An Introduction and A Number Of Questions

[Fenton Murray]

Zane,
Judging by your questions here and your thoroughness in planning your toe in
the water. I'd say you will be a very successful (insert profession here).
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zane Omohundro" <zaneomohundro at gmail.com>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 12:22 AM
Subject: An Introduction and A Number Of Questions


> Hello all,
>
> My name is Zane Omohundro and I'm a Junior piano performance major at
> Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.  I've been considering becoming
a
> piano technician and have been poking my head around the PTG, reading
emails
> on this list, reading websites about tuning/regulation, reading books,
> contacting various piano techs for insight, and I'm attending my first PTG
> meeting this Tuesday.  I'm trying to get a feel for your intriguing
> profession before jumping in headfirst.
>
> I'm currently in the entrepreneurship certificate program at my school
which
> basically teaches you how to start, manage, and control a new business.
> More specifically, I am taking an entrepreneurial finance class which
brings
> me to the second half of my email...
>
>
> ...In this finance class, we create a pro-forma financial plan which is a
> fancy way of saying we analyze costs associated with our business, and
> forecast sales.  I am looking for any insight you can give me into the
> numbers involved with being a self-employed piano technician.
>
> I realize that financial information is often very private and not
something
> which is given out easily.  I am simply looking for help in estimating
> associated costs and average sales.  If you choose to give me specific
> numbers, I WILL NOT go running to tell your competition.
>
> Here is a list I came up with of costs associated with your profession:
> Transportation, Misc. Parts, Raw Materials, Tools (including electronic
> tuners), Books/Training materials, PTG Dues, Conferences, Website
> Development/Maintenance, Phone Service, Reminder Cards, and Advertising.
>
> Questions:
>
>
> 1) Is that list of costs accurate?  What am I overlooking?  Can you help
me
> estimate any of those areas?  I'm guessing that transportation and parts
> cost the most?
>
> 2) How many pianos do you service in a week? How many can you do a day?
How
> do seasonal changes affect your business and where are you located?  Do
you
> service pianos on weekends?
>
> 3) Do you take credit cards or are you strictly cash based? Do you
generate
> invoices? Do you establish a written contract with your customers for the
> services you intend to provide?
>
> 4) How much do you spend on advertising? Do people visit your website?
>
> 5) How do you determine how much to charge? Is it a flat fee for tuning
and
> an hourly fee for regulation/repair?  Are you willing to share any of
these
> numbers?
>
>
> This email is getting rather long so I will bring it to a close.  Anything
> you can tell me will be more helpful than what I know now.  Please contact
> me off list at zaneomohundro at gmail.com or we can open this up to
discussion.
>
> Thank you all very much for your time.  Thank you also for your lively
> discussions which are giving me a glimpse into your world.
>
> -Zane Omohundro
> zaneomohundro at gmail.com
>
>
>