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jeannine kas
12-13-2015, 7:18 PM
I am looking to purchase a laser cutter in the next couple of months. At this time I work full time, but would like to eventually go to part time and do laser work for the other time. Is it worth buying a laser cutter to hit the wedding favor and craft market?

I have a demo next week for the Epilog machines (maybe the Zing?). Trotec has demo'd the speedy 300 which I really liked. It's just a large investment I want to be able to know that I will pay off this machine within the first year.

I REALLY want the machine but don't want to lose sleep investing that much money and find i can't make it with home items and personalized gifts. I am hoping to get this moving and then let my husband start the cutting while I work. At this time he is semi-retired he has a laserphobia, but I know he can do it once he watches me use the machine a few times. I currently go to a laser cutter cafe in BC and use the Full Spectrum they have. It's not my ideal machine to purchase, but it does the job. If costs a lot right now to do anything ($1.50/minute to cut) which is why I want to buy my own machine.

Am I over-reacting? Any honest opinion welcome.

Thanks, Jeannine:confused:

Jack Clague
12-13-2015, 7:40 PM
Hi Jeannine,

I am a part time laser business, I would highly recommend doing a business plan up and working out what you could make in a week and sell and then what you would need to sell to make it worth it, compare that to cutting and making the articles at the "workshop" you have access to and base your decision from that

Don't forget to equate in the machines, a Trotec 300 for example will process faster than other machines but if your part time using it then the speed will not effect your overall weekly output

Also do some research on additional costs for running a machine and see if you have both the space and if those costs fit in your plan

Consider a good range of machines before you purchase, if you want to see my experience see here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?234677-Laser-Engraver-Cutter-Questions-and-Decisions

Gary Hair
12-13-2015, 7:46 PM
This is just my opinion, but then again that's what you asked for... You'll never make a living doing wedding favors and crafts - there isn't enough of a market and the market that is there is very price sensitive. You might be able to work 80 hours a week and make the wages of a 40 hour a week job. So you are not really buying a laser, you are buying a job. The real money is in industrial marking - with a bit of marketing and ground-pounding you can eek out a nice living and not put in nearly as many hours as the favors/crafts market. If you want to be sure then keep renting the laser at the cafe and see how much you can bring in with it - I think it will be an eye-opener!

Bill George
12-13-2015, 7:47 PM
Well you can't go wrong with Epilog but is the money coming in going to pay the bills? That is something you will need to answer yourself. Everyone dreams of finding a niche market and setting back and watching the money roll in, but reality soon sinks in. Its better to do your market research before spending $8000 to $20,000. Your big plus is you know how to run a laser, but is the market there? Are you selling what you make now? Good luck. I hope you come up with that $1,000,000 idea!

jeannine kas
12-13-2015, 9:24 PM
Thank you for your opinions and I think it's true, I won't make enuf money to quit my day job for sure. I do need to find that niche market that has enough of a margin to make it worth my while. Gary, thanks for pointing me in a different direction. Industrial marking is something will look in to. Spending $20k for crafts does sound a big crazy. Jack, thank you for the link on your previous post, it was very informative and thorough.

*sigh*, I think you have brought me back to reality and I really appreciate it. I need to look at more than crafts and wedding favors to make my money. I love using the laser cutter and at this time I am making no money on the laser cutter I rent by the minute. I use it for gifts and practise right now.

I needed to hear this before I have buyers remorse and an empty bank account.

Jeannine

Jack Clague
12-13-2015, 9:42 PM
As a part time job and investment maybe consider pushing out your return period to something like 4 or 5 years, if you can live with that then you have room to build upon your investment and business and if you are borrowing for the machine it will also leave more headroom in your financials.

Mike Troncalli
12-13-2015, 9:57 PM
You might want to investigate some of the lower priced Chinese machines. You can get in to a pretty decent machine in the 3K to 6k range.. Also decide how much money you can let go without hurting your finances.. Assume that money as just gone... And as others have said you really do need to create a business plan first.. Determine your market, your product, your time, expenses, cost, etc..

I don't do industrial marking, but I do corporate logo's and yes some wedding stuff.. I'd estimate that my machine netted me 20 - 30K in profits this year. So it can be very worth it if you are willing to put the time and effort in to it.. But remember, you and a million others who have plunked down a few $$ and bought a laser are trying to do the same things.. Search for other engraving companies in your area.. Talk to wedding planners, stop by a few stores... See what your competition is..

