Used violins are probably a good choice for novices. They are available in different sizes such as 1/16, 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 4/4 or in full size. Purchasing a used violin is a nice way to save money. By purchasing a used violin you can get the same quality as that of a new violin at half the price. While purchasing a used violin, take someone who knows about violins along with you.

You can purchase a used violin from a violin shop where you can find a wide range of used violins that fits your budget. Local music store or a private individual selling a used violin are other options. There are several websites that offer online purchase of used violins. Amazon.com, eBay.com, musiciansbuyline.com, elderly.com and halfvalue.com are some of the websites where you can find used violins.

The price range of a new violin falls between $200 and $20,000. Compared to new violins, the cost of used violin is much less. The price of a used violin depends on the condition and age of the instrument.

Buying a used violin is an ideal option only if it is purchased with caution. There are so many points to consider while purchasing a used violin. Always make sure that you are purchasing it from a reliable, trustworthy dealer. It is necessary to check the body of the violin for any cracks or imperfection in the carving before making the purchase.

Make sure there is no sign of wear and no pieces are to be replaced. Replacing bridge and strings and making minor adjustments can cost hundreds of dollars. You may have to spend some money on refurbishing used violins; therefore, buy from shops that offer some kind of warranty.

Violins provides detailed information on Violins, Electric Violins, Violin Music, How to Play the Violin and more. Violins is affiliated with Soprano Saxophones.

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number six in a series taken from:

How to Evaluate and Profit from a Business Opportunity - The Entrepreneur’s Guide

It’s important that you understand how the business makes money. You must take that business down to its essence. For example banks make money by loaning it out at higher rates than it pays to get the money. What it pays to investors as interest, to its shareholders as dividends, and what it pays in interest to the other institutions it borrows from are its costs. It has to get the money (Its inventory) it has and has access to out into our hands as loans at rates that produce more income than its costs.

It really is no different than a car dealer. The dealer has inventory — cars, which it doesn’t own until it sells, on which it pays interest (usually to the manufacturer.) If it prices its cars too high and doesn’t sell them quickly the interest on the inventory exceeds the profits on the sales and it winds up in trouble.

If the bank prices its inventory, money to loan — too high, and it doesn’t move out the inventory, its costs (above) exceed the profits on the loans it makes. Remember that the next time you go into a bank to make a loan. The bank needs you!

Every business, at its heart, has a simple plan. Take McDonalds — many think it is in the business of selling franchises. It isn’t, in fact I don’t think you can buy one anymore. Some think that it makes its money by getting a percentage of everything the store sells. It does, but that’s not its real business. McDonalds’ real business is real estate! That’s right it owns all those properties and collects rent and as they go up in value, it will rent them to somebody else who will pay even more rent.

When I was in the business of selling manufactured homes, I made it a point to find out how my competitors made money. Some were interested in high volume and would take small profits or even losses if they thought it would move them into a higher discount bracket. Others were interested in maximizing the profit on each transaction. When my salespeople brought me a deal to consider I wanted to know who else the customer was talking to. If it was a retailer who was focused on volume, one who would take the deal at any price, I negotiated like crazy and then let them have it a price, which would be below my cost (thier’s too- most likely). It was my way of helping them go out of business quicker.

As you evaluate opportunities find out what they do. If they sell primarily to one large customer, that could be trouble. A buyer that takes a large portion of a vendor’s capability can easily maneuver them into a position where they become so important that they dictate the price and terms of what they buy. The auto industry is notorious for loading a parts manufacturer with orders, watching them expand through borrowing money to purchase new equipment and then demanding price cuts, which leave the supplier with virtually no profits.

Does the business you are considering rely too heavily on the skills and talent of one person? If so how will you keep him or her if you buy the business? Does the opportunity’s success come from a legal document, like a patent or a trademark? If so will you have enough money to defend that document if a competitor decides to ignore it and put a similar product or service in the marketplace.

Ever think about what happened to the corner gas station that used to repair cars? As the automobile became high tech, the skills of a repair mechanic were replaced by the read-out on an electronic analyzer. The guy who was willing to stop rebuilding the starter on a workbench to go put gas in your car and see if you needed a new fan belt is gone. The fellow who now owns the shop that has five technicians doesn’t care about trying to sell you thirty bucks worth of gas because he knows that his guys can’t spot a problem before it happens.

Make sure the business you are considering is not passing into history — know how it makes money.

You will find more about this topic in chapter six in my book.

By Art Consoli

www.artconsoli.com

Art Consoli held eight corporate positions with Johnson & Johnson before starting his first business. He went on to build over twenty businesses from patents or ideas or from businesses others couldn’t make successful. These ranged from starting a veterinarian drug company to taking over a steel fabricating company to developing the first manufactured home subdivision to qualify for every private and government assisted mortgage program in Arizona. He also did ten workouts for lenders and owners; the last was a $30 million, 300 employee, precision parts manufacturing plant that made parts for the auto industry. Consoli’s unique background and skills allow him to speak and write about how someone with limited experience can do a self-evaluation which will let him decide which business opportunity is best, how to evaluate opportunities and gain control over the one which offers the greatest potential and then manage that business to success. Readers of his book call and write to tell him how much his book has helped their lives and improved their business.

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There are many excuses for not making your own oboe reeds, but in my opinion, one of the poorest excuses is money.

Let’s face it, playing the oboe is an expensive proposition. If you haven’t realized it already, then let this be your warning. If you don’t want to spend any money at all, then you should probably just pick another instrument.

Apart from getting the oboe itself, there is regular maintenance, and of course buying oboe reeds. Which brings me to the issue of it “costing too much” to make oboe reeds. Learning to make reeds is an investment, and like any investment, you have to put something in to get something out. In this case, that means a bit of money.

But the rewards of making your own oboe reeds go beyond money (even though you will spend less doing so!).

If your true goal is to really improve and take your oboe playing to the next level, then you have to be willing to accept the price tag and just go toward your goals. There is nothing that will improve your tone, music-making and “artistry” like learning to make and play on your own oboe reeds.

You can’t really put a price tag on that, because the skill is simply invaluable.

Of course you’ll have to invest in some basic reedmaking tools, but more importantly you will have to find some way to learn what you are doing.

This knowledge is also priceless because the reedmaking foundation that you lay will help determine your reedmaking success.

You can find a professional teacher to take lessons from, or you can learn the basics from an online or published guide. Buying a few tools and getting a beginning reedmaking education are the two “up front” costs you’ll need to incur to get going on making your own reeds.

You can do all of this for relatively little money, compared to the money you will spend buying store-bought oboe reeds year after year. The education you will get is priceless, because you will determine so much about your own oboe playing.

Don’t let money excuses hold you back from exploring this wonderful part of being an oboe player! In the long run, you’ll actually save money and you will be a better oboe player as well.

After you take the jump to making your own reeds, I guarantee you will not look back and regret it at all. The money, especially, will seem inconsequential when you never have to pick up the phone to order reeds again!

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Oboist and online entrepreneur Maryn Leister helps beginner and professional oboists to be more productive and have more fun on the oboe. She publishes the weekly Oboe:Space newsletter, the Oboe Insider, and gives away more FREE oboe reed tips than she can remember with her Reed Guru service.

Sign-up for the Oboe:Space newsletter and start getting your FREE oboe reed tips now at http://www.oboespace.com

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