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I Started a 3D Printing Business from Home - Here’s My Advice — Transcript

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0:00So, recently I've had a lot of you guys
0:01reaching out to me about how to start
0:03your own 3D printing business out of
0:05your own home. And it's a pretty cool
0:07idea to think that you can make money
0:09just by selling cool 3D printed stuff
0:12like this skull. But it's not as simple
0:15as you think. And there is a heck of a
0:17lot to learn and a lot of mistakes to
0:20make. And over the past few years of
0:22running this business out of my home,
0:24I've made a lot of them. So, in this
0:25video, I'm going to show you everything
0:27that I've learned so far, so you don't
0:29have to make the endless and
0:30time-wasting mistakes that I did. So,
0:32let's get into it. Your business
0:34basically lives or dies by two things.
0:37Your printer and your mindset. So, let's
0:40start with your printer. When I first
0:41started out, I was using reality
0:43printers and I sometimes lost weeks or
0:46months trying to figure out how to fix
0:48them. And because of this, I ended up
0:50nearly giving up entirely because it
0:52just wasn't fun. It was just extremely
0:54frustrating.
0:56Since then, Creality has released much
0:58better printers. But my point is this.
1:00Make sure that you research your very
1:02first printer really, really well.
1:04Because the last thing that you want to
1:06do is buy a whole bunch of them only to
1:08find out that they all really suck. And
1:10how do I know this? Because it happened
1:12to me. And it really sucked. all the
1:14spare parts I bought, all the wasted
1:16prints, the filament, the time, and most
1:18of it just came down to me being too
1:20stingy and not investing enough money
1:22into a decent printer. And by the time I
1:24added up all the repairs, the parts, the
1:26wasted hours, I could have bought a
1:28reliable machine twice over. Now, I'm
1:30not going to tell you which printer to
1:31buy because that has to be your decision
1:34and it will take research. Don't just
1:36watch one video and think, "Okay, that's
1:38great. I'm going to buy it." For me, I
1:39have four Bamboo Lab P1S printers. And
1:42the reason I use them is because they're
1:44just extremely reliable and the print
1:46quality is awesome. But just because
1:48these printers work well for me doesn't
1:50necessarily mean that they'll work well
1:51for you, too. You may have other
1:53printing requirements where a P1S just
1:55won't be sufficient. You may need a
1:57larger build volume, or you may even
1:59need a printer that has a laser cutter
2:01installed. My only two recommendations
2:03for the printer that you get is that it
2:05has an enclosure and that it has a
2:07reliable auto bed leveling system. The
2:10enclosure just has a ton of benefits,
2:12including keeping dust out of critical
2:14components. It helps maintain a stable
2:16temperature within the printer, which
2:18means your prints come out more
2:20consistent. It allows you to print with
2:21harder materials like ABS, and it makes
2:24it easier to filter out harmful VOCC's
2:26that would otherwise end up in your
2:28lungs. A reliable auto bed leveling
2:30system will just make you an overall
2:32happier person because having to
2:34manually level a bed is not only time
2:36consuming, especially if you have
2:38multiple printers, but it can also be a
2:40very frustrating thing to have to do.
2:43So, whatever printer you do end up
2:44getting, just make sure that you use it
2:46as much as possible before you get
2:48another one because if the printer does
2:50suck, then you'll find out pretty
2:52quickly. Oh man. Next is your mindset.
2:56In the beginning, sales are most likely
2:58going to be really slow. And during this
3:01time, you're going to question
3:02everything. Your products, your skills,
3:04and even yourself. And instead of asking
3:07yourself, "What if this never works?"
3:09flip it. Ask yourself, "What if it
3:12does?"
3:13>> If you don't quit, you might make it.
3:16And if you quit, you definitely won't.
3:19So from now on, every morning when you
3:21wake up, I want you to look in the
3:22mirror and say it out loud that you are
3:25awesome and you will be successful. And
3:27the more you say it, the more likely
3:28that it will actually happen. And I know
3:31it sounds a bit silly, but it really
3:33works. When you're selling your 3D
3:35prints online, it's really important to
3:37make the entire process as efficient as
3:40possible because one of the most
3:42important parts of running this business
3:43is making the most out of your time.
