Pianotech

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan, 

The PTG Home Office is getting all of the inquiries as a result of the PTG Marketing Task Group's work on these videos. They are the only ones with access and who are in contact with the people who responded to the videos. I am not personally benefiting from these videos and neither is Gazelle. I volunteered because I was asked and I used the skills I have learned about StoryBrand marketing to try to make the best of a difficult situation for the PTG. They had no money to spend on this project and no resources to throw our way. I accepted the challenge and worked with the marketing task group to StoryBrand a solution for membership growth within the PTG using Don Miller's approach. I am with Chris, Wim and others, my hope is to see these videos reproduced at a higher level and I will be the first to agree that I think we need different people (not me) telling the story including men, women, young, and experienced technicians. And I would encourage everyone to write their RVP to request funds be put towards a project like this if you want to see the PTG attracting new members in 2022 and beyond. I also think Don Miller's StoryBranding framework is working and while the words could still be refined, they are working remarkably well considering the limitations we had and the quality of the end product. Also, I believe some of these big future ideas are still being discussed but I am no longer on the PTG marketing task group so I don't know where they stand. However, we have a bigger more pressing problem at hand, the PTG home office has over 800-1000 people and hundreds more every year reaching out who are interested in piano technology but we have no strategy to follow up with them to meet their needs. I think we need a better way to do outreach to these people so the PTG can do what we do best and serve people in this trade through relationships, community, and certification.

Timothy  

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan, 

The PTG Home Office is getting all of the inquiries as a result of the PTG Marketing Task Group's work on these videos. They are the only ones with access and who are in contact with the people who responded to the videos. I am not personally benefiting from these videos and neither is Gazelle. I volunteered because I was asked and I used the skills I have learned about StoryBrand marketing to try to make the best of a difficult situation for the PTG. They had no money to spend on this project and no resources to throw our way. I accepted the challenge and worked with the marketing task group to StoryBrand a solution for membership growth within the PTG using Don Miller's approach. I am with Chris, Wim and others, my hope is to see these videos reproduced at a higher level and I will be the first to agree that I think we need different people (not me) telling the story including men, women, young, and experienced technicians. And I would encourage everyone to write their RVP to request funds be put towards a project like this if you want to see the PTG attracting new members in 2022 and beyond. I also think Don Miller's StoryBranding framework is working and while the words could still be refined, they are working remarkably well considering the limitations we had and the quality of the end product. Also, I believe some of these big future ideas are still being discussed but I am no longer on the PTG marketing task group so I don't know where they stand. However, we have a bigger more pressing problem at hand, the PTG home office has over 800-1000 people and hundreds more every year reaching out who are interested in piano technology but we have no strategy to follow up with them to meet their needs. I think we need a better way to do outreach to these people so the PTG can do what we do best and serve people in this trade through relationships, community, and certification.

Timothy  

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan, 

The PTG Home Office is getting all of the inquiries as a result of the PTG Marketing Task Group's work on these videos. They are the only ones with access and who are in contact with the people who responded to the videos. I am not personally benefiting from these videos and neither is Gazelle. I volunteered because I was asked and I used the skills I have learned about StoryBrand marketing to try to make the best of a difficult situation for the PTG. They had no money to spend on this project and no resources to throw our way. I accepted the challenge and worked with the marketing task group to StoryBrand a solution for membership growth within the PTG using Don Miller's approach. I am with Chris, Wim and others, my hope is to see these videos reproduced at a higher level and I will be the first to agree that I think we need different people (not me) telling the story including men, women, young, and experienced technicians. And I would encourage everyone to write their RVP to request funds be put towards a project like this if you want to see the PTG attracting new members in 2022 and beyond. I also think Don Miller's StoryBranding framework is working and while the words could still be refined, they are working remarkably well considering the limitations we had and the quality of the end product. Also, I believe some of these big future ideas are still being discussed but I am no longer on the PTG marketing task group so I don't know where they stand. However, we have a bigger more pressing problem at hand, the PTG home office has over 800-1000 people and hundreds more every year reaching out who are interested in piano technology but we have no strategy to follow up with them to meet their needs. I think we need a better way to do outreach to these people so the PTG can do what we do best and serve people in this trade through relationships, community, and certification.

Timothy  

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

Ryan,

In most trades 10,000 hours of experience is considered senior / expert. It takes about 5 years of full time work to achieve this level of experience but can be done faster or slower depending on how many hours are allocated each year 'doing a specific type of work' opposed 'doing book work, doing other types of work, or finding work'. By this measure and with 30 years experience you have probably been a 'master of pitch raising and fine tuning' for around 25 years and the fact that after 30 years you still feel like you are learning new things and aspiring to push your skills further is a testament to your character. If 'Master of the masters' was a category your name should be on that list! I don't think I need to go too far out on a limb to say you are probably also a master voicer and master regulator by the 10,000 hour definition alone. Masters of anything who love what they do often take a lifetime stacking 10,000 hours of experience like my kids collect Pokemon cards. So I am with you, I didn't stop learning after 10,000 hours and after getting my RPT I went on to stack 10,000 hours of experience other things like regulation, voicing, ... and in order to give this much time to these skills I also had to choose to focus on them. During this time I did not become a 'Master of moving pianos, case work, and belly work' that wasn't something I had 15 years to give so I focused on being a 'Master of the things I loved the most'. 

Wim

These videos were produced with a $0 budget and 100% volunteer hours. Even in their raw form they have not only amassed 2000 views but every day someone watches that video, emails Shawn at the home office requesting more info. Usually every weekend he has 3-6 new emails in his inbox. To date Shawn has had almost 1,000 conversations with people eager to invest time, money, and emotional energy into starting their journey on this path. Some of these people even watched the video, immediately joined the PTG, showed up at the convention in Orlando (2021) and LA (2022) to begin their journey, and/or pursued other forms of education. I agree these videos need to be professionally done, that will probably cost an estimated $5,000-10,000. However, even in their crude form they are working. The goal here was to spend $0 proving a concept that is what the Marketing Task Group was asked to do, this was the result. It is now up to the PTG to choose to invest in a type of advertising that is working better and cheaper than anything we have ever done. 

