The industry of 3D printing has grown as a result of technological advancement. 3D printers use an additive or special gum to create amazing creations. Glass, ceramics, metal, and plastic are also used by 3D printers. Do you think there would be a market for your printing firm given the wide range of applications for 3D printing beyond presentations?
Do you want to begin drafting a business plan for your company that offers 3D printing services? Starting, expanding, and obtaining finance for your company all depend on the creation of a business plan. To assist you in getting started on drafting your own, we have created a template for a business plan on 3D printing.
A Business Plan: What Is It?
A business plan outlines your growth strategy for the next five years and gives an overview of your 3D printing company as it is today. It outlines your company’s objectives and your plan of action to achieve them. In order to bolster your plans, market research is also included.
The Purpose of a Business Plan
A business plan is necessary if you want to launch a 3D printing company or expand your current one. To increase your chances of success, a business plan will assist you in planning the expansion of your 3D printing company and obtaining capital, if necessary. A live document, your 3D printing business plan should be revised every year to reflect the expansion and evolution of your enterprise.
Funding Sources for 3D Printing Businesses
In terms of finance, bank loans, credit cards, angel investors, and personal savings are the primary sources of funding for a 3D printing company. When it comes to bank loans, banks will look over your company plan to make sure they can trust you to pay back the loan plus interest. The loan officer will need to see a professional plan in addition to verifying that your finances are realistic in order to get this confidence. They will feel more confident that you can run a firm successfully and competently if you have a plan like this.
The second most popular source of capital for a 3D printing company is personal savings. Generally speaking, venture capitalists won’t support a 3D printing company. They might think about providing funds for a nationwide 3D printing company, but never for a single location. This is because most venture investors need returns on their investments of millions of dollars, which is something that a single site could never provide. That being said, the most popular funding sources for 3D printing companies are bank loans and personal savings.
How to Write a 3D Printing Startup Business Plan
A business strategy is necessary whether you want to start a 3D printing company from scratch or grow your existing one. Links to every part of your 3D printing business plan template are provided below:
- Executive Summary
Although it introduces your business plan, your executive summary should typically come last because it summarizes all of the important parts of your document.
Your Executive Summary should draw the reader in right away. Tell them about the kind of 3D printing company you run and its current situation. For instance, are you a startup, an established 3D printing company that you hope to expand, or the owner of a chain of 3D printing companies?
After that, give an overview of each of the areas that follow in your strategy. Provide a concise synopsis of the 3D printing sector, for instance. Talk about the kind of 3D printing company you run. Provide specifics about your direct rivals. Provide a synopsis of your intended clientele. Give a brief overview of your marketing strategy. Determine who the important team members are. and provide a summary of your financial strategy.
- Analysis of the Business
You will describe the kind of 3D printing firm you are running in depth in your company analysis.
You might run any of the following kinds of 3D printing companies, for instance:
- Rapid Prototype Printer: This kind of 3D printing enterprise specializes in producing prototypes for businesses or people who are creating new goods fast.
- Aerospace, Automotive, and Railway Printers: These companies specialize in producing the mechanical parts needed to build trucks, vehicles, trains, and airplanes.
- Printer for Consumer Products: This kind of 3D printing is used to create jewelry, shoes, and eyeglasses.
Your business plan’s Company Analysis section should give background information on the company in addition to outlining the kind of 3D printing venture you intend to undertake.
Provide responses to questions like these:
- When did you launch the company, and why?
- What accomplishments have you made thus far?
- The quantity of consumers served, the quantity of favorable evaluations, the quantity of corporate clients, etc., might all be considered milestones.
- Your system of laws. Have you filed as an S-Corp? A Limited Liability Company? An individual business? Here is where you explain your legal structure.
- Analysis of the Industry
You must include a summary of the 3D printing market in your industry study.Even while it might not appear required, this has several uses.
First, learning more about the 3D printing sector enlightens you. It aids in your comprehension of the market you are serving.
Second, if you conduct market research and find patterns in the industry, it might help you refine your approach.
Demonstrating your industry expertise to readers is the third rationale for conducting market research. You accomplish it by carrying out the study and incorporating it into your plan.
Your 3D printing business plan’s industry analysis section should address the following queries:
- What is the size of the 3D printing market in US dollars?
- The market growing or shrinking?
- Who are the main rivals in the industry?
- Which companies dominate the market as suppliers?
- Which trends are having an impact on the sector?
- How much does the industry expect to grow over the next five to ten years?
- What is the size of the relevant market? In other words, what is the size of the potential market for your 3D printing company? By determining the size of the market throughout the nation and then extrapolating that number to your local population, you can get an estimate of this kind.
- Customer Analysis
Your 3D printing business plan needs to include a customer analysis section that lists all of the clients you now service or anticipate serving.
Car manufacturers, fashion designers, and engineers of medical devices are a few examples of customer segments.
As you can expect, your choice of customer segment(s) will significantly influence the kind of 3D printing company you run. It seems sense that, for example, fashion designers would react differently to marketing campaigns than automakers.
Make an effort to identify the distinct psychographic and demographic profiles of your target audience. In terms of demographics, talk about the locations, ages, genders, and income ranges of the clients you hope to service. Such demographic data is easily accessible on government websites, as the majority of 3D printing companies service clients who live in the same city or town.
Your target clients’ demands and goals are clarified by psychographic profiles. Your ability to draw in new business and keep existing clients will improve with increased comprehension and definition of these needs.
- Competitive Analysis
The direct and indirect rivals that your company faces should be listed in your competitive analysis, with an emphasis on the latter.
