Laser engraving

[black2002ls]

Showing mine was delivered yesterday but haven't checked the mail yet. Will do here in a bit.



Just curious but you can do laser engraving on some Magpul PMAGS?

I can. I'll have to dig out the pmag I tested a few months ago. Anything in particular you are looking for?

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[Jose]

I can. I'll have to dig out the pmag I tested a few months ago. Anything in particular you are looking for?

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Not sure yet. Something Texas themed with maybe a small personalization if possible, like my initials and a number.

[dblack1]

I'll take a Arkansas and a Tennessee if you want to.

[black2002ls]

I'll take a Arkansas and a Tennessee if you want to.

I'll have to see if I can find a file for those. I did not create the file for Texas, it was a download from Etsy

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[black2002ls]

I haven't updated this in quite some time. Hats, hats, and more hats. Custom hats have made up the majority of our business this year. A VERY large percentage has been Trump hats.

Though, our other products are picking up. Our primary Etsy store is gaining some traction and oure recipe and epoxy inlay cutting boards are becoming mor popular. I also sell 5-10 of the hobby paint racks I designed, every week.



















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[black2002ls]

More stuff from boredom.







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[4EyedTurd]

Did I miss the Etsy store link?

[black2002ls]

I've got two.

https://Www.Etsy.com/shop/canyonridgedesign

https://Www.Etsy.com/shop/trumpyeah

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[black2002ls]

So, this little venture started a little over a year ago. A small laser, planning to make custom cutting boards, and make enough money so that my wife could quit her day job. Our first holiday season went well, a proof of concept if you will. January rolled around and I started looking for revenue streams to sustain the business. In early February I stumbled on the gold mine that turned out to be Trump hats, pre Covid. I sold the first run of them in February, then everything shut down and sales went to zero. About the end of March, they normalized to 1/2 of what we did in February and that sustained almost until the election. When I started getting flooded with orders, I jokingly told my wife that I wanted to do 8333 hats before the end of the year. At wholesale price, that would put us at $100k for the year. A damn home run for a business that is less than a year old.

I knew that the cash cow that was Trump hats was going to come to an end, or at least decrease significantly, at or just after the election, so I kept trying to develop new hat designs, products, and build a customer base for other items. I was relatively unsuccessful in that because I stayed so busy with the Trump hats, I didn’t have time on the machines to dedicate to other stuff.As we reached the half way point of the year, things were looking good revenue wise though it seemed apparent that we would not hit $100k, we would have a strong year, but wouldn’t quite get there.

As the election neared, our Etsy store that we use for our wood based products and tumblers started to pick up. It got to the point I was making 2-3 cutting boards a week, which I took as a good sign for the upcoming holiday season. With us moving and a limited number of Christmas markets available, we decided to not attend any and rely on what we could sell on Etsy and Facebook to keep some momentum into 2021.

About 2 weeks before the election I pulled our estimated revenue for the year and was pleasantly surprised at the total, and it looked as though we had a chance to reach that $100k. However, things had slowed considerably at that point and it was not a sure bet.

Today, I closed several deals for bulk tumblers for some local businesses as well as an order for one of my regular wholesale accounts and did a check on our revenue.

We did it. My goal made in jest became a reality. Just over 1 year from starting this little laser business/venture, we surpassed $100k in gross revenue and we still have a month and a half left in the year. Though, in reality, I have less than a month of laser time available. We should be moving into our new home by 12/14, which means the lasers will most likely get shut down for the year somewhere around 12/10.

I do not expect 2021 to be as successful as 2020 was, as the Trump hats made up more than 60% of gross revenue for the year. We have started to build a decent following for our Etsy store which has helped generate a fairly steady revenue stream with cutting boards. Hopefully as I get some free time that is not filled with packing our house or filling orders, I can broaden our available products and designs revolving around cutting boards and help set a strong foothold in that segment.

Anyway, not a barg, I just wanted to share the journey.

