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One of the best side hustles is laser engraving with a rotary attachment Starting a side hustle can be a great way to earn some extra income and pursue your passions. One interesting and potentially lucrative option is to start a business using a laser engraver. This HD cup is a winner. A laser engraver is a machine that uses a focused beam of light to etch designs and patterns onto a variety of materials, including wood, plastic, glass, and metal. These machines are relatively affordable and easy to use, making them a great tool for anyone looking to start a side hustle. One of the biggest advantages of starting a business with a laser engraver is the wide range of potential products you can create. Laser-engraved products are highly customizable, so you can create unique and personalized items that are sure to appeal to a wide range of customers. You could make everything from custom wooden signs and plaques to personalized glassware and jewelry. Even though custom tumblers (our personal favorite!) many of our customers also create amazing mugs, rolling pins, and baseball bats - the sky is the limit! Another advantage of starting a side hustle with a laser engraver is the relatively low overhead costs. Since the machines are relatively affordable, you can start your business without a huge initial investment. Additionally, the materials you need to create your products are widely available and affordable, so you can keep your costs low and your profit margins high. Of course, starting any side hustle requires effort and dedication. You'll need to invest time and energy into learning how to use your laser engraver effectively, as well as into marketing and promoting your products. But with a little hard work and determination, you can turn your passion for laser engraving into a successful and rewarding side hustle. We have a whole blog series on how many of our customers grew their successful side hustle. Check out our featured PiBurners and learn about huge orders in PiBurn Gigs. In conclusion, starting a side hustle with a laser engraver can be a great way to earn some extra income and pursue your passions. With its low overhead costs and wide range of potential products, a laser engraving business can be a rewarding and exciting venture.

Nowadays, side hustles are quickly becoming a reliable source of income for many. And why not? Who doesn't want an extra coin in their pockets? It gets more interesting if the side hustle is a fun activity you enjoy. But starting one can be stressful and intimidating, especially if you have never tried running a business. Once started, maintaining and growing a good side hustle is also a challenge. In this post, we share excellent tips on how to start a side hustle and keep it. How to stick to a good side-hustle Here are some tips for sticking to your side hustle and ensuring its success: Set clear goals: It's important to have a clear understanding of what you hope to achieve with your side hustle. Whether it's earning extra money, building a portfolio, or gaining new skills, having specific goals in mind can help you stay focused and motivated. Create a schedule: Scheduling dedicated time for your side hustle can help you stay on track and avoid letting it fall by the wayside. Try to set aside regular blocks of time each week to work on your side hustle, and be sure to respect those boundaries. Find an accountability partner: Having someone who can check in with you regularly and offer support and encouragement can be a huge help in sticking to your side hustle. Consider finding a friend, colleague, or mentor who can serve as an accountability partner and help you stay on track. Take breaks: It's important to remember that side hustles are supposed to be enjoyable, so don't be afraid to take breaks and recharge. Taking regular breaks can help prevent burnout and keep you energized and motivated to work on your side hustle. Optimize for SEO: If your side hustle involves creating a website or blog, optimizing for search engines can help increase your visibility and attract more traffic. Some simple SEO strategies include using relevant keywords, creating compelling titles and meta descriptions, and including alt text for images.   Here are some other tips that can help stay motivated and focused on your side hustle, even when life gets busy. Remember to stay true to your goals and have fun, and your side hustle is sure to be a success. Consider Doing What You Love and Start It's one thing to have a hobby and another to make it generate money for you. For example, if you love knitting, how can you make money out of it? You can share knitted pieces and sell them to newbie knitters. They can follow the samples and start knitting. Now, you can consider selling the patterns, and that's how you start a side house. If you find your hobby - don't try to overthink it. Most times, when you are in deep thought, and sometimes, there are higher chances of wanting the changes. Use a Freelancing Platform Are you looking to start a side hustle on a work-from-home basis? Then a freelance platform would be an excellent place to begin your escapades. There are many freelancer platforms on the internet to help you scale your business. Some of the most common ones are Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Upwork for content creators. There are other platforms for other niches, including engineering, technology, and the likes. These platforms will help you build your brand from the ground up. The best thing about them is that you don't have to know anyone on the platform to use them. Instead, you need to visit the website, sign up, and start selling. Set a Reasonable Schedule and Stick to it Routines are good to help you work on your side hustle, especially if you have a full-time job. Setting a schedule is one method that will help you create a good routine. And a good routine will help you set times when you work on your side hustle. For example, if your full-time job starts