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Meet Andre Westfield of Keylime Locksmith & Roadside Assistance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andre Westfield.

Hi Andre, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today? 
I started working for a local locksmith company as an apprentice in 2014. With no college degree and a newborn baby, I was just trying to find something to pay the bills & ended up falling in love with the locksmith trade. Unfortunately, the apprenticeship was short-lived due to the structure of the owner’s business & his wanting me to be on call 24/7. I recall working 30 days straight “on-call” (literally 2 am lockouts) at a time and it wasn’t allowing me to spend time with my family at all. After that, I bounced around to another small locksmith company had another small stay, and eventually transitioned to the largest locksmith company in the nation. That’s where I honed a lot of my technical locksmithing skills and touched a lot of cars. I was able to gain a lot of confidence at that time from key making to programming smart keys and transponders.

I knew from the very first week I apprenticed that I wanted to do this on my own but working at a bigger company gave me true confidence in myself. I was able to measure my skill against hundreds of other locksmiths in the company and as a new higher, I liked where I ranked. Unfortunately, due to some management changes and some politics, I was let go from that big corporation, and to be honest, it was a bit depressing at the time. I finally found something I loved and it was stripped away from me. I was able to find another job but not in the same field. There just aren’t that many big locksmith companies that offer benefits. I never let it discourage me from my dreams though. I stayed silent about my dreams to ALOT of friends and family but deep down, I knew I would start this business one day. In 2019, I stepped out in faith and got a business license even while I was working at Fed-Ex – knowing that I had to just start somewhere. After an injury, I left FedEx in 2020 the pandemic started but I had so much mental clarity, focus & drive at the time plus my faith in God I knew my business would take off. It took some months to build a solid foundation and through networking and some partnerships, I am just thankful that we have served 1000’s ATL residents and visitors in less than two years and I can’t wait to see what the next few years will be like.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way? 
Definitely hasn’t been a smooth road but nothing worth having is easy. A big struggle is just marketing against bigger more established companies. I know of locksmith companies who spend upwards of 30 grand a month to advertise. In a sense, it’s David versus Goliath every day.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Keylime Locksmith & Roadside Assistance? 
We specialize in American / Japanese Auto keys. Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Kia, Nissan, GM, etc. (We will be doing higher-end foreign cars hopefully next year). We also do emergency lockouts for homes and cars. Home rekeys, residential rekeys, and commercial locks. Broken key extractions and a list of other key-related things. Mainly known for auto keys and locks outs but always learning and expanding like adding mailbox lock service on this year.

What sets us apart is the mindset. We may be a “small business” but we move with a speed and efficiency of a large company. As an owner who has worked what seems like hundreds of jobs trying to find my niche in the world, I feel like I know what customers want. They don’t want to feel like another number, especially when they are stranded without a key. My company offers a level of communication and friendliness that puts customers at ease in a stressful situation. Even though we are black-owned and proud of our heritage, we don’t want to simply be known as the black locksmith company but the company that does business with excellence. The company that does the best to show up on time even in an “on-call” trade or who can at least give you an accurate eta & professional service. We offer multiple payment options & are mobile and will meet you wherever you are in the metro ATL area.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned? 
Persistence & mental toughness. Some days are just difficult, some things are out of your control. We can’t quit just because of one bad customer or one uncontrollable instance. We just keep showing up. Kobe Bryant was always an inspiration (RIP) to me. As a previous collegiate athlete who didn’t understand the true defining hard work at 18, I take the mamba mentality and apply it to my business now in my 30’s. The goal is to be the best version of myself as an owner and allow that to rub off on my company and hopefully customers.

Pricing:

  • Most services are between $75-$300 for automobiles just depending on the vehicle if you have a key you ordered and if it needs a specific type of programming or key code from the dealership. Also if we have to replace an ignition or lock or if it’s a specialty smart key price can vary. We are generally 25% cheaper than the dealership and we come to you.
  • Residential rekeys and lock changes start @ $20 per lock with a $20 service call.
  • Car Lockouts start @ $75 depending on location and vehicle
  • Commercial Services start @ $150

Contact Info:


Image Credits
Keylime Locksmith

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