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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!  

An Aeon Laser Poll shows customers prefer the PiBurn Rotary! Aeon Laser USA ran a poll on their forum, and I can’t wait to tell you about it. (Shared with permission.) Here is what the poll asked and the results (as of Sept 23): Source: Aeon Laser Operator Group The question posed to Aeon customers was: Which rotary do you use and why? Overwhelmingly, respondents chose the PiBurn—representing 57% of votes. But that’s not all. One of the options reflected intent (planning to buy the new Aeon Multi-Roller when it’s out), which accounted for about 12% of responses. Removing “future intent” and looking only at actual purchases gives us this: PiBurn’s dominance rises to 66% of actual rotary purchases in the Aeon poll. Why do makers love the PiBurn? PiBurn all the way. Not only is it easy to use but the customer service is exceptional. I also love that they keep up with resources and write blogs about ways to improve your rotary business. PiBurn for ease of use (I have 2 of them, one for each laser) and the new multi roller on order. I originally got a rotary chuck and a smart rotary roller with my machine..then decided to give the Piburn a chance…ABSOLUTELY BY FAR…my favorite. It is so much easier to use and I love doing cups with handles with ease. PiBurn v3. Well made, always consistent and accurate. Always innovating to improve the market. Best customer service available. Best user community around. The piBurn is so great and versatile! Easy to use and holds your cup so steady PiBurn. I love it and I call it my cash cow. It’s the perfect companion to my Aeon Lasers. In fact, I own two. Very easy to use, versatile and well-built and backed by exceptional customer service. These reasons echo reviews for the PiBurn: ease of use, versatility, and consistency are the standout attributes. Many Aeon PiBurners are featured in our blog series, including: PiBurner of the Week (9/19/2022): Heather Lynn PiBurner of the Week (9/1/2022): Sumita & Anuj Patel PiBurner of the Week (11/8/2021): Cathe Ray PiBurner of the Week (12/13/2021): Hope Yoder PiBurner of the Week (9/20/2021): Emily Caroline We couldn’t be more proud of the trust placed in us by the Aeon community. Thank you for the amazing support—we’re here to help you succeed! Happy PiBurning,Len & Stan

Let’s celebrate our PiBurner of the week! Yasmany R. Lazo (Yazo) owner at Btala (btala.Etsy.com) It’s a real joy to tell you all about Yasmany and share some of his creative passion with you We first met Yasmany through a mutual friend who hung out on the same laser forums as we did. I immediately fell in love with Yazo’s creative flair and knew that we needed to get a PiBurn in his hands immediately. Since then, we have become friends and it’s been incredible to watch Yazo’s business grow and develop. But most of all, I value his unique creativity and his whole creative process. It’s a gift that I knew needed to be shared with our readers. And so… let’s dive in and learn how he got here and what drives this amazing artist to keep creating. About Yazo Yasmany R. Lazo (Yazo) was born on the beautiful island of Cuba, just a very short 34 years ago! In his words A country of old cars, rum, habanos and salsa. A beautiful, CHAOTIC and yet culture rich little Island. He now lives with his wife and two young boys (3, and 7 years old) in the beautiful Florida Keys. And yes all their family photos do look like an advertisement of a picture-perfect family on a fancy paradise vacation. Yasmany reflects a lot of the characteristics I value in people, namely, he is genuine and thoughtful; humble and generous; creative and giving. And although he is soothingly calm to converse with, he can be very vigorous, driven, focused, and very determined when it comes to work. In his words… I encourage fighting for what you desire and believe – because nothing great comes easy. There is ancient wisdom in those words. In his book, “The Obstacle is the Way”, Ryan Holiday taps ancient stoic ideas that great things deserve great effort, and the reason something is difficult can actually be used to your advantage. Think about that the next time you are faced with a challenging project – your competition is also facing these challenges. Who will keep trying and prevail and who will give up? His Art Yazo has always been artistically inclined. Check out just some of his work: He attended art and graphic design schools and in later years developed a deep love for photography. Even though he is never satisfied with his own skills, pushing to always improve, his work won acclaim and recognition. On various occasions, Yasmany had his photographs showcased in galleries and even had his work featured at the University of Art and Design in Miami Fl. Like everyone else we know, Yazo went through some changes and some disruption due to the pandemic  – and he had to adapt. He made certain changes including leaving photography behind, consciously putting his passion on a temporary hold. But he had a goal in mind and he wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way. Working a very stressful job, he was able to save enough capital to buy his first laser! And now, he has channeled all that creative drive and experience into something new, something that would grant him a reliable income stream for his family.  