Edward, 

I can respect your personal experience. I also personally know highly motivated beginners who do $30k-$50k in their first year (which is the range we say in the video), this is perhaps more common than you might think. They go from nothing to $5,000+ per month very quickly, and in some cases I am seeing people do more annual revenue after 1-2 years than I was doing after 10-12 years in this trade. They are also not doing shabby work!. In these cases they buy a quality tuning app like CyberTuner, Verituner, or PianoScope, then the beginner finds a colleague who knows how to regulate but doesn't have time to provide training/mentorship, then the beginner goes out and sell a $x,xxx regulating job to one of their clients that they personally don't know how to do, pays their mentor their full rate to come out and do the work, and learns from them in the process; and gets paid a little on the spread. After doing this 3-4 times their mentor is paid thousands of dollars to give them on the job training. Pretty quickly they are able to do basic regulation on an upright, then a grand, and then you look up 2-5 years later they are on their way to stacking their first 10,000 hours in front of a piano doing tuning, cleaning, regulation, and basic voicing. Highly motivated is the key. When someone loves the piano like you describe, with the internet, if they are highly motivated they find the work and quickly grow. And in a world where you can make $30k-50k a year doing Uber, Door Dash, and stocking shelves at Target the thought of a consumer paying a beginner piano technician who might only have 1000-3000 hours of experience more than a person working a retail job isn't that far of a stretch. 

I think we can all agree we are living in a different world, with different possibilities. It is kind of like the story of runners breaking the 4 minute mile. People used to think this was impossible. Then as soon as Roger Bannister proved it could be done; in rapid succession others starting achieving this and more. 

Timothy

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

John Parham and Norman, those are great questions! Here is my view of this:  

Craft vs. Profit

Do you need air, water, or food to live? Craft and profits should not be at mutually exclusive. In my opinion it is a false choice to suggest that in order to care about one's craft you must forgo profit.  The simple answer is "You don't have to choose between one or the other, choosing to have both is better. In my career as a piano technician I chose to be both and being profitable sustained my craft, fed my family, and allowed me to pursue my craft at even higher levels. It allowed me to travel for training, it allowed me to invest in myself, buy better tools that made me more efficient, and it allowed me to hire office staff who freed up my time to service more pianos without killing myself, and eventually it allowed me to invest in others through mentoring, training, and giving them opportunities to work in this trade." Profit is the monetary byproduct of a craftsperson who chooses to set their internal bar high and value their time. And we need people in this trade who choose to push themselves to the highest possible standard AND who choose to be profitable. You need both to sustain your craft. If you don't show people they can make a living and feed their family they will never come. Which is the crux of Norman's question, where did we get our data for this video? The answer: we used the best data we had available. Much of it was first hand and second hand knowledge that I have seen through 1-1 business coaching of piano technicians over the past 10 years. And I have done a lot of 1-1 coaching with piano techs all over the world. Through my work at Gazelle we now support piano technicians and piano service businesses in +36 countries and we have helped thousands of piano techs around the globe save time and grow their business.  This isn't a plug for Gazelle because you can take anything I say here and improve your business using a spreadsheet and Google calendar if you want, but Gazelle just happens be the platform that gave me a chance to see way beyond the walls of my personal experience as piano technician. If there is a way to succeed and/or fail in running a piano service business, I have probably seen it first hand and personally tried/failed/succeeded in similar ways along my own journey in this trade. I will stand behind every number I put in that video because I have seen it first hand.  

What is possible for a solo piano technician at the top of their craft? 

I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on craftsmanship and providing out of this world quality while individually generating $200k-$300k in annual revenue doing med-high volume without killing themselves (I have also seen folks killing themselves doing crazy high volume at a lower price points but they usually burn out after a few years). I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson while generating $100k-$200k in annual revenue, I have also seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson generating less than $100k in annual revenue. The amount of revenue doesn't matter as much as knowing it is possible and knowing how to do it while sustaining quality in your craft without killing one's self in the process. And yes, I am saying it is possible to generate $25k per month / $5k per week as a solo piano technician without killing yourself. The people I know who are doing this much revenue are usually at the top of their game in both metro (and/or rural communities), they are usually in very high demand, they are usually the most or second most expensive in their market, and without exception everyone I personally know generating more than $200k in top line revenue is a great piano technician by every metric, they are highly dedicated to craftsmanship, they are highly respected in their city, and they are usually very profitable. So while I understand the sentiment I also don't agree with the premise that it isn't possible and I don't think we need to downplay what is possible; and when Wim said "I think $80,000 is a reasonable standard.." I agree, it is very attainable, but it shouldn't be the standard and it is disingenuous for me to agree entirely with this statement because I have seen enough people hit much higher numbers and I know what it is going to take for anyone to be that person in their city if they want it and it is possible. I actually believe that we will attract better candidates, engineers, musicians, and people from all walks of life if they know what is possible. Many of the great piano technicians of the future are currently stuck in a dead end salary/job at XYZ corporation where they feel stuck and under appreciated. When I said in the video that young piano techs can make $30k-$50k within a year or two; I would not have said that if I didn't know it was possible and believe it to be something others can replicate. They can do this if they want it bad enough and dedicate themselves to this craft, and like Benjamin Sanchez said, if they are motivated and they are dedicated to growing their skills, it is very attainable. But not if they don't want it and if they are not confident in their skills. Both go hand in hand. Is it hard work? You betchya! But so is working in a corporate job where you feel devalued by your leadership every day. If you love what you do you will never 'go to work' a day in your life. Do you need a mentor or a guide, yup! Especially if you want to do it faster rather than slower. Do you need to be in a huge metro market, possibly but this is not exclusively true according to my first hand knowledge. 

