Non-craft show products

[Dan Gill]

I'm a long-time Creeker, but just looking into the laser engraving. My wife is recently retired (29 years in middle school :eek: ), and I'm a technical writer for a software company. We're both pretty techie, and I have a background in Corel (many years ago). We want to look into laser engraving as a sideline, but other commitments will make it difficult or impossible to go the craft show route.

What products would you recommend for non-craft-show folks, and how would you look to market those products? We're in the DFW area, so we have a broad business and consumer base to draw on. We're early in the process, not even at the point of deciding which laser we want. I know that the market comes first, not the equipment. And I know that the folks on the Creek are a great source of info.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Dan Gill

[Karin Voorhis]

Depending on what route you want to take you could:

network and do metal marking

online store

Sign making is another area

awards taking personal orders through a lot of networking or publication advertising.

create a one of a kind product and market to stores from you area

The laser is more a marketing game then anything as I see it.

I hope this helps I am such a green newbie and all that I am not the one to give advice really but hey I thought maybe I could help out.

[Leigh Costello]

We have had a bit of success marketing to local clubs and organizations. We do not do trophies, because of the enormous amount of competition in the STL area, but we do take orders for recognition awards such as plaques, commemorative glassware, etc.

If you do decide a laser is for you, check out all of your options and read as much as you can on this forum and others. Knowledge is power, as I am sure you know.

Good luck!

Leigh Costello

Epilog Mini 24 45W

[Gary Hair]

Dan,
Before I bought my laser I spent hours going through several forums, including SMC, and then spent more hours looking over other engravers websites. I have a spiral notebook that I kept notes in and when I saw something I thought sounded like an interesting thing to try and do I would write it down. I ended up with about 6 pages of ideas to start with. Next I looked through the list and tried to figure out who and how to market that particular product or idea. After that I researched where to get the materials for that product/idea. I am still working on the list, it's very much a work in progress, and I add and remove things almost daily.
It did give me a great way to get an idea what projects interested me and how I might sell them.

The best advice I got was to find something you can specialize in, doing it better than anyone else in your area, and promote the &(*)&^ out of it!

It seems most people have trouble with granite and marble in my area and I seemed to pick it up pretty easily. I sell to/through tile and marble stores, flooring stores, decorators, designers, etc. and they bring me a lot of business!

Find a niche and go for it. The advice to avoid trophies is probably good - it's a very price-sensitive, high volume, market. If you want the "usual" product line you can do awards and corporate gifts and not be as much a commodity as trophies are. I carry the "usual" but specialize in the "unusual".

Good luck!

Gary

[Joe Pelonio]

My laser work supplements the sign work, though often is more profitable now. Most of my major laser income comes from wholesale accounts, where I do the work and they re-sell it. Most of that would be considered manufacturing a product, rather than custom engraving of individual items.
Next would be cutting acylic lettering and logos for other signs shops, some of them do their own painting and some have me do it.

I also do a fair amount of engraved signs but you won't make a lot on the onsey-twosey orders. You need to get in with companies with a large number of employees and high turnover, and do their name badges and desk/cubicle name plates. One of mine, for example, orders 10-30 at a time.

Then if there are companies that manufacture electronic devices, they often need propotype parts made. Eventually those parts may be made overseas for a fraction of the cost, but during the design phase they need people like us to cut parts. One I do work for makes cell phones, another does the voice recognition units for car GPS systems. These kinds of customers pay well.