I thought about getting into Micro Welding. I can get a decent used set up for $6500 for everything.

My question to everybody who has their own shop is that how do you get jobs adn a good client base. I mean you really can't just put in ad in the paper.

Also I don't have $6500 laying around. Is it as easy as getting a business loan or what. Don't really want to get equity loan and don't have a big enough credit card.

The nice thing is I could do it out of my garage because, well it is micro welding and the parts don't exactly take up a lot of space.

 

Opening a shop without clientele is VERY hard. If you don't have experience and good connections to the industry and some clients, i wouldn't even consider it.

I don't know much about getting a business loan, i opened my business with money i had saved up.

 

I would like to start looking for people customers might need this service. But where would someone look.

 

what is micro welding, i've never even heard of it.

 

Basically making welds the size the end of a ball point pen under a microscope. From what I know of it is typically used to build up molds and tool steels. I am sure that people use for production type parts also. The filler rod is literally the size of your hair. The lowest that I have seen it done is either .9 or 9 amps.

 

So what would your clientele be? Seems like a very small market, and the type that does not go to somebody working out of a home garage, no?

 

A lot of customers are plastic manufactures. The molds start to wear out and instead of having a new mold made it costs less to have it repaired. A lot of metalurgy can be involed. You get the advantage of keeping a consistently good productive mold repaired for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

 

Do you have any connections in that industry? I think the first thing you need to figure out is if you can get customers, and honestly, $6500 is not a whole lot of money to start a business with. Is this going to be a side job, or your primary source of income?

 

For starters side job.
The problems where do I get clientele?
And know 6500 is not a lot. I might need some things like permits and alittle different set up in my garage but still not that much.

Chech out the link: http://www.microarcwelding.com/

 

As far as connections not a whole lot. I don't know many in industry more like instructors and production type co-workers

 

Your shop looks really clean. Business good?

How did you get the word out on your services?

Word of mouth can be the best and worst way of advertisement from what I hear.

 

Hmm, seems like a very hard business to find customers for.

 

do not be afraid to start your business out of your home, ON THE SIDE. You're only going up from there

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by arcboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Your shop looks really clean. Business good?

How did you get the word out on your services?

Word of mouth can be the best and worst way of advertisement from what I hear.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks. Business is very good. I've been in this industry about 11 years now, i had about 9 years of experience and clientele built up before i opened my shop. Word of mouth is definitely a great thing.

Had i opened my shop 8 years ago w/o a name and clientele, i don't think it would have made it.

 

Yeah getting my clientele is my only fear.

 

most moulding shops have their own maintenance teams to do repairs on their tools. also, most of them have the micro arc welders as well (the ones that you roll the electrode over the metal with a powder on it which bonds to the base metal). i don't really consider it microwelding, but that is what everyone in the industry i've worked with refers to it as.

starting your own business is not easy. you should come up with a business card and a line card first if you don't have any customers lined up already. you should also have something to fall back on should things slow down. (your full time job in your case). i am able to do car stuff when i don't have any work in the shop. i focus on serving companies that don't have the capabilities/services i can offer. i haven't had to actively go out and look for work yet, but it has only been a couple months now.

i don't think $6500 will be enough to get started. to break even (and pay myself) i have to sell $7500/month. you need to have some capital for cash flow, especially when getting started.

 

Never under any circumstances should you borrow money to start a business and that goes double if you're new to a given trade. Save up and buy a machine, if the business would work today a delay of a year or even two years won't matter. I would encourage you to talk to people in the business if you haven't already. I started my business 3 years ago and it has been a cash business since then. I'm planning on moving to a larger shop with more employees but I'm not going to do it until the business pays for it. It's very tempting to hurry things but only go as fast as cash flow will allow. Just my $.02 Good luck

 

A place you might look for clients is Thomasnet or thomas.net. It's a collection of industries that you can search by a particular industry. Within that website look for metal stamping facilities or mold places. I work as a tool maker full time and a place that does welding like this is doing well at it. I know there are alot of metal stamping places in the Carolina's so that's good.

 

Very good tip, thanks.

 

I would look at government contracts. They are sometimes very good opportunities for small companies. Especially if you can put the company name under a minority.

Debt is a bad thing. If you can't make it on cash, don't do it. I started a year ago with my own shop and it has all been word of mouth. It took almost a year to get enough consitency to actually take some of the worry about paying the bills each month. Notice I said some of the worry.

 

have you ever done any micro-welding? do you know how to weld on a professional level?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turboteener &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Notice I said some of the worry. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I can totally understand that there is a considerable amount of worry with owning/running your owm business.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KFMRC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">have you ever done any micro-welding? do you know how to weld on a professional level? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I have done it once when I did an interview for a college class. So Micro-welding on a professional level will come with some time and dilligence. I am a CWI, Welder/Fabricator, and PT Welding Instructor with some welding certs. So in that aspect I am a professional welder.