New Business Idea...HELP!!!

[myxpykalix]

One thing touched on earlier is to find a shopbot owner close to you. If you call shopbot they have a list of owners who are willing to give a demo to prospective buyers and if that buyer orders a bot from shopbot the guy who gives the demo gets a fee (unless they have discontinued doing that) so don't feel shy about asking or taking up someones time. Also post a request in "looking for shopbot owner". The guy that gave me a demo spent 6 hours with me, and i was sold, so he earned his commission!

[beacon14]

If you are looking for info specific to CNC machining especially using a ShopBot I think you would be better off finding a "camp" that is coming up soon and reasonably close to you. You'll get more out of your time and money than going to the AWFS.

If you still have lots of tools to buy or want to spend a few days just looking at all the software packages that are available the AWFS might be a good venue for that.

[ckurak]

Nick,

Depending on how close you are to Las Vegas (and what it would cost to get there), AWFS would certainly allow you to see LOTS of woodworking machinery of all sizes. If you go, you would see a lot of CNC machines in operation. And, you would learn how much you would have to spend to do the same routing a shopbot can do. (I own a PRT120x60, 2004 vintage and use it for custom cabinetry and woodworking.)

You can also find lots of suppliers/manufacturers at AWFS. However, you might also want to check out the AWFS website and look at the list of exhibitors first. You may learn a lot there that may help you even if you don't get to go.

If you do attend AWFS, be sure to check out the list of seminars to see if there are any that may be helpful to you. And, while at the seminar (or immediately before and after the session), talk to the people sitting next to , in front of, and behind you. Introduce yourself and ask what they do. Woodworkers tend to be very sharing with their knowledge, as are shopbotters.

If you decide not to go to AWFS this year (it is held every two years), consider IWF next year in Atlanta, or one of the regional industrial woodworking shows.

You mentioned the possibility of making signs. I would also suggest you consider attending a sign trade show or two. I have attended a number of these and have learned a lot each time.

Whatever you do, be sure not to underprice your work. That hurts everyone, but especially you.

Side note: If you get interested in making cabinetry, check out the CMA (Cabinet Makers Association). They will have a booth at AWFS, and they are just as helpful as the extremely talented group you have found here. (It is because of these two groups, shopbotters and the CMA, that my business exists and continues to grow.)

Good luck on your new venture and welcome to our neighborhood!

Charles

[nick]

Hi Ed...gonna take your advice and stay home...Thanks...but I would love to attend your camp in September 8th.

How do you go about joining.

Thanks and talk to you soon.

[ed_lang]

Nick,

"How do you go about joining."

If you are asking about the camp..... You do not have to join, just let me know that you are going to be here and the rest is taken care of except for your lodging. I will be posting here, and sending out emails to those who have let me know they plan to attend.

If you do attend, there will be an PRTalpha 96 upgraded to PRS motors with a 4HP HSD spindle in my shop and a PRTalpha 60X120" across the road from me. There will also be a cutting tool maker here as well... Centurion Tools. They are located about 30mins away and there is a chance that last thing in the day those interested could make a field trip to see their location. I am working all of this out now.

Stay tuned as they say!

Looking forward to shaking your hand.

ed

[nick]

Sounds great Ed...count me in

[kimo]

Gentlemen,
How does everyone set their price range when providing services to their customers? I have no idea where to start! Does anyone have a basic breakdown of service pricing?
Any help will be well appreciated. Mahalo

[richards]

Bob,
I charge $75 - $100 per hour for normal work plus tooling and material. The lower figure is for particle board, MDF, and Melamine. The higher figure is for plywood and lumber. The price is for cutting only. All extra operations are billed as additional services. Design time is billed at $75 per hour for simple designs and $150 per hour for more complex designs. In addition, I charge a shop fee of $30 to $50 per hour.

Here's the way it works: I note the time when I start a project and I note the time when I finish the project. Lets say that the total time is four hours. Then I subtract the actual machine time (which are obtained from the log files generated by SB3). Lets say that the machine time is three hours. Then I multiply the machine time by the machine rate (3 X 100 = 300) and I multiply the shop time by the shop rate (1 X 50 = 50). Then I add those two figures together (50 + 300 = 350). So, in this example, the customer gets billed $350 plus tooling plus material plus extra services.

When I charge by the part instead of by the hour, I use a Break-Even Analysis spread sheet to determine a fair price based on the number of parts per hour. The spread sheet allows me to factor in all of the relevant costs associated with running the business. Charging by the part works well for repeat customers who want X number of parts periodically. They know the price in advance (adjusted for fluctuations in material prices).

[Brady Watson]

Price your jobs per hour. Pick a rate competitive with your locale & get cutting. Depending on where you live, shops charge between $50-120/hr. The higher end if you are in demand and the lower end if you want to attract business. The busier you get, the more you charge etc.

-B

[paco]

Holly &*#@! I need to raise my rate!?
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Two things still get me confused:

-How fast a Bot be financially damped (not sure about this translation); should I charge enough so that the machine pay for itself (from the rate calculation I made) within a year, two years, five years more?... I hope I'm making myself clear enough on that one.

-How much profit should I make over material; the very few readings I made really confused me. So far, I cover the shipping and make a small profit but... are there any good reading about this somewhere... Google keywords for a Frenchy?!

Okay, one more; what method do you use to quote; software, scratching papers, guess, else...
I use a custom built spread sheets for one off and the alike and parts production. It render my quote, order, invoice, packing slip and even a detailed resume for the accounting department...
I'd like to have this "all I need software package" but nothing really has it all (or even close). I believe many use Quickbook, do you? Does it does all you need from estimate to invoicing? Did you create your spread sheets or database or code something in say something like FileMaker?