More Money in Tuning or Servicing?

[JIMRPT@aol.com]

Arnold;
 I agree with Jim C. Sr. there is more money to be made in the home service
end of the business for less investment, less work, and less trauma to your
psyche :-)
 (for example it is much cheaper to retune a piano than it is to replace a
pinblock the second time....don't ask.)
pros:
 1. The investment is less for tools and transportation, etc.
  2. Short of minor repair work you might bring home to do in the garage,
kitchen table, ect., you *always* leave your work at the customers home, with
nothing to do at home except a few phone calls and much more time to enjoy the
family.
  3. You can schedule as much or as little time as you feel in the mood to, or
that you have a desire to for various and sundry reasons.
  4. Cash flow is steady after you build your customer base.
  5. You can refer any large repair/ rebuilding jobs, maintain your customer,
and collect a small fee to boot.........if you can't, find someone else to
work with.

Cons:
1. If you don't get out of bed there will be no income that day. :-)


  There 'is' something to be said for running a rebuilding operation though.
One of the advantages is the personal pride/pleasure in taking a nondescript,
old, beat up something or other and after hours of fussing, cussing, tussling,
fixing, changing, replacing, cussing, and just plain goofing off.....ending up
with a beautiful instrument that sounds very nice indeed..........  which when
you deliver it back home has been known to bring tears of happiness to the
eyes of the present owner of "Grandmothers Piano".   You can't put a price on
this and yet it is one of the things that I enjoy most about rebuilding.

 Pros:
1. Money comes in big chunks.
2. You are mostly always at home/shop and can take off whenever you get a
notion to without having to call and cancel an appointment.
3. You can work whatever hours suit you.
4. You will be forced to learn about things you probably haven't thought about
yet.

Cons:
1. Money leaves in big chunks. ( quite a bit of it in just setting up a fairly
well equipped shop)
2. Pressure to complete the job quickly so as to improve the bottom line or to
meet a deadline for delivery.............(I hate this part of it.)
3. Having to decide where and when to stop on any given job.....the answer is
not as clear cut as you might think and the more you learn the fuzzier the
answer gets...........this will/does cut into profit very very quickly........
 4. If you don't get out of bed there may not be any income producing activity
that day. :-)
----------------------

Either route will lead to a very good living/income if you work at it and
treat it as a profession not as a hobby.

  The quickest way to lose your hair, disposition, family, and bankroll is to
try and do both at the same time.
Just my opinion.
Jim Bryant (FL)