Successful or Unsuccessful Engraving Business

[Jesse Anderson]

This morning i decided to post a thread about what people expected when they started a business doing laser engraving. And what the results have been as far as turning it into a good business.

I first got my Epilog almost about a year ago... The first several months i did not make any money.. I spent allot of time learning and doing free engravings for neighbors.. I noticed that it is pretty easy to get a persons attention and interest.. People are quickly drawn to not only the out come of my work, But also the simple concept of watching the machine do the work ""If they want to wait".. I found out it was a good marketing strategy to have it out in the open...

It has been a slow roll for me. I i run the laser strictly out of my home and not my families gift shop. I found it was easier to do work at home rather than have it at the store all day.. Id say in the last 8 months i have probably made about $3,000 with my laser. It takes time to get your name out there and it takes time to build up a good client base. It also takes time's to learn all the ins and outs. All the things that you can sell to potential customers. I am happy with my purchase of a Epilog overall. It is keeping a bit of extra cash in my pocket and on the side is my #1 hobby. Its not hard to find customers but it is hard to find good customers. Its Hard to find Customers willing to pay money for a top quality job.. But very easy to find wholesale customers willing to purchase stuff in bulk.. Doing bulk "Wholesale" projects made me burnt out very quickly.
So far i much prefer the person looking for the individual custom project...

I like to hear from other people and see what there experience has been from the Beginning, Middle and End. You do not have to make it long but i think it would be interesting to hear other people's perspective.

Sorry if this message sounds all ran together it was typed on my cell phone.

Thank you guys..

Sincerely

Jesse M Anderson

[Tim Bateson]

I started Nov 2007 (doesn't seem that long ago). I do Zero advertising/marketing. I have a half a a**ed web site but with very outstanding SOA. That & word of mouth. Oh, and most of my local competitors going belly up. So far this year, I've done 3x more work than the previous 5 years combined.

FYI, I'm still on track with my initial 10 year plan... However... Instead of this business leading to my retirement from my full-time day job, my wife seized on that option. I now work 2 full-time jobs + I'm a Christmas light nut (Christmas show run by 10 computers & FM transmitter), so it's like 3 full-time jobs. I average 5 hours of sleep a night, 7 days a week.

[Bruce Volden]

Jesse
I bought my 1st machine in 1995--not to start a business--but to enhance and personalize some of my woodwork. Somehow word got out I had a laser and I was approached by a local business to engrave some bbq handles and forks and tongs.... Some bbq stuff turned out to be 10's of thousands and led to the purchase of another machine more word getting out more customers more burning more late nights....I had my kids running files while I was at work and when I got home I took over, I even paid them $10/hr! Now days I have very few items being engraved--everybody owns a laser now, at least around Sioux Falls. I have 3 lasers-all paid for themselves in months-that mainly sit idle and I am happy for that in this stage of my life! I think I was the 1st person in SD to own a laser for personal use.

Bruce

[Joe Pelonio]

I started 7 years ago with the laser to compliment my existing sign business. At that time I had to sub out engraving and one customer claimed he would give me plenty of business as he was unhappy with his current guy. I probably paid it off in 6-8 months with him and a couple of other great repeat customers that found me through the website. Since about 2009 I no longer have the sign business, with a good daytime job. I still do laser work on the side, some evenings and weekends for 3 regulars and an occasional new customer, probably averaging about $700/month.

[Jesse Anderson]

Allot of people do not realize that you do not have to run your own business to make money with a laser.. You can also get hired by other companies and get a

My laser is payed in full..... I payed for it all at once assuming that if i let the money sit in the bank i would only spend it on something useless.. For a $20,000 Investment i am pretty happy. It has gave me a sense of identity and opened up allot of doors

I have not had a job in several years. Having a large inheritance and having a partner who is wealthy helps out allot... I consider myself blessed and lucky.
I see allot of 28 year old's my age stuggling to put gas in the car...

Its a slow roll.. Specially for the person that is running it out of his/her home.. Just getting started is tough.... I find comfort in owning a laser...And it seems like a suitable side hobby/career to keep me busy. Other wise i would just sit around acting like i am on vacation every day.." Which gets old fast"".

But its keeping me busy and my mind sharp... And helps me open up allot of doors..

[AL Ursich]

Jesse,

Great Back Story... Lucky in many respects..... In a great place in life being 28....

Saw my first laser at a Wood Show in LA in 1996. Later Sony in San Diego where I worked got one... I was able to see it in action. Moved to Philly to a Service Center in Bristol. 2004 I joined ARA and started taking classes and going to Atlantic City Shows.

I started off with the Brown Plastic Side Lasers in 2007 too as seen in the Laser Cart Thread after I moved home. Traded them for the Summit and Profile. Still have the Profile, it's only 20 watts. Needs a mirror that I have had the part for over 2 years... My business morphed into Sublimation doing mostly Fire Accountability Tags and Signs with my hobby grade CarveWright.


This is my slowest year since 2007... I am using the time to enjoy the great outdoors. Taking back the Fields for walking from the Rattle Snakes by cutting wide paths. Enjoying Life...

