[TowerTalk] Cheap Hams

[Jim Brown]

On Sat,3/25/2017 12:14 PM, Rudy Bakalov via TowerTalk wrote:
> I know how to run a business, albeit in professional services.  $2.7M YTD, $750 in unearned revenue, and a pipeline of $4M. But my professional experience is irrelevant here, what's relevant is my experience as a consumer.

The problem, Rudy, is one of scale. The ham biz is less than a pimple on 
the butt of a flea as compared to niche consumer markets. The programmer 
who lit up your email with those incentives costs money. So do those who 
provide all those other services you suggest. If you've run a biz, you 
must understand overhead. We're talking wages/salary, benefits, a place 
for him/her to work, accounting, taxes, utilities, etc.

Elecraft is a ham company that's really doing it right. Their marketing 
is first rate -- it's run by a couple of hams who at the very beginning 
established an email reflector to keep in touch with their customers. 
The owners monitor that list daily and respond when needed with real 
answers. They use that list to help understand their customers' needs 
and desires. I've been using their gear since 2003, and in that time, 
I've never seen them make a biz decision that wasn't a good one. All of 
their key products have been "right" for the marketplace. None have been 
failures. They get LOTS of input from their customers, with nothing to 
filter it out. Their customers are providing the sort of support to each 
other that you've suggested vendors supply -- Elecraft doesn't have the 
expense of doing that. And they do have great service. Another thing 
they've done right -- there are no dealers in NA, so no markup to a 
third party who ads no value! And if a potential customer wants to see 
one of their products in action, that email reflector will find a ham to 
open his shack to make that happen! To me, their approach is at least as 
good as what you've suggested, and might even be better.
73, Jim K9YC