at 8 am and ends at 5 pm, you can set hours before and after the full-time job. The secret is in the consistency of the routine you set. You will definitely grow your business if you are consistent and diligent in keeping up with your schedule. Delegate Some Work to Industry Experts You now know your strengths and weaknesses and where you may need help. The truth is everyone who ever succeeded in their side hustle was not skilled in every area, and some got an extra hand from an expert. For example, you may be skilled in offering your type of service but need to be more experienced in digital marketing. In this case, you can focus on perfecting your service skills while you leverage the skills of an expert in digital marketing. First, you will have the time to build your service skills and deliver pure gold. Second, you will be fully advertising your business to the world. Have a Flexible Pricing Strategy Stick to more than a single pricing strategy when starting your side hustle. You can choose to have different and flexible pricing. For example, you can give offers on your business for some time before you actually begin to sell your services. You can give your customers welcome offers, which will help you build a good reputation and a solid customer base. A good customer base is a perfect starting set for a side hustle. Get Real Feedback from Customers You need to get customer feedback to set your business up for success. If you don't listen to what customers say, your business may fail to meet their unique needs. Proper feedback enables the correction of failures and the improvement of successes. Laser Engraving as Side Hustle Using a laser engraver is one perfect example of a lucrative side hustle. A laser engraver is a perfect idea if you love crafts and are also looking for a less competitive side hustle. With a laser engraver, you don't have to break the bank for start-up money. You might be surprised at the variety of things people want to engrave with a laser. You can tap a wide market, from engraved tumblers and engraved gifts to engraved trophies. To engrave the most unique items, consider investing in a great rotary like the PiBurn. Tip: Start Engraving Tumblers Tumblers are insulated cups used to keep drinks hot or cold. Tumblers are becoming very popular and offering custom tumblers is a good product diversifier and added revenue stream for any business. There are many ways to customize tumblers, and engraving custom tumblers is a profitable business. Laser engraving tumblers can include names in custom fonts, engraving business logos, or even pictures. So how much do you need to start a laser engraving tumblers business? First, you obviously need an engraver which may cost $2000 - $5000, depending on how much you want to spend on the laser. You will also need to choose a good rotary. You may also need to invest in digital marketing. How to Sell Your Engraved Tumblers If you want to scale up your laser engraving tumblers business, you need to consider sourcing the tumblers yourself. Some of our customers get tumblers from Save-a-cup and JDS. Others buy higher end cups like Stanley and Yeti brand tumblers. To sell these, there are four main principles to follow. Read more about them in our PiBurn Gigs Blog. In short, you must choose one approach of these four: Elephant hunting (going after huge orders from corporations based on relationships) E-commerce platform (running a shop on Etsy or similar for micro-orders) Local Business (Going out and landing orders at local small businesses) Community building (Becoming an influencer and relying on the trust of your community to create demand) Bottom Line A side hustle can help you earn an extra income without affecting your day job. All you have to do is manage it well, and it will be successful. Identify what you love and your passion and find a way to monetize it by making it a side hustle. Laser engraving is one side hustle that will earn you return customers. You also don't need a physical space to operate–your living room or garage is enough. For sure, a good side hustle is one that effortlessly brings you money. All you need to do is stick to it and scale up.

Let’s celebrate our PiBurner of the week! Robin Faro owner at That Laser Lady and Let's Spin it Laser Rotary Group on Facebook It's my pleasure to tell you all about Robin Faro, our PiBurner of the week! Meet Robin. In her laser group, Let's Spin it, as well as many other laser communities, she is known as the Wrap Queen. Can you guess why? She does incredible work with tumblers, among which are her mesmerizing full-wrap designs, like this awesome Yeti. And check out this FREE LensDigital file she is giving away: We really love that one! Recently her business enabled her to live her dream. She quit her full-time job, to focus on pursuing her creative passion and spend more time with her family. What a success story! About Robin Robin is a maker, a mother, a wife, and a laser guru! She is the proud owner of That Laser Lady, an e-commerce business focused mostly on Tumblers that has officially been in business for the last three years. Definitely check out some of her designs for inspiration. She and her family are located in Apopka, FL, northwest of Orlando. I am married to a Firefight/Paramedic, which means I get to laser every third day. Robin has three wonderful children who are 25, 11 and 9 years old. They also have some furry friends as well. My four-legged family members are Meatball (dog), Spaghetti (dog) and Ziti (cat). The Laser Journey Robin's laser journey began oddly enough with making epoxy tumblers. And just like for many other PiBurners, it was a Glowforge that became her gateway laser. I really loved the artistic aspect of making them and that no two were alike. However, they took days to finish. I was gaining a good customer base and decided it was time to diversify and offer more to my customers. I bought a Glowforge and immediately started making wood crafts. She didn’t realize that when she bought the GF that it would