New Year: New opportunities

    

      It has been a very bad year for Renshaw Music.  The store closed the year before and this past year was largely spent dealing with the effects of this business problem.  The word entrepreneur has in it's root meaning "to undertake".  To go into business is to take on risk and learn.  The owner sets the course of the business makes changes as the business climate changes.
      New piano sales have been almost non-existant since the economy took a nose dive.  There are still those that appreciate a fine piano and a new Steinway grand can cost close to 100K so selling used pianos has found a new market.  I am planning on moving into the rebuilding market.  Many of the great American brands that were pushed out of business by these market forces are great candidates for a rebuild and after a good rebuild can rival these new Steinway's that break the bank.  A rebuilding shop can be located anywhere and the depressed market in South Florida presents an opportunity which I plan of taking advantage of.

Keeping piano customers

     Marketing is in essence creating customer good will.  With any service business when you leave the customer will either have a good impression of you as a service person and the quality of your work or a bad impression that will lead the customer to either use you again and reccomend you to others or find another tuner.  I have been employing other tuners for years and I have had some excellent technitions that could not keep their own customers and tended to drive my customers away.
     Another factor in my business is that pianos unlike air conditioners can have sentimental value to a customer.  Customers appreciate honesty to some extent but i had a tuner once who did very good work but told the customer her piano was a piece of junk and she should get rid of it and get a better one.  I could not send that tuner back to her and I had to go back and touch up her piano as she was really mad and looking for a reason to criticize his work. 
     A promotional gift is also appreciated but a little extra time if you have it will go much farther.  I try to evaluate the piano and offer at least an estimate for the cost of some further work or do something extra without charge if it is just a little bit of my time. 
     A big part of what I like about this job is interracting with the customers.  My relationship with Christ helps me see each customer as not just a prospect for income but a person just as loved and important to God as myself so I can genuinely care about their welfare. When someone calls and asks if I remember them or thsir piano I usually remember the piano more so than the person.  Pianos are very interesting machines and I also enjoy troubleshooting the problems associated with the instrument which also is appreciated by the customer and again usually only involves a little extra time.

The case for maintaining your current piano.

     You should invest in maintaining your piano because:
1) Unless a new piano is a Steinway it was made overseas.  With cars and a few other things there can be made a case that the foreign made product is better than the American product.  This is not the case with pianos.  The best foreign brand new is no match in quality of materials or workmanship to a good american brand such as Baldwin or Mason and Hamlin that has been rebuilt by a quality rebuilder. 
2)  A quality complete rebuild could cost 22 to 24 thousand dollars.  A complete rebuild means new strings, pins, pinblock and with the action all new moving parts such as hammers, wipens, shanks, felts and leather parts, and a complete refinish.  When this is done the piano is like it came from the factory.  A new Steinway medium sized grand might cost 95 or 100 thousand dollars.  You tell me which is cheaper.  Even if a complete rebuild is not in the budget a couple of thousand in some regulation and repair could greatly improve a great american brand making it again a joy to play.
3) A great American brand of piano was not designed to be thrown away like an electronic instrument.  I have worked on many 100 year old pianos but never even a 50 year old electric piano except for a Fender Rhodes which was  designed with a parts that can be replaced or repaired.  If your piano has a family history it can be preserved. 

The Snowbirds are Coming: brace for impact!

     We are on the verge of a new season, which will bring returning friends, increase in activities.  Cultural organizations like the symphony,jazz society, and community concert bands start again.  Some businesses that were straining to stay open get a new lease on life with all the new customers.
     When my store was open many customers talked about stocking up on things like guitar strings, wind instrument reeds and other musical supplies as there was not a good music store here.  My store closing was a big hit on the company and I am hoping to find a place to reopen or at least have some retail outlet to serve the customers that said they would buy from me this year instead of stocking up from a music store in their northern home.  For me the prospect is a bit daunting as I am not well recovered from last years try.  Last year could be looked at as the death of the effort to get into retail or a dry run with valuable lessons learned.
     This is a much smaller market compared to Chicago but I do have the chicago business to sustain me.  The tuning business has little overhead and little risk campared to retail with stock to buy and a physical presence to maintain.  I intend to try agian in spite of the risks.  Retail offers more exposure to all the services offered of the company and greatly expands the services that the company can extend to my customer base here.