His machine of choice was a BOSS LASER LS2436 that he purchased from a friend. And to this day, this is still the machine he currently uses and loves. Of course, like everything worth learning, it came with a learning curve. But it’s Yazo is not one to give up. After doing his research, asking tons of questions, and finding the right folks to help him on his journey, he became proficient and then became an expert in his craft, eventually coming to a place where HE is now the one helping people get started. Several experts helped him along his journey: During my first 3 months, with the Boss Laser, I meet Ben Gonzales a very knowledgeable person who offered me good advice when I needed it. Several other helpful people like Chris Veit, all took time to help me on my journey. How did you come across the PiBurn? Ben put me in touch with Stan and Len, the creators of this amazing company LensDigital – the makers of the PiBurn. I recognized the quality right away and knew that this is the tool I need for my projects if I wanted to take my tumbler game to the next level. Also, the design was definately eye-catching and better than any other rotary I have seen. Well, those words meant a lot coming from him, and we are happy to have grown to be friends over the last year or so. To watch Yazo put the PiBurn to such fantastic use and leverage it as a creative outlet for his talents has been exceptionally rewarding. And a whole lot of fun! Using the PiBurn allows Yazo to handle very precise designs that he loves creating. Also, it allows him to engrave on a large range of tumblers, even those with large handles. But what I personally love the most are his full-wrap designs and those with textured imagery. They make very unique, captivating, and striking drinkware and always make a strong impression – most definitely a statement of art. I bought several for my kids and my wife from his Etsy store and the kids just love them! What have you learned on your journey? Several things. After many conversations with folks that are in this game for a while, and then walking that same path, the main takeaway was to take time to really get to know your tools and software. Another important thing I’ve learned is to TRY TRY TRY and never stop trying. That’s my advice to newcomers. I know its intimidating and lots of us including myself we have very little room in our budgets for wasted materials. But you have to climb the ladder to know what’s on top even when others help you and offer you the answers to your problem you will still have to tinker and adapt to that current problem and the next one coming!   In fact, Yazo always makes himself available to help fellow PiBurners on our support forum where he is one of our designated group experts. What does he ask in return for helping you with your tumbler designs? Of course, do your homework first and put in the effort ahead of time. Give him a bit of time to get back to you (as he has another full-time job) and finally, once you get help and learn, pass that knowledge on to others who also need your help! What inspires you? When it comes to inspiration my family is the biggest, I have two small boys that are on the Autism spectrum (highly functioning), and OH BOY! they are VERY SMART! Coming from a very poor country, you are self-taught to be ambitious and fight for success. But I won’t lie, I get my lazy streaks which I know is something I am working on. I am my own harshest critic and always wanting to be better pushes me! Currently living in the Florida Keys – maybe I don’t appreciate the beauty as much I should. When you live in a place and work all the time, it is hard to truly appreciate the raw beauty of your surroundings. But I can say it’s very beautiful and calming and often inspiring to my work. I know that if I am away from here for long, I truly miss it. Living down here you will get to learn to love fishing and the sunsets… Oh man, the sunsets are killer – and a great fodder for fans of photography like myself. Besides photography: its creating digital art and lasering, and I also enjoy painting and drawing. I’d like to think I’m okay at it, but who knows, I just do it for fun. I also enjoy cooking, collecting figurines, old retro gaming consoles and very time consuming activities like video games! Horizon Zero Dawn is a good one! Like movies, games often inspire me to create some unique artwork and with my PiBurn I can turn anything into a tumbler. But of course, most of all, my FAMILY inspires me and time spent with them is what I really LOVE. It goes by quick so I make the most of it.   