become a Christmas ornament-making machine! In December of 2019, she made enough profits from making ornaments to purchase an Aeon Mira9. This is where her business goals changed and it became a very real income stream. She primarily focused on monograms and ornaments for two years after that with great success. Here come the tumblers She bought the Mira 9, specifically for engraving tumblers. Why focus on tumblers? It was something about a person being able to carry around my artwork that appealed to me. At this time, I was still pretty busy with the wood crafts to get into tumblers, but it was always in the back of my mind. We couldn't agree with her more! Tumblers are an incredible way to connect with your customers. They usually associate you with that healing feel of hot coffee and the delicious aroma as they bring your tumbler close to their lips! What could be better than designing a Tumbler your customers will love for years and think of you after each sip? Just look at the beauties! But the rotary she used originally did not grow with her as her Tumbler business expanded. She needed bigger guns to do the things she knew she could (like the tumblers above) Fast forward a year and in my quest for a better rotary than the one that came with my laser, I stumbled upon PiBurn. I was immediately on it. So, then I started to try to find reviews and information on it and purhaps a discount - Yes, I am about that life. Thankfully Emily Caroline was able to help me out 😊 With the PiBurn things got moving even faster for Robin. After she spent a few weeks learning her new tool she had this to share: Let me just say that this is when I knew I made the right decision with the PiBurn. It was just so easy to use. Every single tumbler turned out exactly the way I wanted. This is one of the most important things we focus on when designing the PiBurn rotary. It has to be easy! It has to have a simple-to-follow manual, and it has to have extreme consistency so our customers can churn out the perfect tumblers over and over again! And with her new tool in her arsenal, Robin's repertoire grew by leaps and bounds from there. I started out just engraving names on all my friends' Yetis…just because. I then moved on to graphics that I had previously used when I was making epoxy tumblers. Then one day, I am scrolling through Pinterest and I saw this skinny tumbler that was engraved all the way around with a cheetah pattern and immediately had to try it. This right here is how it all began with my obsession for creating designs that would fit around a tapered tumbler. Her Business Now That brings us to the current day. How is the Wrap Queen doing? I am probably selling around 100 custom-designed tumblers a month, and it has become the biggest sellers on my website. I can't even say I have a favorite because each new one I design becomes my favorite. I don’t even know which I like better, creating the design or watching it come to fruition on a tumbler. It's just mesmerizing to watch one of Robins's full-wrap designs turn on the PiBurn! I have to say this journey has been amazing for me. Its enabled me to quit my full-time job in Feb ’22 which enabled me to spend more time with my family. My youngest son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder a few years ago and requires daily trips to therapies, and this gives me the flexibility I need for his care. This is what makes this business all worth it for us. Hearing stories like this inspires us to continue creating great tools that help our customers reach true success. Not just in business but in life. Beta Tester We are also proud to announce that Robin has been selected to Beta test our newest edition to the PiBurn Family, the PiBurn Grip. It is a chuck-style rotary that will greatly improve the types of work our customers can take on and offer on their stores. And Robin was the perfect candidate because full wraps take incredible precision and repeatability. She is now doing the type of work that is only possible on the Grip, and no other rotary can accomplish these jobs with this level of precision. Here is a sneak peek at Robin's newPiBurn Grip tearing through a tumbler with perfect ease and precision. Notice that it's angled to account for the taper on the Tumbler. Yep, the Grip can do that! Advice for those starting out We always ask our Piburners to share a bit of their wisdom with folks who might be just starting in the laser business. If I was to give any advice for those just starting out, make sure you are doing something you like right along with something that pays the bills… Isn't that a dream to be able to follow your creative passion and still make a good honest living? And take the time to learn your tools. You will be so happy you did. Taking the time to learn your way around the laser and forgiving yourself for making mistakes is an incredibly important lesson. Be gentle on yourself, make some mistakes, learn a new technique and find a new way of doing something. Not only will this be rewarding to you personally, but also to your bank account! Important Links If you liked learning about Robin's story, please take a look at her website, her social channels and her FB account. If she helped you or inspired you to purchase a PiBurn, please use her affiliate link below. This helps us credit her for helping you find an amazing tool for your laser, you can thank her just by using her link! PiBurn Affiliate Link: Thatlaserlady.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/That-Laser-Lady-2356604761286186/ Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@thatlaserlady How can you not be passionate about the laser business? Robin inspires us, and pushes us to create even more great tools for makers. Robin, thank you for creating, for inspiring us to push the limits of our imaginations and test what's possible with our lasers, and of course, the PiBurn Rotary! Happy PiBurning! Len and Stan Laser-focused on your success! Your story is worth sharing too! Contact US to become our next PiBurner!