Should every piano tech aspire to make more than $100k or attempt $300K?

No. Every business regardless of industry, size, or type is going to plateau around their first $100k in annual revenue, this will happen again at $300k, and again at $1million, and again at $3 million... these natural plateaus are called 'Stage Changes' and they keep happening every time you triple revenue. This data comes from Clate Mask from Infusionsoft who studied tens of thousands of businesses of all different sizes; but I have personally seen his findings to be true time and again in nearly every business I have worked with in our industry. So it applies to piano techs as well. Here is the takeaway:

$0-$100k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you are a piano technician your first $100k will be the hardest but every dollar you earn after about $75k gets harder and harder until you pass $100k where every dollar is even more painful because you are exceeding the limits of what your people, products, and processes can sustain. If you push harder at this point in time it will be like going 100mph on the interstate in 1st gear. You are going to burn out your engine or burn yourself out if you don't shift gears. This is also where many people who don't know what to do (or who don't know their business is like driving a stick shift) choose to stop and many will rightly conclude they can't attain more without killing themself in the process. However, if you pause at the $100k stage change plateau and spend about 18 months to refine and change your people, product, and process; you will shift gears and easily grow to $150k, $200k, and then $250k where you will find again that generating and sustaining new revenue growth beyond this point starts getting more and more difficult. And you will feel your personal RPMs ramping into the red zone. 

$300k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you clear the $100k stage change challenges you will find growth to $300k easier because you are in the right gear, your systems are better, you probably added some skills as a tech AND as a business owner, you got more organized (which is a system change), you might have hired an accountant (a people change), paid someone to redo your website (Both a people change and a sales process improvement), and by changing all three parts of your business (people, product, processes) you are now poised to more easily grow without killing yourself until you reach the $300k stage change where every new dollar starts becoming so painful (even worse than before) that you need to stop and change your people, product, and processes again if you want to grow more.

Usually somewhere between $100k and $300k if a technician has tons of excess demand for their services they will also start valuing their time differently and charging a premium, which makes it even easier to get to $300k. While it is technically possible for a solo piano technician to get to this point with nothing more than an office assistant, a healthy pricing strategy, a commitment to being profitable, a commitment to taking vacations, a commitment to doing high level work and being the best in their craft; I have personally never seen someone sustain annual revenue above $300k without growing a team (which is a necessary people change for a business at this $300k stage change if they want to grow more). 

The businesses that are quickly growing from $0-$100k and beyond are the ones that understand when to press on the gas and when to shift gears, pop the clutch, and accelerate. Running your car in 1st gear at 100mph on the highway will almost always burn out the engine or burn you out in the process. The same is true of your business. And it is important to note that not everyone wants to be in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear and that is fine. A retiring technician might choose to stay in 2nd gear and take the scenic route along the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the interstate. That is fine and good if that is their goal. It is all in what you want. However, for some people in high cost of living areas they need to make a minimum of $175k a year to survive with $5,000 a month rent and for them they need to know how to clear the first $100k stage change as quickly as possible if they are going to survive and sustain working in this industry because the landlord and student loan companies don't care about your craft if your craft can't pay you enough to survive. 

During the last 24 months so many part time piano technicians working in the shadows of isolation have vanished. Many of them chose to retire and that is in addition to the ones we know about in the PTG who have retired as well. This is causing a significant supply and demand problem in our industry. 100% of the time when demand is greater than supply the prices consumers are willing to pay increases until they rise high enough to attract new suppliers incentivizing them to overcome the barriers to entry which require learning the craft at a decently high level. Then eventually the market gets saturated and prices fall until supply equals demand. This is basic economics and nobody gets a pass on math. So how many piano technicians are needed today? The market will determine this. All I can say is that I see demand exceeding supply in so many corners of the world it isn't funny. This is a problem for all the trades, not just piano techs. Just try to hire a welder or a plumber these days. We need people willing to do high level work and they need to know there is an opportunity to make a living. If the PTG isn't helping guide people into this trade then we are missing a giant opportunity to be relevant to all the Millennial and GenZ kids out there today who are looking for a job that suites their gifting, passions, and desires. Uber'ing and Door Dash isn't a career path it is a temporary side hustle. Registered Piano Technician is. Piano Technology is. We have a viable industry and a viable opportunity for anyone willing to set their internal bar high. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

John Parham and Norman, those are great questions! Here is my view of this:  

Craft vs. Profit

Do you need air, water, or food to live? Craft and profits should not be at mutually exclusive. In my opinion it is a false choice to suggest that in order to care about one's craft you must forgo profit.  The simple answer is "You don't have to choose between one or the other, choosing to have both is better. In my career as a piano technician I chose to be both and being profitable sustained my craft, fed my family, and allowed me to pursue my craft at even higher levels. It allowed me to travel for training, it allowed me to invest in myself, buy better tools that made me more efficient, and it allowed me to hire office staff who freed up my time to service more pianos without killing myself, and eventually it allowed me to invest in others through mentoring, training, and giving them opportunities to work in this trade." Profit is the monetary byproduct of a craftsperson who chooses to set their internal bar high and value their time. And we need people in this trade who choose to push themselves to the highest possible standard AND who choose to be profitable. You need both to sustain your craft. If you don't show people they can make a living and feed their family they will never come. Which is the crux of Norman's question, where did we get our data for this video? The answer: we used the best data we had available. Much of it was first hand and second hand knowledge that I have seen through 1-1 business coaching of piano technicians over the past 10 years. And I have done a lot of 1-1 coaching with piano techs all over the world. Through my work at Gazelle we now support piano technicians and piano service businesses in +36 countries and we have helped thousands of piano techs around the globe save time and grow their business.  This isn't a plug for Gazelle because you can take anything I say here and improve your business using a spreadsheet and Google calendar if you want, but Gazelle just happens be the platform that gave me a chance to see way beyond the walls of my personal experience as piano technician. If there is a way to succeed and/or fail in running a piano service business, I have probably seen it first hand and personally tried/failed/succeeded in similar ways along my own journey in this trade. I will stand behind every number I put in that video because I have seen it first hand.  

