Starting side business

[Anonymous No.25802484]

I'm planning on starting a side business doing laser engraving of photos, signs, coasters, etc. Building up some startup capital by selling steel roses to acquire a cnc router/laser.
For those that have started their own side business, what obstacles did you have to overcome? What do you recommend as a platform to sell? (Do I use etsy first and then webdev?)
INB4 "just buy crypto and be a neet"

[Anonymous No.25802813]

Buy a DSLR and take good pictures, consider a small rotating table to take pictures of items in, inside of a photo tent perhaps. For this sort of thing (laser cutting etc) go and browse /diy/ but presumably you already are.

Sad to say but the pictures of your item matter more than the actual item itself, but you still want to produce quality so that you don't get negative reviews. One thing is for tax purposes you should make a new bank account just for this before you even begin, I wish I had done that (I did eventually), it makes managing finances so much easier when all your incoming and outgoing money is isolated from the rest of your daily spending etc. I can't recommend that last point enough.

I use Etsy and eBay personally, ebay just sells more volume. I also sell stuff friends make as it gives my online stores more exposure, also I offer custom jobs (I do 3D printing) and this has brought in business, be prepared to work with customers if they have vector graphics files they want turned into something.

Also look at using inkscape to design your own stuff, also you can sell anything that is released under terms that allow commercial use, I have made thousands off of other peoples designs, legally. I usually just improve the design so that mine is the best version out there.

finally, take all of your profits and invest them in crypto

[Anonymous No.25802966]

>>25802813
Oh yeah, I forgot to say, if you're gonna be making stuff like this, the more skills you learn the better off you are, exponentially. For example in my side hustle, any retard can buy a 3D printer and print something he found online, but surprisingly few can properly configure and calibrate and maintain a 3D printer (most prints are shit quality). Fewer still can design their own models, and fewer still can then finish and prime and paint those models. So the more skills you learn the further ahead you put yourself above the competition, it's like compound interest.

[Anonymous No.25803001]

>>25802813
Much appreciated. I do browse /diy from time to time, but mostly learn from YouTube and I'm taking cnc courses to land a day job.

[MrBusiness No.25803001,1]

Whether you sell your products on Etsy or decide to set up your own e-commerce store, you will not make any sales without some marketing skills. Marketing is more than just placing some ads on Google and Facebook. Laser engraving can be done on wood, stone, stainless steel, gold, plastic, acrylic, glass, leather, bamboo, felt, cork, melamine, etc, so you are supposed to write a letter of intent to some factories of these type of materials, so you could easily manage necessary materials.