Discussion: View Thread

  • 1.  CAUT to Self-Employed

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-03-2015 07:53

    Hello All,

    After being a University tech. for 10 yrs.  I'm resigning and relocating to a different state and going self employed.  I've been a tech for about 18 yrs. now and have had steady income due to be employed by a tuning business and then employed by a dealer.  I now want to have a go at being self-employed.  I know a couple of you CAUTs have retired in the recent years and have went self-employed there may have been others too.  

    I have a family of 3 so going from a steady and alright income to not will be the big change.  My wife will be working.  I have a couple of questions...

    Would it be a bad idea for me to be working a different job to supplement income until my business gets built up?


    Do you rely on your spouse/significant other for health benefits, or do you have to get it on your own?




    Thanks

    Tony Graves RPT

    Ball State







  • 2.  RE: CAUT to Self-Employed

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-03-2015 11:37

    Tony C-

    Normally I would have done "reply to sender" but it hasn't been working lately.  My second impulse is to interject some humor, like: "thank goodness you've asked for advice before making a decision"; or "I'm sure you have plenty of savings to tide you over", etc.

    Then I would get serious.  That's a pretty big change, and you haven't really provided all that much information, such as where you're heading.  With regard to your two most specific questions: 

    - unless you ARE good with savings, why wouldn't you want to find an income source until you can get set up?

    - at this point, you get health insurance wherever you can, I think.

    Beyond this, I would try to get up to Denver and take as many of the business classes as you can.  Take a look at chapter roster of the location you're planning to move to and see if you think it might help to contact anyone there.  Wim Blees is one who comes to mind as having made an assortment of these major moves (business to academia to paradise, ho hum), but then, we know that Wim is very special.

    Good luck.


    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    914-231-7565
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: CAUT to Self-Employed

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-03-2015 14:23

    Tony

    I was fired from my CAUT job, and had to scramble. I was fortunate that I got a job offer almost right away, even if it didn't turn out to be quite was I was promised.

    Why are you leaving your job at Ball State? Unless there is a bad working relations, perhaps it might be best to stay with the university until you can find a job. Look at the job offers in the Journals, either as another university, or working for a dealer. Or, as David suggested, go to the convention and ask around. Sometimes there are job offers on the bulletin board.

    Other than that, be prepared to live very frugally for at least or two or three years until you get your business off the ground. Aside from getting some help from the person who "brought" me to Hawaii, I was able to buy the customer list from the widow of a piano tuner. That basically saved me, but it's not a situation I would count on.

    Also. make sure that you move to a place where there is a need for piano tuners. When I was Central West RVP, I gave a business class to a small chapter. About a dozen tuners were in attendance. As part of the class I explained how many tuners could make a living in a given geographical area. It wound up that only 10 tuners could make a living in this particular area. The next day I heard that at least one of the tuners decided to call it quits.

    Good luck

    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
    ------------------------------


    Original Message