What is possible for a solo piano technician at the top of their craft? 

I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on craftsmanship and providing out of this world quality while individually generating $200k-$300k in annual revenue doing med-high volume without killing themselves (I have also seen folks killing themselves doing crazy high volume at a lower price points but they usually burn out after a few years). I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson while generating $100k-$200k in annual revenue, I have also seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson generating less than $100k in annual revenue. The amount of revenue doesn't matter as much as knowing it is possible and knowing how to do it while sustaining quality in your craft without killing one's self in the process. And yes, I am saying it is possible to generate $25k per month / $5k per week as a solo piano technician without killing yourself. The people I know who are doing this much revenue are usually at the top of their game in both metro (and/or rural communities), they are usually in very high demand, they are usually the most or second most expensive in their market, and without exception everyone I personally know generating more than $200k in top line revenue is a great piano technician by every metric, they are highly dedicated to craftsmanship, they are highly respected in their city, and they are usually very profitable. So while I understand the sentiment I also don't agree with the premise that it isn't possible and I don't think we need to downplay what is possible; and when Wim said "I think $80,000 is a reasonable standard.." I agree, it is very attainable, but it shouldn't be the standard and it is disingenuous for me to agree entirely with this statement because I have seen enough people hit much higher numbers and I know what it is going to take for anyone to be that person in their city if they want it and it is possible. I actually believe that we will attract better candidates, engineers, musicians, and people from all walks of life if they know what is possible. Many of the great piano technicians of the future are currently stuck in a dead end salary/job at XYZ corporation where they feel stuck and under appreciated. When I said in the video that young piano techs can make $30k-$50k within a year or two; I would not have said that if I didn't know it was possible and believe it to be something others can replicate. They can do this if they want it bad enough and dedicate themselves to this craft, and like Benjamin Sanchez said, if they are motivated and they are dedicated to growing their skills, it is very attainable. But not if they don't want it and if they are not confident in their skills. Both go hand in hand. Is it hard work? You betchya! But so is working in a corporate job where you feel devalued by your leadership every day. If you love what you do you will never 'go to work' a day in your life. Do you need a mentor or a guide, yup! Especially if you want to do it faster rather than slower. Do you need to be in a huge metro market, possibly but this is not exclusively true according to my first hand knowledge. 

Should every piano tech aspire to make more than $100k or attempt $300K?

No. Every business regardless of industry, size, or type is going to plateau around their first $100k in annual revenue, this will happen again at $300k, and again at $1million, and again at $3 million... these natural plateaus are called 'Stage Changes' and they keep happening every time you triple revenue. This data comes from Clate Mask from Infusionsoft who studied tens of thousands of businesses of all different sizes; but I have personally seen his findings to be true time and again in nearly every business I have worked with in our industry. So it applies to piano techs as well. Here is the takeaway:

$0-$100k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you are a piano technician your first $100k will be the hardest but every dollar you earn after about $75k gets harder and harder until you pass $100k where every dollar is even more painful because you are exceeding the limits of what your people, products, and processes can sustain. If you push harder at this point in time it will be like going 100mph on the interstate in 1st gear. You are going to burn out your engine or burn yourself out if you don't shift gears. This is also where many people who don't know what to do (or who don't know their business is like driving a stick shift) choose to stop and many will rightly conclude they can't attain more without killing themself in the process. However, if you pause at the $100k stage change plateau and spend about 18 months to refine and change your people, product, and process; you will shift gears and easily grow to $150k, $200k, and then $250k where you will find again that generating and sustaining new revenue growth beyond this point starts getting more and more difficult. And you will feel your personal RPMs ramping into the red zone. 

$300k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you clear the $100k stage change challenges you will find growth to $300k easier because you are in the right gear, your systems are better, you probably added some skills as a tech AND as a business owner, you got more organized (which is a system change), you might have hired an accountant (a people change), paid someone to redo your website (Both a people change and a sales process improvement), and by changing all three parts of your business (people, product, processes) you are now poised to more easily grow without killing yourself until you reach the $300k stage change where every new dollar starts becoming so painful (even worse than before) that you need to stop and change your people, product, and processes again if you want to grow more.

Usually somewhere between $100k and $300k if a technician has tons of excess demand for their services they will also start valuing their time differently and charging a premium, which makes it even easier to get to $300k. While it is technically possible for a solo piano technician to get to this point with nothing more than an office assistant, a healthy pricing strategy, a commitment to being profitable, a commitment to taking vacations, a commitment to doing high level work and being the best in their craft; I have personally never seen someone sustain annual revenue above $300k without growing a team (which is a necessary people change for a business at this $300k stage change if they want to grow more). 

The businesses that are quickly growing from $0-$100k and beyond are the ones that understand when to press on the gas and when to shift gears, pop the clutch, and accelerate. Running your car in 1st gear at 100mph on the highway will almost always burn out the engine or burn you out in the process. The same is true of your business. And it is important to note that not everyone wants to be in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear and that is fine. A retiring technician might choose to stay in 2nd gear and take the scenic route along the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the interstate. That is fine and good if that is their goal. It is all in what you want. However, for some people in high cost of living areas they need to make a minimum of $175k a year to survive with $5,000 a month rent and for them they need to know how to clear the first $100k stage change as quickly as possible if they are going to survive and sustain working in this industry because the landlord and student loan companies don't care about your craft if your craft can't pay you enough to survive. 