Well, reading this makes me want to pack up and leave New Jersey for a long South Florida vacation.   Examples of favorite projects We absolutely love these unique designs, and the expression, character, and precision in this work is just next level. See for yourselves:       It’s incredible to see Yazo’s love for his family, his home, and movies and even video games translate into motivation for the unique and captivating designs he brings us each day in his work. Yazo, it’s an honor to have our tool in your capable hands, keep growing, keep creating and keep inspiring. And of course, thank you for inspiring others, and thank you for being a PiBurner! Happy PiBurning! Len and Stan

Let’s celebrate our PiBurner of the week! Heather Lynn owner at LoBo Designs (@_LoBoDesigns_) We are very excited to introduce you to Heather Lynn, our newest PiBurner! About Heather Today, it's our great pleasure to share the story of Heather Lynn and to let you all in on her amazing journey in the world of lasers. Heather is the owner of LoBo Designs and founder of the Glowcreate® Laser-Learning platform — but first and foremost, she is a wonderful Mom who lives in Philidelphia with her husband and their 4-year-old son Logan. I'm a Mama to my 4-year-old son, Logan Robert (LoBo) and a wife who's married to her best friend! My husband isn't in the "laser underground" like I am, but he's a metalworker and will soon be joining me in the self-employment world! We often see success stories like this; when a spouse gets the entrepreneurial bug, it often spreads to their partner! And what a blessing it is to do something you love, on your own terms, and all while surrounded by your family... Not only is she a maker, but she also shares her knowledge with a growing community of makers just like her. And she has plenty of skills and credentials to lean upon: I am primarily an online instructor & mentor, but I am also a graphic designer and calligrapher, with a Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia & Web Design. The Laser Business Journey Heather got started with her first laser thanks to a clickbait ad on Facebook back in 2019. That's right, I spent $5,500 on a "3D Laser Printer" that I didn't know how to use, nor did I have any idea that it was a CO2 laser She didn't even know what a CO2 laser was at that time! After receiving her Glowforge Pro in October 2019, she learned as much as possible with the limited resources that were available to her at that time. Thankfully, she managed to team up with a few other laser users who were either learning the same things as she was or were ready and willing to show her the ropes and get her up to speed — and it wasn't long before she started creating and selling her own unique laser designs on Etsy! It's uplifting to see makers help each other! There is no shortage of great people in the maker community that lift each other up and support one another. She was doing great, but when she saw an opportunity for growth, she took it. Around the same time that I started selling my designs, I began to have problems with my first Glowforge Pro. While working with their customer service, I started to look into upgrading to a larger, more powerful laser since I was pretty quickly outgrowing my current machine. Again and again, we hear from makers that the Glowforge acted kinda like a "gateway laser" to a more powerful and capable machine. In May of 2020, while she was on Glowforge replacement machine number three, she purchased a 90w Mira 9 from Aeon Laser USA. Just a few short months later, Aeyoncé (that's what I named my laser!) showed up at my house and I hit the ground running. So how did she make out? Was she able to recoup her investment? OH YES! She was able to pay off the Mira in full within six months of receiving it, thanks to her new ability to engrave custom tumblers and cut/engrave larger items at speeds she had never seen before. That's what makes the Mira shine! Let this be an inspiration to you if you are still on the fence. Because of how much time the new machine was saving me, I was able to start dedicating more of my time to the Glowcreate® platform. When Heather wanted to step up her Tumbler game, she opted to go with the PiBurn and has had so much smashing success that she recently became an affiliate of LensDigital! Her link is at the bottom of the article. For Heather, it was about more than just her own success with the laser business. She was intimately interested in helping