CNCKing.com Volume 5: Design Efficiently, Run a Shop Profitably

I’ve been slowly working up on my next volume with a working title of CNCKing.com Volume 5: Design Efficiently, Run a Shop Profitably since the launch of the 4th roughly a year ago. A lot has changed since that volume was released back in September 26th, 2013 some of which can be obviously felt on CNCKing.com itself.

I use to launch a new design (made by me or somebody else) on a weekly basis for years, things have slowed down a bit on that front simply due to time constraints and the launch of my custom CNC shop CNCROi.com. I’ve been making videos, doing material testing etc… that takes time and networking, visiting clients etc… takes even more time.  I’ve also had a number of customers ask me for a lot more detailed information about the design approach I take and the CNC industry itself this will be a quazi CNC design and business book.

I’ve been debating releasing either everything in one book or putting it two but the more I think about it, the more I realize that designers need a lot of help marketing their products so maybe a design / business approach would be interesting. I’m as much an “accidental” designer as I am a business person in so many ways.

The industry keeps on evolving, there are more players in the game on all fronts – it’s quite fascinating to see how much I’ve grown both personally and professionally living in it for the past 7 years. I guess it was simply a matter of time before I formally joined in the CNC community with my own shop and that has brought up lots of challenges that I’ll also be sharing in the book.

When I launched CNCKing.com, my focus was purely on designing, whether there was a ROI (return on investment) or not. That philosophy behind the site hasn’t changed – which is why you see so many crazy projects – but having my own machines and doing work for customers around the world, the ROI come into play more and more. I’ve seen my friends who have been in the industry do spectacularly great but also have major setbacks in their operations. I started off designing exclusively with wood (hence the original WoodMarvels.com name) and have since diversified across a host of other materials and applications.

Having my own red Austrian laser machine has also played a big role in the way I perceive the industry, now when I talk to my friends who are heads of big and small CNC companies, I can more fully relate to the issues they have to contend with… it’s a lot more vivid being in the game breathing and selling it daily than being an outsider looking in. A lot has changed from the days I was alone in my Korean apartment launching designs and hoping for a sale!

By far my best selling volume to date has been my last one, I’m not looking to replicate the contents as I think it’s a great stand-alone CNC design book, what I’m looking at doing is growing the field of vision I had started to build in it and expand into new areas. I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life and if that has taught me anything it’s that if you are staying in place, you are getting behind as others are still moving ahead of you. My continued focus though is on being as non-technical as possible, I’m not an engineer and I don’t want a reader to have to be an expert in any one field to understand its contents either.