Other companies that offer 3D printing are direct rivals.
Other possibilities that clients must choose from in order to make purchases are known as indirect competitors. Design, engineering, and manufacturing services are all included in this. You should also bring up this kind of rivalry.
In terms of direct competition, you should outline the other 3D printing companies you face up against. The 3D printers that are closest to your location will probably be your main rivals.
Give a brief synopsis of each of these rivals’ companies and list their advantages and disadvantages. It will be impossible to know everything about your competition unless you were employed by them at one point. However, you ought to be able to learn important details about them, like:
- Which kinds of clients do they cater to?
- For what kinds of materials does the company provide 3D printing services?
- How much do they charge (premium, inexpensive, etc.)?
- What skills do they possess?
- What shortcomings do they have?
Consider your responses to the last two questions from the standpoint of the customers. Additionally, don’t be scared to find out what aspects of your rivals’ offerings your customers appreciate and dislike.
Recording your areas of competitive advantage is the last step in your competitive analysis section. As an illustration:
- Will you offer quicker turnaround times or better printing quality?
- Will you offer services that those of your rivals don’t?
- Will your customer service be improved?
- Will you provide more affordable prices?
Consider how you will surpass your competitors and list those strategies in this area of your plan.
- Marketing Plan
The four Ps are traditionally included in a marketing plan: product, price, place, and promotion. Your marketing strategy for a 3D printing company plan must to contain the following:
Product: You should restate the kind of 3D printing business that you described in your Company Analysis in the product section. Next, provide specifics about the goods you plan to sell. For instance, would you offer shipping, design, or other engineering services in addition to 3D printing?
Price: List the rates you will charge and how much they will cost less than those of your rivals. Your marketing plan’s product and price subsections basically list the services you provide together with their associated costs.
Place: The address of your 3D printing business is referred to here. Note where you are and how being there will affect your success in your documentation. Is your 3D printing company, for instance, situated in a bustling business park, industrial area, retail zone, etc.? Talk on how your location might be the best one for your clients.
Promotions: This is the last aspect of your marketing strategy for 3D printing. This is where you will describe your consumer drive strategy (or locations). Some promotional techniques you may want to think about are as follows:
- Placing ads in regional publications and magazines
- Engaging local websites
- Flyers
- Marketing on social media
- Local radio commercials
- Plan of Operation
Your operations strategy outlines how you will achieve your goals, which were previously detailed in the sections of your business plan. The two separate sections that make up your operations strategy are as follows.
All of the daily short-term procedures that go into managing a 3D printing company are included in everyday short-term operations. These include estimating printing jobs, discussing designs with an engineering team, setting up the printer to finish the design, meeting production targets, and delivering goods to customers.
Your long-term objectives are the benchmarks you want to reach. These could be the dates you intend to print your 100th design or hit your revenue target of $X. It might also coincide with your plans to move your 3D printing company to a bigger location.
- Management Team
A solid management team is crucial to proving your 3D printing company can prosper. Emphasize the backgrounds of your important people, highlighting the abilities and experiences that demonstrate their capacity to expand a business.
Ideally, you and/or the other members of your team have firsthand knowledge of running 3D printing companies. If so, emphasize your experience and knowledge. Additionally, emphasize any experience you believe will contribute to the success of your company.
If there are gaps in your staff, think about forming an advisory board. An advisory board would consist of two to eight people who would guide your company in a mentorship role. They would assist in offering clarification and tactical direction. Seek out advisory board members who have successfully managed small firms, other engineering services, or 3D printing.
- Financial Plan
Your five-year financial statement, broken down monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually after that, should be included in your financial plan. Your cash flow, balance sheet, and income statements are examples of your financial statements.
Income Statement: A profit and loss statement, or P&L, is a more popular term for an income statement. To determine whether you made a profit or not, it first displays your revenues and then deducts your costs.
As you are creating your income statement, you must make assumptions. For instance, are you going to complete 30 shipments in a quarter or print three new designs every day? And will sales increase annually by 2% or 10%? As you may expect, the assumptions you choose to make will have a big impact on your company’s financial projections. Try to find as much evidence as you can to support your assumptions via study.
Balance sheets: These documents list your possessions and obligations. Balance sheets might contain a lot of information, so attempt to distill them down to the essential details you should be aware of. For example, investing $50,000 to start up your 3D printing company won’t make you money right away. Instead, it’s an asset that should continue to bring in money for you in the future. Similarly, you are not required to repay a $50,000 check that a bank sends you right away. Instead, you will eventually have to repay that obligation.
Cash Flow Statement: This document will assist you in estimating the amount of capital required to launch or expand your company and ensure that you never run out of money. The majority of entrepreneurs and company owners are unaware that it is possible to make a profit but still run out of money and file for bankruptcy.
Make sure to incorporate a number of the essential expenses required for launching or expanding a 3D printing company when creating your income statement and balance sheets. These include:
- Build-out of the location, including construction, design fees, etc.
- The price of supplies and equipment
- Payroll or employee salary Business insurance
- Licenses and taxes
- Attorney fees
- Appendix
Include all of your financial estimates in the appendix of your strategy, along with any additional documentation that strengthens it. You may, for instance, attach the lease for your office space or the drawings for the concepts you are currently working on.
It’s a worthy task to create a business strategy for your 3D printing company. You will be a true expert by the time you finish if you adhere to the above template. You’ll have a thorough understanding of the 3D printing market, your rivals, and your target audience. You’ll have created a marketing strategy and have a thorough understanding of what it takes to start and expand a profitable 3D printing company.