How to use this page: Find your shop type below. Pick three places from the table to start with: one online, one local, and one in person. Work those for a month before adding more. Every platform has its own rules and fees, so read them before you list anything.
Places every shop should set up first
These apply to all four shop types. Do them before anything else.
| Place | What to do there |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Claim or create your free profile. Add your service area (you can hide a home address), hours, phone, website, and at least ten photos of real work. Ask every happy customer for a review. |
| Facebook business page | Post your work, list your products, and turn on messaging. Most local customers will check here before they call. |
| Local Facebook groups | Join your town's community, buy-and-sell, and small business groups. Follow each group's rules on business posts. |
| Nextdoor | Create a free business page. Neighbors often ask "does anyone know someone who can make...?" Answer those posts when they fit your work. |
| Local chamber of commerce | Ask about membership and events. Chambers connect you with local business owners who buy signs, gifts, awards, and parts. |
Wood carving and signs (CNC router)
| Type | Where | What to do there |
|---|---|---|
| Online marketplace | Etsy | List your three best custom items, such as family name signs and cutting boards. Use clear photos and titles that say exactly what it is and that it can be personalized. |
| Online marketplace | Amazon Handmade | Apply to sell if you have steady, repeatable products and can meet their shipping times. Start with one or two items. |
| Online marketplace | Facebook Marketplace | List ready-made pieces for local pickup, such as cornhole boards, porch signs, and wall art. Mention you also do custom orders. |
| Local buyers | Realtors, builders, wedding venues, event planners | Bring a sample and a short price list. Offer closing-gift signs, venue signs, and table numbers. |
| Local buyers | Restaurants, breweries, churches, farms and ranches | Offer entrance signs, menu boards, ranch and gate signs, and donor or memorial plaques. |
| Organizations | Churches, civic clubs, homeowner associations | Offer donor walls, entrance signs, and community signs. Ask who handles projects and when their board meets. |
| Events | Craft fairs, farmers markets, holiday markets, county fairs | Rent a booth with finished pieces for sale plus an order sheet for custom work. Bring a tablet or photo book of past jobs. |
| Directories | Google Business Profile, chamber member directory | Keep your listing current with new photos every month. |
Laser engraving and etching
| Type | Where | What to do there |
|---|---|---|
| Online marketplace | Etsy | List personalized tumblers, cutting boards, ornaments, and gifts. Make it easy for buyers to type their names or text in the order. |
| Online marketplace | Amazon Handmade | Consider it for your most repeatable personalized items once you have a steady process. |
| Online marketplace | Facebook Marketplace and local Facebook groups | Post seasonal items ahead of holidays, graduations, and Mother's and Father's Day, with a clear order-by date. |
| Local buyers | Sports teams and booster clubs | Offer team tumblers, awards, and banquet gifts. Contact them before the season starts and before end-of-season banquets. |
| Local buyers | Schools and school districts | Offer awards, name plates, staff gifts, and spirit items. Ask the front office who orders awards and how purchasing works. |
| Local buyers | Insurance agencies, banks, realtors, car dealers | Offer branded client gifts and closing gifts. Drop off one sample with their logo engraved. |
| Local buyers | Businesses that give employee awards | Offer years-of-service plaques, safety awards, and name badges. Ask for the office manager or human resources. |
| Organizations | Civic clubs, veterans groups, churches, alumni groups | Offer recognition plaques and event gifts. Ask to leave a price list for their next event. |
| Events | Craft fairs, holiday markets, school and sports events | Bring blanks and take orders on the spot. If you have a portable setup and the event allows it, live engraving draws a crowd. |
| Directories | Google Business Profile, chamber directory, Nextdoor | List "custom engraving," "awards," and "personalized gifts" in your services. |
3D printing (filament)
| Type | Where | What to do there |
|---|---|---|
| Online marketplace | Etsy | List original designs you have the rights to sell, such as organizers, planters, gaming accessories, and custom name items. Do not sell copies of other people's designs or licensed characters without permission. |
| Online marketplace | Facebook Marketplace and local Facebook groups | Offer replacement parts and custom prints for local pickup. Post "I can print that" examples such as appliance knobs and clips. |
| Local buyers | Repair shops, appliance and small engine repair, farm equipment owners | Offer to print plastic parts that are hard to find. Bring a sample of a replaced part. |
