3D printing is getting more popular. You can still go in on the ground floor and use this lift to get to the top. It is a $14 billion market all over the world that is projected to grow by a factor of four by 2026.
Most new businesses don’t have enough money to buy their own 3D printer, so they use a 3D printing service to make their basic models. Things made with 3D printing are also used to make toys and home art. You can get into a growing area and make a lot of money by starting a 3D printing business from home.
Still, you can’t just make a 3D print of a 3D printing shop and open it. This step-by-step guide is full of ideas and tips that will help you get your business off the ground. You need to know all there is to know about it.
Step 1: Find Out if this is the Right Business for You?
Positives Vs Negatives
| Profitable: 3D printing can cost more than $1,000. Customers from everywhere in the world – You can take orders from anywhere in the world and work from home. Customers who are happy are more likely to buy from you again. | As technology changes, 3D printers are becoming less and less useful very quickly. Expensive – 3D printers are not cheap. |
Industry Trends
- Size and growth in the past: With $6.3 billion in sales, the most in ten years, the US company that makes 3D printers is back on a high growth path. Every year since about 2017, the business has grown by 14%.
- The 3D printing market is projected to grow by 30% every year until 2026, when it will be worth $63 billion.
- The United States has 131 companies that make 3D printers.
- Number of workers: There are 5,000 people in the field.
Cost of Starting 3D Printing Business
Starting a 3D printing business can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $16,000. The machine and the tools for making 3D drawings are the most expensive parts. The most helpful printer, which is also the most expensive, is at the top of the list. Aside from these things, you only need plastic or metal printing supplies and enough space to build a small workshop.
You could also take an online lesson on a site like Udemy for less than $30. Courses can be taken at your own pace, and you can finish them in 4 to 8 hours.
Is 3D Printing Business Profitable?
Depending on how complicated they are, 3D prints can cost anywhere from $30 to $1,000 or more. If you have a lot of experience with models, your plans are likely to be complicated, so an average cost of $500 will be used for these figures. After you subtract the cost of the items, your return rate should be around 80%.
During the best time of your life, you could work from home and sell 5 prints every week, making $130,000 a year. The return would be more than $100,000 if the spread was 80%. Depending on how well-known your name is, you might sell 25 pictures every week. At this point, you would rent a place for your business and hire people, which would cut your lead to 30%. If you made $650,000 a year, you would get close to $200,000.
Entry Barriers
- To start a business, you need money.
- Having to deal with tough competition from online 3D printer businesses.
Step 2: Create a Strategy
Identify a Gap
Find out what services 3D printing companies in your area give, how much their stickers cost, and what they sell the most of. You need to fill a gap in the market. For example, the local market could be hurt by the loss of a business that makes 3D models.
This could bring you customers right away and get people talking about you again.
Solutions
- Things made in 3D that are for sale
- 3D printing service providers
- Making and selling things that are 3D-printed
- Classes on 3D printing
- Taking care of 3D printers and fixing them
Pricing
Prices will change based on how hard the print is to make and what materials are used. When it’s hard to do something, it might cost $1,000 or more. Each product’s price will be set on its own. You should keep an 80% no-holds-barred edge when you work alone from home.
If you know your prices, you can use this tool to figure out your profit (using our profit Number cruncher) and the end price. Remember that the price you use at send-off should be able to change whenever the market says it should.
Target Market
If you make samples most of the time, businesses will buy from you. You can find them online in places like LinkedIn and elsewhere. You could also get suggestions from neighborhood business incubators and independent business development centers.
Location
You might want to save money at first by running your business out of your home. But as your business grows, you might need to rent a place to make things and hire people to do different jobs. Websites like Craigslist, Crexi, and Instant Offices can help you find business space to rent in your area.
If you are looking for a place to do business, you might want to keep these simple ideas in mind:
- The place is in the middle of everything and is easy to get to by public transportation.
- The room is well-ventilated and gets a lot of natural light.
- You can make the lease longer as your business grows.
- It can be used right away and doesn’t need any major changes.
Step 3: Write a Business Plan
Every company need a strategy. This will serve as a manual to help your business through the launch process while keeping you focused on your primary objectives. A business plan also helps potential partners and investors understand your company’s mission and vision:
- Executive Summary: A brief summary of the full business plan that should be produced when the plan is completed.
- Business Overview: A description of the organization, including its vision, mission, ownership, and corporate goals.
- Product and Services: Provide detailed descriptions of your offers.
- Market Analysis: Conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate market trends such as variances in demand and development potential.
- Analyze your top rivals’ strengths and shortcomings, then produce a list of the benefits of your services.
- Sales and marketing: Examine your company’s unique selling propositions (USPs) and build sales, marketing, and promotional plans.
- Management Team: An overview of the management team, including their positions and professional backgrounds, as well as a corporate hierarchy.
- Your company’s operating strategy comprises procurement, office location, critical assets and equipment, and other logistical aspects.
- Financial Plan: Three years of financial planning, including startup expenses, break-even analysis, profit and loss forecasts, cash flow, and balance sheet.
- Appendix: Include any extra financial or business-related documentation.
Step 4: Create a Marketing Plan
People who walk by or find you online will bring you some business, but you should still spend money on marketing! Getting the word out is especially important for new businesses because it will bring in more customers and make the brand known to more people.
Connect your website to your social media accounts once it’s up and running. Social media is a great way to get the word out about your business because you can make interesting posts and sell your goods.
- Facebook is a great paid advertising network that lets you target specific groups, such as guys under 50 in Cleveland.
- Instagram has the same benefits as Facebook, but the people who use it like different things.
- Website: Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your website appear near the top of relevant search results, which is very important for making sales. Make sure that your website’s calls to action work. Change the “Place an order now” buttons’ text, color, size, and position as you go. People may buy a lot more because of this.
- Google and Howl: For businesses that count on local customers to bring in new ones, getting mentioned on Yelp and Google My Business could be important.
- Set up signs in your store and on your website that people will see.
- Flyers should be passed out in your neighborhood and at work.
- Offer your 3D printing services at places that help new businesses get started.
- Help with events. You can pay to be a sponsor at events that the people you want to reach would like.
- Make a movie—make a video about what you’ve done with 3D printing. Using fun could spread like flames!
- Start a blog and keep adding to it. Change up the information you send out and send it through different channels.
- Give people a reason to talk about your business to their friends.
- Paid marketing through online entertainment: Choose sites where your target audience is likely to be and run ads that are geared toward them.
- Pay-per-click advertising: Use Google AdWords to do better in look. Start your research with terms.
- Make a workshop or video lesson to show people online what you know about 3D printing.