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If you are considering starting a laser business, you probably want to know if it will even be worth it? If you are prepared for success, success will be effortless. The future can be pretty unsure, so let me help you out with some tried and true tips for success!

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The Reality of a Laser Business

If you think having the title of Business Owner is just the one, then you are in for a surprise.

A successful business owner, especially in the beginning, needs to master this fun list of job titles:

• Accountant
• Tax Expert
• Marketing Manager
• Web Designer
• Photographer
• Copywriter
• Promoter
• Scheduler
• Social Media Manager
• Designer
• Production Manager
• Creator
• Fire Putter-Outer
• And So Much More!

Sure, you can outsource some of that, but the less debt you start a business off with, the better.

If your business is going to be successful, you need to realistically be able to handle all of this. Imagine your future self…

You have a laser business. You wake up to orders that need to be fulfilled. You get that laser fired on, take a sip of your morning tea and get to work. The orders are done, maybe you need to get a kid from school, great.

Now you need to make new designs for that summer show coming up. Do you have your event license in order? You can do that online after you follow up with the post office on that missing package for that lady who won’t stop emailing you in all CAPS.

If you have time, maybe you can take a few pictures of that new product you perfected last week. People on social media seem excited about it, which reminds you that you haven’t posted on socials for 3 days. and should get on that.

You hear a cha-ching, which means you made another sale to add to your never-ending to-do list for tomorrow.

Your weekends will be filled with selling events and your weekdays will be filled with getting ready for them. There is no clocking out. If you fail, the business fails.

But, what if you don’t fail?

Is the Risk of a Laser Business Worth It?

Lasers are not cheap. Whether you buy a $10,000 beast, or a $200 baby laser, what you put in, you can get out.

I’m going to use a metaphor of my favorite show in the world – Kitchen Nightmares. I’ve brought it up countless times, because I love Gordon Ramsay, and because seeing inside of struggling businesses can teach you lessons before you make a mistake.

There is one trend I see again and again on the show and that is the business owners unwillingness to fix a problem. Is it the bad customer service? The crappy Ingredients? Because they have too much debt? Sometimes.

It usually comes down to the one thing they are trying to make money with. Their food sucks… and thanks to our friend denial, they usually end up blaming their customers, instead of looking within.

Business is business, no matter if it is a craft business or a restaurant. They fail in the same way – If you don’t make money, you fail.

As laser makers, we are in a unique position. We get to produce our products. This is great not only for quality control, but for profit maximization.

For example, some of my more simple jewelry designs cost a couple of bucks to make. That is the acrylic cost, earrings hooks and backings, the packaging, everything. Then, I get to sell them for upwards of 5 or 6 times the cost to make, and that covers my labor and overhead.

When I had a retail nerd store, most of the products I sold were bought at 70% retail, which means if I was selling a $20 figurine, for example, it cost me about $14-15 to buy and was only making $5-6 profit on.

When I sell a pair of earrings that cost me $2 to make for $15, obviously the profit is way more. Say you make whimsical signs with $6 worth of wood and stain then sell it for $35-40! Now we’re cooking!

How to Know if Your Products Will Sell

I’m bet you have heard others talk about successful products in that they should be something that solves a problem. But, that is not necessarily true, sort of.

Let’s use what I have been selling since 2014 as an example – Jewelry. But, not just cute jewelry, I try to make bold, weird and funny jewelry. What problem is that solving? Nobody needs weird earrings. Or do they?

When I market these online, or even at in person shows, my draw is:

1. The Jewelry is Unique
2. If you wear this YOU will become Unique

So, I market these towards bold people who want to stand out.

Who are you planning to market your products to? If you know who you are selling to, you can know what to sell them. Say you want to market toward nurses. Now you can focus on badge tags, travel mugs, and signs with phrases that nurses relate to. Or dog people. Or veterans. You get it!

I’ve gotten so good at making weird jewelry, Temu and Shein have stolen a bunch of my designs. Guess that just means I’ve made it big. Check out my journey with that whole mess HERE.

Testing Success

The best way to see if your product will sell, is if you try to sell it. Friends and family might praise everything you make, but is there a customer base for your products?

Selling online is a beast in itself, so I recommend taking your products to an in person selling event that matches your style of products.

If you sell cutesy funny signs, maybe a craft show or home show. If you have nerdy things, try out a comic con. You’ll find tons of small shows to dip your toes in. There are often these types of shows and holiday markets at high schools, retirement homes, rec centers, etc.

You can get instant feedback from potential buyers and buyers on your products, price points, set up, and all that good stuff.

Another way to glean some insight on whether or not your products will sell is if anyone else is selling items like that? If you can find a thriving online store selling items similar to what you want to sell, then the customers exist.

Once you are established with a customer base, maybe an online following and email list, you can then get feedback about potential design and product ideas.

Until then, it’s just like throwing wet spaghetti and the wall and seeing what sticks.

If you are on the fence about what products to make still, check out this list of 100 Laser Product Ideas! It could the inspiration that jump starts your laser business!

And, if you’d like to see what it’s been like with my laser business for the 10 years, and how much I’ve made, then check THIS OUT.

Happy Crafting!

Sign up for Creative Fabrica’s All Access Free Trial and enjoy 10 free downloads to kickstart your creative projects. Plus they’re having a Subscription Sale, so check it out!

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