Whether you carve signs, engrave tumblers, print parts or machine to a tolerance, the people buying from you look in different places. Annie's knows where each of them looks, and has built tools for shops like yours.
Wood carving & signs · Laser engraving · 3D printing · Machining
Get the free business plan
A CNC router, a laser and a 3D printer can live in the same garage. Their customers do not.
Plaques, cabinet doors, carved signs, furniture parts.
Tumblers, awards, promo items, fine-detail etching.
Prototypes, replacement parts, figures, models.
Metal and plastic parts to a drawing, short runs, production.
Tap each one you're already doing.
Tap the ones you're already doing.
Step-by-step how-tos for all ten are in the CNC shop playbook.
Read them, use them, keep them. If something on the list doesn't make sense, that's what we're here for.
What to offer, how to price it, what to buy next, and how shops like yours grow from a garage to a storefront or a production floor.
A post for every day: what to film at the machine, what to photograph, what to say, and which platform it belongs on.
Marketplaces, directories, trade groups, local buyers and seasonal events, sorted by the kind of work you do.
These are some of the top ways the best shops bring in work without a big advertising budget.
Club hockey, youth soccer, baseball and bowling leagues hand out awards every season, and most want something custom: the team logo, the player's name, a puck or a stick built right in. Make one sample plaque for the league's season banquet with your shop's name on the back.
Cost: one sample piece.
Why it works: every team is full of parents who run businesses, and the banquet puts your work in front of all of them.
Police and fire departments, sheriff's offices, and city and county agencies recognize retirements, years of service and promotions all year long. Take a sample retirement piece, like an engraved badge plaque or a laser-etched flag case, to the chief's office or HR.
Cost: one sample and an afternoon of visits.
Why it works: agencies order every year, and a good piece hangs in the station where every officer walks past it.
Every school, church and nonprofit gala runs a silent auction. Donate a custom piece, such as a carved sign or an engraved cutting board, and personalize it for whoever wins.
Cost: materials and a few hours.
Why it works: the winner has to call you to get it personalized, the whole room sees your work, and your shop's name goes in the program.
We have many, many more. Work with one of our consultants at marketinghope.com and they'll help Annie's build systems like this for you to bring in new business.
Talk to a consultantGalleries by material and size, a quote form that takes a photo or a file, and pages for each kind of job.
We turn your photos and machine videos into posts, captions and a calendar.
Google, AI assistants, online marketplaces and directories, all with the same facts about your shop.
Most shop owners are great at the machine and short on time for everything else. Talk to a human at Annie's.
Book 15 minutes