During the last 24 months so many part time piano technicians working in the shadows of isolation have vanished. Many of them chose to retire and that is in addition to the ones we know about in the PTG who have retired as well. This is causing a significant supply and demand problem in our industry. 100% of the time when demand is greater than supply the prices consumers are willing to pay increases until they rise high enough to attract new suppliers incentivizing them to overcome the barriers to entry which require learning the craft at a decently high level. Then eventually the market gets saturated and prices fall until supply equals demand. This is basic economics and nobody gets a pass on math. So how many piano technicians are needed today? The market will determine this. All I can say is that I see demand exceeding supply in so many corners of the world it isn't funny. This is a problem for all the trades, not just piano techs. Just try to hire a welder or a plumber these days. We need people willing to do high level work and they need to know there is an opportunity to make a living. If the PTG isn't helping guide people into this trade then we are missing a giant opportunity to be relevant to all the Millennial and GenZ kids out there today who are looking for a job that suites their gifting, passions, and desires. Uber'ing and Door Dash isn't a career path it is a temporary side hustle. Registered Piano Technician is. Piano Technology is. We have a viable industry and a viable opportunity for anyone willing to set their internal bar high. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

John, 

I will never forget the day I woke up and realized after several years working full-time in this trade (after covering business expenses) I was earning $4.35/hour for my time. I literally had the thought that '...someone flopping whoppers at McDonalds is making more than me'. I also considered packing up my tools and giving up on a craft I loved doing more than anything else. I wasn't here for the money and I sure as heck wasn't making any. My craft only started improving when I finally decided to start valuing my time differently which gave me the resources to also invest in my craft. The more I invested in both, the more my schedule filled, the more I made, the better I became as a craftsperson. 

You wrote: "Of course we need to make money in our profession. Why even make that a topic to write about?"

Because we need good technicians focused on their craft in NYC, Chicago, LA, London, Berlin, Montreal, Ontario, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, .... and in whatever _______ high cost of living areas they happen to live.  Trying to focus on your craft while making $80k in a high cost of living city that demands $150k to survive isn't sustainable or healthy for anyone. We should be doing both because both are important. 

You also wrote: "What should the focus of PTG be, a volunteer-based non-profit organization that teaches how to generate $300,000 a year, or how to work with your hands?

Both, unless you want to discriminate against technicians in high cost of living areas, discriminate against technicians who need to be the sole income provider for their family for whatever reason, and discriminate against technicians who have to pay crazy high health care premiums through the ACA exchange because they choose to be self-employed in America. The PTG needs to support both ideas because both are important.  

You also wrote: "Profiteers are easily seduced by profit" and "Whatever PTG video promotes is what it will attract. Sell profit, we attract sales people. Sell craftsmanship, we attract craft-minded members. What kind of member do we want to attract?"

Profiteers are people who seek to make an excessive or unfair profit, especially illegally or in a black market. However, $200,000 in top line business revenue in NYC, LA, and Seattle (after expenses) evaporates faster than a spinet in a fire. It might sound like a lot but $100k-$300k in revenue is not exorbitant income for a business to aspire too.  After expenses it barely qualifies as middle class. 30 years ago $100k might have been a lot, today it is not. We are no where near 'profiteering' by promoting these numbers. Talking about these numbers isn't evil, bad, or something the PTG should avoid. It should be the opposite. It should be embraced, talked about, promoted, and we should encourage members to focus on both their craft and their income potential/business skills. 

The problem with trying to promote 'Better than average income potential' is that the average will never be enough in high cost of living areas. That is a math problem and a location problem, and we cannot grow membership in this organization by shooting ourselves in the foot and ignoring the geographical areas where +65% of the customers (and the pianos) live. To say that we should advertise a potential wage that cannot sustain a crafts person in the area where 65% of the customers live (or to suggest we need to avoid the topic all together because we need people focused on 'Craft'....) is a false choice and this is a problem we need to solve. We have to talk to these people about their needs and answer basic questions they will have like:

- If I invest X hundred or X thousand hours pursuing this craft, how much can I expect to make?

- What does my income ladder look like? and is that better than what I am currently doing?

- Can I sustain my family living in my current city? 

I am really trying my best to read your words charitably because I know you care about this trade at a really high level and you care about the PTG. But to focus on craft and downplay the needs of technicians in the metro markets as a marketing strategy, that isn't going to work. 

Timothy 

Co-founder of www.GrowWithGazelle.com

John Parham and Norman, those are great questions! Here is my view of this:  

Craft vs. Profit

Do you need air, water, or food to live? Craft and profits should not be at mutually exclusive. In my opinion it is a false choice to suggest that in order to care about one's craft you must forgo profit.  The simple answer is "You don't have to choose between one or the other, choosing to have both is better. In my career as a piano technician I chose to be both and being profitable sustained my craft, fed my family, and allowed me to pursue my craft at even higher levels. It allowed me to travel for training, it allowed me to invest in myself, buy better tools that made me more efficient, and it allowed me to hire office staff who freed up my time to service more pianos without killing myself, and eventually it allowed me to invest in others through mentoring, training, and giving them opportunities to work in this trade." Profit is the monetary byproduct of a craftsperson who chooses to set their internal bar high and value their time. And we need people in this trade who choose to push themselves to the highest possible standard AND who choose to be profitable. You need both to sustain your craft. If you don't show people they can make a living and feed their family they will never come. Which is the crux of Norman's question, where did we get our data for this video? The answer: we used the best data we had available. Much of it was first hand and second hand knowledge that I have seen through 1-1 business coaching of piano technicians over the past 10 years. And I have done a lot of 1-1 coaching with piano techs all over the world. Through my work at Gazelle we now support piano technicians and piano service businesses in +36 countries and we have helped thousands of piano techs around the globe save time and grow their business.  This isn't a plug for Gazelle because you can take anything I say here and improve your business using a spreadsheet and Google calendar if you want, but Gazelle just happens be the platform that gave me a chance to see way beyond the walls of my personal experience as piano technician. If there is a way to succeed and/or fail in running a piano service business, I have probably seen it first hand and personally tried/failed/succeeded in similar ways along my own journey in this trade. I will stand behind every number I put in that video because I have seen it first hand.  

