3D PRINTING BUSINESS PLAN SAMPLE

Printing has come of age with a lot of innovations which has transformed the way printing is done. Starting a 3D printing business requires adequate planning as several things need to be put in place.

First, important things like, having a clear niche in mind and also having all the equipment ready including other requirements for a successful 3D printing business are a necessity.

To start a successful 3D printing business, there are certain things to put in place. This article provides tips on these requirements with the following points;

  • Choosing Your Printing Niche

Knowing your niche is necessary for optimal performance. As a 3D printing business, you will certainly not want to handle all types of 3D prints, as there is a high likelihood that you might not satisfy every client’s specifications, especially for highly specialized 3D printing jobs.

Selecting a niche also helps you to focus your attention on providing satisfactory services while also improving through constant on-the-job practice.

  • Be Innovative

One key element of starting a 3D printing business is having innovative ideas. Because of the versatile applications for 3D printing, making any meaningful progress requires being innovative.

With innovation, your clients are likely to be satisfied, and also help in growing your client base through word of mouth marketing. Thinking outside the box can mean the difference between outperforming your competition or joining the bandwagon.

  • Purchase of Equipment

Starting a 3D printing business requires that you set in place all the equipment and machine necessary for the full take-off of the business. A paramount necessity here is the 3D machine. There are several types of 3D machines.

However, you must know your scale of operation, to know the type of 3D machine to buy. 3D machines do not come cheap. Some of these machines have different production capacities. For a small 3D printing business, there will be no need to get a large 3D printing machine, as a small one will do the job.

  • Get the Necessary Training

To be effective in the 3D printing industry, adequate training is a requirement. If the business will grow, the owner must have been adequately trained in every aspect of 3D printing. This gives clients strong confidence in their ability to get the job done.

Having the right mindset, in addition to possessing some basic characteristics such as an innovation and imagination will bolster your chances of learning fast and providing the best services to your clients.

  • Factor in Your Competition

When deciding to start a 3D printing business, ensure that your competition forms a significant part of your consideration and planning. What better way is there of gaining a fair market share than doing better the things your competitors are overlooking? The very little details about a 3D business matter.

In the end, they all have a multiplier effect in determining how well the business does. Your competition may likely take some things for granted. Check for these weaknesses and exploit them to your advantage.

  • Provide Value Added Services to Clients

To make your 3D business stand out, providing value-added services is key to the realization of growth. Clients will gravitate to the business that offers more or better incentives. This means that the introduction of reasonable incentives and discounts can become your selling point.

Providing value-added services has the potential of winning client loyalty which is the ultimate goal in business. Value addition does not have to be huge discounts or huge incentives.

Doing this may likely hurt the business. Instead, a little discount here and a little there can make the whole difference.

  • Get Customer Feedback and Improve Upon Them

If you want your 3D business to grow and expand, then you might want to take customer feedback seriously. The feedback from your customers provides vital insights into the unique needs of clients, in addition to proffering solutions to hitherto difficult situations. This gives a picture of what the customer wants. And since the customer is king, you don’t want to joke with his/her opinion, as it can cost you more dollars at the end of the day.

  • The Durability of Your 3D Prints

The durability of your products will have more clients patronizing your services. It is never enough to hurriedly produce a product without making the product undergo a stringent quality control test. Negative reviews about the product will spread like wildfire if found to be of an inferior standard.

This is why the durability and quality of the product should form an important consideration when producing your products.

  • Accept Constructive Criticisms and Improve Upon Them

To excel in the 3D printing industry, you must develop resilience and the ability to accept criticism. By accepting constructive criticism and working on them, your level of progress will significantly improve. This goes together with getting customer feedback. The opinion of the customer matters a lot.

However, you must be able to distinguish between constructive criticism and destructive criticism.

Starting a 3D printing business requires that you discard any negative criticism and embrace the positive ones.

Here is a sample business plan for starting a 3d printing press.

3D PRINTING BUSINESS PLAN EXAMPLE

Who would have thought a few decades ago that items could be printed out in tangible form? That would have seemed crazy if it was made mention of. The benefits have been enormous. However, our aim is not to discuss its benefits but to offer the reader a 3D printing business plan sample. Why is that so? A lot of entrepreneurs have had difficulties trying to create their business plans.

We believe this article will be found handy as it helps new entrepreneurs understand what it is required to put a plan in place. No matter the scale of your business, you will find this very helpful. Our advice is that you should not complicate things. Your plan should be easily understood by you as well as by investors who will require a copy.

