If you have an artistic side and are considering small business opportunities, look no further than the shoes by your front door, the birthday card you bought your mum, or maybe even the shirt on your back.
Etchings and engraving are used everywhere for numerous products, meaning there’s considerable demand for the service. So with your keen eye and an accurate, high-quality laser engraver, you can provide professionally engraved products in just about any market.
The ideas below don’t scratch the surface of the business possibilities with the right engraving machine, but they can kickstart your creative juices and help you land on a product or service that suits you best.
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10 Ideas for Laser Engraving Businesses/Products
- Customized Gift Items – You can use your laser engraver to create a personalized gift service selling items like keychains, photo frames, and jewelry. These can be great for occasions such as birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries.
- Engraved Signage – Engraved signs are always in demand for businesses or home decor purposes, including house numbers, nameplates, or directional signs.
- Awards and Trophies –They’re not just for school, recreational, or fantasy sports leagues; you can also create customized awards and trophies for corporate events or academic ceremonies.
- Personalized Home Decor –Common everyday household items are often laser engraved, including custom home decor items such as coasters, cutting boards, and wall art.
- Engraved Electronic Gadgets – You can engrave electronic gadgets such as laptops, phones, and tablets, providing a unique personal touch or service businesses that want to engrave their devices with their corporate logos.
- Engraved Wedding Invitations –Wedding invitations are a big business, with couples always looking for unique and personally-designed wedding invitations. Think Lovepop, the company that appeared on Shark Tank with their 3D greeting cards, which has been wildly successful since the show aired.
- Engraved Glassware – If you appreciate a beautifully-crafted glass vessel, you can engrave glassware such as wine glasses, champagne flutes, or beer mugs, which can be great for gifts or events.
- Promotional Products – Businesses often look for products they can brand with their logo and contact information. Ideas include customized promotional products such as keychains, pens, or magnets.
9, Personalized Stationery – Businesses are also often in need of personalized stationery items such as notepads, pens, or bookmarks.
- Pet Tags – Pet parents love their fur babies, so you can always create custom pet tags for pet owners, which can be a great business opportunity if you too are an animal lover.
These are just a few examples of the many home-based businesses you can start with a laser engraver. The possibilities are endless, limited only by your creativity to come up with unique and profitable ideas.
Taking Care of the Business Side of Your Engraving Business
Whether you rent out a spare room occasionally on Airbnb, drive for Uber, walk the neighbourhood dogs or craft beautiful engravings, if you make money from a business venture, you have to register your business with the government and report your income (minus expenses, of course) to the CRA.
A good place to start would be the “Setting up your Business” page from the Government of Canada. It provides all the details you need to choose the business structure that is ideal for your company. Your business structure has a major impact on how you report your income, as well as other tax and legal repercussions.
In a nutshell, the fundamentals of the most typical business structures are as follows:
- A sole proprietorship is the simplest and most fundamental type of business structure, making it ideal for self-employed people. However, because there is no legal distinction between your personal and business affairs, you are personally responsible for any debts or legal actions that the business incurs.
- Partnership. A partnership is a firm that is owned and operated by two or more persons. Otherwise, it’s similar in nature to a sole proprietorship.
- Corporation. Corporations provide the highest protection from taxes and legal liability, but they are complicated to register and require a lawyer and probably an accountant as well. Corporations are also heavily regulated and scrutinized by the CRA.
It’s crucial to select a business structure that makes sense for your current position and keeps in mind your long-term business objectives.