Piano Technicians Masterclasses

Okay! Refreshingly, the PTM Stripe account is showing over $100,000 total revenue since inception! This is an exciting milestone for a business that started with a nervous $5000 investment in a business development course online a couple years ago.

Here are some takeaways:

1. Ups and Downs:
   Interestingly, just a few weeks ago I was again questioning whether to continue with this project. Revenues can be slow at times and haven't quite reached anything significant with MRR. That being said, there are a few monthly subscribers and maybe a potential to move in that direction. Most revenues come from my direct input: primarily marketing emails. It's an amazing skill to be able to turn words in dollars and I'm very grateful that I've found a niche where this particular alchemy can occur. So even though its not passive MRR, it's a plus.

With regards to the Ups and Downs, I can't stress enough the power of just continuing. Not to be contradictory, but I'm also seriously considering taking the skills I've gathered (Marketing, Project Management, Start-Ups) in this project and applying them to a potentially even more lucrative endeavor.

Final lesson. Keep at things and allow them to grow—transform and transition as necessary. But be self-aware of defeatist attitudes and actions. They are never useful.

2. Outsourcing and Spending:
   I'm now investing thousands of dollars per event outsourcing video production. It's a delicate balance between investing money to make money and playing it safe and frugal where necessary. It looks like with this particular event that is upcoming, I'll be able to invest a significant amount in operational expenses AND be able to pocket some profit. I'm becoming increasingly intrigued with the idea of running businesses with enough revenue that outflows can support the purchasing of high-quality outsourced/delegated services.

It's very clear that you only get so much out of producing things at a bootstrapped level with cheap or free resources.

The approach that seems to have worked best so far is to budget only a certain percentage of revenues for operational expenses. 30% is the number I've aimed for. I strayed from this heuristic in recent months due to extenuating circumstances but I'd like to return to it. It seems to offer a good way to balance wanting to invest more with acting responsibly with cash flows. Plus limiting the expense budget to a percentage of sales allows there to be motivation for increasing sales in order to increase expenses for qualities sake, while at the same time leaving increased cash profits to sustain the business owner.

Been at this project for almost 2 years and it's just reached over $95K in revenue so far. I can see the six-figure mark approaching! I've been through a lot up til now, including a recent split with a business partner, but I'm still moving forward with eyes on the future.

How did I get here? Committing to building my marketing skills through practice. A regular marketing email habit has been essential and a wonderful learning opportunity. Persistence and commitment ! They are hackneyed terms but, it's because you can't have built something over time without committing to the long term.

I'll say this though, it's okay to lose enthusiasm. It's okay to feel discouraged. And you don't always have to "push through." Scheduling downtime and rejuvenation have been important to me. Yes, I've probably lost some opportunities but I'm still here and I'm not burnt out.

Working with a partner has been great. It is good to have someone else to talk through ideas with and who shares an enthusiasm for the project. I'm already seeking new partners and the search has been productive. One person has already joined on for a trial period of working together.

You may have heard it before, but knowing your customer well and communicating with them is key. I still have a lot to learn about our audience and I can see that revenues will grow as I find new ways to connect with them and discover their needs.

I used to have ambitions of a larger educational project, even before this one began. It's funny because my attempts at the larger project had much less momentum than this does, and Piano Technicians Masterclasses didn't even really start off because I was trying to create an educational project. Though I'd love a larger scope, my gut is telling me to focus on our current clients. Either it will remain a niche project because of this or it could grow because of this.