Good luck..

Mark Sipes
12-13-2015, 9:57 PM
Jeannine welcome to the forum...not sure where you are located. Your focus on the wedding market is only a small aspect of what you need to look at. Here is a site that gives you a better idea of the products you need to ........start with

http://www.foreverlaseredmemories.com/personalized-wedding-gifts-cat.aspx

toasting glasses, cake cutting sets, groomsmen/ brides gifts...... Church contacts.....Hallmark/party shops.......


Good Luck

Jacob John
12-13-2015, 10:28 PM
I am looking to purchase a laser cutter in the next couple of months. At this time I work full time, but would like to eventually go to part time and do laser work for the other time. Is it worth buying a laser cutter to hit the wedding favor and craft market?

I have a demo next week for the Epilog machines (maybe the Zing?). Trotec has demo'd the speedy 300 which I really liked. It's just a large investment I want to be able to know that I will pay off this machine within the first year.

I REALLY want the machine but don't want to lose sleep investing that much money and find i can't make it with home items and personalized gifts. I am hoping to get this moving and then let my husband start the cutting while I work. At this time he is semi-retired he has a laserphobia, but I know he can do it once he watches me use the machine a few times. I currently go to a laser cutter cafe in BC and use the Full Spectrum they have. It's not my ideal machine to purchase, but it does the job. If costs a lot right now to do anything ($1.50/minute to cut) which is why I want to buy my own machine.

Am I over-reacting? Any honest opinion welcome.

Thanks, Jeannine:confused:


This is coming from a humble and newer small business owner that has recently had to make the same decisions that you're considering. You do not need to be investing in a Trotec Speedy at this point...YET. I've only recently reached the point where I feel comfortable making this type of investment. If you're only doing this part time, look for something like I have. I found a very nice pre-owned laser that has been an absolute workhorse. And up until my business has exploded in the last several weeks, I didn't need a bigger or faster laser. Now once/if you reach the point of needing an upgrade (after your laser pays for itself), by all means look at the Trotec Speedy. I just wouldn't take on that risk in a very new/part time business until it's a proven concept. That's just my humble opinion.

jeannine kas
12-13-2015, 10:38 PM
I have asked Trotec about pre-owned and got no response by email and when i called, he said he didn't get many pre-owned. I use a Chinese laser now at the rental place I go to now, but I still need a bit of assistance, so I will pass on those machines. I live in Vancouver BC and can't seem to find any pre-owned laser cutters. I will probably have to head to Washington state and see what I can find (although the Cdn dollar just sucks right now !). I think besides industrial marking...I think Jacob suggestion of pre-owned is my best option to help me sleep at night. Now I just have to find one !

Also, I used Inkscape for my work, it's time to upgrade to Corel.

Art Mann
12-13-2015, 10:47 PM
I will try to answer your question by asking you a question and then answering that question about myself. Do you have any talent? Not operator skills but real artistic talent. When I bought my CNC router, I thought I could be successful because I am a retired engineer and have an exceptional ability to learn and use complex equipment. I have become skilled at getting my CNC to do what I want it to but that doesn't amount to much - certainly not enough to make a business out of it. I didn't realize it to start with but my wife turned out to be the reason for our small success. She spent a whole career as a visual designer in the printing and advertising industry. She is the one who comes up with the attractive and innovative products. I am just the technician that brings her ideas to life. Anybody can buy an expensive machine and learn how to use it but that doesn't necessarily spell success.

David Somers
12-14-2015, 12:04 AM
Jeannine,

Before you embarked on a craft fair/wedding favor endeavor I would definitely do the rounds of craft fairs this summer in what you consider your traveling area. You can hit craftmasters.com or Festivalnet.com and get listings of craft fair/art shows in your area. For a relatively low annual fee you can get detailed information on each. Spend a season checking out fairs, talking to vendors, looking at what is being sold, what is selling, and what prices are. That can help you determine your possible income from a fair. For wedding stuff, talk to wedding planners and services about what they see in the market. Do your research first.

