whats a good business to start if you have a cargo van? . my seasonal job ends soon, and want to work for myself.

Make an “A” team lol

As a professional locksmith here I would recommend you take classes first, you can take them through the mail with certain universities. After graduating you would want to find an apprenticeship with a good locksmith in your area. It is not a profession you could just jump right into without schooling and training. Also the tools and machines needed are pretty expensive.

is there much of a future for locksmithing with everything becoming electronic ?

Small animal transportation. Pick up pets people have purchased or sold and transport them to/from the new owners. Also emergency transportation for pets, like an ambulance service.

Carpet cleaning. Get the dry carpet equipment and you won’t have to worry about water and hoses. I’m a woman and I do this part time. It’s about $150 an hour. The equipment to get started is around $2500. Maybe you could rent it or try working for a steam cleaning company offering your dry cleaning services. Drop your cards off at real estate offices, bed and breakfasts. Avoid government or subsidized housing complexes. It’s usually nasty and the base pay is $40 - $45 per unit.

Buy/sell furniture from online, local ads. A lot of the furniture is FREE, just go get it. Sell it with local delivery for a few hundred dollars a pop.

Moving furniture for locals pays about $100 an hour here, plus mileage after a certain distance. I know this because our movers didn’t show up and left us scrambling for help. 2 great guys with a van showed up within a few hours and it was worth every penny. It was actually a bit cheaper than the “professional” movers. In a pinch the people will help you load the furniture so if it’s just you that’s okay. You could make it work.

Check with event rental services. They always need people to deliver rental tents, wedding supplies, etc., set it up and remove it afterward. You could also buy tents and rent them out yourself.

Yes,for the foreseeable future there is because all locks require installation and usually most electronic locks have key overrides. Electronic locks can fail to work in all the same ways and more as your standard mechanical lock as well.

One business that you might want to consider is a mobile power washing business. It's not a difficult job and the startup cost would be pretty minimal compared to most service businesses. You would just have to be internet savvy when it comes to advertising, build your own website and use free advertising whenever you can.

Depending on where you live, you can service swimming pools. Clean, pump filter service, ext. It is also seasonal.

If you have the balls you can become a tree trimmer, sub out to established companies to climb and trim or remove trees. Average pay $300 a day usually cash.

You can do a "Got Junk?" business.... clean out people's storage rooms / basements / garages... etc.

Around here, it's a lot more $$ than what people think it should be... plus you might get some treasures from the junk that people throw away...(?)

Run illegal maple syrup down to The States.
Hella markup, like bootlegging in the 1920's.

We have successful biz owners in our hood who; pick up & deliver large items, including to dump, mobile car detailing, pressure washing, handymen, furniture repaires/flippers, screen repair, window washing, garage door repair, apoxy floors, flooring, yard greetings, for a few ideas. Good luck OP.

There is a business in Austin that advertises on Craigslist that they will pick up your non working washers and dryers for free. They then fix them and sell them on Craigslist and install them with a 30 day guarantee.

You know what I would suggest, and actually already have, is to buy a really quality rototiller and a really quality woodchipper. There are always gardens which need to be tilled in the Spring and the Fall, and even people who cut down their own trees have branches etc. to get rid of, and public sentiment is turning against just burning the slash whereas wood chips can be returned to the land, making a path or spread in the flowerbeds. There are a WHOLE LOT of people who would love to have access to those items but don't own them for themselves. I know because I'm one of them.

Also, are you any good on any sort of school subjects? Like math, History, English, Etc,? Students are always looking for tutors. If there's any sort of bulletin boards you can advertise even at the grocery store!

Wouldn't you need to be bonded as well? I mean, you'd have access to everyone's house!

Im a locksmith. If u wanna seriously start a company id be happy to train and go in halfsies. Dying to get my own up and running

Dont do any of that. You can literally jump right in to being a locksmith if you are mechanically minded. Easiest damm thing ive ever done

I once knew a guy who came from a wealthy family.

He had moved to New York City and his family insisted that he had to open a biz.

He was at a party of very wealthy friends and a guy was complaining, "No one will move my Picasso to my new apartment across town because of the liability".

My friend saw the opportunity. He got a van, a crew of very experienced movers, some packaging material, insurance, and hired armed guards. Very impressive.

He found that he could get over $50,000 for moving a single painting or statue across town.

Earns a nice living just in the New York area.

Whatever you do, BE SPECIAL. Don't do what the crowd does.

Perhaps get a hazmat moving license or something similar.

Rolling brothel.

+1
This seems like a great idea imo.

Heh heh.....how many locksmiths on GLP?....I been doing it 30+ yrs.....locksmith has changed and branched off....back in the day I did general locksmithing, alarms, automotive, CCTV,etc.....now all those are specialized fields.....during the real estate boom, I was more of an entry tech.....I worked with constable and sheriff servicing evictions and foreclosures....

As far as electronic locks, lately I been installing alot of Wifi and keypad locks for the AirBnB people.....but as the other guy sez, they have key overrides.....mechanical locks ain't going away....yet....

I know a few mobile locksmiths that just service cars....its lucrative work....unlocking and programming the new transponder systems.....very busy in urban areas....requires specialized equipment and some electronic knowledge....

Getting up there in years, I do niche work.....I service safes, antique locks, and fabricate parts.....I don't go on many service calls anymore....I do work for other locksmiths and lock wholesalers....

I'm insured, bonded, licensed.....I started in my car and now have a workshop with 100k+ in tooling.....most of all, I love my work.....

You could transport large quantities of fruit flies over the colored rainbow and back and charge a boatload of money to each fruit fly.