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Thread: About to do a complete 180 on my life. Can I start by introducing myself?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    Canada
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    About to do a complete 180 on my life. Can I start by introducing myself?

    Hey Creek, i'm Alex! I've been lurking for about a month now and finally figured it was time to become an active member of this forum . I currently work in a very comfortable retail job paying me incredibly for a useless part time gig (33 hours a week). The issue?

    1. I hate my job. I deal with some of the more ignorant people you would ever imagine. Honestly, some would say "scum" is a good word to use. Although i've developed thick skin because of it, and the ability to strike conversations on the fly since I deal with over 300-400+ people a day (trying to stay positive).

    2. Things are getting comfy. I'm in the second half of my 20s and I could feel myself starting to settle. I've been here for 7 years, 4 weeks of paid Vacation, sick days, pension, blah blah bla. At the end of the day I can max out at a pretty 55K salary full time doing a very "easy" job. That might make some people happy, I'm not one of those people. I'm not mentally being stimulated, and I haven't learned anything new from my job in about 5 years.

    3. It's retail! That means working every weekend. Late nights. Christmas Eve. Punching in and out. Crazy customers all day. Timed breaks like a hawk. Anyone in retail knows what I'm talking about. I've had enough.


    So The plan of action?

    My family has a successfully running custom cabinetry company. I never really cared for kitchens or anything like that to be honest, and I still dont. I'm a musician and business person at heart with a love and appreciation for all art. I have a Bcom in Economics. I sell things online via Amazon, social media, and ecommerce stores and deal in that realm of things. A new opportunity opened up within our family business. Essentially, I can pick any machine I like (<$50,000 or so). The catch? My family expect 100% commitment. That means quitting my job, and going full gungho on this. My job is to learn everything I can and be able to do anything.

    With that being said, there are already a few projects that would get me working right off the bat from other current endeavours i'm testing. Whether these become profitable is another story.

    The laser brands it fell down to (to no surprise apparently) was Epilong and Trotec. Me and my family are having our 3rd meeting with our Trotec rep to perhaps settle a deal for a Speedy 400 this upcoming week. The pass through feature is a big deal in our niche which is why it's looking a bit better then the Epilog line. (Would love to hear some other suggestions or feedback if anyone has any!)

    If everything works out, there will another post in a few weeks with some pictures of our barebone (empty unit) set up.

    Well, that pretty much sums up my life at the moment. Feeling so grateful I stumbled across this community! You guys really helped me narrow down my decisions! Thank you all, looking forward to making some friends

    Cheers,

  2. #2
    Welcome to the Creek.
    So money is not a problem so I think Trotec would be the best choice. But the next question is how big and what power do you need. What are you mainly going to do with it. Is cutting the main objective and if so what are you going to cut and how thick is the material. If engraving is your main goal then you really don't need a lot of power, and if its a mix maybe 60 to 80 watts. So now the power and size questions need to be answered for you to make a good decision.
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
    Rabbit RL_XX_6040-60 watt Laser engraving/cutting machine Oh wait its a 3D Printer my bad LOL
    Lasercut 5.3
    CorelDraw X5

    10" Miter Saw with slide
    10" Table Saw
    8" bench mount 5 speed Drill Press
    Dremel, 3x21 Belt Sander


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
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    Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

    Alex, welcome to the forum.
    Sorry, I couldn't resist.
    Last edited by Bruce Page; 07-24-2016 at 6:21 PM.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  4. #4
    Join Date
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    I hate my job that's why they call it work if it was fun it would be called play. I loved my old job so I thought it more like play. The last 2 were work

  5. #5
    "WORK" is a 4 letter word
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
    Rabbit RL_XX_6040-60 watt Laser engraving/cutting machine Oh wait its a 3D Printer my bad LOL
    Lasercut 5.3
    CorelDraw X5

    10" Miter Saw with slide
    10" Table Saw
    8" bench mount 5 speed Drill Press
    Dremel, 3x21 Belt Sander


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    United States
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    Welcome Alex!