| Local buyers | Inventors, engineers, product startups | Offer prototypes and small test runs. Ask what file types they use and how fast they need turnaround. |
| Local buyers | Retail shops, real estate offices, event planners | Offer display pieces, sign holders, cake toppers, and custom giveaways. |
| Organizations | Schools, robotics teams, scouting groups, libraries | Offer printed parts for projects and teams. Some may want a talk or demo. |
| Organizations | Maker spaces | Join or visit. Members often need prints they can't do themselves, and other members may pass work to you. |
| Events | Comic and gaming conventions, craft fairs, maker events | Sell finished items and hand out cards for custom work. |
| Directories | Google Business Profile, Nextdoor, chamber directory | List "3D printing," "replacement parts," and "prototypes" as services. |
Machining (metal and plastic parts to a drawing)
| Type | Where | What to do there |
|---|---|---|
| Online directory | Thomasnet | Create a supplier listing with your capabilities, materials, machine list, tolerances you can hold, and certifications if you have them. Buyers search here for suppliers. |
| Online network | Xometry's supplier network | Apply to become a supplier. Read their requirements, pricing terms, and quality rules closely before you accept jobs. |
| Local buyers | Manufacturers and fabrication shops | Ask for the maintenance manager, purchasing, or engineering. Offer to quote one part, a fixture, or overflow work. |
| Local buyers | Oil and gas service companies, agriculture equipment dealers, repair shops | Offer repair and replacement parts and quick turnaround on broken parts. Leave a capability sheet. |
| Local buyers | Other machine shops | Offer to take their overflow or the jobs that fit your machines. Many shops refer work they are too busy for. |
| Organizations | Local chamber of commerce, industry and trade associations | Attend meetings and member events. Tell people what you make, not just that you "do machining." |
| Organizations | Career tech and community college programs | Build relationships with instructors. They hear about local companies that need parts, and they know students you may hire later. |
| Events | Industry trade shows and manufacturing expos | Walk the show first before paying for a booth. Bring capability sheets and sample parts. Follow up within a week. |
| Directories | Google Business Profile, chamber directory | List "CNC machining," "prototype parts," and "repair parts," plus your materials. |
What to bring and what to say
Bring every time
- One or two sample pieces that show your best work
- A simple price list or capability sheet, one page
- Business cards with your phone, website, and what you make
- A phone or tablet with photos of past jobs
- A way to take payment or a deposit at events
Walk-in script for a local business
"Hi, I'm [name] with [shop name], a local [sign / engraving / 3D print / machine] shop here in [town]. I'm not here to take up your time. I just wanted to drop off a sample and a price list. We make [product] for businesses like yours. Who would be the right person to leave this with?"
Message to a Facebook group admin
Hi [name], I run [shop name], a small local shop in [town]. I'd like to share some of my work in the group now and then. Are business posts allowed, and is there a certain day you'd like me to use? Thanks for running the group.
Email to a manufacturer or shop (machining)
Subject: Local machining support for [company name]
Hi [name],
I run [shop name], a machine shop in [town]. We make [one-off parts / prototypes / short runs / repair parts] in [materials], and we can work from your drawings or a sample part.
Our equipment: [machine list]
Typical turnaround: [X] days for [type of job]
If you have a part that is late, hard to source, or too small a run for your usual supplier, I'd be glad to quote it. My capability sheet is attached.
[Your name]
[Shop name] | [phone] | [website]
Craft fair or event checklist
- Read the event's rules on sales tax, permits, and booth setup
- Price tags on every item
- Custom order form with name, phone, email, what they want, and due date
- Sign with your shop name and a QR code to your website or Facebook page
- Tablecloth, lighting if indoors, weights for a tent if outdoors
- Follow up with every custom order lead within two days
Read the rules before you sell. Marketplaces, networks, and events each have their own fees, policies, and requirements, and they change. Check the current terms on each platform yourself. Also check your local rules for sales tax and home-based business permits.
Keep a simple list of every place you have listed or visited, the date, and any orders that came from it. After a few months, put more time into the places that are sending you work and drop the ones that are not.
Want Annie's to do this for you? Annie's can set up and manage your Google Business Profile, marketplace listings, and directory profiles so you show up in more of these places.