PiBurn Gigs: Make money with your rotary 2,000+ Tumblers in one GIGA order, featuring Kory Cook and his Thunder Nova 63 / PiBurn combo Welcome to another PiBurn Gigs feature - a blog where you can learn how to score big orders, get new customers, delight and retain those customers, and grow your business just by offering customized tumblers. All the amazing makers featured in Gigs are proud owners of the PiBurn rotary, the best laser rotary attachment on the planet! Meet Kory We often follow up with our customers to inquire about their experience with the PiBurn. We recently asked Kory to share a review of his experience with the PiBurn. Then, he shared an image that blew my socks off. It was a small fraction of a recent P&G order for 2,000 20oz tumblers. No Typo. TWO THOUSAND. That's gotta be a record, right?! While this is a very good order, it's actually only our 3rd largest! In case you were wondering what 2,000 tumblers look like all packaged up: So... Kory has to be doing this full-time, right?! While my wife and I have our normal day jobs, our laser business is actually still just a side hustle for us. I don't post many pics because honestly we're constantly busy with the next order. But when I do post a picture, I do get asked how we get such big orders. How does he do it?! Keeping an open mind for new business opportunities and the ability to give something of value away helps tremendously. We see this many times with successful PiBurners. Sometimes opportunity knocks, even when buying a car! Our first big order was when we went to purchase a new vehicle for my wife, the night before, I decided to make a tumbler with that dealership's logo on it. After we purchased her new SUV, I gave the tumbler to the owner of the dealership. That night we left not only with a new SUV but with a check for a 7,000 tumbler order. That same dealership has since ordered 4,000 more tumbrels from Kory. That's not to mention all the personal orders from the owner and his employees as well. Incredible that deals like this are just a friendly conversation away! They have also had various 250, 500, 1000, and 1200 tumbler orders from local businesses, schools, local sports teams, and other organizations. On top of all this, they average around 200 tumblers from normal customer orders each month! So, when we say the market is HUGE, we aren't kidding. It's big enough for all of us to succeed. What about that Giga order from P&G? Orders bring more orders. And in this case of a mega-order, serendipity had a role to play! Our most recent P&G order of 2,000 tumblers was a result of their marketing director seeing a tumbler we did for someone that works at the plant. That goes to show you never know who's going to see your work! But that's not all. Kory has his eyes on even bigger whales. We've recently had a meeting with a hospital and the initial meeting was to secure an order for 8,000-10,000 tumblers. We have a follow up meeting soon, so hopefully we get that contract as well. Wow. That is some serious scale. How does the PiBurn fare on those massive orders? Our first big order was unfortunately before we got the Piburn V4, oh how I wish we would have had it when we first got that order. The PiBurn made Kory's work a lot easier and more predictable. We did receive the Pi when we had about 1,000 left of that order though and those last 1,000 felt like they took an hour to complete compared to the first 6,000. So, what did you think about the performance of the PiBurn? The ease of the V4 and the product quality is second to none. We could swap out a lasered tumbler with a new one and get it started before the exhaust fan on our Nova 63 even stopped. Since we received the V4 when it first came out, I estimate that we've done around 9,000 tumblers (my wife feels like we've done over 10,000) but the V4 works just as it did when it came out of the box. Not a single spring, o-ring, wheel, belt...NOTHING has broken or came loose. I initially explained to someone that the V4 is a workhorse, but I was wrong. It's a tank that can not be stopped. My only regret is that we only ordered one, we have 3 lasers, but we'll be one of the first in line to get the Omni and we won't have a worry in the world that it'll handle our next big order. Any advice for folks starting out? My usual response to anyone asking how we get big orders is step out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid to bet on yourself and approach businesses. We're constantly making tumblers with the logo of other local businesses. We'll take them to the business, ask for the marketing director or the highest level person available. It's not always a great meeting, sometimes we get the cold shoulder and we move on. But we won't give up! Someone will see that tumbler you made, someone will ask about it, and someone will reach out for an order. People don't throw away free tumblers, they may or may not throw away the business card we put in every single tumbler that leaves our store. But they more than likely looked at our business card and threw it on their desk or in their desk drawer and it'll be there when they change their mind or someone else asks about their awesome tumbler. Did you catch that tip? Put a business card in your tumbler - when giving out freebies. Ready to try the PiBurn? See what it can do for you and your growing business! Try the PiBurn V Happy PiBurning!

