How to start your own business with a CNC machine and what income can be expected?
Many skilled craftsmen dream of their own business, but do not know where to start. If you know how to work with CNC machines, you can purchase a relatively inexpensive device and produce objects that are in guaranteed demand. This article will look at an approximate business plan for creating a business with a CNC machine, the range of products that can be produced on this equipment, and the potential risks that a novice entrepreneur will face.
- Business on a CNC machine
- Why business on a CNC machine can be profitable?
- Business plan for a milling machine with CNC
- What can be made on a milling machine with CNC for sale?
- Ideas for a business with CNC machines for wood and plastic
- Business on a lathe with CNC
- Reviews of the business on CNC machines
Business on a CNC machine
Today, a healthy lifestyle and natural interiors are in vogue. People are drawn to everything natural, made not in mass production. Therefore, the concept of a small workshop, where a private entrepreneur works, appeals to many. But that's in theory.
In practice, it is desirable to study the tastes and needs of your target audience. For example, in the “Wordstat” service, you can see what search queries people from your region enter in search engines, their frequency, and seasonality. Most likely, by summer, interest in garden tools, seedlings, and original gardening items increases. In the Yandex.Vzglyad service, you can create surveys for focus groups and directly ask potential consumers what products they need.
You will have to find out the price of the products through trial and error. Start by trying to sell goods at the same price as the competitors’ (local or from the region with a similar income level), then raise the prices a little and see how the public reacts.
Think in advance about what additional services you can offer to customers. The most obvious thing that comes to mind is free delivery. Another option is to offer free measuring services for customers who order furniture or interior elements from you.
From a legal point of view, it is most convenient to register a business on a CNC machine as an individual entrepreneur. It falls under a simplified taxation regime.
Why business on a CNC machine can be profitable?
CNC machines are distinguished by exceptionally high productivity. They can process a very wide range of materials: composite compositions, solid and colored metals, rubber, wood, natural and artificial leather, and so on. Thus, you can try your hand at different industries and finally find the product that you will excel at producing.
The second significant argument is that CNC machines provide exceptionally high processing accuracy. You can create items based on complex authorial sketches, make unique objects. This will guarantee the competitiveness of your enterprise. Even if your neighbor buys the same machine, there is very little chance that he will start producing the same items as you.
Business plan for a milling machine with CNC
Before you register your business, it is advisable to have not one business plan for it but two: based on minimum costs and optimal. In the case of minimal expenses, the range of services provided will be smaller, and the model of the machine will be simpler.
First, consider the layout with minimal investment. It is great if you have an old but still functional computer that can be used for production. If there is no computer, you can buy one for 20,000 rubles or even less if you buy a used device from acquaintances.
The cost of the CNC 4060 machine will be approximately 100,000 rubles. You will need to store materials for it somewhere - the rent for the premises will be about 30,000 rubles. The approximate cost of equipment for processing materials will be 5000 rubles, plus a few thousand rubles to buy furniture for the workplace. As a result, the starting capital will be about 150,000 rubles.
Every month, you will have to pay rent for the premises, electricity bills, purchase consumables, and do advertising. The amount of expenses will fluctuate around 40,000 rubles. It will be possible to produce goods with a total value of 40,000 rubles on a CNC machine in just one working day if the machine is fully loaded throughout the entire 8-hour shift. The payback period for the business in this case will be about 3 months. If the load is not full at first, the payback period will increase to six months or more.
Now let's move on to the standard budget option. The estimated cost of the machine will be around 160,000 rubles, storage space - 60,000 rubles, furniture for arrangement - 20,000, equipment for material blanking - 5000 rubles. As a result, the initial capital will be about 245,000 rubles, not including a computer. With this, the cost of electricity and advertising will increase about two times, and the entrepreneur will have to invest about 100,000 rubles per month in their business.
The level of income will depend primarily on the materials processed on the machine. The average material cost is 60 rubles/m, the minimum is 20 rubles/m, the maximum is 500 rubles/m. The average processing speed is 6000 mm/min. So, during an 8-hour shift, you will be able to process approximately 2880m of material, that is, about 360m per hour.
This will allow you to earn approximately 172,000 rubles per day, or 3,800,000 rubles per month. To increase the volume of earnings, as the client base expands, the machine can be moved to a round-the-clock operating mode. If you acquire clients interested in processing more expensive materials, you can apply a markup of 50 to 100%.
