Laser Cutting Success: Your Q4 Blueprint

5 Key Steps to Getting the Most Sales Possible

Did you know that some businesses can attribute up to 40% of their total yearly sales in Q4?  Speaking from personal experience in our physical product laser cutting business, we always saw a tremendous upswing directly after Halloween (October 31st).  

It is crazy to think that in those hectic 8 weeks from Halloween to Christmas you can get 40% of your total yearly sales, but that means you need to get ready for a wild ride!

If you do these 5 things, I ensure that you will be in a much better position than those laser makers that do not.  I’ve even included a 6th as a bonus for those who do craft shows.  

Having a plan is the first step to success, but that goes without saying. When we first got our laser in the fall of 2020, we had no plan. To be quite honest, we had no idea how to even use the laser we just ordered.  We had to scramble to learn how to design and what products we were going to make.

Take it from someone who didn't have a plan - it was extremely stressful.  Somehow we managed to make almost $8,000 in our first 5 weeks, which was fantastic, but I know things could have gone a lot smoother if we had a plan. Instead of running around like a chicken with your head cut off like I did, here are my recommendations for a smooth and successful Q4.   

1. Pick the Items You Want to Sell - It might be tempting to try and jump on the latest trends of the holiday season, or worse yet, try to sell too many different things.  This will lead you running around in circles and leave you with very little total inventory of one single item.  Instead, I encourage you to pick a handful of items that you strongly believe have the potential to sell during this time.  Things like custom ornaments and advent calendars were always a big hit for us.

2. Gather Your Email List - You have worked hard to earn every customer you have.  Those people already know who you are, and are much more likely to purchase from you again, especially if you did a great job with their first order. Gather all the emails from all your orders, and get a few basic emails ready to go for promotions you might be running during this time.  Email software like Klaviyo or Mailchimp works great for mass emails.  

3. Find Your Settings -  The last thing you want to do is mess around with settings on your laser for your materials.  Time is money when it comes to Q4, and you want each project to be cut right the first time to ensure you can move on to the next step without wasting material or time.  

4. Speaking of Materials…Stock Up! - Have you ever run out of material from getting so many orders?  Well, we have, and let me tell you, it’s not fun.  Watching orders come in, while you sit and wait for UPS to deliver your next package of wood, leaves you feeling defeated.  Make sure to stock up on a reasonable amount of materials ahead of time so you do not find yourself in this situation.  This also includes things like packing materials and even boxes.  While you can order these things from Amazon relatively quickly, we still have run out of boxes, which negatively affects our shipping times.

5. Start Now! -  It might sound silly to start preparing now for Q4.  After all, it is still summer, but this is exactly when we start to prepare each year.  Granted, you cannot make completely custom items ahead of time, but consider batching out items now that can even be customized later on.  For example, the advent calendars we sell are made months in advance, but we can throw them back in the laser to add a custom text if the customer wishes.  

6. Bonus: Craft Show Sign Up - If you plan to do any craft shows this fall, make sure you sign up soon.  Some of the larger and best craft shows fill up months in advance.  If you depend on selling at craft shows as a large portion of your sales, then you want to make sure you are in the building, and not left at home because you missed the opportunity to enter before spots filled up.

When it comes to running a successful laser cutting business, especially in Q4, you need to be prepared well ahead of time. Your future self will thank you for following these recommendations.

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