This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Side Hustle School team, welcome to episode 2,440. My name is Chris Guillebeau, your host. Today, we're gonna look at the viability of a 3D printing business. Specifically, we're gonna hear from an engineer. His name is Tim, he's from New York City.
He's eyeing the growing field of 3D printing, and he's considering taking the plunge to turn this fascination into a bonafide side hustle. He wants to make money from his hobby, his passion, his skill, I love that. His background in engineering will undoubtedly serve him wellness endeavor, but Tim is looking for a bit more guidance on how to ensure that the idea is actually viable. Now, this is really important. You can develop the skill for all kinds of business ideas, so it's not just about Tim and his specific question here, although we're gonna look at that, of course, but how do you figure out for any idea, is this viable, might this be something worth pursuing?
You don't always know for sure, but it's nice to have a bit of an idea before you spend a lot of time and money on something. So let's delve into Tim's question. Got a quick little message from our sponsor. Appreciate those sponsors, allowing us to keep the lights on. Mostly, I appreciate you, our listeners.
So we're gonna get to Tim's question in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hello, this is Tim calling from New York. I've been a fan of the show for a while now, and I'm finally taking the plunge to start my own side hustle. As an engineer, I've been toying with the idea of starting a 3D printing business for a while now, but before I fully invest my time and resources into this idea, I wanna make sure it's a viable one. I know there are a lot of factors that go into determining the viability of a business, so I was hoping you could help me understand what I should be looking at and what questions I should be asking to make sure this is worth pursuing.
Thank you so much. [Music]
Hey, Tim, I appreciate the call and the message. Glad you're out there, glad you're exploring some ideas. And I do think the 3D printing industry is becoming more accessible to entrepreneurs. It's still growing.
A few years ago, it was very nascent, and some people were doing well with it then, but now more and more people are familiar with it, so it just grows the market. So let's talk about this. Before launching a 3D printing business, or really any business, but we'll try to make it specific to your idea, it's crucial to answer these questions, okay? Just a couple of questions, really simple. What problem are you solving?
Let's just start with that. What is the problem that you are solving? This could be anything from creating custom parts for other businesses, so it's like a B2B business, to personalized home decor for consumers. So very different business models there. And also very different target audiences.
So I like to use the concept of an ideal customer, more than a target audience, just because target audience sounds really big and broad, and ideal customer gets you thinking about who is that person, that individual that I want to serve. Of course, you want to serve more than one individual, but you start with that ideal customer. And that can help you determine whether it is a B2B idea or a B2C idea. And to bring it back to problems, what problems is that person having? So what problem am I solving and for whom?
What problem are you solving? Who's your target audience? What is your unique selling proposition, USP? Like how is your 3D printing business going to stand out from any other? This could be something from quality designs, niche products, just your messaging.
And just to caution you a bit here, people tend to get hung up on this question more than any other, because they're like, oh, how can I create something that's never been made before? You know, that word unique kind of suggests that it is in fact one of a kind, but there's lots of ways to make something unique. It doesn't have to be something that's never been made before. Again, the difference could be in messaging. It could be in the specific ideal customer slash target market you're trying to connect with.
But just think about those things. What's the problem you're solving? Who are you helping? The problem you're solving and for whom, and what is your unique selling proposition? Lots of other stuff we could talk about, but honestly, if you get those things right, everything else would be so much easier.
People often skip these steps and they start thinking about, how do I run my social media campaign? How do I buy ads? And what's my strategy for upselling? And those are great questions to ask once you've got the initial idea down, but the idea matters the most. So think about that.
Best of luck, Tim. Listeners, best of luck to you as well. I'm excited to connect with lots of listeners on the road this week. I'm actually in Portland, Oregon, my hometown tonight. I was in Seattle last night going on to Austin, Texas tomorrow, but it'll be fun to be at Powell's Bookstore tonight.
All details on my website, chrisguillebeau.com/tour. And of course, the podcast rolls on, new episode every day. This is Chris Guillebeau, your host of "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