In conclusion, with the minimum investment, the average payback period will be about 3 months. By the end of the first month of work, it is quite realistic to open a profit with an amount of 375,000 rubles (after deduction of taxes and monthly expenses).
The profit of the machine at the end of the first month will be 375,000 rubles if its downtime is 88%. You will need time to communicate with customers, keep records, and other similar tasks. If the downtime is reduced to 83%, the profit will increase to 565,000 rubles.
What can be made on a milling machine with CNC for sale?
If we analyze the already created and successfully functioning businesses on CNC machines, it will be clear that most entrepreneurs perform the following operations on these devices:
- cut materials;
- decorate materials;
- produce curved wood cutting;
- produce furniture parts.
This is not about creating a finished product that consumers will buy, but about supplying other productions. Small and medium-sized businesses willingly order from owners of CNC machines the manufacture of components for complex mechanisms, as well as miniature parts with intricate configuration. Not every small furniture company can afford to purchase its own milling machine - and it won't pay off for them. Therefore, there will be stable demand for the services of the machine.
Supporting businesses is also profitable in that you will not need to invest in marketing. It will be enough to contact entrepreneurs directly and offer them your services. You will avoid the costs of outdoor and contextual advertising, research the target audience, and promote your business through social networks.
As for ready-made goods, it is best not to reinvent the wheel but to produce things that can be put into circulation immediately after purchase. These include cutting boards and other kitchen utensils, for example.
Ideas for a business with CNC machines for wood and plastic
The first thought that comes to the owners of CNC machines is to set up furniture and interior items production. Indeed, such products are always in demand. CNC machines allow you to bring to life designs of almost any level of complexity at quite an acceptable cost. You can put up for sale ready-made products and simultaneously inform potential buyers that personalized orders are also accepted.
Often, the same customers who buy furniture and interior elements also need stairs, doors, platbands, shutters for their homes. This primarily concerns dacha owners and owners of country houses and cottages. In this segment, it is not difficult to find well-off customers for whom the main value is the original design, as well as the naturalness and high quality of materials. By serving such customers, you can reasonably put a markup on the exclusivity of the products.
Parents eagerly buy wooden toys for children of all ages. Thanks to the trend for everything ecological and natural, they are currently in more active demand than plastic analogs. Wooden designers and miniature furniture for dolls are selling very well.
In recent years, a clear trend has emerged: promotional products made of wood are popular with companies from a wide variety of industries. It is very original and creative. Unlike printed materials, they are not crumpled and thrown away - on the contrary, they are prominently placed and admired for a long time. Most likely, not all companies in your city are aware of this possibility, so try to offer it yourself.
In resort areas during the high season, there will be a steady demand for souvenirs. It is quite easy to enter this market - but you need to figure out in advance how to make a living in the winter. Either find a way to sell enough souvenirs for the summer to have enough profit all year round.
Here are a few examples of products that can be produced on CNC machines:
Business on a lathe with CNC
A lathe by itself does not offer such broad opportunities as a milling machine, so it is recommended to purchase both types of equipment. Entrepreneurs who only have a lathe can produce workpieces for local souvenir businesses on it. However, cheap souvenirs are now massively coming from China, so it is very difficult to compete with the Chinese.
The second possible option is to communicate with nearby enterprises and find out their needs. Good turners are always highly valued. Therefore, there is a chance that the enterprise will refuse its old service providers and conclude a contract with you - but for this to happen, your products must be of truly impeccable quality.
Reviews of the business on CNC machines
People who have already tried themselves in this field unanimously affirm that it is worth starting a business with a CNC machine only if you plan to work on it yourself. Hiring a third-party operator is too expensive and unreliable. It is unlikely that he/she will invest as much enthusiasm in his/her work as you will.
The most common mistake made by novice entrepreneurs is the premature expansion of the business. As soon as the enterprise begins to generate stable income, the owner starts thinking about buying new machines and renting additional premises. Instead, you should think about improving the quality and expanding the range of products, training employees, and investing in advertising.
Finding your niche in the market and then diversifying production is the most important task for all entrepreneurs. You need to be ready to experiment with different types of products, to be able to quickly switch between different segments.
Finally, communication, the ability to communicate and establish connections with potential customers are extremely important. This often helps to save on advertising expenses.
As you can see, it is not difficult to implement the idea of a business on a CNC machine. The key aspect is to correctly identify the needs of your target audience and produce exactly the things that will be in demand. As for the investments, for a start, you can try to start with a minimum budget, and then develop production in accordance with increasing sales volumes.