other makers succeed. Which by the way, is a goal we share with her! In late 2021, she teamed up with her good friends Crystal Aguila (Riley Black Designs) and Emily Caroline (That Mom with a Laser) to start creating online laser-learning courses that would help their group members and mentees learn how to get their machines and design businesses up and running in an easier, more structured way than before — which was through texts, messaging, and group posts... Well, it took a lot of work, thought, investment and planning. But... In early 2022, all three of us launched our laser-learning & design courses! It's great to dream of your big goals. But if you don't take the steps to get you closer, they will remain but dreams. Heather's push toward making these goals a reality and her ability to leverage the help of her friends and has been an inspiration to others who want to follow in her footsteps. The Laser Rotary Journey Heather's rotary journey mirrors her laser journey, as she's had a chance to work with more than one! She received a Smart Rotary with her Mira 9 back in 2020 as part of the preorder package Aeon Laser USA was offering at the time. Shortly after she received her new laser (woo!!) and began to use the Smart Rotary. But like in the real world, things sometimes go sideways. She had a controller issue that wound up frying the motor on her rotary. Yikes! This is where we get the chance to mention the world-class customer service from Aeon. They identified the issue and sent Heather a brand new rotary. It was at that time, while Aeon was sending her a free replacement, that she also ordered another rotary from a different rotory company. At the time, she did not yet know about the PiBurn. After receiving her new roller, it took her a bit to learn how to use it, as it was a very different tool, but thanks to youtube tutorials, she was able to get up to speed. She used that rotary until the beginning of 2022, when she finally decided to upgrade to a PiBurn! The reason she upgraded was that adjusting cup sizes and leveling the other rotary was becoming a tedious and time-consuming part of her workday! We all got other things to worry about, right?! We created the PiBurn to be extremely user-friendly. We wanted to take out all the frustration of using a rotary device and shrink the learning curve with easy adjustments, a comprehensive user manual, and an awesome support community. I ordered a V3 one week before the V4 was announced and I was immediately intrigued in the latest and greatest PiBurn V4, because I wanted to be able to offer tutorials on the rotary and have the most up-to-date version. Well, we are so so happy she reached out to us! I reached out to Stan and I asked if I could hold off on the V3 and upgrade to a V4. Without hesitating, Len & Stan offered to hold my order and upgrade me to a V4, at no cost! I was beyond grateful and kind of shocked at how awesome their customer service was — I had heard about how great they were, but witnessing it firsthand was amazing. I am SO happy I upgraded and became a part of the PiBurn community. Having a PiBurn rotary and being able to quickly adjust to different cup sizes in an instant is just one of the many reasons I love it... Pair that with the customer service I received from Len & Stan and it was a no-brainer! And then the orders started rolling in and the results.... boy do they speak for themselves!   What inspires you? Heather seems to always look for the positive in people and in situations and she is grateful for all the help she got along the way from other makers. What has always inspired me is how helpful the users in the laser world were to me when I showed up in the groups as a clueless, brand-new laser owner with ALL of the questions to annoy everyone with! The amount of time and effort other users put in for free to help me, is the reason I started the Glowcreate® platform. I'm a huge believer in paying it forward and I know how grateful I was for those users who were around to help calm me down at midnight when my laser had a crash, or when I couldn't figure out an engrave, or when I just needed someone to vent to because I was having one of those days. The foundation underneath Glowcreate® is so strong because of the MANY people I was able to lean on as I built it... and I couldn't be more grateful. Advice for makers starting out The first and biggest piece of advice I can give to users starting out in the laser world is, don't be afraid! Don't be afraid to run the job. We couldn't agree more. You can never succeed unless you try. Hit that Fire button! Don't be afraid to mess up. We can certainly guarantee that you will mess up along the way, but never EVER let that stop you. Lean into it, use it as a fire to get you going and you will succeed. Don't be afraid you're going