Executive Summary

3Dprints™ is a professional 3D printing service that offers services that include 3D printing, 3D scanning, design, and reverse engineering among several others. Our business model is such that encourages creativity and innovation. For each job we get, we provide detailed finishing.

This includes post-processing where finishing work like painting and chemical treatments among others are done.

Although we are located in Seattle, Washington, our services and the clients we provide them to are not bound by geographical boundaries. What this means essentially is that clients can simply design their jobs using CAD tools, export, and upload these designs to us using our website.

We evaluate the work and give an appropriate quote. Once payment is done, we 3D print the work and deliver or the client picks it personally.

  • Our Services

At 3Dprints™, we provide a variety of services such as 3D printing, 3D scanning, 3D designing, reverse engineering, as well as post-processing to enhance the quality of printed jobs. Post-processing includes support clearance, chemical treatments, and painting among others. We use some of the most advanced technology in getting the job done.

These include FDM, SLS, and SLA. Each of these is suited for specific 3D printing jobs. It also depends on the outcome we want to obtain. In addition to these services, we provide training workshops, guest lectures, and corporate training as well.

  • Vision Statement

We at 3Dprints™ are professionals in 3D printing and seek to enhance the quality of our services. Our end goal is to grow into a formidable 3D printing business in America and to be listed among the top 20. This will require a lot of work. We realize this and are equal to the task.

  • Mission Statement

Our mission as a 3D printing business is to provide the best jobs to our clients. Most clients prefer to patronize 3D printing services with a proven track record. We are in the process of building our reputation. This is through the provision of services that are nothing less than exceptional. We desire to exceed the expectations of our clients.

Achieving this objective is paramount because we know that this will translate to expertise.

  • Financing

A substantial amount of funding is necessary for running a successful 3D business. We are a business with huge expansion plans in the works. To get the funding required, we have sold 25% of our shares to 2 major investors. This has enabled us realize $2,000,000.00. From this amount, we have been able to purchase 3D printing machines and accessories. This is in addition to building a functional website for our business.

  • SWOT Analysis

An analysis of strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats has been necessary to help us get a better perspective of our operations. As expected, the findings have been revealing and show the following;

  • Strength

Our business operations are not restricted by geographical territory. We are headquartered at Seattle, Washington, but serve a global clientele. Wherever our clients are, all they need to do is to create their designs on CAD, upload them to us and notifying us.

We in turn analyze the designs and dimensions and send a quote. On payment, we 3D print the drawing and ship it to these clients. Clients may choose to pick up their completed jobs themselves.

  • Weakness

We are have not attained the desired level of patronage we aspire to. In other words, we are still at the development stages and are not well known. This situation is only temporary and will restrict the type of jobs we handle.

  • Opportunities

3D printing has opened up a world of opportunities for businesses in almost every sector of the economy. This creates a vast demand which needs to be filled or met. We are perfectly suited to offer such services. To take advantage of these opportunities, we have embarked on a strong marketing drive. This is in addition to our soon-to-launch expansion drive.

By serving a global clientele, we are well-positioned to break into the commanding heights of the 3D printing business empire.

  • Threats

A major economic recession poses a danger to our 3D printing business. This is because almost every industry is affected by the process. This takes away a huge chunk of demand for our services. This is a real threat that stares us in the face. The good part is that a recession does not happen often.

  • Sales Projection

The demand for 3D printed materials is growing as businesses discover the inherent possibilities. We on the other hand see this as a great opportunity to flourish. We have sought to measure our level of patronage over a 3-year timeframe. The following sum up our findings;

  • First Financial Year $800,000.00
  • Second Financial Year $1,600,000.00
  • Third Financial Year $4,500,000.00

 

  • Competitive Advantage

To provide the best of services to our clientele, we have resolved to use the best 3D printing equipment.

These do not come cheap. However, the benefits are enormous. Our staff all undergo periodic training sessions to help update their skills and to also keep up with newer innovations. In addition to these, we have put in place attractive remuneration packages to motivate our workforce to perform better.

  • Target Market

3D printing has found application in various fields including medicine/healthcare, the auto industry, building, and several others. At the moment, our focus is restricted to the vast engineering industry. We plan on expanding our areas of coverage as the need arises.

We hope that you will find this 3D printing business plan sample useful.

Writing down a plan requires patience, diligence, and also the desire to carry out a thorough job. By getting information about the small but important details of establishing a 3D business, you will be guided on to apply these to your plan.

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