Do you have experience with programs like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator or other vector art packages? Are you artistic at all? Unless you buy stock patterns to make you will need to create your own items which is time consuming to develop. And you obviously need to know the software.
Do you have experience with lasers at all? Or at least are you comfortable with modest electronics and mechanical repairs of things? If not, stick with a machine that has US support. That could be lower priced Chinese machines that have been modified in the US and are resold by companies like Rabbit Laser USA, Boss Laser, etc. They can give you support by phone and have local parts stocks. You would save money buying direct from China, but you need to have a fair amount of independence to do that. You are largely on your own other than what a site like ours can give you. Machines like Epilog, Universal (ULS) and Trotec are exceptional machines but pretty expensive. They would be at the high end of what you would look at.

Lastly, have you spent lots of time going through this forum? A lot of answers can be found here, as well as questions you may not have thought of asking yet.

Hope that gets you going for the next round of questions!

Dave

jeannine kas
12-14-2015, 12:15 AM
Art, I think you just hit the nail on the head. I am a crafter, not an artist.Anyone can be a crafter, not everyone can be artistic. I wouldn't consider myself artistic I'm afraid. I do have a good imagination though. I really appreciate every one's honest and candid opinions. It's all things that I should be thinking about and haven't. I am having second thoughts, but if I do pursue this, I think I will go with the previous advice of buying a pre-owned unit. I am just not sure now what to do, but that's a good thing !! I was ready to jump into this head first and pull a loan to buy a new laser cutter. And I now think I would have sunk quickly and have been stressed out wondering what the hell I did and why did I do that ! If I didn't work full time, maybe I'd have a different mindset right now. Thank you all !!

Dave Sheldrake
12-14-2015, 12:38 AM
Just to echo what the guys are saying, over here 17 companies started out when I did with lasers and good ideas.....there are 3 of us left. I've seen far more laser operations (even with experienced people running them) go to the wall inside 2 years than I have companies that have built a decent market.

Identify the market you want
Identify if you can enter the market at a decent return on investment
Identify if you can cope with the workload
Identify if you can pay back any finance without hardship
Identify the methodology for feeding the machine (drawings etc)

Being honest buying a speedy 300 ish type machine based on the information you provided would be a quick disaster to be blunt. Only figure on investing what you can comfortably afford to lose ;)

Bert Kemp
12-14-2015, 1:16 AM
You said you where going to pass on a Chinese machine, WHY? I would gather to guess half or more of the people on this forum have Chinese Machines, and are using them for business and making money with them. You can get a decent Chinese machine for a third or less money then a Trotec or Epilog. With that machine you can start your business and see if its going to work and if it does then you can upgrade down the road. But if it doesn't your not stuck with a very expensive machine. Sure you can sell it and get some of your money back but you can also sell your less expensive Chinese machine and get a little back. Kind like buying a Motorcycle when you have never been on one. Get a cheap scooter to see if you can ride and then upgrade to a full size cruiser .

Scott Marquez
12-14-2015, 2:07 AM
I purchased my laser in April of this year, as a supplement to an existing business, designing and sewing custom nylon gear, it is a huge timesaver for cutting complex patterns. The machine is just another tool, the real magic is in the design work and your ability to create unique items. Besides cutting my own fabric, I am also contracting out to others, as I explain to them, the real work is in the design, and once they have the design they can use me or anyone they want to cut their product.
I would suggest building your own library of designs and reach out to others to cut your product and when you build your sales enough, purchase your own machine.
Enjoy, Scott

Ron Sleeman
12-14-2015, 2:11 AM
Hello Jeannine: check your P.M.

Mayo Pardo
12-14-2015, 3:04 AM
I too thought I would try making and selling lasered things at craft shows.
I've probably had a booth at about 6 shows so far - 5 of them small shows at schools and churches, and one large show just last Friday at a park district. There were over 110 vendors of various products at this last one.
Granted, it's not a lot of shows and most were small, so my results may not reflect what other people have experienced.

I have not made any money and have actually lost money if you factor in cost of materials, labor for the time processing and finishing the products, cost of booth space, and the cost of running the laser.

I do have design experience - other products I make with my CNC machine do sell online, so I don't think my design skills are the problem. Consumers are just too bombarded by tons of imported crafts and even though yours will be locally made, the vast majority of people don't seem to care.

How unique will your ideas be? If you are doing what everyone else is doing or trying to do, it's going to be an uphill battle until your sales savvy builds up your business. Are you a good sales person? There are hundreds (if not thousands) of promotional products companies selling items including the laser or dye sub or pad printing or screen printing that you can't purchase blank for the same price. They buy in the thousands of piece quantities and get much better price discounts on the blanks. They have high speed decorating equipment. You can't compete with them if they are already in your area unless you become a promotional products distributor, and then you're just a salesperson - you're not being artistically creative at all.

