The build out for my store is done and I am painting and looking for shelving and things for inside the store. The repair shop received its first job from Chicago. There is a table top celeste on my work bench that I am refurbishing and will be in the store as a consignment item. this is my seventh one to work on for a customer in Chicago. They have a keyboard like a piano but bars like a bell set. They are so much fun to work on.
On Sept. 10th I am having an open house for music teachers or directors in schools, churches or giving private instruction. If well attended I will get to show these special people the store and introduce any teachers or repair personnel that I have at the time and I hope get to know what they would like to see in a music store. I need to find out what would make my store distinctive from the competition. Some instrument manufacturers are giving me some trouble about becoming a dealer because they say there are other stores too close to me that sell their product already. The competition closest to my customers , however , is the internet. Many of these teachers order from the internet and competing with the price on the internet is sometimes not possible but I can offer the customer the opportunity to see the product and I plan on delivering to schools and churches.
The other thing I can do is offer some locally produced products that can't be ordered over the internet like pottery made by a local potter with musical themes in the design of the pieces. I will offer tapestries some of which are designed by my sister. The weaver can input her designs into the computer controlled press and the picture is woven into the fabric. I know of a local maker of guitar straps. I will be looking for any qaulity locally made product that displays excellent work.
I am going to be very particular about any teachers or repair personnel working in my store also. I want the store to have a reputation for quality offerings of product and services from the opening day which is
September 14th
There is much to do but I am so looking forward to this day.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Grand opening; The goal in sight
Renshaw Music will open it's doors on September 14th. This new music store at 5240 Duncan Rd. in Punta Gorda will house my shop, have very spacious rooms for private instruction, and a large retail space offering a good variety of musical products for band and orchestra.
This is not a new business but an expansion of Renshaw Music into retail sales from a fixed location. I suspect the thing I am going to most like about this new job description is the new relationships with the musical community of this area. My roots are in public school teaching as I was a public school teacher for 23 years. I have also been a church music director so I hope I can understand the needs of these very special people and offer excellent services to meet these needs. There will be other places that sell the same products but I hope to set my store apart from the rest by offering great service and some special products like tapestries and throws sometimes used to decorate pianos but of general interest to decorate a fine home.
The day the lease was signed was a milestone but a couple of days ago when I printed up a stack of fliers with the September 14th opening date was another. I am now truly committed and am working very hard at many tasks but ready of not there is a date now when my dream of running a fine music store will come to pass.
This is not a new business but an expansion of Renshaw Music into retail sales from a fixed location. I suspect the thing I am going to most like about this new job description is the new relationships with the musical community of this area. My roots are in public school teaching as I was a public school teacher for 23 years. I have also been a church music director so I hope I can understand the needs of these very special people and offer excellent services to meet these needs. There will be other places that sell the same products but I hope to set my store apart from the rest by offering great service and some special products like tapestries and throws sometimes used to decorate pianos but of general interest to decorate a fine home.
The day the lease was signed was a milestone but a couple of days ago when I printed up a stack of fliers with the September 14th opening date was another. I am now truly committed and am working very hard at many tasks but ready of not there is a date now when my dream of running a fine music store will come to pass.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Lease signed: great days ahead
Yesterday I signed a lease for a space for my music store. As the saying goes; the fat's in the fire now. I am committed and there will be a period of preparation and then a grand opening, which could some as soon as early September. In my years as a tuner I discovered that I liked the interaction with customers and when I began managing other tuners I found I liked that too.
The store will be work but it will be so nice to stay in one location all day and not have all that travel time each day. There are many things I am looking forward to with this new thing. If the store is successful I should be able to hire others to do some of the bookkeeping and accounting that I so do not like. In my years as a tuner I have used accountants occasionally but much of the day to day accounting still fell on me.
In the past there has not been enough income to pay myself a consistent salary so it has always been hard to separate business transactions from personal. This made the accounting tasks of categorizing items of income and expenses both for tax purposes and just to get a clear picture of how the business was doing in a given quarter more challenging.
With sales there is always the opportunity of selling more and dramatically increasing income. With a service like tuning there are so many hours in a day so the income potential has some limitations. I think I will also enjoy the selecting of products to stock and marketing the available merchandise to the customer base here.
There will be the challenge to make sure there is a profit by controlling expenses. In some ways a small store is like a bigger company or even a government in that all have to control spending and maintain an income. These lessons seem to be lost on our president but he, of course has a job.
The store will be work but it will be so nice to stay in one location all day and not have all that travel time each day. There are many things I am looking forward to with this new thing. If the store is successful I should be able to hire others to do some of the bookkeeping and accounting that I so do not like. In my years as a tuner I have used accountants occasionally but much of the day to day accounting still fell on me.
In the past there has not been enough income to pay myself a consistent salary so it has always been hard to separate business transactions from personal. This made the accounting tasks of categorizing items of income and expenses both for tax purposes and just to get a clear picture of how the business was doing in a given quarter more challenging.
