A Cumbrian man has re-skilled at 50 to follow his ambition of becoming a locksmith.
Gary Taylorson, of Gilgarran, decided to take the plunge and re-train as a locksmith this year after spending decades wishing he’d started a trade earlier in life.
Now six months on since setting up his business – Surelock Homes Locksmith – Gary is thriving in his new role and has received over 70 five star reviews for providing emergency locksmith services 24/7.
But it all started with a drive to make a long-desired change.
Gary said: “Basically I left school and went down the route of university, which was more because I got pressured into it because I had a lot of relatives who went to university and it was kind of seen as you had more prospects by going.
“But it didn’t turn out to be for me, I had to leave, come home and get employment. So I didn’t leave school with a trade as such and I’ve kind of always regretted that.
“But it’s got to the point where I’ve lived my life up till now and wanting a trade has always been an idea in the back of my mind, but I’ve just never had the option to do anything about it.
“So I decided this year after turning 50 that I’ve got at least 10 years left to work, so I want to do something where I’m getting extra income and job satisfaction so I can look forward to retirement.
“I had a chat with my wife, the locksmithing idea came up and I just locked into it and went for it.”
Gary’s interest in locksmithing first emerged after he spotted locksmiths supporting police and bailiffs on television.
He said: “I first became interested interested in locksmithing after seeing a programme on TV a few years ago that followed bailiffs involved in repossessing property and tenant evictions for landlords and things like that.
“They had locksmiths with them and I thought that it must be an interesting occupation and almost a bit of a dark art.
“But up until very recently I’ve had my spare time taken up by renovating houses including my own and another home me and my wife bought and flipped.
“So I didn’t think about it for a few years until this year when I thought if I’m going to do something, it’s got to be now.”
Gary went on to do his locksmith training in Bury where he also became fully DBS checked and part of the National Locksmith Network which ensures quality of workmanship and peace of mind for clients facing security issues.
He also credits his wife Carmen for coming up with the name for his business – which he said has proved a hit with clients and has helped to get the business noticed.
Gary added: “I did my training with a guy in Bury who has been locksmithing for over 30 years. It was run as part classroom part practical, so similar to an apprenticeship.
“It’s all very well training to do something, but it doesn’t mean you’ll become successful, so it was quite a nervous time.
“I did my training fine and thought I was going to love it and my instructor said to me I can see you’re going to be a good locksmith, but it’s not until you actually start doing it yourself that you get your confidence and realise actually, I’m good at this.
“But I just love it, you’re in control of your own timetable and things like that and that feeling of independence and having something that is mine is great. It’s definitely going better than I expected it to.”
Since opening his business six months ago – Gary has helped people through a range of situations including people locked out of homes and cars as well as businesses struggling with things like stuck doors or windows.
Gary more recently also supported warrant work involving a landlord and bailiffs taking action against a tenant who had glued and screwed the property’s front door shut so it could not be opened.
His role was to be present if entry had to be gained to the property and to change any locks needed to re-secure the property.
Gary added: “Every day is different, there isn’t a typical day. So depending on what calls you have it could be someone dealing with a stuck window or door or someone might be locked out or has lost their keys.
“There’s a lot of different scenarios and never a same day, even if you go to a job thinking you know what to expect, it never turns out to be that, and there’s always something you don’t really think of.
“The thing I like about locksmithing is there’s a lot of problem solving involved. So you can go to sort out a stuck UPVC door a few times and they’ll be completely different scenarios to solve.
“You need to have logical thinking and a mechanical mind to take it on and I love that variety, I never seem to get bored.”
While it might seem like locksmithing is all about having the skills to fix locks, windows, doors and more – Gary said it was more of a people-oriented job than many people first realise.
He said: “The real love of this is the job satisfaction in that people ring a locksmith because basically they need your help and they can be absolutely stressed and stuck.
“If people are locked out of their house or car they can be really stressful situations, especially if it’s late at night or dark, so I get a lot of satisfaction simply from just going and helping people.
“If you’ve been and done a job and seen a person into their house after they’ve been locked out, you can see the relief for that person to just be able to get back into their house and we all take that for granted.
“But I do get a lot out of it, it’s very rewarding work.”
Gary added that he is also striving to go above and beyond to build a feeling of trust with his clients.
He said: “I decided when I started this that anything I do will be 100 per cent to the best of my ability. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I’m not satisfied until I do things right and properly.
“So when I started this I didn’t want to blend in with the rest and I thought if I’m going to do this, I want to stand out, so I put a big focus on things I find lacking when I’ve used tradesmen in the past.
“It’s little things like turning up on time, people are so pleased when you turn you when you say you will. I think communication is a big thing as well, even just messaging people saying you have set off, just so they know you’re coming.
“I also got a uniform and I’ve done all my own branding so it’s all clean and tidy. But I do think it’s a big focus on the little things that make such a difference.”
Gary covers West Cumbrian locations from Silloth down to Gosforth and can be contacted via phone or Facebook, where he often shares before and after pictures of his work.
