Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum What are my first steps?

I will be beginning Randy Potter's course very soon and was just thinking about what I should do after I finish studying. How do I go about beginning tuning pianos? Any tips for beginners would be appreciated.

I am somewhat nervous about this because I have a bit of an introverted personality and I am young and female. I worry if potential clients will take me seriously or not(although I know that if I don't take myself seriously no one else will).

Anyways my real question is, after finishing the course(or during the course), who do I contact, what kinds of things should I be preparing etc.?

Will I need a paid domain name or can I use a free website in the beginning?

When should I be joining the Piano Technicians Guild, and what are some of the benefits of being a member?

Are there any free resources you used to learn the business stuff? Any good business books? How do you talk to potential clients on the phone? Where are some common places to advertise?


Thank you for reading.

Join the PTG now. Find a local chapter and start going to meetings.
Get to know the members and see if you can find someone to mentor you - this will help a great deal with your correspondence course.
Check out the PTG web site - there are many resources available.
Plan on going to a conference.
Look up Sierra Software Services, - Tremaine Parsons will get you a domain name and web site for a good price.

Female Peter,

I too am about to start study to become a pianotuner/tech. Just two days ago I posted a topic - asking for advice/commentary on picking a correspondence course. I haven't had any specific comments on the three courses i mentioned in my posting. Randy Potter's was one of them. How did you pick it? What do you know about it beyond what is on its website?

- Jimmy in Colorado

First, don't think you will get special treatment just because you are a chick. Piano tuning has always been a "guy sport", and a girl will be a threat to some.
Having said that, I don't get why more females don't get into the profession. (i.e. small hands and fingers make it easier to do action work). Just dedicate yourself entirely to learning the piano trade.(if that is what you really want to do).

What does Randy Potter say about starting out in business?

The fact you expect us to expect special treatment in your "guy sport" is in fact one of the reasons more women don't tune. Its a job, just like any other.

Its a job, just like any other.
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I call it a craft, not at all like any other - totally unique.
BTW - lots of women in the Guild, some better techs than others, just like the men.

Sam, I applaud you for getting into the piano business. It IS as Gene Nelson said, a business unlike any other. You go into people's homes and you interact with their kids and their pets, and mess around with their "priceless heirloom"(piano) they have in their living room.

All businesses are unlike any other. And there is overlap from one business to another. I see the same plumbers, electricians, and cable guys on a regular basis, because people schedule us all on the same day. I've been in the business for three years, and like every other job, I wake up in the morning and go to work. Its a job I love, for sure, but then again I know people who love corporate accounting. I also know a piano tuner who is an excellent craftsmen and works at Walmart because they don't understand that it is a job. I'd rather treat it as my job than be a starving artist. And to bring it back to the topic, perhaps that is the best advice to give. It is your job. You have to answer the phone, return phone calls, show up on time, keep your appointments. Don't fall into the trap of thinking people will wait on you because you have all this training, because they won't.

SAm, is is a business. And showing up on time will impress the customer more than anything else you can do