“By my third year, I was just starting to stand on solid ground,” Hanson says. “I expanded my retail, employed only professional orchestral musicians who understood the instruments, and offered a rental instrument program and in-house teachers. I try my best to generate as much revenue as I can in our small space so that we can make enough to stay in business. The store basically operates on a general 40% profit margin. Some items less, some items more. I determine the price of retail items by an average of local market price, internet price and my cost. The days of making 50-100% profit margins are long-gone. According to our latest profit and loss, 50% of revenue is generated by retail sales, 28% rental income, and 22% in repair income. There was a steady 80% increase for the first 3 years and 30% increase for the past two years.” The store’s rental program is how many are introduced to the business. Essentially anyone can rent an instrument for $10-$20 a month, with no commitment required. Every dollar spent renting an instrument is then credited to the customer’s account, good toward future purchases. “We don’t make a lot of money on the rentals,” Hanson admits. “But we do get a lot of traffic.” The bulk of business is rehairing bows and repairing instruments. An average rehair takes between 30-45 minutes and costs $45-$55 dollars. That’s good money, Hanson admits, but it isn’t something you can do all day. Hanson says rehairing is a trade that needs mas-
tering, and serious players are very particular about who works on their bows. Betse Ellis is a serious player. The touring fiddler was apprehensive about having James rehair her bow. “He was recommended by Mike at Mass Street Music,” Ellis says lightheartedly. “I hadn’t used James before, but I gave him a shot. That was years ago and now I won’t let anyone else touch my bows. The work James does really shows a passion for his craft and a great respect for both the instruments and the artists.” That attention to detail and customer service is the keys to success for Beautiful Music. “The service is the only thing that makes this business unique,” Hanson admits. “The internet will never be able to provide the quality of work and service that we offer. I am careful to not take on so much work that it compromises the service, and to only hire qualified people that meet my high expectations. Since I opened, I have hired two part-time employees that fill a 40-plus hour retail position, and three luthiers that operate on commission. I cannot put a finger on what exactly makes this business work, and there is always room for efficiency, but it works.” ■
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