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If you already have, or are thinking of buying a laser cutter and engraver, you are probably familiar with the xTool M1. Today I’m sharing Business Ideas You Can Make with xTool – so this is just the post you’re looking for if you’d like to make some extra money with your machine!
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Maybe you’re like me, and you want to jump right in and sell ALL the things to ALL the people. I mean, you want to do everything your machine can do, right?
But in reality, you’ll be much more successful if you get a little more targeted and specific in what you’re selling. So let’s talk about some of the best small business ideas here.
I’m going to focus on the 3 groups of people you might sell to, and some ideas of themed products you could make with your xTool M1.
For the Pet Owners
People love to spoil their pets and love to find ways to remember them. Some of these laser products will be just what they’re looking for.
Name Tags
This one is a pretty easy “go to” pet product. Pet tags are easy to engrave and are lightweight to ship. If you can find people who don’t want what the machine at the pet store has to offer, you’ll be able to help them make one that’s truly original.
Ornaments
Laser cut ornaments are a hot item for pet owners. And there are several different ways you can design these. Make a circle ornament with a cut out of the pet’s breed silhouette. You can further customize with an engraved name, or even dates if it’s a memorial ornament.
Engraved Leather Collars
Research places where you can purchase pre-made leather collars. Then you can offer custom engraving with the pet’s name and other decorations if you like.
When sourcing your leather collars, make sure they contain no chromium and no PVC – these materials are hazardous to lasers.
Custom Pet Frames
Find some pre-made wood frames that you can engrave. Decorate the frame edges with dog bones or fish skeletons. Or you could buy or design your own laser cut file for a paw print shaped frame. Either way, they can be personalized with the pet’s name.
Etched Portraits on Slate
There are programs that will help you turn a regular picture into a negative type image that can be lasered onto a slate. You can make coasters, or larger display pieces with a current pet, or as a memory piece.
Buy slate here
Acrylic Keychains in Pet Shapes
Acrylic keychains are really popular right now. Try out some different designs (and make sure your laser can work with the colors you choose). Cut circle keychains with a pet silhouette engraved in the middle.
Or cut out the shape of the pet and engrave their name across the center.
Then attach a hardware keychain and bump it up a notch with a little tassel or bead hanging from it too.
For the Reader
Wood Earrings with Book Titles
Wood earrings are fun to make because you can combine laser cutting, laser engraving and laser scoring.
Buy or design book earring files and customize them for your customers. You can add book titles or something else special that the reader wants.
Buy 1/8 inch basswood here
Bookmarks
Leather works great as a bookmark because it’s got some flexibility. The wood is really cool because of the grain lines, but be careful that none of the pieces are too skinny and brittle. Acrylic works too, as long as it’s not too thick, because you don’t want to damage the book spine.
Tumblers with Reading Quotes
People love tumblers that show off their favorite hobbies. Quotes on bottles is a great way to do it. It’s a great way to connect with others who share their same obsessions.
Library Bags Decorated with HTV
As popular as audiobooks are, we will never get rid of real paper books and libraries. I love this particular quote from Lemony Snicket and you can get the SVG for it here. There are lots of other ways to decorate cute library bags with heat transfer vinyl too.
Get blank canvas bags here
Cork Coasters
Cork shows off laser engraving really well. Coasters can be customized with favorite authors, book puns, or pretty flowers blooming from book covers.
Get cork coasters here
For Other Small Business Owners
Display Signs or Stands
Anyone who runs a booth at summer markets or school craft fairs knows that the way they display their items can make a big difference in how the event goes for them.
Check out this sticker display for instance. It’s made from 3mm plywood and could be stained or painted. It also holds together without glue, so it could collapse for easy transportation and storage if needed.
It shows off the stickers much better than just having them spread flat on a table.
There are lots of other designs like this too for displaying different kinds of jewelry, stationery, and even bath products, and baked goods!
Tags for Merch
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This is one of my favourites. Inexpensive wood tags can be a great way for apparel sellers to stand out just a bit. This is a fake logo I designed for a fake shop, and they can be tied onto whatever they’re selling. With just a bit more work, they could include the size of the item as well, and a price sticker can easily be applied to the back.
By using the premade tags from xTool, all you have to do is engrave the design.
Logo Branded Items like Leather Patches
Just about anything can have a logo added to it – and what’s more fun that wearing your OWN logo!
You could sell leather patches with someone’s logo that they could apply to their own hat, beanie, or backpack.
Logo Sign
Here’s my own logo sign that I made a couple of years ago with a scroll saw. But it would be even faster to do with a laser cutter.
You can make or buy the wood round, then cut out all the pieces, paint, and layer with super glue. There might even be some local places near you that would love something like this to display.
What’s next for your home business?
I’m sure when you sit down to do your own brainstorm, you can come up with a bunch of other groups of people, and items that people would buy. And it’s really fun to list out different craft business ideas.
Then your assignment is to zero in on one of those groups. Ask friends who fit in those categories what they like to use that makes their Reading Life, Pet Life, Shop Life, etc, easier? Or what is something they wish could be easier?
Maybe you’ll be able to think of something to make that fills the void or fixes that pain point.
But no matter what, your xTool M1 can help get you there. Have questions? Leave a comment!