I have been Retired Navy for 18 years.... My high business year was a $20K gross.

So I rate my Business as UN..... I have plans and expect it to turn around eventually. I don't loose sleep over it..

AL

[Henri Sallinen]

I myself too opened up my business here in Finland exactly a year a go (31. august) and I own a Epilog laser too. My main products are made out of cardboard and I think the business is just starting to run well. The summer was quite slow and from what I've heard, it was slow for many other businesses too. From the start I had the idea that I would offer custom lasercuttings/engravings to business and nonbusiness customers. This has worked quite well and I've gotten quite a few interesting things to do. The most profitable ones were probably some CE-markings that I've done for a few businesses. The markings were made into stainless steel and the pieces were part of a bigger (quite expensive) machines so I got a good run on them.

I have a shop and a work space, so I'm not doing this from my garage/home/etc. Luckily my rent is cheap. Only problem here in Finland is that laserable materials don't come easily, or if they do, you have to buy a whole lot of it.

All in all I have been really pleased on my decision to start a business that offers laser-services on the side. Just hoping that the word will spread even more since currently I don't pay for advertisements.

I really hope that the future has many good things in store for me! Currently I have to make money to pay for all the loans I've taken and maybe in the future I can buy other cool machines like a Heidelberg letterpress machine!

[Jesse Anderson]

I think its about dedication and word of mouth if you do not plan on advertising. I live near a great tourist location. Sturgis South Dakota and Deadwood. We get about a million people coming through a small area in about 4 months..... In Sturgis about 90% of the average Business's Yearly income is made in August.... I am in a good location as far as tourism.. And even if things do not go well... I will not lose sleep over it. Everything i stay dedicated to usually turns out greater than i expected. I always keep my expectations low, then when something good comes along it does not seem as boring or uneventful.

Rambling on about nothing now..

[Mark Ross]

Our lasers "print" money as we joke. We do so well, I am not allowed to say what exactly we do with them.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Doing bulk "Wholesale" projects made me burnt out very quickly.

That's pretty much all I do these days (although I rarely do any engraving just cutting). Great work and income but I won't be working 20 hour days till I'm 65 that's for sure. I'm doing 7 more years (that'll put me at 55) then I'm done. My entire business model is based round that.(I'm currently sat in a Hotel using their wifi on a delivery, it's 23:07 and I'm 90 miles from home)
I do visitors on odd occasions if possible but the nature of my premises make it awkward to have members of the public walking round.

cheers

Dave

[Bill Cunningham]

Started my business in 1989 with a pantograph, vulcanizer(for rubber stamps), shears, and assorted stuff. The laser was added in 2004, and it hasn't stopped making money since. It's easier to add a laser to a business than to make a business from the laser. I also do no advertising at all. If I were to advertise, I would end up with more work than I can handle, and that can be just as bad as having no work. I'm 66, and the business now just supplements my pension, and I'm, getting very choosey about what jobs I accept. I've taken two separate weeks vacation this year and plan to take one more in Sept. this is the first time I have taken this much time off in 25 years. Now, I've just got a summons for possible jury duty. I would love to do it, but I can't afford to so I will have to beg hardship. A friend of mine was stuck as a juror on a murder case for just short of two years. Luckily he was employed by IBM and they paid him and held his job. He retired at the end anyway..

[Bruce Boone]

My lasers have all pulled their weight. Started with the CO2 and went to the YAG for deep engraving on titanium rings. They have more than paid for themselves. The fiber laser is relatively new, but is doing very well at producing some real niche stuff. If it hasn't paid for itself yet, it will shortly.

[Mark E Wilson]

Jesse - I bought a business that had a laser. Primarily a screen print shop. They had been retail, switched to wholesale, and the laser went largely unused. Once it was paid for I decided I needed to use it. Don't shy away from wholesale jobs. We will charge a customer $25 - $50 to build a jig to produce their wholesale order. I order cases of pub glasses through Dollar Tree, have them shipped to the store for free, register as a business with them and pick the glasses up tax free. I built a jig out of acrylic (all of them are acrylic actually) and can crank out a bunch of glasses at once. Granted my engraving field is limited, but most people seem to like them. We also started doing craft shows, especially at winter time to sell ornaments. Lots of letters and a around here military branches and insignias. We will also have a little info about all the other stuff we do in the both and it has led to a great deal of follow-on business. I would think that your gift store should keep you real busy. Monograms are all the rage, as are big letters to hang up on the wall. We made a big framed initial for my niece's wedding that was actually used as a guest book. Mine has been in the same box it came in for nearly 20 years (3 days away), her's is hanging on a wall in their home. My wife says, "We make Pinterest possible." We stock up on cheap, but nice, maple cutting boards from Ikea, as well as cork trivets, and anything else we think we can personalize. I also cut a lot of letters for sign shops out of acrylic. Sometimes we face a black acrylic with a silver vinyl or something. I use my laser for all kinds of work. Learn to leverage it to make things easier for you.

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[Mark E Wilson]

How do you upload a corel file? I was going to post our Christmas ornament display case and some of the ornament files.

[Mike Null]

Very nice work, Mark.