have you tried music schools ? i mean the neighborhood places that teach piano and violin etc.
you can ask them to hang a small sign there, it might help to get your name out there.
the nature of sales is that most customers dont finish the buying process, that’s why it’s called a sales funnel, so you must market yourself continously.
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OP doesn’t have social skills according to his other posts elsewhere.
I am aware of that, and sensitive to this.
Starting a business will introduce you to your limitations and fears really quickly. At first, this sucks. But if you resolve to face them, you can improve and make progress.
Improvement doesn’t mean becoming the world’s best salesman, etc., but virtually everyone is capable of more than they believe they are.
The alternative is to guarantee failure by giving up before you even really try.
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If I deal with a master craftsman I’m not looking for someone charming. In fact, the reverse is the case. Lacking social skills would be a plus for me. I’d distrust an expert who could sell himself well.
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Well, it’s a bit like Fyre festival, or a bunch of “Proudly made in the USA with global components”. Basically a lot of hot air but no substance.
Selling effectively doesn’t necessarily require you to be charming. But it does require you to understand your customer and their needs, and communicate persuasively/effectively.
The problem for the OP is that if he doesn’t figure out who is customer is and put himself in a position to connect with them, the customer is never going to find him. To establish himself as a “master craftsman” will require him to put himself out there and take some social risks.
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Well there’s another guitar repair guy in Taipei who gets so much work he essentially announced that he will not accept anymore work. But he appears well connected in the music circle. He will not do anything to help me however, such as introducing me to musicians or people who might need my service. Taiwanese are like this. They see everyone else as an enemy.
But if he’s so busy he can basically turn down work then there has to be a market. But I’m basically a foreigner that don’t look like a foreigner.
Don’t take this the wrong way but you have to help yourself. Nobody else is going to sell your services, at least until you find a way to sell them successfully yourself.
Try to make connections in the music scene. One by one. It’s probably not going to be easy. It’s probably going to be a slog. You will probably hear “no” more times than you ever imagined. And it will be dejecting.
But if you persist, you have a chance. Not a guarantee. But a chance. And that’s more than you’ll have if you don’t put yourself out there and try.
One more thing: don’t focus on the “buts”. Building a business is hard enough without sabotaging your own thoughts. Focus on your advantages, not things you believe are disadvantages. And remember that sometimes, things you think are disadvantages can be turned into advantages.
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Well that is going to be an adventure, but an adventure that will cost major bucks.
I can try going to revolver once a week. Each visit will likely be over 200. I don’t know when the band members show up so all I can do is go blind.
I’d feel better about doing it if I could tell myself why I would spend an extra 1000 a week would be worth it instead of paying rent, buying food, or something.
Plus I hate bars. I don’t feel right there. I feel unwanted there in fact.
I’ve seen some of your past posts related to what you do. I don’t know enough about your market to tell you what your chances are, but it seems to me like you’re a really talented and smart guy with a unique skill set.
I won’t BS you by telling you that the road to some level of success is paved, but I do know from many years in business that you have to put yourself out there and take some risks to have any chance.
The real question is how badly you want it and whether you’re willing to walk away without knowing whether or not you could have made a go of it.
It’s also OK to take a step back and decide that the timing isn’t right. When I was younger, I got screwed over by a business partner after investing all of my savings in the business we had. I had no choice but to take a job that was “below me” so I could rebuild my savings and make another go of it.
What I learned from that is that no matter what you do, keep moving. In reality, opportunity rarely knocks. You have to knock on the door of opportunity.
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I still occasionally have Taiwanese customers come to me and ask me to do engineering work for them but I just tell them ‘no thanks.’ I learned a long time ago that being unwilling to pay fair rates for skilled work is hard-wired into Taiwanese culture.
My wife tells me I need to learn to say ‘no’ with a Chinese yes but I tell her I don’t appreciate it when it’s done to me and don’t intend to start doing it myself.
Well, you can start by skipping video games… It’s a waste of time that you don’t have to spare. You’ve got to hustle if this guitar repair business is your main source of income. And that probably means spending less time on forumosa too…
Curious… how is that done?
So is this why engineers get paid 40,000nt a month?
I mean if employers are not willing to pay more for skilled work in Taiwan then why bother learning skills? I mean retail workers now make about 30,000 a month so what’s the point of going to college? Might as well just go work at 7-11 as soon as they finish their required school. Then why do parents still send their children to cram schools when jobs pay so little regardless of skill?
Maybe this is one reason why I never get Taiwanese customers. They want skilled work at very low cost. So if someone will do wood screw and elmer’s glue repair on an expensive guitar because they will only charge 500nt for the work, the Taiwanese still goes for that. Just like why some Taiwanese would spend 2 hours under the hot sun to line up for free ice creams that is only worth 10nt.
It frustrates me to no end dealing with Taiwanese who makes over 100k a month but still pinches over 50nt.
OP, did you try this?
Music schools and neighborhood places of music schools, where students may hang out.
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I haven’t really tried yet. I couldn’t really find them.
You may find some music schools on Google map.
Fun Jen has a music department. Is it far from your place? Can’t you put an ad of your service on their communication board if they have such thing? And nearby food places etc.
Churches don’t have people who play music?
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Google “吉他維修” and get some results. I know nothing about guitar repair, but is this something you can get out of it?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XNJK4RUHlO9Nunzlu8LspAD6fWzNCm3E/view
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This guy charges more than I do, like probably about 20-50% more on average. Maybe I should revise my price.
I think that shop is in Kaoshung.
You could revise your price, and could give special discount to students or first time customers etc.
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