Lasers I Use for My Business:
⇢ Monport Reno 45W PRO Vision CO2 Laser – SAVE 11% with code LASERLADY11
⇢ WeCreat Lumos Portable Laser
⇢ WeCreat Vista FlipLaser

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My very first sale from my laser cut business was to a customer at the restaurant I was working at. Then to a coworker and a lady at a bank. Then, I opened an Etsy shop and I signed up for a convention and before I knew it, I had a thriving laser business!

It’s my goal to teach you everything you need to have a successful laser business, too! If making $10,000 a month is your goal, we are going to have to hit a few milestones along the way! We all start from $0 after all!

So, let’s go over what these milestones look like, and you just might find you are further along in your laser business journey than you thought!

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$100 Per Month: The “Hobbyist” Phase

This is the most exciting phase, in my opinion! It’s a little like dating, but with a new business! You get to test new things out together and see what works!

The goal here is to make your first sales and start understanding your niche or at least picking one and sticking with it!

In this “Hobbyist” Phase, in order to make $100 all you need to do is sell 10-20 low-cost items that are simple and fast to make in your off time. This could be small keychains, engraved coasters, pins, magnets, or even ornaments!

Here are some Actionable Tips to Master this Phase:

• Start Local: Don’t worry about a website yet. Sell to your friends, family, and coworkers first and ask for feedback. Create a simple “catalog”, like a printout, of your 3-5 best designs to show them. If they are small, maybe keep them close for a quick show and tell.

Find a little craft show at a local church or rec center and test out a few products! For my first convention, I shared a corner of a table with a more experienced crafter friend. I actually was selling more than she was, so I didn’t even finish out the weekend because I felt so bad!

• Focus on One Product Type: Ditch trying to make everything and master one or two items. Become “the keychain person” or “the custom magnet person” in your immediate circle. Even years after my crafty neighbors bought their house, he is still making keychains for his realtor.

• Price for Profit: Factor in your material costs, your time and effort, and don’t forget about your growing skills! Sure, that piece of wood you made into a magnet cost all of 25 cents, but your laser was probably hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and there’s the amount of time it took for you to learn how to operate it.

Even reading this video right now counts toward your constant efforts to level up and you should be compensated for that effort through the cost of your amazing products! Being educated in your field always pays off!

The biggest goal for this phase is to prove to yourself that your laser can make you money.

$1,000 per Month: The “Side Hustle” Phase

If you are making $1000 per month with your little laser business, congratulations! You’ve proven your concept to yourself and to the world! Now it’s time to get consistent and find a wider audience.

In this “Side-Hustle” Phase, in order to make $1000 all you need to do is sell 50-100 of those original low-cost items. This is also a great time to start experimenting with higher priced items and adding more selection.

Here are some Actionable Tips to Master this Phase:

• Diversify Your Sales Channels: It’s definitely time to open an Etsy shop, or whichever online sale route you’d like to go. A marketplace, like Etsy, is a great option at this time because they will present your wares to their diverse marketplace of buyers. We’re not quite ready to go nuts with our own marketing just quite yet. You likely are still working full time at this point

Participate in bigger local craft fairs or markets to make in-person sales and keep asking for feedback! Your customers might start supplying you with free inspiration to profit on!

• Become More Efficient: Optimize your workflow. Instead of coming home from work and making one thing, use jigs or templates to quickly position multiple products on your laser bed. Batch similar projects together and get a backstock established.

• Embrace B2B Micro-Gigs: Reach out to local businesses (e.g., realtors, coffee shops, small salons) to offer personalized items in small batches. If not personalized, then consider offering your products wholesale or on consignment. This is a great way to get higher-ticket orders.

Side note: wholesale pricing could be a whole day discussion. Let me tell you, from my experience with wholesaling and having a shop where I was purchasing wholesale, it is not uncommon for a wholesale price to be as high as 75% of your retail price. I see a lot of makers assume wholesale is out of the question because they think they have to charge 30% or 50% and it ruins any chance of profits.

I used to wholesale to a shop in California at 70% my online retail price and they were charging more than my retail price anyway, so they got the profits they wanted and so did I!

$5,000 per Month – The “Full-Time Business” Phase

Making 5 Grand a month is a huge milestone! You are making a full-time income and should be proud of all you’ve achieved! The focus now is on professionalizing and scaling beyond your personal output.

In the “Full-Time Business” Phase, making $5000 likely is coming from multiple sources such as in-person events, online sales and wholesale accounts.