to break something! (Breaking things is the best way to learn how to fix it! hahah) You WILL break something and that is OK, that is expected, that is just part of the Journey. It's a beautiful one, so enjoy it and take some risks, break some things! Don't be afraid to ask for help! This is a big one. Never forget there are people like Heather out there with big hearts who will always be willing to help you with advice or just words of encouragement. Don't be afraid of the laser groups. (The admins in the groups built those environments for people like you to be able to join and get your questions answered!) The very next thing you should do is join Heather's group! It's a must for learning the ropes of your laser: Glowcreate® Laser-Learning Group on FB One other group we can recommend specifically for rotary help is the PiBurn Labs group where you will find a warm and welcoming environment that may inspire you to create something amazing. Don't be afraid of failure... Believe you can do it, because you can! Practice, hustle, repeat — and the rest will fall right into place! Beautiful advice, and we hope you'll take it! So, what are some of Heather's favorite projects? Examples of favorite projects The tumblers that Heather engraves out on her Mira 9 + PiBurn combination are undeniably beautiful. See for yourselves: Important Links • Check out Heather's website: LoBo Designs • Sign up for her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LoBoDesigns • Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_LoBoDesigns_ • Some hilarious videos are waiting for on you TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMePHDGKc/ • And you cant miss the Glowcreate® Laser-Learning Group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/glowcreate • And here is a link to her awesome courses: Glowcreate® Laser-Learning Courses: https://www.glowcreatecourses.com • E-Mail Subscriber Sign-Up & Free Downloads: https://subscribers.lobodesigns.com LoBo Designs These stories are the real reason why Len and I are in this business. Makers like Heather inspire us, energize us to create even better products, and help us get through our toughest days - we know it's all worth it. Heather, 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!

We are often asked, "How can I make money with my laser rotary?" This article will give you a few ideas you can start with a laser rotary engraving business, and the blog series will give you many more concrete examples. So. You have a laser, and you just pulled the trigger on a brand-new rotary attachment. Hopefully, you went with a good one or even chose to go with the very best: PiBurn V Ready to try the best chuck-style rotary for laser engravers? Pre-order the Grip2 now! Regardless of which laser rotary attachment you have, you are wondering: Now what? How do I make money with my laser rotary?? Introducing the PiBurn Gigs blog series, where we show you how you can make money with your rotary We will show you how to put that rotary to work and make it rain! Prior Gigs: Kory Cook and Whale hunting for monster Tumbler orders Two Hundred YETIs with Molly Banks Kennedy BreAnn and engraving a priceless Stanley We have asked hundreds of PiBurn customers how they get their orders and got a lot of different answers. No wonder. It's a huge market, and there are so many unique ways to make money. The examples that we can learn from are so plentiful that we have decided to start a new blog series called PiBurn Gigs: How to make money with your laser rotary. This series will focus on different orders that our customers got and how they did it to serve as an example or inspiration to you! Personalized mugs and tumblers are all the rage right now. Personalized mugs and tumblers are all the rage right now. They sell by the thousands on Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and individual shops. And it's only going to increase from here! Why are custom tumblers selling? There are two main markets for custom tumblers. Huge and growing personalized gifts market First of all they make great gifts for family, friends, colleagues, bosses and employees (And don't forget school bus drivers, teachers, mailmen etc!). A custom engraving shows them that you care and gives them a personal connection with your gift. These gifts make an incredible and lasting impression incorporating a personal element into an item they will keep and use for a long time. Second, there are many small businesses that will want custom tumblers from you. Massive market with small businesses (And even large organizations and corporations!) There are 32 MILLION small businesses in the US alone, and that number is growing! (source). Do you know what they all have in common? They all NEED TO CONNECT WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS! Each and