It's time to... #GetaGrip   PiBurn Grip Launch The revolutionary PiBurn Grip is a chuck-style rotary, but it's more than that. It is the BEST chuck rotary on the planet. This chuck system was designed and built by LensDigital from scratch. It is the only chuck rotary designed specifically for laser engraving. Other systems are borrowed from the lathe and drilling applications - they are heavy and bulky and can't hold the delicate glass without breaking it. We have spent years conceptualizing and bringing this tool to our makers, and we are so excited at the new opportunities it will open for you. You will be able to pre-order the PiBurn Grip this coming Monday, November 21st, 11am EST (Scroll down for how to order!) The price for the Grip Add-on Kit will be 395$ - you will need your original order number to purchase. The price will go up after the first 100 kits are sold. Note, the Thunder Addon Kit has a $100 markup due to the motor, plug, and wiring cover. On that same day, you will also be able to buy a full PiBurn Grip rotary - a chuck-only rotary without wheels shown below. The special pre-order price will be $995. Finally, on that same day, you will be able to pre-order the PiBurn 4.0 with a Grip Addon for $1,245 (Buy PiBurn4 + Grip Addon. This is called the Omni) When you have the PiBurn 4 and the Grip Addon kit, you can swap from the chuck-only system to wheels-only and vice-versa. If you have a metal clamp on your PiBurn 4.0, you can also configure the rotary to have the chuck mounted above the wheels instead of the clamp. We will aim to ship by the second-third week of December. Our goal is to ship every pre-order before Christmas. We may hit, we may miss. Stay tuned for shipping updates on this forum. The benefits of a chuck are plenty, and I will only list a few of them here: Never worry about walking or horizontal shift - no need for stoppers, EVER You can now make multiple passes! Frame at high speeds Engrave rings and other smaller items Engrave mugs with heavy handles without the worry of slipping Engrave non-cylindrical items with ease Direct drive system means no belts, no gears. Less things to go wrong or break down. No need to run test to dial in steps, simply change the object diameter. And the benefits of the PiBurn Grip above and beyond any chuck are: No tools are required to use! Simple and quick swapping, tighten and loosen with your hands. Adjustable angle like the original PiBurn for tampered objects Includes rubber-padded "fingers" for the extra delicate glass items (NO OTHER CHUCK DOES THIS!) Extra long jaws are to be sold separately for items like dog bowls. Pre-orders start November 21st 11am ET on lensdigital.com Introduction to the Grip: How to Order the Grip? You have two options: 1. Buy the Grip Addon kit ($395 on pre-order), or 2. buy the PiBurn Grip Rotary ($995 on pre-order). 1. Have a PiBurn? You will be able to purchase the PiBurn Addon kit and simply bolt on the chuck system to your PiBurn! Just $395 for the pre-order of the first 100 kits. 2. Do not Have a PiBurn or need another Rotary? Love the chuck jaw system? Consider the PiBurn Grip Rotary. Powerful, versatile, and precise, this will let you engrave anything you can imagine! Want a Roller system? Buy the PiBurn 4.0. Our latest and greatest Roller rotary is the essence of simplicity, repeatability, and reliability. It is the ultimate tumbler engraving machine! 3. Want the Omni? Why is the Omni the last rotary you'll ever need? It will give you by far the MOST capability possible on any rotary attachment. I mean, it's not even close. And sometimes you want it all! You may want the speed and simplicity of a Roller rotary AND the power and precision of a chuck. For you, there is the OMNI: This incredible build has both the Roller system and the chuck system in one beast of a machine. It is fast and simple to swap the Grip Addon for the metal clamp when you wish to move back to the roller, or even reconfigure it into the standalone Grip Rotary if you need more clearance:

OMTech and LensDigital are expanding their partnership with the introduction of a Limited Edition OMTech PiBurn and testing a brand-new rotary together.   We are excited to announce that we have expanded our partnership with OMTech Laser! Expanding the Partnership OMTech are known to provide the highest value in laser machines. They make lasers that are known to be reliable, versatile workhorses offered at an affordable price. Makers love the machines for the dependability and repeatability they provide to their operations. And small business owners love the machines for the new revenue streams they open and the new products they let them offer to their customers. We could not be happier to work with this great brand. Now, we will be working even closer together. Specifically, we have teamed up on several initiatives, including the design of future PiBurn rotaries and other potential products that complement the incredible line-up of OMTech machines. OMTech has agreed to test and then carry the PiBurn Grip, an innovative rotary with an adjustable chuck jaw system that is in development but coming soon. We can't wait to offer the OMTech + PiBurn grip combination to our mutual customers. For those already in the tumbler game, it will be a welcome innovation, and for those thinking of getting into tumblers, it will provide a simple way to jump in.   Limited Edition PiBurn just for OMTech customers   To celebrate this growing partnership, we are launching an exclusive PiBurn just for OMTech customers. This Limited Edition OMTech version of the PiBurn is available ONLY through OM Tech's website: ONLY THROUGH OMTECH: Starting TODAY (Monday, October 17th, 2022 and onwards), when you purchase a PiBurn from the OMTech website, you will receive the limited version PiBurn 4.0 rotary made exclusively for OMTech customers, featuring its own awesome color scheme, an upgraded backstopper, and the new improved adjustable front-stopper. And of course, the PiBurn is going to be co-branded with an OMTech logo! We are proud to be working even closer with OMTech and serving the community of makers together, bringing even better value to our mutual customers. Buy the limited edition PiBurn from OMTech here: PiBurn Laser Rotary Attachment 4.0 (PiBurn V4.0) from Lens Digital – OMTech Laser Thanks and happy PiBurning! Len and Stan

