Here's how you can navigate the challenges of being self-employed in the 3D printing industry.

In my opinion, the customer experience should always come first. While a high-quality product is important, providing a smooth and positive experience is what keeps clients coming back. Communication, service, and making sure customers feel valued from start to finish is key. Also, in the 3D printing industry, it's tough to offer every service under the sun, so collaboration with other providers is crucial. By partnering with those who offer complementary services, you can meet a wider range of customer needs, ensuring satisfaction and repeat business.

I have found that understanding customer needs and requirements has to be on the top. But following the product standards also needs to be well understood when it comes to your company's repetition.

1. Set Clear Goals: Define short-term and long-term objectives for projects. This clarity helps prioritize tasks. 2. Create a Detailed Schedule: Use project management tools to outline deadlines, milestones, and deliverables. A visual timeline can aid in tracking progress. 3. Prioritize Tasks: Identify high-impact tasks and focus on those first. Use techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks by urgency and importance. 4. (MOST IMPORTANT!) Review and Adjust: After project completion, analyze what worked and what didn’t. Use this information to refine your time management strategies for future projects.

Always punctuality is a key point to customer satisfaction. A well-managed and distributed task ends with positive results. Having a proper scheduled framework of the work helps in time management and avoids the end delivery stress.

In my experience, attending industrial events, forums, and professional meetings acts as both a platform to learn new things and a place where you can tell others about your business.

Collaboration and networking can expose you to new ideas, influencing your problem solving process. In my case, I have an example involving adding magnets to printed models. There are many videos and text posts describing a problem: visible magnets on prints can lead to visual interruptions and obvious seams. Solutions vary between painting over, or even printing over the magnets. Networking with 3D printing enthusiasts revealed to me that seeing the magnets isn't actually an issue to me. Therefore, I know that I don't need to spend time and energy solving the issue.

3D printers are ever-evolving. New innovations release all the time, decreasing cost and effort, while increasing quality. What once was only possible in refrigerator-sized units can now be done in a compact package. Staying on top of innovations is daunting, but will always be helpful to expand your knowledge base and mental tool set. For example, there are printers that would excel at printing in zero-g environments, and there are materials that can be used structurally rather than just as a prototyping feature. Knowing what is possible can lead to further opportunities, and can even let you expand into new territory for the technology.