Can you make it work with one off personalized items like for weddings? Possibly if few or nobody in your area is already doing it. Get some samples made and see what response you get when you try selling your service.
The products are pretty much already defined - it's what you bring to the table that will set you apart from the crowd. Quick service - puts you under deadline pressures. Quality - this is a question of getting the right technique for a given product, in addition to purchasing quality made blank (whatevers) and making sure you spell things correctly and position them attractively on the pieces. Low prices - don't do it. You'll wind up working for nothing and regret it. Dependable service - do what you tell the customer you will do and do it on time or ahead of schedule. If you can't meet a deadline, don't take the job or subcontract it to someone you are sure can deliver ahead of schedule.

Long winded here, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Steven Cox
12-14-2015, 5:41 AM
Hi Jeannine,

Firstly as others have said don't dismiss the idea of a Chinesse Laser, I bought one nearly 6 years ago & never regreted it. I was the first one in Australia to make it mobile by permanently placing it in the back of a light truck (Ford Falcon 1 ton utility with custom built canopy). We towed a caravan behind the vechicle and travelled with the laser for just over 4 years spending 8 months of the year on the road doing weekend fairs, festivals, swap meets and weekend markets and had an apsolute ball. Design wise, I'm a Graphic Artist and have worked in througout the graphics industry in Advertising, Printing & Sign Writing industries. There was a learning curve when I got the laser but I had a head start with CorelDraw, I've been using it since Version 3 so that helped.

When we first went mobile I had grand plans of all the products I was going to sell, but within a few months we realised we had to break that down to less than 20 products & keep them small but have enough variety in the designs to make it seem like we had more than we actually did. The products also had to be quick to set up & engrave on the spot and where it had to be cut, we needed to precut them before an event & ensure we had enough "blanks" for the event. This meant making templates & jigs for every product.

After the first 6 months, we where just breaking even from week to week everybody loved what they saw but sales were very slow. We realised we needed a product that would be our bread & butter then the other stuff that we'd already been doing would be the cream. So we got into Anodised Aluminium Pet Tags...... then we started to make some real quick easy money!. We'd found our "Bread & Butter". We had a ball for 4 years traveling the country side and just over 12 months ago we retired & sold the business. One of the greatest "Toys" I'd ever owned was my Chinese Laser and I didn't think I'd miss it as much as I did. If you look at my profile & search for my previous post you'll see some pics of my old set up & some tips & ideas I've shared here over the past few years.

In our travels we found a delightful country town in another state that we fell in love with, so we sold up everything & moved here to retire. A few weeks ago I joined a local Men's Shed and was real happy to discover that they had a new Chinese 50w Laser amongst all the equipment, whilst a bit lower in capacity than my old machine I'm in my element now teaching the other members how to use it.

My point here is, You need to find a Bread & Butter product that's quick & easy to produce that everybody wants or needs, it needs to be cheap & quick to produce and priced so people say "I've gotta get one of those now" as opposed to "I'd like one of those.... one day". It might be boring but that's what will put food on the table, everything else will be the most enjoyable, satisfying & very profitable to do so it's the Cream.

Regards Steve.

Bob A Miller
12-14-2015, 1:12 PM
Jeannine,

I am am just down the valley from you... Let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Bob

David Somers
12-14-2015, 3:04 PM
Jeannine,

Dont be afraid of a Chinese laser. Just remember the difference between buying direct from China like a Shenhui or a Gweike, and buying a Chinese machine sold and supported from within the US like Boss or Rabbit Laser USA. Rabbit Laser even delivers your product and helps you with the setup and trains you in how to do various maintenance on the machine. These machines cost more than direct from China purchases, but far, far less than the Western made lasers like Epilog and ULS and Trotec. Not saying to buy one necessarily. But don't be afraid of them either.

Keep pondering and researching. And seriously, go talk to folks at fairs. It is often not what people think it is.

And keep asking questions here too.

Dave

Jerome Stanek
12-14-2015, 4:58 PM
Are you planning on taking the laser to those craft fairs is so I don't think I would want to take a $25 to $30 thousand dollar laser bouncing around

Keith Winter
12-14-2015, 8:43 PM
I too thought I would try making and selling lasered things at craft shows.
I've probably had a booth at about 6 shows so far - 5 of them small shows at schools and churches, and one large show just last Friday at a park district. There were over 110 vendors of various products at this last one.
Granted, it's not a lot of shows and most were small, so my results may not reflect what other people have experienced.

