Wednesday, January 22
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
2013 First Quarter - Community Banks

INSTRUMENTS TO SUCCESS

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THE INSTRUMENTS TO SUCCESS
| First Quarter 2013 | story by DEREK HELMS | photos by STEVEN HERTZOG |

Violas

I knew it was a special place. It was clear immediately that James knew what he was doing here.”

As James Hanson sits behind the worn workbench in the back of Beautiful Music Violin Shop, it becomes clear that his calling isn’t as a businessman. His old metal desk is covered with the tools of a woodworker. Dowels and blades and chisels are laid across a thin rubber mat. Hanson, with his worn and stained apron, diligently reshairs a violin bow. The work is detailed and Hanson’s thick hands make precise movements, cuts and adjustments.

While he rehairs bows, James Hanson isn’t a businessman. He is an artist.

profileThe success of Beautiful Music Violin Shop, tucked inside the strip mall at 9th and Iowa in central Lawrence, is a testament to two of the oldest pieces of business advice: fill a need and do what you love.

James Hanson, the shop’s owner, loves working on violins, violas, cellos and basses. His quaint shop is bursting with instruments. Nearly all floor and wall space is filled with instruments available for purchase and rent. Speakers play a steady mix of classical, folk and bluegrass music. One corner of the shop has a display of CDs for sale, another boast stacks of sheet music. The smell of aged wood is omnipresent.

While in the shop, James may be at one of three workbenches working on a restoration, rehair or restringing. He could be making phone calls to clients or readying packages for the mail or negotiating supply purchases. He is not, however, resting.

“I am a huge believer in the ‘vibe’ of a music store,” Hanson says. “When someone walks into a music store, the environment has to be inspiring. I have been utilizing 800 square feet of shop space to the fullest. The instant someone enters Beautiful Music Violin Shop, there seems to be a look of amazement and inspiration.”

Violinist, and shop manager, Jill Woodhouse felt at home the first time she walked into the store.

“I started playing violin when I was five,” Woodhouse says. “I grew up in and around shops most of my life. The first time I walked into Beautiful Music I knew it was a special place. It was clear immediately that James knew what he was doing here.”

Hanson didn’t always dream of running a business, but music was his first passion. After high school in Lawrence he played in various bluegrass bands and worked odd jobs, trying to figure out what he wanted to do. Eventually, the lure of the violin drew him in, despite the fact that he’d never played the instrument.

In 1993, Hanson headed north to Minnesota, enrolled in Red Wing Technical College and began their Violin Repair program.

“Something clicked while attending the violin restoration program,” Hanson says. “My instructor said I took to Bow Rehairing like a fish takes to water. At that point I started investing myself completely into restoring all violin family instruments. The fact that I was not a violin player did not discourage me at all. Some of the finest violin technicians who walked the earth had never played a note.”

When Hanson completed the program, he moved back to Lawrence, looking for a way to support himself with his newfound skills. Not surprisingly, there were not a lot of Help Wanted ads for violin repairman.

“The closest thing I could find was to work for Reuter Organ Company,” Hanson says. “But I took it and I worked hard.”

Violas2Not long after beginning at the organ company, Hanson’s networking paid off. An orchestra teacher from the Lawrence school system gave him the chance to prove his work on a school violin. The teacher was so pleased with his work that she began referring everyone he knew to Hanson. Soon Hanson’s small house was filled with violins, violas, cellos and basses.

Hanson’s days were spent at Reuter Organ Company and his nights and weekends were devoted to restoring, fixing and rehair the steady stream of stringed instruments that found their way to his door. By 1999 he had left the organ company and had taken root at the now-defunct Hume Music, handling all of their orchestral instruments.

“The folks at Hume were really great to work with,” Hanson says. “They appreciated music and quality instruments. I learned a lot about customer service working there. That time gave me an opportunity to hone my skills by doing professional, quality work on student instruments as well as developing a loyal clientele and collecting notes on how I could do things differently.”

Hanson was ready to go on his own. With a small inheritance from his grandfather, he took the leap to self-employment and in February 2008 he opened Beautiful Music Violin Shop.

“With enough money for two months rent and deposit, along with tools I had been collecting and a good reputation, I opened my doors,” Hanson recalls. “I didn’t know if it would work out, but I knew that it would always haunt me if I didn’t take the chance.”

For six months, Beautiful Music was a one-man shop with revenue primarily being drawn by repairs and consignment instrument sales. Though Hanson started his business in the midst of the economic downturn, he didn’t take any loans in an attempt to keep overhead as low as possible.

“I had a lot of support from other local music stores and returned the favor any chance I could get, realizing it was best to fulfill a niche and be less of a competitor.” Hanson says. “I always felt that working together and networking with local music stores was going to be advantageous for everyone.”

Hanson works hard keeps his business goals simple: provide an honest, excellent service with good products, hire a trustworthy accountant and pay all your taxes. As is par for the course, Hanson managed to “survive” the first few years of business. By 2011, he seemed to get the hang of it.

“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 you 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 mastered, and serious players are very particular about who works on their bows.

ViolasBetse 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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