Prototyper Business Plan

[Jack Coats]

Anyone have a business plan that they wouldn't mind sharing?

I know that plans are different between whether it is a standalone business or part of another business (like an addon to a current consultant firm).

Suggestions?

[Shawn]

I'm interested in this too. But, I know that "business plan" means
different things to different people. Do you mean a plan of attack?
The daily procedures? The plan to secure investment? etc. For me, I'm
much more interested in the plan of attack than anything else, but would
also like to hear more about daily procedures/policies/routines...

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[Steven Castoe]

My structure is based around sales and service. I have hourly rates for design to print time. A small markup on print from material cost to include power consumption. And I give them the first 3d design (mockup) for free.

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[Jack Coats]

I chose the words 'business plan' carefully,  because it is interpreted 'flexibly'.

Some business plans just document a 'general direction', where others document the 'details' down to the last nit.  My personal tastes run toward generating a 'living document' (buzzword warning).  It needs to be detailed enough to calm the fears of anyone you need to get money from, and to keep ME focused (ADD in adults can cause 'issues' with staying on the point ... I stand as an example) on the goals.

A personal business plan I would see as personal goals, and a plan to get there.

Some folks (reading SBA web site has lots of stuff) sometimes include, and sometime it is separate marketing plans.

I have been in a couple of companies that ended poorly.  Partly from poor planning.  Poor financing.  Poorly defined marketing.  Poor management. .. Yep, I raise my hand to having been involved.  (I'm out of all of them, and more than a bit skiddish about starting anything that doesn't work starting with my 'toy' money so if it goes south, it would just be a hobby.)  ... Sorry, Didn't mean to get into true confessions here. ... But if I make estimates, I tend to NOW be overly conservative and to plan a bit to much.  Might be why I haven't tried another business.

[66tbird]

I figure since this a relatively unheard of service to the majority of business except the ones with big budgets, a small piece meal approach would be the least risky. For me I'm going to start with a toy type consumible like the LEGO Minifig accessory  series and do an ebay thing.  If/when the work flow settles in or pans out I'll know a lot more about percent of up-time to customer needs. I'm already doing small RC aircraft widgets only because I know the field and it is spars. In time the service and fields should know what I do and request might happen to start. Till then I'm not going to quit my self-employed day job. (boss is a jerk btw :)  )

[Shawn]

I have a few events to demo the printer at in the next couple months,
and am planning to get a booth at a flea market next month sometime.
I'm trying to find suitable models that require little manual effort
(other than taking parts of the printer), and want to see a) can I at
least cover the cost of the booth, b) what items sell (or not), and c)
how close I am in figuring out the perceived value of the objects.

The mini-figs sound like a decent model for the above analysis. So
far, I'm planning on the Heart Gears, some keychain type things, and
maybe the Tree Frog. Can you think of any others?

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[Steven Castoe]

iPhone cases

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[Adan Akerman]

iPhone cases, yes... but the ones with working gears, and whatnot! Things you don't find in the mall kiosks. And print custom ones in near-realtime for people? 

I've never seen an iPhone case with an embedded working Geneva Wheel mechanism... that would be sweet.

Out of curiosity, what does a flea market booth cost?

iPhone cases

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[Joseph Chiu]

Flea markets / swap meets vary in size and "quality" - so you really have to inquire about the ones you are interested in.

At least in California, swap meets require you to have a resale (seller's) permit on file with them if you are selling things.  If you're there to advertise, you don't have to do that; or if you're selling used goods up to twice a year. (http://www.sfsswapmeet.com/vendor.html)

Sometimes, there are organized events like craft fairs that have sales booths available -- if you find a likely cross-over to your target market, those might be better.  For example, if you wanted to (say) 3D-print baby toys, a March of Dimes event vendor booth might make sense.  There's the usual 4th of July concerts, jazz festivals, county fairs, and so on...

I used to do swap meets with my dad when we first moved into the U.S. -- the biggest complaint I had as a kid was that being in the sun and squatting around the floor to pick up and set down merchandise all day was tiring -- we eventually got a tarp cover, and some decent folding tables -- and you could end up sitting for a long time being bored.   Power is also a problem in our case -- because there's usually not an outlet available to you.

Also, the prime spots go to repeat vendors that hold their space from showing to showing.  So be prepared to be in the "back corner" in the beginning...

[Adan Akerman]

Yeah, your description of the down sides of such events is more compelling to me than the thought of the potential upsides... but maybe that's just me. I'm sure there are ways to make it work. 

It just seems like a very untargeted way to seek customers. Then again, Shawn, in your original mention of the flea market you were describing a sort of research / exploration of what people are interested in. For that it's probably perfect. Then when you learn more about interests and preferences you can get more targeted.

[Jack Coats]

Doing booths at fairs/flea markets don't appeal to me (life would be
dull if we were all alike!)

I would like to find a product that is easy to build, and sell
'remotely', thinking eBay, personal product web site, wholesaling to
others for resale, whatever. I don't do 'face to face retail sales'
or at least never have. That method of marketing just doesn't appeal
to me.

iPhone cases would need to be 'softer' material than ABS, I would think.