This is a hard one to get to! Let’s go over some of the milestones and if you’re having a hard time getting to this phase, we’ll tackle some troubleshooting while we’re at it!

Here are some Actionable Tips to Master this Phase:

• Systemize Your Operations: Document every step of your process, from design to shipping. Create a system for organizing orders, tracking inventory, and managing customer communications. This is a crucial step to prepare for outsourcing or hiring.

Or, if you’re like me and want to do almost everything yourself, then optimizing is key. I stick to a very strict schedule in order to accomplish everything I need to do so I still have time to manage the rest of the business.

• Outsource the Busywork: Even though I’m still packing my own orders, I’m not doing everything myself! Your time is your most valuable asset. Consider outsourcing tasks that don’t require your specific skills, such as a manager for your social media or someone to handle accounting.

I utilize my teenage son for time consuming tasks like getting my packing supplies ready, making my necklace chains and helping me make and package wholesale orders and FBA (fulfilled by amazon) restock orders.

It can be really hard to let go of control, so start small. Use a niece or nephew, your kids, someone else’s kids, anyone you can to do those tiny time-consuming tasks. Maybe this would be cleaning, taking pictures for listings and social media, or putting products in packaging!

Believe me, once you see there are people out there that you can trust and that are there to help, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier.

• Raise Your Prices: As demand and quality increase, so should your prices. Start charging a premium for your expertise, custom design work, and quick turnaround times.

Seriously! As your business grows, so do your expenses. If you don’t want to be crushed by the weight of your own success, you need to increase the prices of your products. Thinking, “I’ll just try to sell more,” will trap you in more and more work, wasting time and money in the long run. Don’t trap yourself in phase one thinking!

To start, try just adding $1-$5 onto your best products. When you see that they will continue to sell, and the world doesn’t end, you’ll be glad you did!

$10,000 per Month – The “Scaling” Phase

This is where you transition from a “maker” to a “CEO.” Your focus is on building systems that generate revenue with less of your direct, hands-on time.

To get here you need to have this whole “business” thing understood and in order! My very best month ever was in October 2023 and I grossed about $28,000 and netted just over $18,000. I should mention, Halloween is my biggest Holiday.

But, the only way that was even possible was because I was ready for it. The bulk came from online sales from Amazon, then Etsy, then my own website.

I was utilizing the systems I had in place and automated everything I could. I had email blasts scheduled a month in advance. I had stock made and shipped into warehouses as early as possible. I didn’t even schedule any craft shows or conventions because I needed to focus on the moneymakers.

A good business knows when and where all efforts need to be going toward and once you hit this milestone, it’ll come to you pretty easy.

Here are some Actionable Tips to Master this Phase:

• Invest in Better Equipment: If possible, invest in a second machine or a more powerful laser. This increases your production capacity and reduces bottlenecks.

• Automate Everything: Explore automation tools for marketing (e.g., email marketing) and order fulfillment. I’ve mentioned FBA a few times now, if that is something you’d like to know more about, let me know! It’s not for everyone, or every product, but being able to send your merchandise in bulk to Amazon and letting them take care of the shipping, customer service and returns, is a literal business game-changer.

• Build Your Brand Identity: Shift from selling individual products to selling a brand experience. Tell your story, create a cohesive aesthetic, and build a loyal following. This might have even been going on naturally in the background this whole time.

This turns customers into brand advocates and builds long-term, sustainable growth. They say 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers, so nurture the hell out of those customers!

• Launch a Partner Program: Offer partnerships with customers or influencers to promote your products. I’ve done this one before and am going to be bringing it back soon!

Not only is utilizing the hard work of an influencer a total benefit for getting your products in front of the right crowd, but customers can become great marketers, too! When I first had an affiliate program, people were rewarded with 12% of each sale that came from their custom affiliate link.

This creates a tiny army of people taking their own time trying to sell your wares for their profit! The best part is everybody wins! It’s something to seriously consider as your business grows.

If making $10,000 a month seems far off, just know, most businesses don’t start off in this phase, especially handmade ones. I honestly feel like it’s best to start slow and grow together! It’s kind of like doing pushups. Do one every day for a week, then two, then three. Before you know it, 10 years later you’re getting other people to do the pushups for you! You get what I mean…

You know, one of the first “pushups” to master is finding the right price for your products. It’s one of the biggest hurdles of shifting from a weekend crafter to a fully functional business, but it can be easier than you think! When you know how to utilize some psychological pricing techniques I go over in this article,, it could literally double your average sales, so check that out next.

Happy Crafting!

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