Let’s celebrate our PiBurner of the week! Robert Kofoed owner at Computer Creations (YouTube Channel)   It's truly an honor to welcome Robert Kofoed to our growing ranks of PiBurners!   UPDATE 2/18/2023 Robert was chosen as a Beta Tester for the PiBurn in the fall of 2022. He has led the adoption of the new PiBurn Grip Chuck rotary for the Thunder laser community. Many with Thunder lasers has followed his lead and the results have been exceptional! Check out his tutorial on miniature bats using his Thunder and PiBurn Grip He is also working on a few other projects that he shared with our Piburn community. About Robert Robert is a legend in the Thunder community and really needs no introduction. If you have a Thunder laser or watch YouTube videos about lasers, you likely know and follow Robert's channel, just like his more than 17,000 subscribers. This is why we are so excited to share his story with you as our newest PiBurner.   Robert is the Owner/Operator of Computer Creations, a company he established over 20 years ago in 2000. He lives in Fallon, Nevada with his beautiful bride of 42 years, Hope. They have one daughter/son in law and 3 wonderful grandchildren. He is no stranger to hustling hard, and knows how to build and grow a business. From a hustle, to full-time occupation fueling his retirement, Robert kept a keen eye out for opportunity, didn't hesitate to pivot when needed and kept looking for growth. This is exactly what it takes to succeed in this business. I’ve owned and operated a business of some kind since 1981 (began as a side hustle). When Computer Creations was born back in 2000, we were running an on-site photography business. In 2010 we pivoted into custom wood products and at the start of 2020 after I retired from a 40-year career with a local electric utility, I took my custom wood products full time and added lasers to be able to offer a much wider range of products.   Personal background and pursuits Robert is an avid outdoorsman. He loves to hunt and fish and be outdoors with family, an opportunity that is readily available in and around his hometown. What else inspires him? How about public speaking! Speaking to large crowds was one of my favorite things to do in my corporate job and I do miss it! But now, he reaches thousands of people through his content, an audience much larger than even at his old corporate job. He also has a passion for helping others. In fact it is one of the main reasons we are so aligned and why I was personally thrilled to offer Robert an affiliation with LensDigital. Training others is one of my passions, one reason I started my YouTube channel Computer Creationz Have you ever heard the maxim "If you want it done right, do it yourself"? This is how Robert operates - with full control over his creative process. And the results are absolutely incredible. I love to have complete control of the creative process, from conception, design and production. That's what I love about the laser business! 90% of our business is custom. Working with clients to get that design just right is very rewarding to me. Talk about job satisfaction! Creating beautiful gifts for people is some of the most rewarding work that out PiBurners talk about. Laser journey: Thunder Laser and PiBurn For some people the Laser journey starts at retirement though the business journey started a long time prior for Robert. Right after he retired, he ordered a 10 watt diode laser. We all have to start somewhere! For many people it's a Glowforge or even a Cricut machine. But some take the plunge into the world of Diode lasers first, just to find out they need more power and capability a while later. Took me months to totally figure the diode laser out. At the time there was little content on YouTube to help. I Started using Lightburn at the end of 2019. Once I got the diode figured out, I was hooked. It created beautiful stuff, but it was way to slow for any production work. We hear this so often! Makers seem to outgrow the tools they start out with, but they always credit these tools for getting the journey started. You might call it, the gateway laser! As with all successful makers, growth required investment into Robert's business. This was not an easy decision by any means, here are his thoughts in his own words: It was at that time that I had to have a conversation with my wife that I dreaded. We just spent $1200 on a diode laser setup, and it wasn’t going to work the way I wanted it to. Keep in mind I just retired, and income numbers were up in the air. After many agonizing hours of worry we decided to order a Thunder Nova24- 60 watt co2 laser (best decision we ever made). This by far was the biggest purchase we had made as a business. Robert pulled the trigger on a powerful machine and it would change his business and his life forever. Fast forward to today, sold the nova 24-60watt laser and upgraded to a Thunder Nova 35-100 watt, purchased a 60watt JPT Mopa fiber laser, business is better than it's ever been.   