<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004>Tom,</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Don't give up yet!</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>I've made a decent living doing tunings with some minor repairs. It takes = time to build up a business. You gotta do what it takes. I have to drive a = lot to get my business. Usually 25000 miles a year, 10 hour days, etc. But if I = didn't drive from where I live, I would have about 15 tunings a year.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Have you exhausted all possibilites? Gone to all the churches in your area = and told them you're giving an introductory price of half off your normal rate = for the first tuning?</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Gone to the schools? What about asking the music director of the churches you = service if they have people in choir who have pianos? Offer them the same = reduced rate.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Pass out your business cards to everyone in sight. Get crazy with it!</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>What about talking with a busy tuner to see if you could do some work in his = shop, or help with any "junker" pianos he doesn't want to tune? You could offer = him half and he wouldn't have to even leave his shop!</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Sounds like you just gotta get some cash flow and half of your usual rate is = better than nothing.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>Man, I hate to hear about it - hope it gets better.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004>Regards,</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=515454001-12042004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN = class=515454001-12042004>John Formsma</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT = face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">It's times like this, = when I have three tunings in three weeks, that makes me wonder if I've invested = alot of time and money in a part-time job.<BR><BR>Tom Sivak<BR>Chicago </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>