3:46Find systems that automate your workflow
3:48as much as possible. So, let's start
3:50with the software. In the early days, I
3:53had to copy paste all of the customers
3:55shipping information from the
3:57marketplace onto the Australia Post
3:59website, and it just took so long. Plus,
4:02because I was entering in all the
4:04shipping information manually, it left
4:05room for human error and resulted in
4:08some parcels going to the wrong people
4:09and places. [screaming]
4:11Now, I use a platform that not only
4:13links all of my marketplaces together
4:15with inventory sync and price
4:17adjustments and everything, but I can
4:20also fulfill orders and print shipping
4:22labels with just a few clicks of a
4:24button. To do this, just get the
4:25cheapest Shopify plan you can. I believe
4:28it's around $5 a month, and this will
4:30give you access to the Lit Commerce app,
4:32which will connect all of your
4:33marketplaces together, and it'll allow
4:35you to automate nearly everything. Now,
4:38the app is a little pricey at $29 a
4:40month, but it does have a free trial, so
4:42you can always just test it out. I have
4:44no affiliation with these guys, but I
4:46can easily say that it is the best app
4:49for this [music] type of thing. And I've
4:50tried a few. I believe Shopify has a
4:52deal on at the moment where you get the
4:54first 3 days for free and the next 3
4:56months for like $3. So, I'll leave a
4:58link below if you're interested and you
5:00can get in before the deal ends. When it
5:02comes to actually shipping stuff, I use
5:04Shipo because it's free for the first 30
5:06labels every month and it connects to
5:08nearly every shipping provider
5:10throughout the world. So, not only does
5:12it allow you to make use of your
5:14shipping provider's volume discounts,
5:16but it also makes printing the labels
5:18much faster and easier. Another awesome
5:20piece of time-saving software is called
5:22Simply Print, and it's completely free
5:24to use with up to two printers. It
5:26allows me to batch print the same thing
5:28on all four machines at exactly the same
5:30time. It keeps track of my filament
5:32inventory down to the gram with the
5:34virtual filament sensor. And it just
5:36makes printing the same thing over and
5:38over and over much easier and more
5:40efficient. So, if you're stuck using a
5:42piece of software that is painfully slow
5:44to use, chances are there's already
5:46something out there that can do the same
5:48thing, but just much faster. Now, let's
5:50move on to the hardware. The goal is
5:53simple. Use tools that do their job
5:55quickly and reliably. A thermal label
5:57printer or even a laser printer saves on
5:59label printing times and ink costs. A
6:02good digital scale prevents postage
6:04mistakes. And a proper packing setup
6:06keeps things moving smoothly. Add in a
6:08filament dryer to prevent misprints. A
6:10few organized shelves to easily keep
6:12track of inventory and filament. And a
6:14clean workstation for printer
6:16maintenance and part assembly. Efficient
6:18hardware isn't just about buying more.
6:20It's about choosing the right tools that
6:22make every step faster and easier. And
6:25speaking of tools, you're going to need
6:26some for the prints themselves.
6:28Something as simple as a blowtorrch or
6:30heat gun can save your prints. Cleaning
6:32up stringing or even fixing blemishes
6:34that would otherwise make them
6:36unsellable or take you a really long
6:38time to remove. Now, over time, you're
6:40going to make your own toolbox of things
6:42that really help you. But I'd [music]
6:43suggest checking out my video where I go
6:45through all the tools that I found most
6:47useful, and then you can see if there
6:48are any tools that you might find
6:50useful, too. Now, let's tackle the most
6:52important question that you're probably
6:54wondering. What do you sell? To begin
6:57with, I would focus your time on Etsy
6:59because it has a lot of features that
7:01make selling, especially for a firsttime
7:03seller, a lot easier. Even small things
7:05like automating your ads and the whole
7:08user interface is a lot easier to use
7:10than most. There are lots of tools that
7:12you can use such as Sales Summarize or
7:14Everbe. And these tools allow you to
7:16search for products that you're
7:17interested in selling. It shows you how
7:19much competition there is, how often
7:20people are searching for this product,
7:22and a whole bunch of really useful
7:24information that you would typically not
7:26have access to. I've made a full video
7:28on Sales Samurai and how powerful it can
7:30be. So, I'll leave a link to that below.
