Brave Tales of TFSA Members

[AmithS]

Hello Everyone,

Dave please move to correct place if this is not the appropriate section.

I have been looking through some of the threads and noticed that there is a significant amount of members that are going through a very rough patch due to either the tough economic period we are in or other reasons.

I am glad to see that most of those members are also pulling through and not throwing in the towel, by finding the best ways possible to make every rand last and the most difficult part keep their spirits up.

I would like to dedicate this thread to all those who are going through difficult times (including myself) where we may speak about our tough times and learn from one another as well as support each other in knowing that we will make it through and it will be for the better.

I personally left my job to start my own business almost 2 years now. I have been scammed by more than one person during the course of my journey and have racked up a ton of problems that I am sorting out to the best of my ability.

My wife, whom I am very fortunate to have as my wife has stood by me through the entire time. Both of us cutting back on alot of luxuries as well as both of us putting a considerable amount of effort into making this business i.e. our lives a success.

Altough it gets very difficult sometimes, we both manage to keep our heads above the water somehow and also our sanity by offering each other support(also thanks to our families).

I would like to say to all the others out there that are struggling(and I am sure those that have been here can vouch for this as well) that in the end all the hard work, effort, lessons learnt, knowledge and experience gained through this period will only make us stronger and more importantly to really appreciate what we have.

Hang in there, give it your best shot and I am sure everything will turn out good in the end.

Hats off to you ladies and gentlemen

[murdock]

the joys of self employment...when the sun shines...it shines...but when there is cloud cover make sure you have an umbrella...and some good friends

[Dave A]

Hats off to anyone who is crazy enough to start their own small business - it sure can be a dodgy old roller-coaster ride at times. Waaay way easier to work for someone and hold them to ransom by trying to kill their business if they don't pay more.

[adrianh]

If I could link up my technical skill with somebody's management / admin / sales skills then we would be A for away - Failing that ( to date ) Small business has been "How to become dirt poor in 3 easy steps"

[AmithS]

Hey adrianh,

I know what you are saying. You need to know it all to run your own business. When you have a job you just manage 1 function.

What line of business are you in?

[adrianh]

I currently manufacture model trains, lasercut dollhouses & mirrors and also do silicone moulds for the ceramics industry. I have many skills and can make lots of stuff using various technologies including 3D modeling, laser cutting, resin casting, electronics and I've even had a couple of products injection moulded. The main problem is that I am 99% technical and I enjoy the design and development process. Like the dollhouse, I designed the dollhouse using a 3D modeling tool, the model was then laid out in 2D and cut on my laser. We assembled the model to sort out the bugs and made changes as needed. I then did 3D color renderings and a sort of cut away step wise drawings to create the assembly manual. I designed the cardboard box that the flatpack model fits into and cut that on the laser. I have a stunning DIY dollhouse and I plan to design and manufacture various DIY products for kids and adults. I really know how to use the 3D modeling tool and how to run the laser, I've made clocks, earrings, and all sorts of other stuff.

I have 2 problems:
1. Certain items take quite long to manufacture and we get bogged down because those products sell easily and always being on the cash back foot doesn't help. We are forced to make and sell to servive without having the time or knowhow to get the products out there.
2. I am not a people's person and I don't like repping or selling. I am quite certain that if I had a good rep that could rep into the toy / craft / scrapbooking / DIY markets that we would do extremely well. Such a rep would need to have a feel for the products and know how to do brochures and keep the websites up to date.

The model trains literally sell themselves and we can't keep up with demand, but, they take too long to build. Yes we should increase the prices and yes we should concentrate on the more profitable items but there is more at stake in that market. I would love to have bread and butter products, like the DIY kits that are cut, stuck in boxes and shipped without too much labour.

Anyway, I run a couple of websites so if you want to look at some of the products that we currently can manufacture but market badly:

https://www.scalecraft.co.za

https://www.modcraft.co.za

https://www.kidzcraft.co.za

[mother]

Wow adrian, you are super talented!

[adrianh]

I make you a deal, you tell me what you want to sell and I'll give you 20% discount. If you want specific things to be made I can do that too!

I'm being quite serious!

[Sparks]

Hi, I had a look at the links to see exactly what you do. The centre link does not work. As far as I can tell what you want is 3D drawings as opposed to 3D models which I dabble in. I will take a look at my software to see if I have something that might suite your needs. I suspect that Adobe Illustrator is the only one I have that I could recommend to you, I will however check to make sure.

[Perform Computers]

It's hard when you alone. You have to do the marketing, repping, labour, invoicing, everything!

Needless to say year-end parties are a blast. ;p

[adrianh]

@sparks - You got me - what is the difference between a 3D model and a 3D drawing? I'm nearly finished drawing the Gautrain in 3D (Still farming with the nose of the damn thing) would you consider that to be a drawing or a model?

[Sparks]

A 3D drawing would be 2 dimensional (on a flat surface showing hidden lines/geometry) as opposed to a model which can be pivoted/rotated on an axis or orbited giving you an all round view. A model can also be manipulated (like clay/putty)where a drawing would need erasing of a section in order to change it.

[adrianh]

Interesting - I spent many years drawing and never called an Orthographic Projection a 3D drawing. Times are a changing....

[Sparks]

An orthographic drawing done on paper is stil a 2dimensional drawing. It is when you create a virtual orthographic drawing in a 3dimensional space with software and can actually give it a textured material covering that you have a virtual model.

[adrianh]

Here are a couple of drawings and models I have done using Rhino3D V4. These are all 3D models rendered in various ways.

Two of the products (the train bogey and the piggy bank have been injection moulded). The dollhouse is cut from 3mm MDF and then shipped in flatpack kit form. The tanker wagons are sold in kit form. The led aimflow light is a product that I was heavily involved in before it became mainstream and not cost effective to manufacture. There are many more drawings that I do on a daily basis. A lot of my laser cutting design work is done in 3D and once everything fits together perfectly the panels are laid flat, outlined and exported to AI to be picked up in CorelDraw to be laser cut. The AI export as opposed to DXF export is required because Rhino creates phantom duolicate lines during the export which tends to mess up laser engraving very badly. I am in the process of doing the Gautrain in 3D for injection moulding and also for 3mm MDF. I spend at least 8 hours of my day doing 2D & 3D drawing & modeling.