no biz

[A440A@aol.com]

Greetings, 
Clyde writes: 
<< I expected to hear from you.  <G>  I charge slightly more than the average 
here,
and in my opinion I'm not worth more than that.  The people give me credit for
being better than I really am.  I'm not quite ready to base my worth on other
people's opinions.  But you keep talking; I might change someday. >>

   OKAAAAAYYYY,  on the soapbox!  These are my personal thoughts about being 
self-employed, they may be of help to some and dangerous to others.  Risks and 
gains are proportional, but life is short and I think we owe it to ourselves 
to reach for all we are worth.  Take what you like and leave the rest! 


1.  Time is the only thing of real value that we possess. The longer we live, 
the less of it we have, so it should become more valuable as we progress 
through our careers. 
2.   Gas, food, and insurance go up every year.  If our prices don't, we are 
effectively moving backwards.  
3.  If nobody is complaining about the price, one is not charging enough.  
There are some people that will complain, no matter what, and if they are quiet, 
something is seriously amiss. 
4.  The fear of losing customers by raising one's price will ultimately cost 
far more than the loss of a few customers.  
5.  If we only get 1 or two calls a week, we may be charging too much for our 
skill.  If we are swamped, we are obviously undervaluing our worth.  
6.  If we raise our price 15% and lose 10% of our customers, we are making 5% 
more and we have 10% more free time.  This is a good thing. 
7.  If we don't continually raise our prices, we become so busy that we lose 
new customers, even those that are willing to pay more.  This causes our 
clientele to gradually become riddled with the lowball customers.   
8.  Life is not a dress rehearsal.  We only get one, and there is no way to 
go back and re-value our hours.
9.  The self-employed have no one to give them a raise but themselves.  
10. The more a conscientious craftsman charges, the better they force 
themselves to do their work.  This is progress.   

   Several years ago, I suggested to a fellow tech, who was "complaining" 
about being three months behind on his tuning, that he was undercharging.  Three 
months later he told me that he had gone from $75 to $100 and it had made 
absolutely no difference in his customer load.  This was in a rural area where he 
was the only one around.  Milage may vary if one is in a cutthroat venue with 
lots of tuners.  
  Fear is extremely expensive.  I, for one, cannot stand the thought of 
finally laying my hammer down and wondering if I had shortchanged myself.  The only 
way I know to guarantee that I will not is to hear from a percentage of 
potential customers that I am just too  expensive.  As long as the work continues 
and I hear that, I feel like I am running at MY full potential.  
 
Regards,

Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
 <A HREF="http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/399/six_degrees_of_tonality.html">
MP3.com: Six Degrees of Tonality</A>