3D printing has shaken up the world of fabrication and allows more people to get into design and engineering.
From tabletop minis to prosthetic limbs, 3D printing offers you a chance to design, print, and tweak your own inventions and ideas from the comfort of your own home.
While 3D printing is significantly cheaper than traditional manufacturing methods, it still comes at a hefty entry cost. This is highlighted by the fact that 3D printers range in price from anywhere between US$200 to US$500,000 or more.
Even if you don’t need a state-of-the-art 3D printer, chances are that you’ll need to save some time before buying the printer of your dreams. Rather than lamenting the high cost of printers, try to top up your savings quickly by finding fun ways to fund your next purchase.
Fun 3D Printing Business Ventures
The 3D printing industry is booming. The market is estimated to grow from US$12.6 billion in 2020 to a staggering US$37.2 billion by 2026. These estimates underline the huge potential of 3D printing today and prove that it is possible to make a great living from related business ventures.
If you do decide to sell your 3D printed goods, consider opting for a product and industry that brings you joy. For example, if you already enjoy tabletop games and action movies, consider using resin printing for minis. Minis will find a huge market online and are enjoyable to research, print, and paint. This will sustain your savings project and help you bring in some extra cash.
Don’t overlook the importance of effectively pricing your products while you’re busy having fun making money from your minis, sure you are. When deciding on a price, be sure to account for hidden costs like tax, shipping costs, and waste disposal. A straightforward rule of thumb like charging 5X the cost of materials for a printing job may work at first, but could lead to you being undercut by competition who use more dynamic pricing strategies.
[Note: Fabbaloo provides an online print cost calculator for those curious about what to charge for a given job.]
As your 3D printing venture grows, avoid the temptation to splash the cash all at once. Instead, look out for emerging, profitable trends like 3D-printed athleisure and invest strategically in useful technology with a favorable opportunity cost. If you struggle to save in this way, consider utilizing fun ways to save more money like:
- 52-week savings challenges
- Gamifying your savings with apps like Honeydue and Fudget
- Cash-stuffing your post-tax earnings into different project-based envelopes
These savings tips can supercharge your efforts to improve your DIY setup and help you get excited about new projects. They’ll help you build a business fund and ensure that you’re in a great place to buy a new printer or materials when a new product comes on the market.
Diversifying Your Savings
As your interest in 3D printing grows, you may find that you need to put more funds towards new printers, parts, and filaments. However, many of these products are only reasonably available to business ventures due to their high costs.
Rather than accepting that you can’t compete with big 3D printing businesses, give yourself a chance to earn extra cash and strengthen your financial base by utilizing effective stock investment strategies. After all, your 3D printing side hustle should generate enough additional income to top up your emergency savings and leave a little left over. If you’re new to stock investments, start by following well-established tips like:
- Invest with your head and fight the urge to overtrade if stocks fall
- Try not to overanalyze your portfolio and trust in a diverse strategy
- Stay in for the long term if you want to see your financial value actually rise
- Get stocks in the 3D printing market to increase your knowledge of the industry as a whole
These simple steps can put you in a strong financial position and help your savings work for you. This is particularly important today, as few banks offer interesting incentives on basic saving accounts today.
Crowdfunding
If you have a great idea and need to raise cash quickly, consider trying out crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is popular in 3D printing circles, as future customers will fund your firm in the hopes that your 3D printing business will flourish once you’ve covered your major costs.
If you do decide to go forward with crowdfunding, you’ll need to put together a clear business plan and should be able to illustrate your ideas with graphics and a clear mission statement. This is crucial, as there are over 900 3D printing projects on the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter today. As such, you’ll need a clear plan and a great project if you want folks to chip in for a prospective project.
Conclusion
Funding your 3D printing setup doesn’t have to be boring. Rather than laboriously chipping away at your savings goal, supercharge your efforts by starting a 3D printing venture or crowdfunding your idea. This will give you a much-needed injection of cash which you can put to work with stocks and enticing savings accounts. Just be sure to keep some emergency funds set aside so you can spend your savings without any financial worries.