    Expect to work double the hours for half the pay the first few years. After that you might make it back to the 55k you're making now at your current job if you work hard. Make sure you can afford to live on $20-$30k for a few years while you work more hours than you ever thought you would.

    The situation you describe of working nights weekends etc during holidays is everyday owning your own business, except it's every week, not just during the holidays. In the end it can be very rewarding working for yourself, but a much longer road than most people expect. Be sure you are ready for it.
    Last edited by Keith Winter; 07-24-2016 at 7:25 PM.
    Trotec Speedy 400 120w, Trotec Speedy 300 80w
    Thunderlaser Mars-130 with EFR 130w tube
    Signature Rotary Engravers (2)
    Epson F6070 Large Format Printer, Geo Knight Air Heat Presses (2)

  7. #7
    We're living the 'american dream', self employed, working from home, make pretty good money...

    We started buying our retirement toys 11 years ago. Got a stockpile of toys many people can't believe. We have everything we could ask for....

    Except TIME....


    Good luck with your new venture!
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Suwanee, GA
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    Welcome to the engraving world! I'll paint a bit brighter picture than Keith, money wise anyway. If you work hard at developing and selling in your niche market, you can make a very nice living with a laser. Don't be surprised to make 3-4 times what you are now. It may take a year or two, but it's very possible - with the right business. You won't do that selling trophies retail, or most anything retail, you'll have to provide service for businesses where you can mark hundreds, or thousands, of parts, not onesie-twosie for a walk-in retail customer. Even though you are brand-new, I'd seriously consider a co2 and a fiber to get your start. Just marking parts for electricians can exceed your current income, and that could be with a fiber alone. Stainless data/outlet covers and conduit tags netted me over $60k last year alone! I could have done that on the Trotec with Cermark, but it took 1/4 the time with the fiber and left the Trotec available for other jobs. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions!

  9. Quote Originally Posted by Keith Winter View Post
    Welcome Alex!

    Expect to work double the hours for half the pay the first few years. After that you might make it back to the 55k you're making now at your current job if you work hard. Make sure you can afford to live on $20-$30k for a few years while you work more hours than you ever thought you would.

    The situation you describe of working nights weekends etc during holidays is everyday owning your own business, except it's every week, not just during the holidays. In the end it can be very rewarding working for yourself, but a much longer road than most people expect. Be sure you are ready for it.
    Keith makes a couple of great points that can't be emphasised enough. It sounds like the OP has enough of a cushion/backstop from the family business to help see him through. Many talk about the "freedom" of owning a business but in many ways one is less free.

    Mr OP, what is it you are going to do with this Trotec?

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Gary makes a good point if you can land a reliable commercial customer that repeats that's great work to have.

    I do disagree about the trophy's though. It can be fairly well paying if you're willing to put in the work. You might only make a few bucks at a time, but you can assemble hundreds of them a day yourself, and with the everybody gets a trophy system we operate off of today, that can easily be hundreds of trophies for each tournament. Getting that contract though might be hard to do because they probably already have a supplier, who you will have to compete with to get the business.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Hair View Post
    Welcome to the engraving world! I'll paint a bit brighter picture than Keith, money wise anyway. If you work hard at developing and selling in your niche market, you can make a very nice living with a laser. Don't be surprised to make 3-4 times what you are now. It may take a year or two, but it's very possible - with the right business. You won't do that selling trophies retail, or most anything retail, you'll have to provide service for businesses where you can mark hundreds, or thousands, of parts, not onesie-twosie for a walk-in retail customer. Even though you are brand-new, I'd seriously consider a co2 and a fiber to get your start. Just marking parts for electricians can exceed your current income, and that could be with a fiber alone. Stainless data/outlet covers and conduit tags netted me over $60k last year alone! I could have done that on the Trotec with Cermark, but it took 1/4 the time with the fiber and left the Trotec available for other jobs. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions!
    Trotec Speedy 400 120w, Trotec Speedy 300 80w
    Thunderlaser Mars-130 with EFR 130w tube
    Signature Rotary Engravers (2)
    Epson F6070 Large Format Printer, Geo Knight Air Heat Presses (2)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Cape Town, South Africa
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    3,922
    I don't think a laser is your best purchase... a 2 1/2 d CnC overhead router is much better for wood than a laser .. especially since you intend to go into kitchen and bespoke cupboards
    Rodney Gold, Toker Bros trophies, Cape Town , South Africa :
    Roland 2300 rotary . 3 x ISEL's ..1m x 500mm CnC .
    Tekcel 1200x2400 router , 900 x 600 60w Shenui laser , 1200 x 800 80w Reci tube Shenhui Laser
    6 x longtai lasers 400x600 60w , 1 x longtai 20w fiber
    2x Gravo manual engravers , Roland 540 large format printer/cutter. CLTT setup
    1600mm hot and cold laminator , 3x Dopag resin dispensers , sandblasting setup, acid etcher