Banking and small business

I think most small business owners would agree with me that banks are the enemy of small business. In these very difficult economic times banks also have no compassion for the individual who perhaps is strougling with income falling short of expenses. Since all banks charge excessive fees it is meaningless to name one bank but Charlotte State Bank and Trust would be an example of this problem. My 91 year old mother has an accout here that is being closed because the bank cites excessive negative balances. Even when there is direct deposit that makes the account right at least once a month the bankers there look at their computers and obey. The obvious solution would be to not charge the fees. The rub for this bank and others that do the same thing is that they are addicted to this free money. There was a time when banks worked for the money by providing services to customers. Sticking customers with hundreds of dollars worth of fees is a service that I can do without. The branches are convenient at charlotte State and they serve cookies in the loby but customers could buy the cookie company with the fee money collected. I could never be a banker and look a customer in the face telling him that his money would not be returned.

Business restructure

Staying in business is all about being responsive to market conditions. Decisions are rarely just business decisions, at least for the christian. My relationship with Christ is first and so decisions about business and family sometimes have to be adjusted after doing what the Lord would have me do. With this qualification I then have to consider what my families needs are and how I can meet those needs and still stay in business. that has been very difficult of late as both the tuning and retail business in south Florida have diminished to almost being non-existent. I have been using independent contractors in Chicago to cover the 5000 customers there but I am going to try to eliminate that expense by making more frequent trips to Chicago and covering the work myself.I will lose some work that can't wait until my next trip but I think the bottom line will improve this way. Chicago is a great market and I will probably move back there someday so I want to preserve that customer base.

Market forces: not to be ignored

     Every business has to respond to market forces often beyond anyone's control.  You can ignore market forces but only at your own peril.
      At this time there is much talk about the economy mostly be politicians. They like to try to make you think they are in control of the economy  when if anyone is in control of the economy it is the average consumer.  What fuels the economy is cash and not government bail-outs but consumer spending.
     Now that I am running a retail store I see customers every day that consider buying a product and are in conflict.  Even those that have the money for the product are afraid to spend.
We all have to pay our bills and I am not against saving.  If savings and spending are planned conflict is lessened.  Your spending and savings plan should take into account market forces and if that is done better business spending decisions are made.  A recent change in the market forces that effect the tuning business is the current high price of gas.  A tuner must either reduce his service area or economize in another area of the business in order to adjust to this market change.
   

Special rewards of retailing

      Teaching presented certain rewards.  I know many other retired teachers who have expressed the thought that the kids were great but the other aspects of teaching were not enjoyable. These other things would include relating to administration, paperwork, and other duties not directly related to student contact. The best  teachers  enjoy seeing their students succeed and just enjoy the interacting with students.  As a music teacher an added bonus was conducting and putting on concerts.
     My second career was becoming a piano tuner.  This is a solitary job in that you have travel time to the job and then after you begin working you are alone with the piano.  You so get to meet new customers most every day and see many great pianos in some very nice homes.  If the work is good the customers are often very appreciative of your work which can be a great rush.  Pianos are very complicated machines and the challenge of correctly diagnosing problems and successfully correcting the problem can be very rewarding.
     Retail is still meeting customers needs and having a store is a great way of advertising.  I get many new customers from customers coming into the store, meeting me and then scheduling tunings before they leave.  If you enjoy interacting with people and I do greeting customers and getting to know of their needs is  a lot of fun.  It is great to have the customers come to you and as time goes by the challenge is to get to know the market and put things in the store that meets the needs of your customers.  Being small and new has been hard but I have always been very determined and this new gig is not going to get me. 

Free networking

     Most companies have an advertising budget and some paid advertising is necessary but there are avenues of networking or advertising that are free.  When I began doing business in south Florida a score counselor advised me to join the local chamber of commerce and go to every networking event that was available.  That proved to be great advise and much of that effort was free except for my time. When I opened a store I stopped doing as much of that and that proved to be a mistake.
     An example of events that can become networking opportunities are:
1) Local events such as the taste of Oak Park.  This event was free and potential customers were there offering booths with folks to present their organization. townships often have these events and this is a great way to meet many potential customers in one afternoon.

