How Pop-a-Lock of Oahu Became a Comeback Career for Cathy Walker

Pop-a-Lock, now a household name, has been servicing the needs of locals for locksmith services since 2009 when Cathy Walker and Jack, her husband, decided to establish this essential business on the islands. With a business and accounting background in the corporate world in the San Francisco Bay area and Hawaii, she and her husband combined forces and became franchise owners of the well established national brand.
Today, under Cathy’s leadership, Pop-A-Lock of Oahu was named “Hawaii’s Best Locksmith” by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, reached its $1m annual revenue goal, and launched its second franchise location on the Big Island. With ten full-time employees, Cathy has grown the company from $138k in 2010 to $980k in 2020. Pop-A-Lock of Oahu has been consecutively named to Pacific Business News’ “Fastest 50” list since 2013 and is currently one of the 25 largest women-owned employers in Hawaii. Most recently, Pacific Edge Magazine and Pacific Business News have featured Cathy as one of Hawaii’s brightest female leaders, and as an inspiring community leader and mentor, Cathy has been selected as an honoree for Pacific Business New’s 2020 Business Leadership Hawaii Awards.

Honolulu Vibes interviews Cathy who shares her journey’s toils and rewards.

Cathy Walker, owner of Pop-A-Lock in Honolulu stands with one of the tools of her trade in Waikiki, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Ronen Zilberman photo HonoluluVibes.com)

1. With your female entrepreneurship, tell us how you established Pop-a-Lock in Hawaii.
In 2008, finding myself in between jobs from my home in the Bay area, I visited Hawaii, where I magically met my future husband and never returned. Despite having no roots in Hawaii, I landed a corporate job in the hotel industry, but due to the market crash, which became the Great Recession, it was time to search for other opportunities. Brainstorming with my husband, we experienced an epiphany. It was time to control our destiny and secure a recession-proof business later to become a pandemic proof business.

Google searching entrepreneurial.com, I linked in with Diane Pluess, a franchise coach from Fran Choice. She encouraged me to use my accounting background to take the leap and become a business owner. She reminded me that my extensive accounting experience was actually a business owner’s training path, and along with my husband’s MBA in business, we were the perfect candidates to become franchise owners. Presenting us with three recession-proof business opportunities, we decided to select Pop-a-Lock. Research revealed they were already getting 100 calls per day without representational in Hawaii to service them.

Further due diligence revealed when interviewing the public that they did not know who to call if they got locked out or couldn’t remember the locksmith’s name or the company they previously hired. My husband Jack and I fearlessly launched Pop-a-Lock with just one employee and one company vehicle. My brother-in-law now runs Pop-a-Lock Big Island, and we’re in the process of coaching and mentoring new owners of Pop-a-Lock Maui to commence operations in 2021. We were recently awarded a military locksmith contract, and the goal is to secure even more. I am also enhancing our company benefits package to include a 401k plan in 2021 to retain our staff and attract new talent. As the state reopens, I am looking forward to increasing call volume and more growth.

2. How has your company been affected by COVID19?

I am counting my blessings every day, as Pop-a-Lock was immediately deemed as an “essential business.” During the first national shut down, the demand for locksmith services from Pop-a-Lock actually increased. We later determined that locksmiths on the island close to retirement took the pandemic as a signal to retire permanently. As far as our roadside business, with fewer people are on the road, call volume has decreased but remained steady. We had an added benefit because the gas cost fell due to low demand that directly impacts our bottom line. We are also blessed that my team typically services only one customer at a time and can easily socially distance, making Pop-a-Lock one of the safest work environments.
Cathy has been giving back to the Hawaiian community in many ways. She also served as a mentor in the February 2018 Pacific Business News Bizwomen Mentoring Monday event, during which 50 of the most influential women in Hawaii shared their wealth of knowledge with other female professionals. Under the Pop A Lock – PALSavesKids Program, thousands of children have been rescued after being left unattended in cars across the country and Hawaii with this free emergency door-unlock program. Since the program’s inception in 2009, KHON2 has partnered with Pop-A-Lock of Oahu and aired public service announcements. As a result, Pop-A-Lock of Oahu rescues one child from a locked automobile approximately every six-to-eight weeks. For its dedication to this lifesaving program, Pop-A-Lock was awarded the 2013 Pacific Edge Magazine Corporate Social Responsibility Award.Honolulu Vibes hopes Cathy’s success story can be a source of inspiration for others who are looking to completely reinvent their careers and businesses!

by Dina Pinos

Dina Pinos is a Canadian-born Greek, former UH graduate student and EastWest Center grantee. Thriving world traveler, seeking to uncover passionate stories to share with and serve the community.