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Rodne Gold View Post
    I don't think a laser is your best purchase... a 2 1/2 d CnC overhead router is much better for wood than a laser .. especially since you intend to go into kitchen and bespoke cupboards
    Yup, thick materials and lasers are a no go. Yes they can cut thick materials (badly) but it takes and age and looks aweful
    You did what !

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bert Kemp View Post
    "WORK" is a 4 letter word

    So is PLAY

  14. Hi Alex,

    I think I understand, you're young, educated, successful in retail, artistic, hate your job. You somewhat are in a position to design your own job. This is excellent. I was never in business with my family, sometimes that works, sometimes not so much.

    I say say the most important thing is to find something you really enjoy. Where being at work is more fun than a 3 day weekend at the lake. I think you will really have fun with a new Trotec laser. It will give your artistic side an outlet. The cool things you can do with it are limited only by your imagination.

    On the laser forums I see so many new people buying in on a shoestring budget. When something goes wrong it puts them under severe financial pressure which they can't overcome. This does not seem to be the situation in your case. I say GET THE LASER and don't look back. After a year you'll want a Cnc router also, lol.

    Im an old guy who's been fortunate to enjoy every job I've ever had. I loved my first job so much I worked 7 days a week for two years, not a single day off, not even holidays until the boss made me take a day off. After 10 years in that job I became my own boss. Now in "semi-retirement" I have combined the things I love into the most unique retail setting you will ever see. Recently I developed an interest in leather, so I set up the most incredible leather workshop, all on display in my store so customers can watch things being made.

    Sorry for for getting a little off track, I wish I was young again, and could know what I know now, lol.

    Bob
    Trotec Speedy 400 100w w/ Rotary attachment
    .................................................. .......................
    For custom framing: Pistorius double miter saw, Bienfang 4468, Inmes IM-5P underpinner, etc.
    For fun: Miller mig welder, Lincoln tig welder, Hypertherm plasma cutter.
    For photography: Phase 1 P65+, Epson 9800, Epson 7900, 3 Shinko dye subs


  15. #15
    I "retired" when I was 60--not exactly my plan but things happen. I had some cash and purchased a ULS laser with the intent of making my living with it. Nearly 20 years later, I've managed to do quite well. About 10 years ago I bought a Trotec, (if you're doing the math, I was 70) one of my better business decisions by the way, and have largely channeled my business to commercial and institutional accounts. I'm home based and messing with retail customers isn't my cup of tea.

    Most of my business is done with machines other than the laser. And, I'm not reluctant to outsource if it makes sense. Over the years my business has evolved as I weeded out some processes that I didn't like or were not productive.

    The people here who are successful will tell you that marketing is more important than any other aspect of the business. BTW, I love what I'm doing, but I've never hated any of my jobs.
    Last edited by Mike Null; 07-25-2016 at 5:45 PM.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

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