MY TOP SELLERS // Laser Engraver Small Business Talk

I used to run a laser engraver in a woodshop that specialized in executive gifts/awards. This was back in the early 90's, when a laser engraver was north of $70K. That machine paid itself off in the first year. But the number one seller in our shop was engraved acrylic plaques. We figured out that smearing dish soap on the front surface gave the laser something to dump energy into, and then it wiped right off. Cheap and easy. Try it.

Sam, you are a credit to our craft! Thank you 1) for sharing your story and 2) for not being threatened to share your secrets. We could all be a bit more revealing in our journey, but you have gone to a lot of effort to make it 'public'. For that I thank you.

This is the first time I've seen one of your videos and I have to say that I really like your personality. The brief 'Squirrel' moment you had earlier was cute but not forced for comedic effect. Very natural and organic. I look forward to more of your work.

I used to do a lot of this when a member of the TechShop a few years ago. I really liked lasering on slate. It's nice to see there are ready to go products available... I used to cut and finish each one by hand! I miss having access to a maker space. Good luck in your business!!!

Just bought an engraver and its great to see examples of its potential use! Thanks for this...and I love the Goonies coasters!

I am glad to see you are really using both lasers to grow your business.

Love that I happened to stumble on these videos through my freecad and 3d printing worm hole I been down. Prior I hadn't considered laser engraving even though I been doing it for 10 years on a $20k plus epilog machine. 10 years ago I only found industrial machines that run on par with cnc machine prices. Our primary use is engraving and accurate punch and drill locations on product I build. Seeing these machines and the affordability is awesome! All the ways I've already used engravers and all the solutions I'm used to from, materials to setups to software (we use corel draw 3 and its excellent for the drawing process and communicates well with the printer) I also use corel to convert to dxf files to cnc as well. I can't wait to dive in to this world to make myself $ instead of a company. Thanks for the great videos

you were friendly, not loud, simple clear honest info. I like that.

I got soaps and coasters sets for my grown kids stocking stuffers this year. They were thrilled ! My son got the Goonies set and he just loved em! Really they all loved them. And the soaps smell amazing!

Hey Sam, you have absolutely became one of my favorite people to watch on YouTube! I think a good video upcoming would be for all the tips and tricks you have learned about light burn. Oh and I’m super excited to learn that there is a tablet I can use in the garage instead of my laptop so thanks for sharing that

Your honesty and attention to detail is refreshing. Subscribed and look forward to more videos.

What an awesome thing to share! Thank you Sam for giving your insights into a portion of your small business! Thank you so much. x from New Zealand.

Your channel was randomly recommended and after watching approximately 4 minutes I immediately subscribed. There’s something about your demeanor and delivery that grabbed my attention. Keep up the great content.

I too, have been running a laser engraved slate coaster product for about a year and they do great, from custom design to in house designs.

Another great video Sam! I find I get different results based on the grain, so I always orient the grain vertically. Since doing that, I haven't had a single fail. I only do monograms, they sell like hotcakes!

U-line is awesome. As a DDS, I used to package travel oral hygiene supplies in a clear tube with color coded rubberized ends and give these out as promo swag on kayak group outings. Waterproof and keep other thing "fresh" like smokable legal things

Stumbled on your channel recently. Mainly we just purchased a Ortur and went looking around. I find your channel enlightening as well as encouraging. Thank you for your insight! It’s appreciated!

Princess bride! A classic! Love that movie! You can get a multiple port USB that will plug into your single port. ( micro center) I had to do that too. I had to be able to run my mouse and laser. And my computer wasn't cheap. Lol Great video! Love the slate!

Sam, your videos are in my top 2 or 3 (many times #1) in presentation & explanations.

Thank you for the great information. I rarely use links from YouTube videos but your links seem like they are of actual value to me. Thanks again and I look forward to more videos from you!