What is possible for a solo piano technician at the top of their craft? 

I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on craftsmanship and providing out of this world quality while individually generating $200k-$300k in annual revenue doing med-high volume without killing themselves (I have also seen folks killing themselves doing crazy high volume at a lower price points but they usually burn out after a few years). I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson while generating $100k-$200k in annual revenue, I have also seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson generating less than $100k in annual revenue. The amount of revenue doesn't matter as much as knowing it is possible and knowing how to do it while sustaining quality in your craft without killing one's self in the process. And yes, I am saying it is possible to generate $25k per month / $5k per week as a solo piano technician without killing yourself. The people I know who are doing this much revenue are usually at the top of their game in both metro (and/or rural communities), they are usually in very high demand, they are usually the most or second most expensive in their market, and without exception everyone I personally know generating more than $200k in top line revenue is a great piano technician by every metric, they are highly dedicated to craftsmanship, they are highly respected in their city, and they are usually very profitable. So while I understand the sentiment I also don't agree with the premise that it isn't possible and I don't think we need to downplay what is possible; and when Wim said "I think $80,000 is a reasonable standard.." I agree, it is very attainable, but it shouldn't be the standard and it is disingenuous for me to agree entirely with this statement because I have seen enough people hit much higher numbers and I know what it is going to take for anyone to be that person in their city if they want it and it is possible. I actually believe that we will attract better candidates, engineers, musicians, and people from all walks of life if they know what is possible. Many of the great piano technicians of the future are currently stuck in a dead end salary/job at XYZ corporation where they feel stuck and under appreciated. When I said in the video that young piano techs can make $30k-$50k within a year or two; I would not have said that if I didn't know it was possible and believe it to be something others can replicate. They can do this if they want it bad enough and dedicate themselves to this craft, and like Benjamin Sanchez said, if they are motivated and they are dedicated to growing their skills, it is very attainable. But not if they don't want it and if they are not confident in their skills. Both go hand in hand. Is it hard work? You betchya! But so is working in a corporate job where you feel devalued by your leadership every day. If you love what you do you will never 'go to work' a day in your life. Do you need a mentor or a guide, yup! Especially if you want to do it faster rather than slower. Do you need to be in a huge metro market, possibly but this is not exclusively true according to my first hand knowledge. 

Should every piano tech aspire to make more than $100k or attempt $300K?

No. Every business regardless of industry, size, or type is going to plateau around their first $100k in annual revenue, this will happen again at $300k, and again at $1million, and again at $3 million... these natural plateaus are called 'Stage Changes' and they keep happening every time you triple revenue. This data comes from Clate Mask from Infusionsoft who studied tens of thousands of businesses of all different sizes; but I have personally seen his findings to be true time and again in nearly every business I have worked with in our industry. So it applies to piano techs as well. Here is the takeaway:

$0-$100k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you are a piano technician your first $100k will be the hardest but every dollar you earn after about $75k gets harder and harder until you pass $100k where every dollar is even more painful because you are exceeding the limits of what your people, products, and processes can sustain. If you push harder at this point in time it will be like going 100mph on the interstate in 1st gear. You are going to burn out your engine or burn yourself out if you don't shift gears. This is also where many people who don't know what to do (or who don't know their business is like driving a stick shift) choose to stop and many will rightly conclude they can't attain more without killing themself in the process. However, if you pause at the $100k stage change plateau and spend about 18 months to refine and change your people, product, and process; you will shift gears and easily grow to $150k, $200k, and then $250k where you will find again that generating and sustaining new revenue growth beyond this point starts getting more and more difficult. And you will feel your personal RPMs ramping into the red zone. 

$300k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you clear the $100k stage change challenges you will find growth to $300k easier because you are in the right gear, your systems are better, you probably added some skills as a tech AND as a business owner, you got more organized (which is a system change), you might have hired an accountant (a people change), paid someone to redo your website (Both a people change and a sales process improvement), and by changing all three parts of your business (people, product, processes) you are now poised to more easily grow without killing yourself until you reach the $300k stage change where every new dollar starts becoming so painful (even worse than before) that you need to stop and change your people, product, and processes again if you want to grow more.

Usually somewhere between $100k and $300k if a technician has tons of excess demand for their services they will also start valuing their time differently and charging a premium, which makes it even easier to get to $300k. While it is technically possible for a solo piano technician to get to this point with nothing more than an office assistant, a healthy pricing strategy, a commitment to being profitable, a commitment to taking vacations, a commitment to doing high level work and being the best in their craft; I have personally never seen someone sustain annual revenue above $300k without growing a team (which is a necessary people change for a business at this $300k stage change if they want to grow more). 

The businesses that are quickly growing from $0-$100k and beyond are the ones that understand when to press on the gas and when to shift gears, pop the clutch, and accelerate. Running your car in 1st gear at 100mph on the highway will almost always burn out the engine or burn you out in the process. The same is true of your business. And it is important to note that not everyone wants to be in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear and that is fine. A retiring technician might choose to stay in 2nd gear and take the scenic route along the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the interstate. That is fine and good if that is their goal. It is all in what you want. However, for some people in high cost of living areas they need to make a minimum of $175k a year to survive with $5,000 a month rent and for them they need to know how to clear the first $100k stage change as quickly as possible if they are going to survive and sustain working in this industry because the landlord and student loan companies don't care about your craft if your craft can't pay you enough to survive. 