7:32So, once you found a product or a niche
7:34that could be worth your time, it's
7:35always a good idea to really dig into
7:37the reviews because they are packed full
7:39of a lot of really great information.
7:41Are people complaining about sizing,
7:44durability, or delivery? What do people
7:46like about the product? and what don't
7:48they like? And then it's up to you to
7:50figure out where the gap is and try and
7:52fill it. Now, you don't need to reinvent
7:54the wheel. Apple didn't invent the
7:56phone. Dyson didn't invent the vacuum
7:58cleaner. And Yeti didn't invent the
8:00cooler. They simply just made these
8:02things better. And that's what you
8:04should focus on. Finding ways to improve
8:07a design, fix what customers are
8:09complaining about, and make it better.
8:11For example, my blind stoppers stood out
8:13from the rest of the competition because
8:14most sellers only offered one size and
8:17one color. I saw the gap and made three
8:19sizes and three colors. Later, when
8:21people still had issues with sizing, I
8:24took the feedback and completely
8:25redesigned the clip, turning it into a
8:28universal blind stopper that fits every
8:30single type of roller blind, regardless
8:32of the size. This concept already
8:34existed, but I solved the problems that
8:36the existing designs didn't. But I just
8:39want to make this really clear.
8:40Improving on what's already out there is
8:42not the same as just blatantly copying
8:45someone else's work. Copying helps no
8:47one. But innovating, making it better,
8:50easier, more useful. Now, that is how
8:52you build a business. Now, a lot of
8:54people don't have the skills to 3D
8:56model, and that is exactly why you
8:58should. If you really want this to work,
9:00then this is the skill that is going to
9:02separate you from the rest. And just
9:04start simple. Use free programs like
9:06Tinkercad or Blender and just learn the
9:08basics. So set yourself a goal. One
9:10tutorial on 3D modeling or CAD design
9:13every week for the entire year. And by
9:15the end of the year, you'll have a whole
9:17new skill set that most sellers don't
9:19even bother with. But don't go into
9:21trying to design something really
9:22complicated for the first time. Instead,
9:25design something small and easy, for
9:27example, like a drink coaster, and go
9:30through the entire process of designing
9:32the coaster, printing it out, listing
9:34it, and selling it. And even if it
9:36doesn't sell, which many won't,
9:37especially in the beginning, the
9:39experience is worth it. I designed these
9:41bag holders about a year ago, and since
9:43then, I probably only sold about two of
9:45them. So, it's safe to say that this
9:47design was a flop. But the process I
9:49went through trying to figure out how to
9:51make it was rewarding enough. Every
9:53design that you sell gets you one step
9:55closer to that winning product. And if
9:57you want to make this whole process a
9:59little bit easier, you can always use a
10:013D scanner to just scan everyday
10:03household items laying around your home
10:05and then use those scans as building
10:07blocks for your final product, providing
10:09that it doesn't infringe on anyone's
10:11copyright. And don't forget to utilize
10:13the people around you, like your family
10:15and your friends, because they actually
10:17make really good and free focus groups.
10:21>> Very cool.
10:21>> Even my partner, I go and show her
10:23stuff.
10:24>> Dude, how cool is this? And uh if the
10:27general consensus is that it's pretty
10:30cool, then that's a great indication
10:32that I can really dedicate some time to
10:33it. But if most of them say that it
10:35sucks, which sometimes they do, then uh
10:38it's a great indication that I should
10:39just put the idea in the bin.
10:41>> What do you think of this thing?
10:46>> Try to avoid selling 3D prints that take
10:49a lot of time in terms of assembly or
10:51post-processing unless you have the time
10:54to do it. My blind stoppers, as popular
10:56as they are, they take a lot of steps to
10:58finish. And before I went full-time, I'd
11:00sometimes be up until midnight
11:01assembling them all in front of the TV
11:03because I just didn't have enough time
11:05in the day to do it. And that kind of
11:06sucked. If you don't manage your
11:08workload properly, then you'll burn out
11:10and your business won't last that long.