The investment paid off, and Robert business took off! Now, he uses the full power of his Thunder Nova to deliver phenomenal projects for his customers in record time. YouTube Channel “Computer Creationz” with his Thunder Laser Robert's TouTube channel is not to be missed. If you are not subscribed, you are seriously missing out. His love for teaching shines through in his content and the depth and breadth of his content are excellent. Since I love to train, I share YouTube videos on Lightburn, laser operations and projects. I’m proud to say that since early 2020 my YouTube channel Computer Creationz has grown to 17,100 subscribers and average well over 6000 hours of watch videos every month. My goal is to reach 20,000 subscribers by year end. Here is an example of a video you can find on his channel that can help you reduce your engraving time by 50%! Do yourself a favor, Subscribe! Robert's business today Robert's business thrives on custom orders from clients that discover his products online. He receives orders for many different types of items including tumblers he runs on his Thunder Laser and his PiBurn. What are the types of orders he gets? Mostly custom orders for all different types of tumblers, growlers, glassware, dog bowls. Unique custom wood products from 100% solid hardwood to Baltic birch projects. Projects that come from my fiber laser such as leatherette engraving, leather work, slate memorials, custom coins, knife and axe engraving if it can be lasered by a co2 or fiber laser I’m up for it!   Most unique custom project this year was a solid cherry horse measuring tool for measuring how high a horse stands. I had an example that the customer provided that was made in the early 1900’s.   PiBurn Discovery When we recieved an order from Robert, we already knew about him and his excellent reputation in the laser community. You can imagine how thrilled we were to build his first PiBurn. What does he think about it? I ordered my PiBurn in March of 2022, I was looking for other rotary options. I love the ease of use of my PiBurn v4 and use it several times a week. The flexibility and the direction of LensDigital is very appealing to me. They have some very progressive additions coming up that will further the use of their rotary on many items that are difficult to manage in a roller style rotary.   What inspires Robert Besides the few things we already mentioned, here is what keeps Robert cranking out new items and adding value to the laser community though his content: Taking something like a thought or idea and turning into a product for a client. Taking an idea from a client and delivering something greater that they expected. Working with someone that is struggling with Lightburn or a project and providing them the knowledge and skills to grow there ability as a laser business owner/operator. There is nothing more rewarding than to see the reaction from someone when they realize that they can do this!   Favorite projects Robert loves engraving custom sports bottles for sports teams with his PiBurn v4, anything unique that nobody else is doing like custom coins. Also, teaching someone that’s about to give up on their laser because they think it too intimidating is a very rewarding experience - especially when you help them succeed!   Advice for people starting out In Robert's own words, because there is nothing I can add here! Do what YOU not want not what everyone else is creating. Be patient, growing a large client base doesn’t happen overnight. Always under promise and over deliver. Always provide more than you customer is expecting. The only thing standing between you and every other laser owner is your uniqueness and being able to stand out to your customers by producing exceptional quality products and superior customer service.   Important Links   YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB3-k4fmkVqTTjAhb0Cdd_g Facebook Business page https://www.facebook.com/computercreationz Email Computercreations@charter.net   How can you not be passionate about the laser business?? Robert inspires us, and pushes us to create great content so we can keep up!   Robert, thank you for creating, for teaching, thank you for inspiring and sharing in your success, and of course, thank you for being a PiBurner!!   Happy PiBurning! Len and Stan Laser-focused on your success!     Your story is worth sharing too! Contact us to become our next PiBurner!

Let’s celebrate our PiBurner of the week! Liz Rivers owner at The Laser Outpost   We are very excited to share the story of PiBurner Liz Rivers! About Liz Today, it's our great pleasure to share the story of Liz Rivers and to let you all in on her amazing journey in the world of lasers.     Liz is a law enforcement officer who lives in NY with her husband Tom. Together, they have four kids who are all grown up. While she loves serving her community and keeping the neighborhood safe, her true passion is to create. And with her success in the laser business, she is very close to making her dream a reality: She is going to pursue her creative talents full time. Liz is now planning on retiring from law enforcement and dedicating her energy to the maker community. In her own words: I am a soon to retire law enforcement officer and I love being creative. Creating unique items provides me an outlet from my very demanding and stressful career. How it started Like many of the makers we talk to, Liz's creative journey started from humble beginnings: a Cricut machine. But she quickly followed the Rabbit hole down and found herself surrounded by like-minded people. My creative journey started when I was gifted a Cricut die cutting machine, which led me to various Facebook groups. And here is common thread we see with all successful makers. They don't stop on one success, they reach for more, learn, invest and deliberately work on growing. Her next phase took her into the world of Sublimation. This is a method to transfer a design to an object using heat, and it makes for some really beautiful art.     