Carol Reed
In Memoriam
- Messages
- 5,533
- Location
- Coolidge, AZ
Rather than have Leo's most valuable information on this topic get lost in another thread, I started this one. So far I have distilled this out of his recent posts:
Leo's YouTubes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2...HOh9PNg/videos and https://www.youtube.com/user/arcticfox46/videos
Place to start with software: F-Cam, CamBam, SheetCam and draftsight are all free. Silo or Hexagon is low cost. Leo is favorable to Vector products and participates on their forum as time affords.
Viable affordable machines include the Instructables machines that Bill and Dan are building, or the homemade machine that Darren built. I am certain there are others. Also look into Shapeoko.
Possible ROI is ~$5000 per year for a parttime business. Usual business skills will apply. Maybe Rob will chime in with some thoughts here.
Leo suggests studying some of the sign experts, like Dan Sawatsky, Sandy Baird, Melissa Jones, and Roger Mann. Goggle as needed. And attend trade shows as are applicable and available.
He also suggests setting up an account at a sign materials supply and trying stuff. All will not be solid wood.
For ideas, begin a drawing journal and a digital photo collection. Also, may I suggest here fiverr.com. For very little money you can have a graphic artist design for you. I had logos and other graphic art done for my retreat ministry. And for a few bucks more, I own the copywrites, as well. And they are in multiple file formats.
Thus far, my start-up budget for the first year is $5000. I broke it down this way: CNC $1000, software $1000 (if we're going to be serious here), cutters $500, accessories $500, marketing budget $1000, business set-up costs $500 and the learning process costs $500. Budget means prepare to spend this much. Adjust in the second year.
The good news is I have all the attendant other tools to make this work; vacuum systems, hand tools, clamps, other portable tools for pre-processing and post-processing, work tables, shelf storage, etc. I also have some experience with this and with being in business.
I do not expect to make money the first year. I do expect to recover my costs in the second year. From the third year on, I expect to be solidly and consistently in the black. Make enough money to go see Toni in Spain!
The motivation is to raise the rest of the money for the house and to have some fun. Love this stuff!
Let the comments and suggestions begin!
Leo's YouTubes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2...HOh9PNg/videos and https://www.youtube.com/user/arcticfox46/videos
Place to start with software: F-Cam, CamBam, SheetCam and draftsight are all free. Silo or Hexagon is low cost. Leo is favorable to Vector products and participates on their forum as time affords.
Viable affordable machines include the Instructables machines that Bill and Dan are building, or the homemade machine that Darren built. I am certain there are others. Also look into Shapeoko.
Possible ROI is ~$5000 per year for a parttime business. Usual business skills will apply. Maybe Rob will chime in with some thoughts here.
Leo suggests studying some of the sign experts, like Dan Sawatsky, Sandy Baird, Melissa Jones, and Roger Mann. Goggle as needed. And attend trade shows as are applicable and available.
He also suggests setting up an account at a sign materials supply and trying stuff. All will not be solid wood.
For ideas, begin a drawing journal and a digital photo collection. Also, may I suggest here fiverr.com. For very little money you can have a graphic artist design for you. I had logos and other graphic art done for my retreat ministry. And for a few bucks more, I own the copywrites, as well. And they are in multiple file formats.
Thus far, my start-up budget for the first year is $5000. I broke it down this way: CNC $1000, software $1000 (if we're going to be serious here), cutters $500, accessories $500, marketing budget $1000, business set-up costs $500 and the learning process costs $500. Budget means prepare to spend this much. Adjust in the second year.
The good news is I have all the attendant other tools to make this work; vacuum systems, hand tools, clamps, other portable tools for pre-processing and post-processing, work tables, shelf storage, etc. I also have some experience with this and with being in business.
I do not expect to make money the first year. I do expect to recover my costs in the second year. From the third year on, I expect to be solidly and consistently in the black. Make enough money to go see Toni in Spain!
The motivation is to raise the rest of the money for the house and to have some fun. Love this stuff!
Let the comments and suggestions begin!