<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1458" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I've had my best year yet.  My = income is up some from last  year; I keep getting calls from new customers; the = area piano teachers make referrals; and my regular customers are pleased with = the service.  On the down side, my 30 year old single daughter had = cancer surgery to remove two malignant tumors in her abdomen and will undergo chemotherapy from January through May of 2005.  In spite of it all = we can see God's hand leading and guiding.  When life hands you a = lemon, squeeze it real tight,  sweeten it up a bit, and enjoy the lemonade!!  I thank God every day for His goodness to = us.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joy!'</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Elwood</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Elwood Doss, Jr., RPT<BR>Piano = Technician/Technical Director<BR>Department of Music<BR>145 Fine Arts Building<BR>University = of Tennessee at Martin<BR>Martin, TN  = 38238<BR>731-881-1852</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@aol.com</A> = </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 25, = 2004 8:50 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Year End</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva = color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR>In a message dated 12/22/04 2:11:47 = PM, <A href="mailto:Alpha88x@aol.com">Alpha88x@aol.com</A> = writes:<BR><BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" cite="" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 = size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">I am curious about how all you folks made out = this year with your business. Better or worse than the year before.<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 = size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR><BR>This is my fifth year in business and = until this year, each year topped the last one, as would be expected when you = start from nothing.  Unfortunately, this year is worse than last year, = equalling my totals of my third year in business.<BR><BR>Even more alarming is the = fact that I have taken over another tuner's business in addition to my own clients.  And these two clienteles (granted his was not a huge = client list) still only add up to about 75% of what I made last year.  <BR><BR>I've weathered the loss of income for this year and look = forward to what next year will bring, but my fear is that I've topped out here, = and the totals for the last three years represent the upper limit of what my = business will bring in.  If this is the case, I've got a nice part time = job here.  <BR><BR>Tom Sivak<BR>Chicago PTG Associate</FONT><FONT = face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>