Laser Machines Usage Ideas?

[Ivan Shuliak]

We've got two Epilog machines. Our business is mostly seasonal (Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas etc) and they are used 24/7 only a few months a year. The rest of the times, just a few hours a day.
I know it sounds a bit silly, but do you have any suggestions what to do with them?
Ideally we'd like to offer cutting/engraving services for companies, not the end customers but where would you start from? What would you do if you had 2 machines turned off most of the time?

[Scott Marquez]

A few things that come to mind, place a post in the classified section of this forum, as there are a lot of woodworkers, some may need laser engraving on their products but don't know where to go. You could also post an ad on Craigslist that you offer laser services for the manufacturing industry.
Be careful of what you wish for, or you may soon find yourself with more work than the time to do it.
Scott

[David Somers]

Ivan,

I may be getting the wrong sense from people's past posts on this, but it sounds like many grow through word of mouth mostly. Perhaps digging for those first few jobs by going around to businesses that might make use of you and talking to their contracting offices. From there Fred tells John what a great job you did, and John tells Mary, etc. And soon you can afford to take a great vacation but are swamped and cant get the time to do it. (OK....maybe a bit exaggerated. But you get the idea)

You might look in your area to see who is in the Chamber of Commerce or other business affiliations. Target them for your first approaches. They are people with connections to other companies so focusing on them might be good.

And having said all that. I am not in this portion of the laser world so I am speaking with a total lack of experience. Just throwing out thoughts. Folks with a clue will probably start speaking up soon!!!! Good luck!

[Mark Sipes]

David has hit the target with his thoughts of hitting the streets in the local area. I do work for several Trophy shops that just want the laser jobs done for them. They provide the art and materials.... They pick-up and deliver.... That saves them labor and machine costs.

Since we don't know where in the world you are located it's hard to give you advice on markets or industries that might need your services........

You don't want to deal with the public, I can respect that, so I am assuming you want a single job that you can just run all day long without major changes......

I live in a community that has several cottage industries and get to work with the manufactures that deal out of their homes/garage. Small jobs but return business based on their sales....

Just need to dip the line into the water and see what happens.... drop you business cards everywhere and see what happens..... you may have to buy a 3rd laser!!


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[Travis Centers]

Contact event planners and offer them deals. Print out something so they know their options on what can be done. I would say the biggest problem is people don't know what can be engraved and costs.

[Kev Williams]

If you're looking to sell your service to other business rather than 'end users', you're pretty much stuck with direct advertising. My experience with this lies in the fact that nearly daily I get phone calls from 'end users' that tell me they googled me, but nearly never does a buyer or an engineer tell me that... They find me thru other other buyers and engineers...

Direct advertising is easy-- Take some photos of your work, write up some brief text detailing your abilities, print it all out on a few pages of glossy photo paper, now you have a simple brochure. Head to the local copy shop and get a dozen or so copies made...

The trick now is, who's your target audience? Find some addresses, and either deliver them in person or mail them 'attn: engineering dept.' With luck you'll get a hit or two. And if your new customers are pleased with your work, work ethic and prices, they'll come back-- and hopefully they'll spread the word.

[Mike Null]

I discontinued all print advertising more than 15 years ago and am happy that I did. I use only my web site.

[Mark Sipes]

Ivan, you need to tell us what you currently laser on........ crystal, acrylic, alum, plastics.........things you don't want to do, paper, leather, stainless..... some process are "dirtier" than other process. Do you have a rotary????? Glassware for..restaurants, civic organizations........ stainless Flasks and cups are easy.

[Ivan Shuliak]

Thank you for all the advices, they sound great!
I'm in the UK, Buckinghamshire. 99% of what we cut is card. 99% of those jobs are unique, and personalised and 100% done to end users.
I wouldn't mind to do projects even for free to start with, because machines are off anyway and the tubes will die in 3-7 years anyway (at least that's what Epilog tech support told me. Doesn't matter if you cut or engrave non-stop or if the machines not used, the tubes will degrade).
During the "calm" periods we mostly work on new product ideas to add to our existing range so machines not in use.
We're a family business so can guarantee excellent customer service.
As Mark said, it would be ideal to get some projects we can do in bulk, but, I think, that's what everyone wants

I don't have rotary because the works we do never required it, but if you've got a high % of your jobs done with Rotary, I don't mind getting it.

[Robert Tepper]

You might try contacting hospitals, nursing homes and health care centers. They are always in need of rubber stamps, name badges, door signs, directional signs etc.

Just a few simple sales calls could bring many leads.

Robert

[Michael Hunter]

Does your local paper have a business section? If so, you can probably get your advertising for free.

Just write them a story - you have been making these nice .....s for some years and are now branching out into making these new ....s - and include a nice photo of you and your products.

You will probably get a quarter or half a page (which would cost £100s as an advert). The papers are really lazy and want to fill their pages as cheaply as possible : by doing their job for them you are almost guaranteed to get published.