During the last 24 months so many part time piano technicians working in the shadows of isolation have vanished. Many of them chose to retire and that is in addition to the ones we know about in the PTG who have retired as well. This is causing a significant supply and demand problem in our industry. 100% of the time when demand is greater than supply the prices consumers are willing to pay increases until they rise high enough to attract new suppliers incentivizing them to overcome the barriers to entry which require learning the craft at a decently high level. Then eventually the market gets saturated and prices fall until supply equals demand. This is basic economics and nobody gets a pass on math. So how many piano technicians are needed today? The market will determine this. All I can say is that I see demand exceeding supply in so many corners of the world it isn't funny. This is a problem for all the trades, not just piano techs. Just try to hire a welder or a plumber these days. We need people willing to do high level work and they need to know there is an opportunity to make a living. If the PTG isn't helping guide people into this trade then we are missing a giant opportunity to be relevant to all the Millennial and GenZ kids out there today who are looking for a job that suites their gifting, passions, and desires. Uber'ing and Door Dash isn't a career path it is a temporary side hustle. Registered Piano Technician is. Piano Technology is. We have a viable industry and a viable opportunity for anyone willing to set their internal bar high. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

John Parham and Norman, those are great questions! Here is my view of this:  

Craft vs. Profit

Do you need air, water, or food to live? Craft and profits should not be at mutually exclusive. In my opinion it is a false choice to suggest that in order to care about one's craft you must forgo profit.  The simple answer is "You don't have to choose between one or the other, choosing to have both is better. In my career as a piano technician I chose to be both and being profitable sustained my craft, fed my family, and allowed me to pursue my craft at even higher levels. It allowed me to travel for training, it allowed me to invest in myself, buy better tools that made me more efficient, and it allowed me to hire office staff who freed up my time to service more pianos without killing myself, and eventually it allowed me to invest in others through mentoring, training, and giving them opportunities to work in this trade." Profit is the monetary byproduct of a craftsperson who chooses to set their internal bar high and value their time. And we need people in this trade who choose to push themselves to the highest possible standard AND who choose to be profitable. You need both to sustain your craft. If you don't show people they can make a living and feed their family they will never come. Which is the crux of Norman's question, where did we get our data for this video? The answer: we used the best data we had available. Much of it was first hand and second hand knowledge that I have seen through 1-1 business coaching of piano technicians over the past 10 years. And I have done a lot of 1-1 coaching with piano techs all over the world. Through my work at Gazelle we now support piano technicians and piano service businesses in +36 countries and we have helped thousands of piano techs around the globe save time and grow their business.  This isn't a plug for Gazelle because you can take anything I say here and improve your business using a spreadsheet and Google calendar if you want, but Gazelle just happens be the platform that gave me a chance to see way beyond the walls of my personal experience as piano technician. If there is a way to succeed and/or fail in running a piano service business, I have probably seen it first hand and personally tried/failed/succeeded in similar ways along my own journey in this trade. I will stand behind every number I put in that video because I have seen it first hand.  

What is possible for a solo piano technician at the top of their craft? 

I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on craftsmanship and providing out of this world quality while individually generating $200k-$300k in annual revenue doing med-high volume without killing themselves (I have also seen folks killing themselves doing crazy high volume at a lower price points but they usually burn out after a few years). I have seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson while generating $100k-$200k in annual revenue, I have also seen really great piano technicians who are focused on being a great craftsperson generating less than $100k in annual revenue. The amount of revenue doesn't matter as much as knowing it is possible and knowing how to do it while sustaining quality in your craft without killing one's self in the process. And yes, I am saying it is possible to generate $25k per month / $5k per week as a solo piano technician without killing yourself. The people I know who are doing this much revenue are usually at the top of their game in both metro (and/or rural communities), they are usually in very high demand, they are usually the most or second most expensive in their market, and without exception everyone I personally know generating more than $200k in top line revenue is a great piano technician by every metric, they are highly dedicated to craftsmanship, they are highly respected in their city, and they are usually very profitable. So while I understand the sentiment I also don't agree with the premise that it isn't possible and I don't think we need to downplay what is possible; and when Wim said "I think $80,000 is a reasonable standard.." I agree, it is very attainable, but it shouldn't be the standard and it is disingenuous for me to agree entirely with this statement because I have seen enough people hit much higher numbers and I know what it is going to take for anyone to be that person in their city if they want it and it is possible. I actually believe that we will attract better candidates, engineers, musicians, and people from all walks of life if they know what is possible. Many of the great piano technicians of the future are currently stuck in a dead end salary/job at XYZ corporation where they feel stuck and under appreciated. When I said in the video that young piano techs can make $30k-$50k within a year or two; I would not have said that if I didn't know it was possible and believe it to be something others can replicate. They can do this if they want it bad enough and dedicate themselves to this craft, and like Benjamin Sanchez said, if they are motivated and they are dedicated to growing their skills, it is very attainable. But not if they don't want it and if they are not confident in their skills. Both go hand in hand. Is it hard work? You betchya! But so is working in a corporate job where you feel devalued by your leadership every day. If you love what you do you will never 'go to work' a day in your life. Do you need a mentor or a guide, yup! Especially if you want to do it faster rather than slower. Do you need to be in a huge metro market, possibly but this is not exclusively true according to my first hand knowledge. 

Should every piano tech aspire to make more than $100k or attempt $300K?