2) In the music business concerts often have pre or post concert receptions or gatherings.  even if you only meet someone there might be a time at a later date when you might have a better opportunity to ask them for your business.

3) Chamber of commerce events designed especially for networking such as business card exchanges  breakfasts of luncheons.  I find chamber of commerce to be a great investment in ones business.

Business expansion: the challenge of being small

     Protecting relationships with current suppliers
When I began the retail business I approached many suppliers of goods that I wanted in my store and some of the big manufacturers of what I needed refused to make me a dealer.  Some of the reasons given were that other dealers were too close to my location.  Some had a mandatory waiting period, and many had big minimum order requirements.  Most refused to give any credit to a new dealer.  The suppliers that did accept me and especially those that gave me a credit limit I have worked hard at maintaining a good relationship with.  Making regular payments and placing even small orders have often been difficult.
     When Selmer refused to make me a dealer I was discouraged as this company has bought out so many other brands and I so wanted to participate in school bidding but that was not to be.  I did find some other suppliers at least for the student line instruments.  I have continued to have some contact with the Selmer representative and hope someday I will be able to add them to my supplier list.
     The other thing that is easy to neglect is marketing and advertising.  Keeping your name out there requires continual effort at finding new places to market and advertise as well as identifying the places that advertising has worked in the past.  When you go into retail and you are not able to hire a lot of help attending networking events and making physical contact with potential customers becomes a big challenge.

Bank officers: pickpockets that are computer literate

     There are various costs to doing business.  In my piano tuning business there has been one cost that I have never experienced.  I have never had to write off or even received a bad check.  My customers are the best.  this is actually the norm in this industry.  I guess it has something to do with the type of folks that own and take care of their pianos.
      Some other costs would be things I am not good at or things where my time is better spent elsewhere like accounting.  I use quickbooks and I can do many things like reconciling bank statements but I occasionally employ an accountant to deal with problems that I need someone with better skills. 
     Anyone who is in business has to use a bank and today most find that bank fees are a significant cost. Some are hard to avoid and some are scams set up by banks to extract money from their customers.  One common scheme is to drive an account in the negative with fees and then bounce everything that comes in after that event until the account can be made positive.  Citibank is a master at this but all banks seem to do it.  If there were an alternative Citibank would have no customers but I have concluded like other customers that one bank is like another in this regard.
     If I had access to customers money like Citibank does I could never treat my customers this way no matter what the profits were.  Bank fees are not even profits to a bank but free money as a bank does nothing to earn the money.

Fender Rhodes expertise: A Renshaw Music distinctive

     I will be getting another Fender Rhodes keyboard in the shop next week for repair.  Renshaw Music works on player pianos and reed organs also but I especially enjoy working on Rhodes keyboards.
     Most of these great instruments that come to me are about 40 years old and the Rhodes owner is usually in love with the completely distinctive sound of these wonderful instruments.  They are totally distinct from other pianos or keyboards because of the steel tines that vibrate when struck and produce that unique sound.  My shop is one of the few that have a stock or original parts.  The present day digital keyboard has interior parts that are really  computer technology.  A Rhodes is mechanical in that a striker strikes these steel tines and create vibration and then that pitch is amplified.  There are even mechanical dampers like a piano.
     The work on these instruments is in many ways like working on pianos with some additional understanding of electronic repair.  Unlike working on a present day digital piano, however, these were not designed to be throw away instruments.  With the right kind of care these instruments are almost indestructible.  Even the most expensive digital piano is outdated and unusable after 40 years because of newer technology but a Rhodes that is maintained can continue to be an effective tool for the working musician.
     I have a number of Rhodes customers in Chicagoland and a growing Rhodes business here in South Florida.  If you are a Rhodes owner I would love to serve your maintenance needs.

Budgeting again: Back to the basics

     A couple of years ago I took the crown budgeting course and began working with a paper budget.  It was a time that I was making good progress in saving and giving, something I had not been doing consistently before.  It was difficult to follow with an income that varies a lot from month to month.  The effort, however, has it's rewards. 
     The business is getting to a point where I can start paying myself and budgeting with personal income is now even more important.  With the business I have been focusing on careful oversight of income and expenses.  If this is not good there is no personal income but the personal income must have the same oversight. Before taking this course I always thought of a budget as restrictive but I have come to think of this task as liberating as I now know better what I have and where money goes and can then plan the use of resources toward financial goals.
 