I saw a 'marble rail' holder that could hold strands of neoprene
tubing or even build-filament with some changes, to give 'rolling ball
sculptures'.

Gear assortments that might make it easier for a tinkerer to build
(and cheaper than SmallParts.com ;) ) is another thought.

[Joseph Chiu]

Well, my wife and I have been talking about setting up a booth at a fair or swap meet more for "inspiration" value -- to see what kind of responses we might get from the general public.  We're also  hoping that it would instill a sense of entrepreneurialism to our boys, along the lines of a lemonade stand...

But, yeah, to set up permanent shop at a swap meet is most likely not the way to go...

I've had a few nibbles on eBay with a few 3D-printed goods...  But only just enough to cover the cost of making and machine time.  It's all very exploratory at this stage, so I don't mind...

[66tbird]

I've tired renting a space, didn't work. Give it a shot it's a great education, everyone should do it once or twice. Good way to lessen the clutter too.

One thing about prototyping is than one needs to be proficient on the design side and skilled with the software of your flavor. That for me is the joy in the hobby. Having someone describe an object, I ask for a few exact dimensions and boom they are looking at it on the screen.

 If you just cranking out widgits then its production. I'm not going to use my machines good years on production items because if one is or none are a winner I'll then be faced with other problems. Like time lines, down time, repair cost,, limited prototype time etc..

I start thinking about what items I've made the most of and what items have been most useful to others. By far the safety whistle I've made the most. People love them, and the bullhorn attachment raises eyebrows too, works well saving the users ears while directing the blast. Dog owners bought the only two at $4 each.

The item that has had the most use has been the replacement kitchen utensil handles. Most of my neighbors are old and arthritic and need a better grip on the bigger spoons and spatulas. I've made a half dozen so far and I've got four more brand new utinsils sitting here waiting to meet the hammer for an upgrade. But thus far those are freebies. I'm not going to ask for money from 70+ year old ladys.  But if it takes off into a real three a week, each special made with two colors then I'll put $10 on each.

Now, if I was a good artist like my niece I'd be banging out custom refrigerator magnets all day. 

Like all my endeavors into hobby cnc it takes a while to find a niche and most of the time its what you already know or do as a hobby. When you find it you'll know it and a whole new level of responsibility will follow.

[Jack Coats]

I get your point about using the right tool for the job. If you
really want to crank out parts, get an injection mold made and crank
them out.

Prototypes and short run pieces are the forte of reprap and other prototypers.

If we could make parts from wax, lost wax process for making stuff
would be a great addendum to the process to make hard stuff, but those
would be 1-off.

[66tbird]

i have a guy looking into get back into a long career of lost wax and this machine was the catalyst. Claims it can be done. I've only read about it, I'll do what I can.

[Steven Castoe]

Build a plastruder replace the extruder stepper with a solenoid hook up plastruder to an air compressor.
Print with clay . Fire the clay mold.
Use for casting metal or injection molding.

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[Jack Coats]

There are some articles on the 'net about a professor who did a 3D printer for printing concrete.

The idea was to do one big enough to be able to print buildings.  Yes, full sized houses, etc, 

multi-story.  The floors were precast and 'placed' before another story could be extruded.

But the gantry also acted as cranes to move the floors from the ground to the building.

The video's showed them making a hollow walls.  It was pretty impressive.  Concrete in a fairly

stiff mix is about like clay.  The pumping takes some power, but it could be done.

The extruder they used had 'sides' on it, so it had to rotate as it went along. 

[AdanA]

Sounds pretty sweet! The future is bright.

I just need to modify my Replicator ever so slightly and then it will be able to build plastic houses. Just a slight mod...

[BusyBotz]

I have been thinking about RC as well. I fly mainly helicopters, and there are a number of things that come to mind. Blade holders, flybar locks, landing struts, hold down clips for transport, wall storage brackets, camera attachments, transmitter stands, tool caddies, and so on. Unfortunately my design skills are in the fledgling stage, but I do think there is a market.

[Jack Coats]

On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 5:20 PM, AdanA <ad...@akerworks.com> wrote:

Sounds pretty sweet! The future is bright.

I just need to modify my Replicator ever so slightly and then it will be able to build plastic houses. Just a slight mod...

You might also check out the Edison Houses, cast concrete houses that people are still living in.

The main complaint is the concrete is so hard now it is VERY difficult to make holes in the walls

to run electricity, etc through, as we go to a more 'wired' society.  Thankfully we are now doing

more 'wireless', but they could still have the problem depending on how much rebar they used!

I was consulting nearby and the customer could not do wifi from one room in their adobe house

to another.  (Really just stuccoed to look like adobe in this case.)  The stucco was put on using

a lot of metal lathe, and that meant we had to have wifi repeaters in each room, and in direct

sight of each other, or run wires.  I felt sorry for those old folks (80+ generation), but at least we

got them an answer!

Later... Jack