addition to over $1,000,000 of insurance coverage. Joseph is a certified master locksmith and is reinvigorating the Chicago locksmith industry by bringing an urban, millennial perspective with an emphasis on reduced overhead, in order to save the customer money. Co-founder Amanda has an extensive background in sales and marketing, and together they have been able to identify unique points of entry into the Chicago locksmith market. Second City Locksmith specializes in working with property management companies, commercial clients, and the individual Chicago residents who are calling in every day.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We don’t think starting a business can ever be a smooth road. There are so many inherent learning curves, ranging from establishing an online presence all the way to ensuring full compliance. At Second City Locksmith, we have taken our time and attempted to scale our growth in order to have the ability to conquer any work load at any time without raising prices, all while keeping our clients happy.
Amanda: In my perspective, the hardest part of starting this company has been the years of market research we have had to conduct in order to identify our key differentiators versus our competition, and to carve out our own unique place in this industry. We saw that locksmiths typically won’t tell you an upfront cost, and when work is completed it turns out to almost always exceed the amount the client was originally quoted. Having Joseph as a partner, with his extensive industry experience has provided priceless real world insight.
Joseph: For me the greatest challenge has been balancing both the actual locksmithing work itself and the business administration tasks. I could never have done this on my own. Having a partnership you can trust and rely on is the back bone to any successful company in my opinion.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Second City Locksmith – what should we know?
At Second City Locksmith, we specialize in commercial, residential, and automobile locksmith work. We service commercial accounts such as property management companies, architecture firms and building maintenance. We are unique in the fact that we provide TRANSPARENT pricing. Our entire offering of services is listed on an à la carte menu with tangible pricing next to it. What that means for the end consumer, whether they be a property management company or an individual residential client, is that they can accurately forecast financial expenditures related to their locksmith work and know exactly what they are getting and at what price. We are very proud that we have been able to grow our company without taking on onerous debt and with limited overhead. We have been able to translate this lean business model to lower prices for our valued clients.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Amanda: I think the quality that has led to our success is teamwork. Joseph and I bring different specialties to the table, and sometimes think in nearly opposite ways! Having those different and sometimes opposing opinions has been a blessing in disguise. Seeing a problem from a myriad of angles has forced us come up with a unique solution that would not have been possible otherwise.
Joseph: I think our characteristic that is most important to our success is keeping it local and lean. Our focus has always been on saving money in our business model so we can pass along those same savings to our clients. Having a locksmith company with transparent pricing is unheard of, as far as I can tell, and we are only able to accomplish that by ensuring we are not spending large amounts on overhead or taking on onerous loans.
Pricing:
- *Prices may exceed Service Fee – $39 Rekey – $35 Lockout – $65 – $95 Key Extraction – $55 Lock Repair – $55* Car Lockout – $65 Lock change – $65* Car Ignition keys – $90* Transponders – $199* Intercom – $125 Per Hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.secondcitylocksmith.com
- Phone: 312-244-0215
- Email: secondcitylocksmith@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecondCityLocks123/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/second-city-locksmith-chicago?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Image Credit:
Logo: Mike Pargas
Personal Photo: Konstantine Balakirev
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