With sales there is always the opportunity of selling more and dramatically increasing income. With a service like tuning there are so many hours in a day so the income potential has some limitations. I think I will also enjoy the selecting of products to stock and marketing the available merchandise to the customer base here.
There will be the challenge to make sure there is a profit by controlling expenses. In some ways a small store is like a bigger company or even a government in that all have to control spending and maintain an income. These lessons seem to be lost on our president but he, of course has a job.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Setting goals: pushing the envelope or sounding the retreat.
We have now had the protracted debt debate, the deal to raise the debt limit and the reaction from the stock market to draw back. Investors are understandably nervous and there was major selling today.
Small business is not unlike those big investors pulling back in tough times. The banks have no interest in helping small business these days and there is little encouragement anywhere for the person thinking about starting a business or expanding an operating business. The economy is in need of small business to get moving and not massive spending from the government. Just as government tinkering with education has never been a good thing government meddling in the free markets has also never been a good thing.
My music store will definitely stretch my resources both in terms of my time and finances. I will be opening without any debt which is a good thing. I have some marketing ideas that I hope will set the store apart from the competition, On my web site there is a banner for artfull cash enterprises which is a source for the purchase of fine tapestries and throws. You sometimes see these items covering piano lids and this company can take a digital picture supplied by the customer and weave it into the material when the tapestry is made. My sister is also a graphic designer and can custome design an image to use in creating these items. I will have a selection of these items in the store and information about my sisters talents and doing dustome works.
I am thinking the store could be open now by mid September or early October which I find very encouraging. Getting all my tools and parts for the piano work out of our house will also make my family happy and I should have the use of the repair shop in the store soon after I sign the lease so the celeste that is on the way will have a much better place for me to rebuild it.
I will also be hiring some help in the store and am still looking for some good help in the repair shop. A good string repairman is my greatest need so if there is anyone out there who is really good and would like to work in my area I am very interested. More info will be coming as I get a date for the grand opening settled. I believe there are great days ahead.
Small business is not unlike those big investors pulling back in tough times. The banks have no interest in helping small business these days and there is little encouragement anywhere for the person thinking about starting a business or expanding an operating business. The economy is in need of small business to get moving and not massive spending from the government. Just as government tinkering with education has never been a good thing government meddling in the free markets has also never been a good thing.
My music store will definitely stretch my resources both in terms of my time and finances. I will be opening without any debt which is a good thing. I have some marketing ideas that I hope will set the store apart from the competition, On my web site there is a banner for artfull cash enterprises which is a source for the purchase of fine tapestries and throws. You sometimes see these items covering piano lids and this company can take a digital picture supplied by the customer and weave it into the material when the tapestry is made. My sister is also a graphic designer and can custome design an image to use in creating these items. I will have a selection of these items in the store and information about my sisters talents and doing dustome works.
I am thinking the store could be open now by mid September or early October which I find very encouraging. Getting all my tools and parts for the piano work out of our house will also make my family happy and I should have the use of the repair shop in the store soon after I sign the lease so the celeste that is on the way will have a much better place for me to rebuild it.
I will also be hiring some help in the store and am still looking for some good help in the repair shop. A good string repairman is my greatest need so if there is anyone out there who is really good and would like to work in my area I am very interested. More info will be coming as I get a date for the grand opening settled. I believe there are great days ahead.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Web sales of large instruments
The web site renshawmusic.com now has a new look and is I think more visible now thanks to the good work of Ce Jay Associates. In a sense my store is already open on the product page of the site.
The web can be a very versatile tool as you can see items large and small in both size and price. I will be working at making my product page not only be a place where customers can buy directly sitting at their computer but someone looking for a celeste for instance can see a picture of the item and get a good deal of information about the item before seeing it in my store. Someone looking for a unique instrument such as a Fender Rhodes keyboard can locate perhaps several on the web and if one is found in my store the product page would bring the customer to me to buy something directly from my sales floor that I might have to ship otherwise.
Renshaw Music will have guitars, clarinets, violins and all the related accessories but will also have a selection of products that are harder to find as well as a good selection of products for the professional musician. Ultimately the products in the store will by dictated by my customers and I plan on listening carefully to the customers wishes as far as stock. That said I would love to hear from my readers about this subject.
The web can be a very versatile tool as you can see items large and small in both size and price. I will be working at making my product page not only be a place where customers can buy directly sitting at their computer but someone looking for a celeste for instance can see a picture of the item and get a good deal of information about the item before seeing it in my store. Someone looking for a unique instrument such as a Fender Rhodes keyboard can locate perhaps several on the web and if one is found in my store the product page would bring the customer to me to buy something directly from my sales floor that I might have to ship otherwise.
Renshaw Music will have guitars, clarinets, violins and all the related accessories but will also have a selection of products that are harder to find as well as a good selection of products for the professional musician. Ultimately the products in the store will by dictated by my customers and I plan on listening carefully to the customers wishes as far as stock. That said I would love to hear from my readers about this subject.
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