Charging for services/greed....greed

[Frank Cahill]

Peggy C. Bie wrote:
> 
> The world has changed, and I am appalled.  No wonder people can't afford
> anything.
> 
> Back in my days of being an independent musician I deducted these things from
> my income tax form as business expenses from the money I charged as fees,
> usually ending with no profit on which to pay taxes.  I never dreamed of
> charging customers for my own business expenses.  I thought these were
> deductions to subtract from what I earned.  Now people are terying to charge
> the client, the customer and the student for expenses of running a private
> business.  So now the ethic seems to overchargwe the customer for one's own
> business expenses and don't bother with submitting expenses to the IRS.  I
> can't believe that our nation has become so greedy as to overcharge others for
> ones own business expenses.
> Shock!
> 
> >vacation time
> >convention costs
> >insurance costs
> >auto expenses
> >office and work space
> >new tools
> >...etc...
> 
> America - the land of greed!
> Rev. Peggy C. Bie
> "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -Anais Nin
> http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/1095


Hi, Peggy.  Nice to meet you. I think  what peole really are saying is
that you need to charge enough for your services to make a living.  You
must take into account that you go to conventions for continuing
eduction, take two weeks off for vacation, and must meet other
obligations, such as staying home with a sick child,  that prevent you
from earning money.  Depending on where you live, you may charge more or
less than someone else for the same services to meet financial
obligations.

I live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.  It's not cheap to live here.
The average faimly income is around $75,000 per year.  The average cost
of a home is about $220,000. When I was employed in the
telecommunications field, a good income was easy to earn.  Now that I'm
a piano tech, my income has dropped by 50%.  Yes, I take business
deductions on my taxes, but with such a low income, there is not much
left over.  If my wife did not work, I could not afford to be a piano
tech.    

The reason I put up with this situation is that my daughter comes home
with me after her 2nd grade classes and does not go to after school day
care.  You may ask,"Frank, why don't you work and have your wife stay
home?" Well, even in my telecommunications job, I did not make enough to
support that arrangement, despite the fact that I purchased my home for
less than the average for this area. We could move to a cheaper area,
but my wife's family lives here, so I expect we will be here at least
until retirement.

Yes, there is greed. We get hit everywhere for more money. But here is
the real reason why many people run out of money.  

Most people here have cellualar phones, computers, VCRs, cable TV, new
cars(BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti are all VERY common here), big
screen TVs and on and on. They consider these things necessities, not
luxuries.  On top of this, they purchased the most expensive home they
could buy.  After the bills are paid, there's not much money left!  This
includes money to fix pianos.

Piano techs must charge enough to stay in business.  Unfortunately,
people don't think that piano techs should charge like heating repair
techs, auto mechanics, or electrcians.  Here are some typical service
fees for this area:

heating tech 	$85/hour
auto tech	$60/hour
electrician	$75/hour

Pretty high, huh? Yet if I charge $36/hour to fix a piano, people say
"that's a lot of money!" My fees are about average according to my
yearly survey.

Typically, people spend $$$ on the greatest priorities, even if it's a
luxury car.  Unfortunately, pianos don't seem to be high on the list for
may people

So we have two choices.  Charge less and go out of business or charge
more and stay employed. If we charge too much, customers will vanish.
That is just basic business commn sense.  

One final thought.You said your expenses as a musician, when deducted
from taxes, left you with no profit to be taxed. So if you earned
$20,000 and had $20,000 in deductions, you didn't pay tax. But you also
had noting left over...you worked for free!

Please don't think that piano techs are money grubbing jerks.  Most that
I know are living on incomes well below the average for were they live. 
Many moonlight at other jobs.  They are piano techs because they love
it.  The techs I personaly know are honest and do honest work. I model
myself after these folks.

Thank you for your time,

Frank Cahill
Assoc Member PTG
Northern Virgina