Ask Lemmy

26903 readers

1546 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

I would like to start a simple business related to 3D printing, reverse engineering and 3D scanning. What are common pitfalls of first time entrepreneurs? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I am business dumb, but I have a very unique mix of skills I would like to turn into a side hustle. Needless to say, there is going to be a huge learning curve for me.

Sure, I could just sell 3D prints on Etsy, but I would rather focus on B2B type work with a more hands on approach than the Chinese print farms/PCB manufacturers. (I'll start an Etsy shop for practice, but that particular market seems extremely saturated.)

So, if you have started a business before, what are some basic things that you wish someone had told you before you did? Are there good books or other references I could use?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

You can grab a copy of entrepreneurial small business 5th edition used for probably 20 bucks. I'm about one semester out from a business administration associate's degree. That textbook was the most comprehensive of anything that I studied over the last year and a half. And the only textbook I made sure to buy a print copy of, so I have it for reference.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the recommendation and I just ordered a copy. (Used/$17 after tax from Amazon if anyone else was curious.)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Great! I hope it's as helpful for you as it was for me.

I think my biggest piece of advice would be to set up an LLC, especially if you have any personal assets that you could lose if you would end up liable for stuff related to your business.

It makes your taxes a bit more complicated, but it shields you from being personally liable for damages that your business incurs on somebody else. And would protect like your house or car from being counted as an asset in a lawsuit in such cases.