Martin, I, for one, would sure like to hear HOW you managed to round up 150, customers in JUST 7 months...or as Andrew Remillard points out, about 21 1/2 NEW customers EVERY month! Please let me in on your secret. Terry Peterson Los Angeles, CA Associate Member, PTG >From: ANRPiano@AOL.COM >Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org >To: pianotech@ptg.org >Subject: Re: Viability >Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 08:35:44 EDT > > Seven months ago I got my first check for tuning a piano. I now have > close to 150 customers. It feels like it's going to take forever to >actually > become viable. > > My question is: How long did it take you to get enough customers to be > viable, and how many customers do you consider that is? I understand that >viability > is different for different people, but I'm just trying to get an idea, on >the average, > how long it's going to take. > >> > >Martin, Martin, > >You need to do a little math. BTW have you done a business plan yet? I >doubt you have, otherwise you wouldn't have asked this question. > >You have in seven months developed 150 customers, that is about 21 1/2 new >customers a month. At this rate you will conservatively end up with 250 >customers at the end of your first year. For the sake of illustration, (if >the FTC police will let me) you charged $60 a tuning and had no repeats you >earn about $15,000 your first year. That is if you have no repeat business >(unlikely) and you didn't perform even the minimum extra services, i.e., >hammer filing, key bushings, cleaning, etc. If you haven't you are not a >technician but just a tooner and with 250 pianos you certainly can earn an >additional $4,000 -- $5,000 a year doing these "extras." I know $20,000 a >year will not make you a rich man but that is just the first year. BTW did >you pick up an old junker to rebuild for the experience as well as to earn >something however little in your free time? > >The second year: Half of your first years customers will die, move, get >divorced, quit taking lessons, decide to use someone else, sell the piano, >etc. I hope you can continue the blistering pace of 21 new customers a >month >so your income may be in the neighborhood of $30,000. > >The third year: The phone stops ringing for three months. You can't scare >up >a tuning to save your life. You call through everybody who ever had to >tune >their piano with little success. You rebuilt a piano or two which you >can't >sell. This my friend is gut check time. If you pass the test (there will >be >others) you are on your way to a prosperous future. If you run your >business >well and develop a well thought out business plan and execute it you may >even >earn a six figure income someday. > >Andrew Remillard > >Running a well thought out business plan for 10 years. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
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