11:12Now, it's important to know that even
11:13with the best product in the world, it's
11:16not going to sell if nobody knows that
11:18it exists. Marketing is half of the
11:21game. listing descriptions, photos,
11:23keywords, SEO, ads. I see so many
11:26sellers with really great products, but
11:28the listing just really sucks. The
11:31photos are out of focus. They're all
11:32dark. There's barely any information on
11:35the listing description. And if these
11:37sellers just dedicated a little bit of
11:39time in terms of learning how to make
11:41the photos better and write a better
11:44description and figuring out what SEO
11:46does and how it can affect your ranking
11:48of your product, then they would most
11:50likely sell a lot more. You can't just
11:53make a product, take a photo of it, list
11:55it with zero experience and absolutely
11:57no clue on what you're doing and expect
11:58it to do well because it most likely
12:00won't. But I'm not saying that you need
12:02to pay for any of these online courses
12:04or even get a coach because you have
12:06YouTube what you're watching right now.
12:08And I've learned most of my stuff on
12:10here and the rest of it has just been
12:12through trial and error. And if you do
12:13end up making mistakes, then don't beat
12:15yourself up too much. Mistakes are good
12:17and that's how you learn. But there's a
12:19key word, learn. If you don't learn from
12:22your mistakes, then you're going to keep
12:23making them over and over and that's not
12:25going to be good. Now, once you've made
12:26your winning product, eventually people
12:28are going to start trying to copy you.
12:30Here is the reality. Unless you're a
12:32global multi-billion dollar company like
12:34Apple, then patents are not really
12:37something that you can afford. For
12:38starters, they're only relevant to the
12:40country that you lodge it in. So, if you
12:42want to get it in every single country
12:43around the world, that's going to be a
12:45lot of patents and that's going to be a
12:46lot of money. So, it's not really
12:48realistic for a small seller to patent
12:50their product. That said, copyright is
12:53automatically applied when you create
12:55something like your STL files or your
12:58photos, but it doesn't protect the idea,
13:00only your specific design. And if you
13:03ever do need to submit a copyright
13:04claim, [music] you will need some
13:06documentation to prove that you are the
13:08original creator. So things like the
13:10original Blender or CAD files that
13:12you're working with, photos of the
13:14physical prototypes that you've made,
13:15and basically anything else that can
13:17prove that you're the one who made it.
13:18And if you really want to have peace of
13:20mind if someone does end up stealing
13:22your design, you can always apply for
13:24design rights through your federal
13:25government. For instance, in Australia,
13:27you can protect your design rights by
13:29lodging an application that costs around
13:31$200, plus an additional $500 for
13:34certification. So, it's not as expensive
13:37as a patent, but again, it's only
13:39enforceable in the country that it's
13:40lodged in. So although some people may
13:43be able to recreate your designs to some
13:45extent, you always need to be one step
13:47ahead of the copycat. Keep improving
13:49your designs. So copycats are always two
13:52steps behind. Just remember, they may
13:54have your design, but they don't have
13:55your mind. Plus, if you built a strong
13:58brand and provide excellent customer
14:00service, then that's pretty hard to
14:01copy. And just touching on the financial
14:03side of things, you're going to need to
14:05do your own tax. And I'm not going to go
14:06on about this too much because even just
14:08saying the word tax gives me a brain
14:10aneurysm. But the last thing you want is
14:12to have this epic year of selling all
14:15this stuff only to realize that the
14:16government comes knocking on your door
14:18saying where's our money? So I would
14:20highly suggest getting an accountant
14:22even if you are under the threshold of
14:24needing to pay tax eventually you will
14:26start to have to pay it. [music] Also
14:28get a separate bank account for your
14:30business because having that isolated
14:32from your own personal banking means you
14:34can keep it a lot more organized and
14:36when it comes to the tax that makes that
14:39process a lot easier. You don't need to
14:40worry about business expenses coming out
14:42of your own personal account. Okay, now
14:44it's time for some final tips. Expand to
14:47other platforms after you've nailed one.
14:49So once you've got Etsy all up and
14:51running, then go over to eBay, then
14:52Amazon, and move over to any other
14:54marketplace that you can to start
14:56selling the thing that you make. And
14:57then once you've expanded, you can use
14:59tools like Shopify and Lit Commerce to
15:01combine them all together and make it uh
15:04a nice little package of happiness. It's
15:06going to make your life a whole lot
15:07easier. Trust me. Don't go all in right
15:09away. Make sure you have a stable job or
15:11steady income before you go full-time.