No. Every business regardless of industry, size, or type is going to plateau around their first $100k in annual revenue, this will happen again at $300k, and again at $1million, and again at $3 million... these natural plateaus are called 'Stage Changes' and they keep happening every time you triple revenue. This data comes from Clate Mask from Infusionsoft who studied tens of thousands of businesses of all different sizes; but I have personally seen his findings to be true time and again in nearly every business I have worked with in our industry. So it applies to piano techs as well. Here is the takeaway:

$0-$100k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you are a piano technician your first $100k will be the hardest but every dollar you earn after about $75k gets harder and harder until you pass $100k where every dollar is even more painful because you are exceeding the limits of what your people, products, and processes can sustain. If you push harder at this point in time it will be like going 100mph on the interstate in 1st gear. You are going to burn out your engine or burn yourself out if you don't shift gears. This is also where many people who don't know what to do (or who don't know their business is like driving a stick shift) choose to stop and many will rightly conclude they can't attain more without killing themself in the process. However, if you pause at the $100k stage change plateau and spend about 18 months to refine and change your people, product, and process; you will shift gears and easily grow to $150k, $200k, and then $250k where you will find again that generating and sustaining new revenue growth beyond this point starts getting more and more difficult. And you will feel your personal RPMs ramping into the red zone. 

$300k Stage Change For Piano Technicians

If you clear the $100k stage change challenges you will find growth to $300k easier because you are in the right gear, your systems are better, you probably added some skills as a tech AND as a business owner, you got more organized (which is a system change), you might have hired an accountant (a people change), paid someone to redo your website (Both a people change and a sales process improvement), and by changing all three parts of your business (people, product, processes) you are now poised to more easily grow without killing yourself until you reach the $300k stage change where every new dollar starts becoming so painful (even worse than before) that you need to stop and change your people, product, and processes again if you want to grow more.

Usually somewhere between $100k and $300k if a technician has tons of excess demand for their services they will also start valuing their time differently and charging a premium, which makes it even easier to get to $300k. While it is technically possible for a solo piano technician to get to this point with nothing more than an office assistant, a healthy pricing strategy, a commitment to being profitable, a commitment to taking vacations, a commitment to doing high level work and being the best in their craft; I have personally never seen someone sustain annual revenue above $300k without growing a team (which is a necessary people change for a business at this $300k stage change if they want to grow more). 

The businesses that are quickly growing from $0-$100k and beyond are the ones that understand when to press on the gas and when to shift gears, pop the clutch, and accelerate. Running your car in 1st gear at 100mph on the highway will almost always burn out the engine or burn you out in the process. The same is true of your business. And it is important to note that not everyone wants to be in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear and that is fine. A retiring technician might choose to stay in 2nd gear and take the scenic route along the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the interstate. That is fine and good if that is their goal. It is all in what you want. However, for some people in high cost of living areas they need to make a minimum of $175k a year to survive with $5,000 a month rent and for them they need to know how to clear the first $100k stage change as quickly as possible if they are going to survive and sustain working in this industry because the landlord and student loan companies don't care about your craft if your craft can't pay you enough to survive. 

During the last 24 months so many part time piano technicians working in the shadows of isolation have vanished. Many of them chose to retire and that is in addition to the ones we know about in the PTG who have retired as well. This is causing a significant supply and demand problem in our industry. 100% of the time when demand is greater than supply the prices consumers are willing to pay increases until they rise high enough to attract new suppliers incentivizing them to overcome the barriers to entry which require learning the craft at a decently high level. Then eventually the market gets saturated and prices fall until supply equals demand. This is basic economics and nobody gets a pass on math. So how many piano technicians are needed today? The market will determine this. All I can say is that I see demand exceeding supply in so many corners of the world it isn't funny. This is a problem for all the trades, not just piano techs. Just try to hire a welder or a plumber these days. We need people willing to do high level work and they need to know there is an opportunity to make a living. If the PTG isn't helping guide people into this trade then we are missing a giant opportunity to be relevant to all the Millennial and GenZ kids out there today who are looking for a job that suites their gifting, passions, and desires. Uber'ing and Door Dash isn't a career path it is a temporary side hustle. Registered Piano Technician is. Piano Technology is. We have a viable industry and a viable opportunity for anyone willing to set their internal bar high. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

Norman --

> I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

If all you have to offer is the lowest price than yes, you have a right to be afraid of new techs taking away your business. On the other hand, even if your rates are higher than your "competitors", if you offer skill, experience and a good reputation you have nothing to fear.

Tim and Chris, I thought that for a first time attempt the video came out well. You did a good job. But I would agree with the comments suggesting getting professional assistance for this and the subsequent video topics that you mention. Just like it takes extensive training, experience, and aptitude to do the best piano tech work, the same can be said for other professions such as media production.

I have a question about – hang on! - numbers. You make it clear that "every city needs technicians" and that there is a "shortage of people coming into this trade" and that "you will never be wanting for work." Can you give us the background or data you have for those statements? Otherwise I worry that new piano techs will take business from us existing techs.

Or there is another way to consider the numbers. Yearly acoustic piano sales numbers are continually decreasing and the used piano market is not in great shape; all while the non-acoustic digital piano sales (including the non-silent digital hybrid piano) are enjoying healthy double-digit yearly growth. Maybe most piano techs are already maxed out at 100% busy and new blood is desperately needed in servicing the older pianos, to avoid problems with deaths and retirements among us?

Regards, Norman

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO. 

By that same token, as individuals we need to make money as well. I disagree that it's overemphasizing the money aspect - I think a lot of us tend to get so caught up in the craft that we neglect to learn the business side of the trade. Both are equally important. 

In my opinion, pitching the trade as a hobby (something that's fun and crafty but doesn't allow one to make a living at it) would be a bad move. Pitching it as a legitimate business where one can not only make a living but a good living is absolutely what we should do, IMO.