BUSINESS Writing Your Mission Statement ADVERTORIAL “The process for developing your mission statement has a lot in common with resumes and business plans inasmuch as the real value comes from going through the process itself.” a person, perhaps to the police. Examples of adding adjectives: Man: tall, short, good looking, heavyset, muscular, etc. Vehicle: van, cargo, panel, long, white So, it’s the same concept when describing our business: What level of service? Full service What level of quality? Unparalleled quality What kind of value? High value Dos Push the boundaries a bit. You might be “an industry leader” delivering “top” quality. You may be comfortable stating that you “stand behind your work.” It’s OK to extend product warrantees. It’s best to offer only what’s offered by the manufacturer. You might need/want to offer a 90-day warranty on your workmanship. Don’ts Don’t get carried away with extreme exaggeration. In other words, it’s doubtful that your small business provides “world-class” service or quality levels. Avoid stating that you “guarantee customer satisfaction.” A Word of Caution Although you certainly want to describe your business’s products and services as to enhance your company’s appeal to prospective customers, keep in mind that your own words can be used against you, especially in lawsuits. If you hold yourself out to the public as an “expert,” then you knew, or should have known blah, blah... Do yourself a favor: Have an attorney (and CPA/accountant) determine which legal structure is best for your company. Also have an attorney (with relevant experience and practice focus) develop or review and recommend verbiage for your business paperwork, especially the services you provide, contracts, forms, warranties, etc. Remember that you may be subject to certain liabilities covered by “implied warranty of merchantability” laws, irrespective of any expressed limitations in your paperwork. Carry appropriate insurance and understand what your coverage is — especially any deductibles and limitations. 20 KEYNOTES JUNE 2021 AUTOMOTIVE LOCKSMITHING BROUGHT TO YOU BY Safety (and Profits) in Numbers mated $3.4 billion. Some 50%of 108 mil- lion registered passenger vehicle drivers in the U.S. have just one set of keys for their vehicle. What happened to the other set? Lost, broken, washed, never received. And whether these drivers know it or not, they are one mishap away from having a very bad day. There’s reason to believe that these driv- T ers are aware of the precarious nature of their key-challenged state and would ea- gerly get a second set if they knew either where to get one or that there’s an alterna- tive to the wait and expense of the dealer- ship. What an opportunity for the tradi- tional locksmith and vehicle repair shops. The development of easy-to-use key and immobilizer tablets have made key re- placement both quick and profitable, es- pecially when sticking to the sweet spot of the market: U.S. and Asian vehicles, which have less sophisticated key/immobilizer systems than those of European vehicles. Additional tasks include the purchase of a key-cutting machine designed for vehicle keys, sourcing high-quality remotes and FOBs and, finally, promoting your new service with onsite signage and online via social media and virtual ads. WWW.ALOA.ORG here’s an untapped market in automotive key replacement, and that market is huge: an esti-