15:14Because if you buy your first printer
15:16without having any experience on what
15:18you're doing and then quit your job
15:19thinking all the money is going to roll
15:21through the door, it's not going to be a
15:22good time for you. Customers keep you
15:24alive. So treat them like family and do
15:26everything that you can to help them.
15:28That said, don't let them walk all over
15:30you. Make sure that you enforce a clear
15:32returns policy. No refund or replacement
15:35until the item comes back. If it's your
15:37mistake, then you cover return postage.
15:39But if they just want to return it
15:40because either they bought the wrong
15:42size or they're just trying to scam you,
15:44then they have to cover the return
15:46postage. This stops people just
15:47returning things willy-nilly and also
15:50weeds out the scammers. When it comes to
15:51the placement of your printers, you need
15:53to keep your own health at the forefront
15:55of this decision because printers and
15:57certain types of filament can give off
15:59really harmful VOCC's that can cause
16:01serious health problems if you're
16:03exposed to them for a long amount of
16:05time. I only keep one printer in my
16:07office so I can record these YouTube
16:09videos and prototype things much faster.
16:12and the rest of them I keep outside on
16:14my balcony. But I understand that
16:16putting your printers outside on your
16:17balcony may not be possible because you
16:19might not have one. So if you do need to
16:21put your printers in an area that you're
16:24constantly in, that's where having a
16:26printer with an enclosure really comes
16:28in handy. Fortunately, the P1S has a
16:30basic filtration system already built
16:32in. However, I upgraded it with a heper
16:35filter on top of the activated carbon
16:37one. And it's a good idea to get an air
16:39quality monitor just to make sure that
16:41the space that you are printing in isn't
16:43emitting too many fumes. Plus, it can
16:45give you peace of mind that your
16:46filtration system is working properly.
16:48The printers that I have outside on my
16:50balcony are covered by a pretty high
16:52roof that manages to keep most of the
16:54elements of weather off them. But the
16:56two main things I need to worry about is
16:58when it gets too hot and when it gets
16:59too cold. The way that I mitigate this
17:01is by either opening the enclosures all
17:04the way or closing them depending on how
17:06hot or cold it gets. And finally, don't
17:08forget to maintain your printers. Like
17:10any machine, they don't work forever
17:12without human intervention. And
17:14neglecting regular maintenance can
17:16result in a much slower lifespan for
17:17your printer and its components, which
17:19means more time fixing them and less
17:21time printing things. Set a schedule
17:23every month to do general maintenance. I
17:25always have a bottle of isopropyl
17:27alcohol on hand, as it's not only great
17:29for cleaning the bed, but other
17:31components of the printer as well. Get
17:33yourself some Moto Floss for the lead
17:35screws, as this stuff makes cleaning
17:37these screws ridiculously easy, and some
17:40lubricant or grease to keep everything
17:42running smoothly. Use a rechargeable
17:44blower so you can clean the enclosure
17:46from loose filament, as well as clean
17:48internal parts. Get an electric
17:50screwdriver with an auto torque stop
17:52feature so you can disassemble
17:53everything quickly and safely without
17:55damaging anything. Grab some Q-tips for
17:57cleaning out small parts and a couple of
17:59spare consumables such as printer beds,
18:02hotends, PTFE tubes, and extruder gears
18:05as these wear out over time and will
18:07eventually need to be replaced. Now
18:09guys, there was one last thing that I
18:10forgot to add into the video, and that
18:13is that you need to have fun. This whole
18:15thing needs to be enjoyable. And if
18:17you're passionate about it and if you
18:18love doing it, then everything becomes
18:21about a thousand times easier. I love
18:23being able to create stuff. I've always
18:25been creative. Whenever I've kind of
18:27strayed off the creative path, uh things
18:29have gone terribly wrong for me. So, if
18:31you're passionate about it, if you love
18:33what you're doing, then the sky's is the
18:35limit and you will most likely be
18:36successful because why wouldn't you be
18:39successful if you're doing the thing
18:40that you love? So have fun, enjoy
18:42yourself, be creative, and uh go out
18:45there and make some money. Bye.

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