I have not made any money and have actually lost money if you factor in cost of materials, labor for the time processing and finishing the products, cost of booth space, and the cost of running the laser.

I do have design experience - other products I make with my CNC machine do sell online, so I don't think my design skills are the problem. Consumers are just too bombarded by tons of imported crafts and even though yours will be locally made, the vast majority of people don't seem to care.

How unique will your ideas be? If you are doing what everyone else is doing or trying to do, it's going to be an uphill battle until your sales savvy builds up your business. Are you a good sales person? There are hundreds (if not thousands) of promotional products companies selling items including the laser or dye sub or pad printing or screen printing that you can't purchase blank for the same price. They buy in the thousands of piece quantities and get much better price discounts on the blanks. They have high speed decorating equipment. You can't compete with them if they are already in your area unless you become a promotional products distributor, and then you're just a salesperson - you're not being artistically creative at all.

Can you make it work with one off personalized items like for weddings? Possibly if few or nobody in your area is already doing it. Get some samples made and see what response you get when you try selling your service.
The products are pretty much already defined - it's what you bring to the table that will set you apart from the crowd. Quick service - puts you under deadline pressures. Quality - this is a question of getting the right technique for a given product, in addition to purchasing quality made blank (whatevers) and making sure you spell things correctly and position them attractively on the pieces. Low prices - don't do it. You'll wind up working for nothing and regret it. Dependable service - do what you tell the customer you will do and do it on time or ahead of schedule. If you can't meet a deadline, don't take the job or subcontract it to someone you are sure can deliver ahead of schedule.

Long winded here, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Sound advice, the wedding crowd are the most demanding of any customer. It's their wedding and it has to be perfect. Definitely price in the extra time, rush, and possible redos.

jeannine kas
12-14-2015, 9:10 PM
Hi David, I have been using a vector program called Inkscape, it works pretty good, but I think Corel is something I will invest in. I have a bit of experience with Full Spectrum, but it's not my favor machine. Whatever I buy, I will need some phone support for a while to get going. Thanks for your input, I think I will go through the forum a bit more and read up. Thanks !



Jeannine,

Before you embarked on a craft fair/wedding favor endeavor I would definitely do the rounds of craft fairs this summer in what you consider your traveling area. You can hit craftmasters.com or Festivalnet.com and get listings of craft fair/art shows in your area. For a relatively low annual fee you can get detailed information on each. Spend a season checking out fairs, talking to vendors, looking at what is being sold, what is selling, and what prices are. That can help you determine your possible income from a fair. For wedding stuff, talk to wedding planners and services about what they see in the market. Do your research first.

Do you have experience with programs like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator or other vector art packages? Are you artistic at all? Unless you buy stock patterns to make you will need to create your own items which is time consuming to develop. And you obviously need to know the software.
Do you have experience with lasers at all? Or at least are you comfortable with modest electronics and mechanical repairs of things? If not, stick with a machine that has US support. That could be lower priced Chinese machines that have been modified in the US and are resold by companies like Rabbit Laser USA, Boss Laser, etc. They can give you support by phone and have local parts stocks. You would save money buying direct from China, but you need to have a fair amount of independence to do that. You are largely on your own other than what a site like ours can give you. Machines like Epilog, Universal (ULS) and Trotec are exceptional machines but pretty expensive. They would be at the high end of what you would look at.

Lastly, have you spent lots of time going through this forum? A lot of answers can be found here, as well as questions you may not have thought of asking yet.

Hope that gets you going for the next round of questions!

Dave

David Somers
12-14-2015, 10:09 PM
Jeannine!

If you are comfortable with Inkscape you might want to continue with it and get really proficient. Although concepts are the same there is a clear learning curve moving to Corel, along with a cost that you dont encounter with Inkscape.

And although you dont see it mentioned here that often, there are a modest number of Inkscape users here who can help you in a pinch. And also very active Inkscape forums elsewhere that can be even more helpful. Also, if you are in a decent size town with a college/university you will likely find Maker shops around. Those are shops where you can rent time on devices like lasers and CNC's and sewing machines and wood working equipment, etc. They are geared to folks who either dont have the room or the $$ to invest in the machines like they would like to play with. Aside from these being a good point of introduction to a laser, they also tend to offer classes in their devices and often use Inkscape for their lasers. The ones here in Seattle seem to have settled on that for what it is worth. You might look around for a shop like this and see what they offer. It might be a good way to dip your toe in the water on using a laser before committing, as well as getting more proficient with Inkscape.

