Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Customizing as a Business

[Lenny M <lennythetunesmith@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tim, I've been watching with interest your postings on harp-l and have visited your website numerous times.  I'm sorry to hear that the cstm harp biz has been so taxing on you. I have been doing some custom work as well and plan to develop a website and am working on a new comb using polycarbonate. I can understand the frustration of doing what I consider a labor of love and having people feel like you're picking their pocket. It certainly is more than meets the eye to tear a stock harp down, tune and trim the plates and reeds and all the other goodies that go with it.(and hope you don't screw up the materials as well) I'm sure during your early days you probably screwed up a harp or two as part of the learning process, I have!!  I noticed some time back you posted, in detail, how to customize a MB. This was a very unselfish gesture.Perhaps you were becoming overwhelmed and were thinking"hell, why not do it yourself"?to take some of the pressure off. I really enjoy working
 on harps and am in a position, due to my own stupidity, that I can devote a lot of time to working on harps. I'm a truck driver by trade and had a DOT violation which took away my livelyhood. I'm addressing my problem and will soon return to duty but in the mean time am using the harp thing as supplemental income. I hope business picks up for you as you seem like a person who genuinely loves the harmonica and all that relates to it. Sincerely Yours, Lenny M

Tim Moyer <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:  fjm wrote:
> I'd say nice things about Tim Moyer's work but his wait seems 
> to have gotten a lot longer these days. Wonder why that is? 

Overheard at SPAH: "You know the difference between a harmonica 
customizer and a large pizza? A large pizza can feed a family of 
four."

After a busy spring that saw the introduction of two new harmonica 
models, I thought I might actually make this a survivable business. 
But then things dried up over the summer, when harmonica players 
were spending their extra money on $3/gallon gas and tickets to 
Disneyland. My business dropped by 2/3, and I made the hard 
decision to take a day job at 4 times the salary, plus benefits and 
retirement. Sometimes doing something you love means taking care of 
those you love. Maybe I can send my kids to college. At least I 
can take them to the doctor when they need it. 

I entertained the illusion that I was going to be able to work a 
full-time job, take care of the kids after school, play in a band 
AND build harmonicas, but I found it increasingly difficult to make 
myself spend the last two hours of each day after the kids went to 
bed, plus my weekends, building harmonicas for less than minimum 
wage. Somehow, it's more enjoyable to pour a glass of wine and sit 
down and watch Boston Legal with my wife. Go figure. 

I am in the process of trying to complete the orders I have in 
house, many of which are 15 or more weeks old, and in the mean time 
have stopped taking new orders. It was a hard decision, having 
gotten into and out of the harmonica business repeatedly over the 
years, and continually disappointing a following that's tried so 
hard to be loyal through all my flip-flops. 

Who knows what the future holds? Hopefully good things for all of 
us. 

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/




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