My experience has been a GREAT one!

[tuck]

I purchased a used PTR96 about 4 years ago. I had been laid off (again!) and was sick of it all and wanted to start my own thing. At the time, I hardly knew how to turn on a computer, but I had worked most of my life in the sign business from designer (drafting table) to sales and production.
When I started out, I got a lot of great help from Ron Varela, whom some in here know. I didn't have time to go to school and learn CAD. Ron had me making dust in a few days. There was much to learn, but he was always a phone call away. I'll say that the folks at ShopBot have been great as well. Whenever I had problems with my machine,(there hasn't been many) they have always been VERY helpful.
I am not a sign company. I do CNC work for sign companies that have a need for CNC work. They do all the selling and hassleing with customers then bring me the work along with the materials! (Mostly sign foam.)I built a 20'x24' shop right next to my house a couple of years ago (sure beats renting a shop)and I am exactly 6 steps out my front door from work! I often stumble to work in the morning in my underwear to get things going! LOL! (I live out in the woods and am a "one man operation", so I can do that!):-)
I would say to anyone that is thinking about buying a ShopBot and starting a business this: Have a plan. Know where your customers are gonna come from. Don't think they will just magically appear once you buy your machine. There are many, many ways to make $$$ with a CNC, and signs are certainly one of them, but do have a plan. Once you have that, the rest is easy. If I did it, anyone can, if they want it bad enough!

Tuck

[mikejohn]

Tuck
An uplifting message to start my day.
Well done, and thanks for the sunshine, and thanks for not posting pictures of you going to the shop in your underwear

..........Mike

[tuck]

You're welcome, Mike. You haven't lived until you've gone to work in your snaps! LOL!

Let me say that while I am not getting "rich", I am making very good money and making it easily,...almost TOO easily! I made over $1,000.00 this week and I maybe had 8 to 10 hours of actual work in it. (File time, phone time, running to Home Depo, sanding and spray painting.) I don't count the time my 'Bot is running. Once I get it going, I usually come back in the house and do whatever. Maybe even get dressed. Or at least think about it!

It's wonderful, and the BEST thing I've ever done (work wise) in my 52 years!I would have a damn hard time punching someone else's clock again. I'd rather die.

Tuck

[fleinbach]

Well done Mark, these are the stories people like to here. I left Ma Bell in 1985 after 20 years and have worked for myself ever since. I never regreted it for one minute. Off course I didn't have a Shopbot back then but sure could have used one. I was designing and building Parabolic Satillite dishs for 5 years before I left the phone company. The Shopbot would sure have been nice for cutting all those curved ribs.

By the way my shop is only 10' from my back door and that sure is nice. (Don't tell no one I'm in a residential neighborhood) Luckily I have increadably great neighbors.

[tuck]

Bob Dylan wrote and sang the song: "You're gonna SERVE SOMEBODY!" How true! I only have a few clients, but they are demanding and expect the best. I do right by them, and they keep me busy in return. However, they only THINK I'm busting my kiester. It's all far too easy if you halfway know what you're doing with CNC.

I could teach a monkey to do it, no kidding.

[mikejohn]

Mark
My very good friend in the Aerial mapping business used to say "my grandmother could do this 90% of the time" but it's that 10% thats left thats important

.........Mike

[Brady Watson]

Yep...I too run out to my shop in my jammies most of the time to get things going. What I like most is the short commute, coupled with the lack of senseless meetings I was forced to attend previously. I've been relying on the Bot for the most part for the past year and a half. It was scary to think of quitting my previous job and all of the 'what ifs'...Fortunately I got laid off, so I could collect 'unenjoyment' while I was trying to get business with the bot.

The day after I got laid off, another botter sent me a nice sized job that he couldn't cut cleanly on his PC router...that's when I was glad that I got the Colombo. After that, word of mouth has pretty much kept me going. It's good to have a website to showcase some of the things that you have made or cut on your machine. Explaining what you do exactly is sometimes hard to put into words that your customer can understand....pointing them to a picture intensive website helps.

The biggest thing is letting people know that you are out there...plus having the courage to try new things. Cutting exotic materials has been my strength and the majority of where my business resides. I learned in the past year that I don't want to do fabrication, sanding, painting etc unless I absolutely have to. I also refrain from cutting MDF...I don't want to cut out cabinet doors all day long and REALLY don't want to breath that formaldehyde laiden death dust into my lungs. There are lots of ways to make $$$ without cutting cabinet parts out of MDF. Don't believe the hype...this machine can do some amazing things if you have the need, imagination and patience to exectute them.

What I find suprising is the fact that the majority of my business is out of state...with very few local customers. This tells me that I must be doing something right because there are CNC machines all over the place...there must be a reason they ship their material to me.

I also have a few unique metal parts that I make in one big run. I cut out more than has been ordered and pop them on the shelf. When someone orders a set, I go out to the shop grab a set off of the shelf and pop them in the mail...It's nice to make $ in your pajamas...

You can do it too! Call now...operators are standing by...


-Brady

[billp]

In their Jammies...?

[fleinbach]

Well if Michael Jackson can go to court in his ?????

[gerald_d]

I don't have pyjamas - this is a neat way to keep me out of a thread!