[Craizie]

So, this little venture started a little over a year ago. A small laser, planning to make custom cutting boards, and make enough money so that my wife could quit her day job. Our first holiday season went well, a proof of concept if you will. January rolled around and I started looking for revenue streams to sustain the business. In early February I stumbled on the gold mine that turned out to be Trump hats, pre Covid. I sold the first run of them in February, then everything shut down and sales went to zero. About the end of March, they normalized to 1/2 of what we did in February and that sustained almost until the election. When I started getting flooded with orders, I jokingly told my wife that I wanted to do 8333 hats before the end of the year. At wholesale price, that would put us at $100k for the year. A damn home run for a business that is less than a year old.

I knew that the cash cow that was Trump hats was going to come to an end, or at least decrease significantly, at or just after the election, so I kept trying to develop new hat designs, products, and build a customer base for other items. I was relatively unsuccessful in that because I stayed so busy with the Trump hats, I didn’t have time on the machines to dedicate to other stuff.As we reached the half way point of the year, things were looking good revenue wise though it seemed apparent that we would not hit $100k, we would have a strong year, but wouldn’t quite get there.

As the election neared, our Etsy store that we use for our wood based products and tumblers started to pick up. It got to the point I was making 2-3 cutting boards a week, which I took as a good sign for the upcoming holiday season. With us moving and a limited number of Christmas markets available, we decided to not attend any and rely on what we could sell on Etsy and Facebook to keep some momentum into 2021.

About 2 weeks before the election I pulled our estimated revenue for the year and was pleasantly surprised at the total, and it looked as though we had a chance to reach that $100k. However, things had slowed considerably at that point and it was not a sure bet.

Today, I closed several deals for bulk tumblers for some local businesses as well as an order for one of my regular wholesale accounts and did a check on our revenue.

We did it. My goal made in jest became a reality. Just over 1 year from starting this little laser business/venture, we surpassed $100k in gross revenue and we still have a month and a half left in the year. Though, in reality, I have less than a month of laser time available. We should be moving into our new home by 12/14, which means the lasers will most likely get shut down for the year somewhere around 12/10.

I do not expect 2021 to be as successful as 2020 was, as the Trump hats made up more than 60% of gross revenue for the year. We have started to build a decent following for our Etsy store which has helped generate a fairly steady revenue stream with cutting boards. Hopefully as I get some free time that is not filled with packing our house or filling orders, I can broaden our available products and designs revolving around cutting boards and help set a strong foothold in that segment.

Anyway, not a barg, I just wanted to share the journey.

That's pretty bad ass, man. What kind of profit are you looking at, if you don't mind me asking?

[black2002ls]

This year is skewed, as we have added a lot of equipment. 3 new computers, the second laser, sublimation printer, 2 heat presses, new tools, and more.

Our margins are typically 50% or more, even on the stuff I wholesale. The down side, which I have to keep in mind when I look at P&L statements that show SIGNIFICANTLY less than what a business with those margins should, is that we are inventory heavy, especially this time of year. I bet I have $10k in inventory sitting around.

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[fordracing19]

That's great. Congratulations.

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[Rick Modena]

Good for you, man. Nothing wrong with a little side hustle.
My daughter has a similar little business and its taking off. She was also on a local news morning show showing her products. She's a VP in her company so she's doing alright, but she got that artist bug and likes doing these types of things.

[black2002ls]

Good for you, man. Nothing wrong with a little side hustle.

My daughter has a similar little business and its taking off. She was also on a local news morning show showing her products. She's a VP in her company so she's doing alright, but she got that artist bug and likes doing these types of things.

This sectorisexpanding quickly :/ I've come across 4 people with hobby lasers and a business within 30 miles of us. All started in the last 6-8 months.

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[garycrist]

Mine the miner not the gold. Or, sell the gold pans
and shovels to them.

Sell your biz to the new people! You have an established
business so, sell it and offer your expertise for a mgmt. fee too.