Turning My 3D Printing Hobby into a Small Business

Well, it is not a small business yet, but a tiny one on Etsy. However, I just bought my first printer at the end of July. Learning, practising and making money at the same time feels great. Around 6 six months ago, I planned to buy a 3D printer because I wanted to print video game characters from Final Fantasy 14. I’ve never thought of starting a business online. It happened along the way, and I learned a lot in the past two months. And here is my reflections.

1. Knowledge/experience leads to business
2. 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) — from hobby to business
3. The process (Design — Sourcing — Production — Delivery — Customer Feedback)

1. Knowledge/experience leads to business

(1) Why do I want to make 3D prints?

I believe most players like video game figures/status, but only a few of them can think of making it by themselves, including me. Until I visited a neighbour of my previous landlord. He was a geek, creating a solar-powered cubic all by himself and liked mining bitcoins. He was rich, at least from my perspective. He used a 3D printer to print parts for his solar-powered cubic. On that day, he introduced the printer and printing process to me and suggested me to try. Before that day, I bought many video game figures. After that day, I just wanted to buy a 3D printer and print whatever I wanted.

Thus, if I didn’t know 3D printing, if I’d never come across this technology, I would never think of printing 3D figures in the first place.

(2) Why I choose Etsy as the marketplace

Because I purchased many craft stuff on Etsy, so I know it’s a place for those handcrafted items. When I told my friends I opened an online shop, they all assumed I sold them on “Amazon” or “eBay”. I compared these platforms(Which Online Marketplace to Use). But anyway, if I’ve never bought products on Etsy, it would take me much more time to figure out it is the right place.

(3) Learning and practising experience leads to business

Finally, I started using a 3D printer. I looked for popular models on https://www.thingiverse.com/ to print. Very soon, I printed those items. But after I gave away the prints as gifts to my friends, I still have a bunch of them. Throwing away was not my option, so I searched for 3D prints on Etsy and decided to open my online shop.

In my opinion, knowledge or experience leads to business. I think many crafting hobbies could lead to business, and I hope my experience could inspire you.

2. 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) — from hobby to business

After opening my own shop on Etsy(the Place is solved, as I mentioned I compared Amazon, eBay and Etsy), the first question is which specific products to sell?

(1)Product

Checking the marketplace by searching for keywords like 3D prints, Nintendo switch is a good start. Since I am a new comer, it’s easy for me to collect information that which products are more popular. As I printed several Switch accessories, I did search for them on Etsy and luckily there is needs.

(2) Price

Pricing is similar, since I am not the first one selling those items, I just assign a less expensive price than my competitors.

(3) Promotion

I had no clue for this one. Etsy does provide promotion services, but it costs money. More importantly, I noticed my SEO is all right, some items are listed on the first search result page. Therefore, I havn’t used Etsy Ads service yet.

However, I think I should promote on social media platforms. I will find sometime to do it in the future. Currently, I don’t have much time for printing anyway (I can’t handle more orders)

3. The process

If you checked my documentation on my 3D printing journey, you would notice the process involves design and production. Although it seems printers are easy to use, the opposite is the truth if you want to have sellable quality.

(1) Design

Currently, the free resources online is good enough for starting up a 3D printing shop. But the purpose is to print unique or customized items, this is also the reason why we bought the printers. I will buy some designs next month to print more unique products.

(2) Sourcing

I tried several materials from different companies, the quality varies and you need to use different parameters to get good prints. On top of that, cost is a key factor.

(3) Production

I spent most of my time learning how to use slicing software, how to set up and calibrate the machine and how to trouble-shooting, which you could check here. If you read the post, you would know 3D printer is still not a plug-and-play equipment.

(3) Delivery

AU Post is the best option, at least for new sellers. There are so many things to deal with, and we don’t have time to make explanation why the parcel delay which is shipped by an less reputative company.

The key is setting a suitable lead time, if you don’t have stock.

(4) Customer services

Some buyers might have questions, so we need to reply on time. The greatest moment is receiving positive reviews. They make me feel I have done something useful to other people and provide a decent product. This is one of the main reasons that I decided to continue.

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