Once advantage to Corel is that a high percentage of laser users seem to use it so you have a large base of support for it that relates directly to its use on a laser. Inkscape would serve you well however and cost you nothing unless you take some classes somewhere.

You probably noticed that not too many here have a high opinion of Full Spectrum. I happened to be in a Rockler Woodworking shop a few months ago and noticed they are now carrying Full Spectrum and I have to admit I cringed. The owner of the shop is a laser user at home and had experience with a full Spectrum and was moaning about this corporate decision.

I know this is a bit of a busy season what with the holidays and all, but there should be a ton of high quality art and craft fairs right about now. At least here in Seattle there are. Then there tends to be another bundle of them in Feb/March in preparation for Spring/Easter/gardening season. Also wedding shows. Go hit em and talk to the vendors and be a fly on the wall.

Dave

Keith Sherwin
12-14-2015, 11:18 PM
Hi Jeannine,
I just purchased a Chinese 80W RECI 6040 unit with rotary & auto focus etc. It was in Richmond today clearing customs, heading toward its home in the South Okanagan. You can get a unit sent by ship to the port of Vancouver for very little freight cost. I can't tell you how well my unit works just yet, but I did get a decent price on it and believe it will be a good unit. This is not my first rodeo, having built at least 5 CNC machines, so I feel fairly confident in my ability to figure it out.

What the folks here have said is all so true. Myself, I am retired and after selling my last 5 x 8 CNC decided I needed some more Magic in my life, but not necessarily more money. However, it would be nice to make a few dollars to pay for consumables so I will be looking for my niche in our area. My being in the heart of wine country should have advantages as far as product sales and good spirits. Anyhow, send me a PM if I can be of any assistance to you. I see there are others in your immediate area that have offered assistance also.
Have a Merry Christmas.

Kev Williams
12-15-2015, 12:59 AM
Finally got around to reading this one...

Echo what Gary said :)

Then I'll add this:

You need to do what my dad did in 1966, which was just go out and buy an engraving machine (laser in your case) just because he wanted one. He had no plans to make anything but a couple of bucks with it here and there. He bought simply because he loved to engrave! With that mind set, there were never any stress issues with whether it made enough money or not. It was a hobby, and it was another monthly payment, which he could afford at the time. He never looked for work, it always found him, via his old Litton co-workers mostly. Simply because they knew he had the machine...

Next year is our 50th anniversary. I started doing this full time in 1975, and it's been 'my baby' since 2007. And after 50 years in this business, just like in the beginning, we have still never had to look for work. Our number in the phone book is the extent of any advertising we ever did.

So my advice is, eliminate the stress of worrying about making money. Just think of it as 'something you owe yourself', like a boat or an RV. If you can afford the payments, buy it! And have fun with it! Get the hang of your new toy, and do a few freebies for your friends, family and co-workers. They'll start talking, and your phone will start ringing... :)

jeannine kas
12-15-2015, 1:39 AM
Thanks Kev ! I love your story ~ ! :)




Finally got around to reading this one...

Echo what Gary said :)

Then I'll add this:

You need to do what my dad did in 1966, which was just go out and buy an engraving machine (laser in your case) just because he wanted one. He had no plans to make anything but a couple of bucks with it here and there. He bought simply because he loved to engrave! With that mind set, there were never any stress issues with whether it made enough money or not. It was a hobby, and it was another monthly payment, which he could afford at the time. He never looked for work, it always found him, via his old Litton co-workers mostly. Simply because they knew he had the machine...

Next year is our 50th anniversary. I started doing this full time in 1975, and it's been 'my baby' since 2007. And after 50 years in this business, just like in the beginning, we have still never had to look for work. Our number in the phone book is the extent of any advertising we ever did.

So my advice is, eliminate the stress of worrying about making money. Just think of it as 'something you owe yourself', like a boat or an RV. If you can afford the payments, buy it! And have fun with it! Get the hang of your new toy, and do a few freebies for your friends, family and co-workers. They'll start talking, and your phone will start ringing... :)