every single one of them. They are trying hard to form a connection, to form trust, to form and grow a relationship. Even large corporations need swag for employees, clients, and corporate events. Tumblers are the way to do it! Tumblers are better than other gifts/merch in many ways. First, it's one size fits all! Second: They can last for a VERY long time. And most importantly: It is the only way to get your logo this close to your customers! They are literally bringing your company's tumbler to their face, sipping from it, and saying, "mmm, I love this coffee" and by association, I love this company! There is no other way to get this close and this intimate with your customers. This is why the demand for Tumblers has exploded and shows no signs of slowing. Our customers are landing HUGE orders right now. Even 2,000+ Tumblers in one order. Did you know: Customers who drink coffee from a mug engraved on a PiBurn are 150x more likely to buy something from you! (OK, I made that up) Given that backdrop, how do you make money with your laser rotary? Here are the top four strategies to make money with custom tumblers Even though the opportunities are limitless, we can bucket the most common jobs into four silos: Elephant hunting (going after huge orders from corporations based on relationships) Most of the Gigs Series will be focused on this bucket. E-commerce platform (running a shop on Etsy or similar for micro-orders) PiBurners Blog series shows many successful examples. 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) As we progress with this series, we will provide specific examples of successful businesses and side hustles that follow each one of the above strategies. Remember, the best way to learn is by doing! You will have challenges, no doubt. Don't be afraid to seek help. Our thriving laser community is ready to help you succeed. Grab your PiBurn, pick a strategy and GO! Happy PiBurning from Len and Stan!

Let’s celebrate our PiBurners of the week! Sumita and Anuj Patel owners at HOME BOUND CUSTOM DECOR (@homeboundcustomdecor) We are very excited to share the inspiring success story of PiBurners Sumita and Anuj Patel Sumita reached out to me about becoming a PiBurn affiliate a few weeks ago and we got to talking and hit it off. As I learned more about the couple's growth story, their journey really struck me as one very symbolic of so many laser entrepreneurs we speak with. The traits that usually lead to success - like not being afraid to invest in your tools, recognizing and jumping on an opportunity, and constantly feeding your growth mindset really make this story worth sharing. Also, like so many PiBurners' their business started as a small side hustle but within the first year grew to six figures! And when I marveled at their Instagram, (they surpassed 30k subscribers, woo!!) learned more about their laser class, and all the great things they do with their PiBurn, I knew we had a beautiful match! Let's dive in and learn how they did it. About Sumita and Anuj Sumita and Anuj live in Atlanta, Georgia, where they own and operate Home Bound Custom Decor. It is a laser engraving business specializing in personalized home goods and gifts. We are a husband/wife operated business and we recently welcomed our first child to our family this past May! Like so many other PiBurners their business is run on top of their full-time jobs! (No not just being parents ;) It's another beautiful example of a side hustle that turned into a meaningful and consistent income stream. We have corporate jobs (Sumita is an attorney and Anuj is in sales). In addition to our engraving business, we host a class where we help other laser owners grow their business. We are passionate about helping other small businesses expand their presence and sales. The Journey Home Bound started on the Patel kitchen counter in 2019 with a 25$ investment. Afterward, they posted a few of their DIY items on Facebook Marketplace! From humble beginnings... Within the first week, they received over 50 orders and knew they were on to something. This is where they recognized the opportunity and quickly acted on it. We quickly invested in not just one, but two, and then three laser machines (Glowforge Pros). And similar to many PiBurners they quickly outgrew the Glowforge machines and moved fast to invest in their growing toolset. Within a few months, we realized that in order to keep up with business demand, we would need a faster and stronger laser, so we invested in the Aeon Mira 7 and 9. Since starting in 2019, we have expanded into our own warehouse and even have two employees! We ship over 400 orders a month nationwide and Canada and have developed wholesale relationships with boutiques, real estate agencies, and more. Pretty incredible! With their growth, they are now job creators and