In my never-ending quest to expand my creative side and learn new hobbies, I joined a sublimation group and before I knew it, I was making things for friends and family who were willing to pay for my tumblers, ornaments and ever-growing assortment of items that I was creating. The Journey   Sometimes taking that first step is enough, putting your work out there can lead to orders pouring in from family and friends, and even friends of friends. This is the time to make a choice. Are you going to grow this hobby into something bigger? For Liz the answer was YES. Here is how it came about:   It was when I realized people were willing to pay for my craft that my side hustle was born. Liz started investing more time into perfecting her skills and reaching a wider audience. She made a website called River Barn Designs: And things were going well, until one Holiday season, fate came knocking. One Christmas, in the thick of the season I ordered some laser-cut blanks, but to my horror they arrived damaged, and I quickly started to research how to cut my own blanks. In January 2020 I joined various laser groups and by March I had ordered an Aeon Mira 9. Isn't it incredible how growth comes in times of challenges? This is a beautiful example of how a maker stepped up, opened her mind, and expanded her capabilities instead of wallowing in despair at the damaged goods she was counting on.   Her Business now Not only did Liz create a stable and consistent income stream for her and her family, but she also gives that ability to others. This makes the maker community so powerful - as people grow, they tend to help others reach their potential as well. I now run a very successful small business out of my garage and an educational laser group where I help others learn their lasers and how to run a business or a side hustle.   My favorite projects are engraving tumblers and the items that I don’t have to paint. I hate painting. Hey, can't love everything. Liz doesn't enjoy painting much, so she focuses on doing the things she loves. What inspires you? Part of the reason why so many makers choose this path is the inspiration they feel to get up and create every morning. And that energy is contagious. It's something that is worth spreading and sharing. And that is exactly what Liz is doing with the community The Laser Outpost. The creative community inspires me to do more and better. Five months ago, I created a new FB community, The Laser Outpost. That is an educational community where I offer support to creatives on their laser journey. I also provide 1 on 1 classes to Mira owners and those learning Lightburn.   If you haven't already, check out Liz's group - it's full of helpful tips, videos and articles to move you forward with your laser operation.   Advice for makers starting out We always ask successful makers what they would like to tell others who are just starting out in the laser game. There were some good words of wisdom from Liz: My advice to others starting out is to educate yourself as much as you can and to enjoy the creative process. Beautiful advice, and we hope you'll take it!   These stories are the real reason why Len and I are in this business. Makers like Liz inspire us, energize us to create even better products, and help us get through our toughest days - we know it's all worth it.   Liz, thank you for creating, thank you for inspiring and sharing, and of course, thank you for being a PiBurner!!   Happy PiBurning! Len and Stan Laser-focused on your success!       Your story is worth sharing too! Contact Stan to become our next PiBurner!

PiBurn Gigs: 200 Yetis in one order, featuring Molly Kennedy We are excited to tell you about Molly Kennedy and how she uses her Thunder Laser and PiBurn Rotary to power her side hustle to new heights. Her latest order: A gargantuan 200-YETI strong project, all done with no sweat.   Meet Molly and her little red helper. She's crushing the myth that you have to be a "full-time" maker to score big deals and create a great revenue stream using your laser.  With her Thunder Laser and rotary called PiBurn, Molly spun up a nice little side hustle during quarantine while most of us were baking sourdough.   And now she landed this huge order. Yeti's as far as the eye can see! Here is a video of the order:  How did she do it?! Molly is not a full-time“maker”. In fact, this is just a side hobby she's picked up in quarantine. She admits she wasn’t making any money with her laser until she got a PiBurn and got into the tumbler game. Now, its ON!   Thanks to PiBurn I discovered how much people LOVE custom tumblers! My 200 cup order was a client of a friend who needed swag for a big event they had happening. Sometimes it just takes being ready when the opportunity arises and pouncing on it. This is what Molly did beautifully to land this mega order. In this case, Molly's friend saw her work on a social media post and recommended Molly to her client, and that, in turn, lead to an order. The client ordered the Yeti tumblers from Amazon and shipped them to her to engrave. On the pricing - she provided the client with a bulk discount because of the extraordinary size of the order. When it came time to engrave Molly powered on her Thunder and her trusty PiBurn. She engraved these over a week, estimating it took around 10 hours of work plus some cleanup. It wasn't too bad since her 8-year-old was there to help!   Any advice for folks starting out? My advice for those just starting out is don’t be afraid just to try. I see so many posts of people just having their PiBurn sit in the box because they are afraid of it. This is true. There are some folks who have not unpacked their rotary - and they are missing out on a huge opportunity. This is what Molly thought when she plugged her PiBurn rotary into her Thunder laser: Honestly, it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever used! How do you restock? Any Marketing strategy advice? I keep an eye for sales on water bottles and use those as giveaways to show people what I can do. For example, I found $3 bottles and customized them for my son’s baseball team. Parents saw them and word of mouth spread. I had not only water bottle orders, but other laser orders too. I also love to show my work to co-workers which has resulted in a lot of orders from both the company as well as personal orders.   Keep up with Molly on her Instagram: mkennedy_07 and TikTok: @sandtosnowstudio That's all for this PiBurn Gigs series, and we hope you enjoyed it! Have an order that you want to highlight? Contact us. Happy PiBurning!