HOW WE STARTED
Covid and YouTube
The great shutdown in our lifetime was Covid. I am a REALTOR by profession and when we got quarantined, you can imagine how slow selling or helping someone buy a home became. Besides spending several hours per day on the phone drumming up business in Florida real estate, I also got into the addictive habit of watching YouTube videos. I watched crazy things like people eating food in Las Vegas, Replanting Orchids, and rebuilding cars and homes, and then I found these videos about lasers.
I watched hundreds of them. and in March of 2021 I purchased an XTool D1 10 watt laser. I got my shop started and bought all kinds of accessories. I did all of this by researching online through YouTube. Lots of popular people like The Louisiana Hobby Guy, Laser Engraving 911, Make or Break Shop, GlowForge, and That Mom with a Laser. Great words of wisdom from all of these and many more as there is not enough space for me to mention them all.
My initial investment was about $1400, and that quickly grew to over $3,000. And this was a diode laser. So I said lets make at least enough to afford to buy all of the equipment. I started marketing it. My very first big customer was a pool deck company that wanted to embed a glass tile in each one of their jobs so that it was easy for their customers to contact them. I gave them a design using their logo and I started making tiles for them.
I now do things for a couple of outdoor adventure companies, some local clubs, firefighters, and a few special awards. Now I create clocks, tumblers, cuttingboards, baby first holiday, nametags, and have even done signs for a pig sanctuary so they could hang them on each pen so people would know the names.
The industry is moving very fast in just over 4 years and it is time for me to step up my game. I plan this year to add a 90-130 watt CO2 with a built in RF tube and maybe a fiber or CNC machine.
Stay tuned as we go on this journey to making and selling customized laserwork. I may even start building some custom cigar ashtrays.
FEATURED PRODUCTS
Testimonial
The nametag was perfect and it makes it so that people know who I am and puts them at easy in my therapy business. Thank you
The bourbon box and engraved glasses were over the top great and my family loved them very much. It made me get my CNC up and running. Thank you
Thank you for a great job on the awards for our cardboard boat regatta. What a great idea to make the awards out of cardboard.