Piano care: more than tuning

     Tuning a piano and caring for a piano are two very different things.  I employ tuners and I have had a very difficult time finding tuners who will do more than basic tunings.  There is also a difference between educating the customer about their piano needs and upselling for the purpose of greater profits.
     One common piano problem for instance is sticking keys.  This can be a difficult problem to fix because there can be many causes of the problem.  Tuners do something called key easing if the problem is friction in the key bushings.  The bushing is a material lining the slot in the front of the key and so this bushing can swell creating unwanted friction as the key moves.  The problem is to compress the bushing enough to stop the friction.  Too little compression and the key could return to sticking after the tuner has gone and then you get a call back.  Too much and you could damage the key or cause the key to wobble from side to side.  Tuners not interested in caring for the piano will compress too much to avoid being called back.  This fixes the problem of sticking but is not the best thing for the customer's piano.
     This is actually a easy problem to explain to the customer because you can show the key sticking and show that the key is sticking and not another part of the piano action  by moving the action from just above the key and if that moves freely it is the key.  My customers appreciate my taking the time to show them the cause and solution to a problem and then have no problem authorizing the repair.  Tuners that work for me will usually not take this personal interest in the customer.  I am constantly trying to educate my tuners with this concept of customer care verses just being a piano tuner.  This helps them give better care to their own customers and gives value to them sticking with me.  The other problem with employing tuners is that as they become better and get more of their own customers they eventually leave my employ so I have to keep finding new tuners as well as customers.

Strategic closing: Sometimes necessary

     Most business plans include an "exit strategy".  sometimes a business needs to close with a specific plan to reopen.  Reasons could be: 1) Another better leasing opportunity:  The economy continues to pressure landlords to reduce leases costs to get spaces occupied.  A business needs to continue to sample the market to find these deals and consider the value to a relocation.  As people sometimes walk away from a house these days one can walk away from a lease  if circumstances make this option attractive.  There are many things to consider including tax implications but this option is increasingly attractive.
     2) How long it will take to turn a profit:  It is the norm to work for a long time without paying yourself a dime and often if the original business plan is sound the current lacation can be made to work if your personal circumstance can allow you to hold on long enough.  sometimes one re-evaluates when the profitable date might happen and it is not possible.  You can shutter a business and sell online of at flea markets of Expos to keep alive and re-open with better circumstances and get profitable sooner thaan if you held on in the first location.
     It is good to have cheap rent but if there is sufficient business the higher rent is sometimes better.  The bottom line something you have to consider.

Driving business traffic

     Unique products:  If the product or service cannot be found in competing businesses in the area customers will drive considerable distances to get what they need.  With fusion marketing you put something in another store and that store puts something in your store and both send customers to each other.  If you offer a service that another simjilar business does not offer and the other business offers something you do not offer you can send customers to each other too.  Having items in the store made by local craftsman that are unique is a little different than fusion marketing because the items cannot be found elsewhere and I have tried to do that with gift items with a musical theme.
     Substantial savings:  Big stores often advertise a few items at very low prices.  I think some of these items might be sold at cost or under and a big store can do that easier than a small one because once a customer is in the store they often buy many other things providing profit from the total sale.  A small store like mine cannot do that as easily as customers come for a few specific things.  The convenience of getting something close to home would offset saving on a few relatively inexpensive items.
     What would be most effective with a small store like mine is making the visit itself a value to the customer.  If a musician can feel welcome and perhaps talk with other musicians or sit and play an instrument that is in stock of a brand or model that he might not be familiar with the visit itself has value.  Too often if a customer does not buy anything he is made to feel like he is unwelcome.  I am happy to have customers visit and look at what I have in the store.  His talking about visiting the store with friends is valuable advertising that could produce sales and if the potential customer feels good about a visit the next time there might be a sale.
     I am delighted whenever anyone walks into my door and I think customers pick up on that.