also give back by teaching others the way to success in the laser world. The link to their laser class where they share tips and tricks on how they grew sales to the six-figure mark within the first year is: https://www.homeboundcustomdecor.com/collections/small-business-q-a-class/products/recording-of-november-15th-small-business-q-a-session Tools of choice: Aeon Lasers and PiBurn Sumita and Anuj use the Mira 7 as a Rotary-Exclusive machine so that they don't have to swap out settings each time. We love having a machine dedicated to our rotary-based product line and this allows us to be a lot more efficient with our time. We have the Piburn with Magnetic feet and highly recommend this for even easier use! They just recently launched tumblers, and these have been a hit! With just three bulk orders, they earned their PiBurn investment back! BTW! This is the real reason we built this tool. It pays for itself, and then it keeps making money for many years. How do they grow their business? Their approach is simple. They build strong relationships with large companies, and guess what, those companies keep coming back to the people they trust and continue to place large orders. While we do allow solo sales of our tumblers on our website, we focus our efforts on building relationships with corporations, wholesale accounts, gifting agencies, etc. so that we can obtain large scale orders for the tumblers. It's not easy. It's a lot of hard work, thoughtful decision-making, relationship-building, investment, and planning. And yes, a lot of laser firing! But isn't it all so worth it?! If you like their story, take a look at their website and visit (and follow them) on Instagram. All links are below. Examples of favorite projects The tumblers that Sumita pumps out on her Mira + PiBurn combination are undeniably beautiful. See for yourselves: As I've said before, hearing success stories like this is the main reason LensDigital is in this business. We are here to help makers like Sumita and Anuj succeed! Important Links HOME BOUND CUSTOM DECOR Instagram: @homeboundcustomdecor E: hello@homeboundcustomdecor.com Web: www.homeboundcustomdecor.com Class: https://www.homeboundcustomdecor.com/collections/small-business-q-a-class/products/recording-of-november-15th-small-business-q-a-session PiBurn affiliate link Sumita and Anuja, it's a real honor to have our tool in your hands, keep growing, keep creating and keep shining. And of course, thank you for inspiring others, and thank you for being PiBurners! Happy PiBurning! Len and Stan Laser-focused on your success! Your story is worth sharing too! Contact Stan to become our next PiBurner!

The dreaded Slop Over Error has power over you NO MORE Almost every one of us has encountered it. The dreaded “Not enough Extended Space” or “S.L.O.P. Over” error causes much pain and anguish to laser people everywhere. There’s no need to panic though! It’s only your machine's way of telling you “Help! I think I reached the limit where I can move safely!”. Every laser machine has its maximum and minimum working size in width and length based on its bed size. This is to prevent the laser head from crashing into the side of your laser. The most important thing to learn about is.... the ORIGIN. Watch this video to learn all about the reasons for this error, to understand user origin, and how to deal with the error once and for all.  

We are excited to announce PiBurn 4.0!   This is the best and most beautiful PiBurn we've ever created. With an updated design, new look and feel, as well as several functional improvements, you will absolutely LOVE this new rotary! Pre-Orders Start March 14th, 2022. Pre-Order NOW       New features in PiBurn V4.0 An improved lift mechanism for even better precision. Lower profile! The lift handle is now on the side, not on the top of the vertical tower, so you don't have to worry about crashes Self locking vertical lift mechanism means no more fiddling with a thumbscrew to fixate the height of the back wheels Now, the back wheels move even LOWER to allow for oversized objects and odd-shaped wine glasses We now have an engraved ruler on the back rail for extreme repeatability and quick setup Even sturdier design Markings on the clamp for easy alignment to your laser - makes squaring your PiBurn a piece of cake New styling and color scheme. This is the hottest looking rotary on the market!     Will an upgrade kit be available for PiBurn 3.0 to 4.0 conversion? We know that many of you out there have a PiBurn 3.0 and may want to upgrade. We want to underscore that the 3.0 is an extremely capable and versatile machine! But for all the V3 owners that want to upgrade to the latest and greatest... we WILL offer an upgrade kit! Kits will ship in June 2022. Check our support forum to see when they become available to purchase.