Yeah I've been waiting to save another 5k to put into stocks but people here keep saying no it's gonna collapse, but then oh even in a depression stocks do okay. A lot of conflicting info. Im going to start with 5k and then dollar cost average in. I also would just like to work for myself and not wagecuck so I can wake up when I want and spend time with my family on the east coast. So even if doing a side biz is not monetarily your best option, it has it's pros like keeping busy and having a hobby that kind of thing. Even wagecucking for me personally helps me become social since I am pretty reclusive. Everything is a tradeoff. You do you. You sound like a smart guy so if stocks work better, stick with it. Good to hear you are saving and investing that cash. I make somewhere around 1300 a month after taxes. It's shite. My hours got cut but the job is easy as pie and little stress. Any recs on index funds/investments for a newbie? Do you use vanguard?
Entrepenurship General
Right now my dad actually maxes a ROTH IRA for me annually, its $5500 max and its taxed upon entry, and tax free when you pull the money out, after age 59.5 Research ROTH IRA its likely your first investment each year you should get into if you dont have a 401k at work.
I buy:
QQQ - Nasdaq index fund
SPY - SP500 index fund
these are truly all you need, they are heavily weighted towards the best companies in the world by nature of how index funds work so simply buy every time you can and dont sell.
Also dont 'save up' to buy into the markets, nobody knows what the future holds besides the markets trend upwards longterm, and as such buying as soon as you can is always the best choice.
I dont have Vanguard/Fidelity etc yet, I just buy my own stuff through Robinhood and use tradingview dot com as necessary to look at charts etc
Ultimately I would use Robinhood in your position and buy using limit orders, research them, never buy using market buys. Since Robinhood is commission free you can buy very frequently, I personally buy twice a month $500 each time. I buy basically in order back and forth between QQQ and SPY.
Always remember the markets ALWAYS go up, so buy as often as you can and never sell, thats the #1 rule always. Any QQQ or SPY you buy right now should not be sold for literally decades. Compound interest is smarter and more powerful than you ever will be personally, no offense its the same for me, so let it do its thing over not just days, or weeks, or months, or years, but decades
I will be gone for a few hours starting now but can answer anything else you wish in like 3 hours. I just got into investing myself this summer and had to learn what your looking to know myself and I got a good handle on it now.
Buy and hold, patience wins 100% of the time
Thanks so so much for the advice I'm def saving it for future reference. I had played around with robin hood my first time lurking biz but never went anywhere with it. If it's free I'll start putting inwjat I can each month so thanks for the advice. I wanted to use vanguard but didn't want to tie up like my whole savings basically, so I haven't tried investing at all. I will see if my old account it still active and take your advice to heart. I may look into roth like you suggested. My company sucks and I don't want to buy into them. Will do some research on my own. I've heard about compound interest and the spy because of Warren buffet memes here. If I can think of any questions I'll ask. Thanks again.
Hey guys, after dreaming of making a product for a long time I finally began making it earlier this year. So far I have a small portfolio of 3D models showing what I can do. I'm a very amateur industrial/product designer, my background is in a health field so I'm trying to tap into the art side of this field, which is niche upon niche, so much that I'm not even sure if it'd be profitable, but it's fun as hell. Over the span of my non-productive dreaming a few companies have popped up and have grown. I want to either find my way in to those companies or grow my own.
The big issue right now is that I haven't talked directly to the customers to see if anyone would even want one. I've just been growing my professional network. So far I have 3 people of interest that I've been keeping up with who have told me they'd give me opportunities. The reason I haven't gone to a customer yet is because 1. I feel my product isn't good enough and to make it for them, I would have a whole new set of things I'd have to do, I'm worried about not finishing it in a timely manner. 2. I don't speak the language of the land I live in now.
To quell those 2 problems, one of my connections in an actual industrial designer native to this country, who said he'd introduce me to people of interest and give me advice and ideas. One idea of his I already followed up on and will showcase it to him tomorrow.
The other contact is with a big 3dp company who said he'd get me a pitch with the HQ. Finally, the last one is a professional artist who said he'd include my work in a gallery at some point, I talk to him the most because he's not as busy as the former two.
Now... for some reason I don't fully trust the native industrial designer guy. 2 months ago I met with him and he said he'd show my model to the guy who funded his last project, but he's been silent despite a few follow ups. I've just been talking to our translator in the meantime who has weird vibes. We're meeting tomorrow night.
Sorry for the long complicated post. Thanks for this thread! 3D prosthetic hand guy from previous threads: Let me know if you need advice.
Hey I'm the prosthetic hand guy. Man I wish I could help or give some advice. The only real advice so could give you is: listen to your insincts. If you get a weird vibe something could be up. He might be trying to steal your idea/product or something. I have personally ignored my instincts time after time and it always ends up bad. Do ehat you feel is right, there will always be more opportunites.
Art wise I guess I would advise to study product design magazines? I've seen a few sold in like the mag section in barnes and nobles bookstore. Could give you ideas or insight into ehat looks aesthetic.
Not sure about approaching customers. Maybe pay some people off of Craigslist to come together and discuss/review your product for feedback? This is where I assume big companies would do their product testing/surveys. Wish I could be more help but I have like zero experience with anything lol. Good luck to you and trust yourself no matter what decision you make.
Prosthetics wise I have a few questions.
Is it more profitable to run a 3D printing business by renting machines mostly and then sell prosthetics on the side? I feel like people would rather want to print their own stuff. If still get to work on prosthetics though. Also what kind of software can I use for 3D modeling? Is it difficult to get started in? Thanks for any input and good luck!
their always room for your knowledge bro! How did you conduct your research into prosthetic hands? What made you settle on it?
Yo prosthetic hand guy! Thank you for your advice! I will meet this guy but I wont give away too much about what I'm doing now. I'll definitely prepare and try to figure out more of his side and see if I'm comfortable with him on this second meeting.
I'm probably going to go hit up a bookstore now that you mention it. I've been inspired by ancient civilizations, Alphonse Mucha and biological structures.
I just decided that I will make a pamphlet that will do the talking for me. My GF can translate it for me and maybe help me talk to customers. I'll be fishing by the end of next month.
To answer your questions:
A lot of people find 3D printing fascinating, but I'd say the convenience of another person doing it for a fee smaller than that of buying/renting a machine on their own would outweigh that fascination. I use Blender, but the community that works on the hands you're interested in uses AutoCAD fusion 360, which is free just like blender. You might need a student e-mail for fusion though. I've met the CEO of that group, his vibe is kind of weird but his heart is in the right place, his intention is to just make basic hands for cheap for 3rd worlders or poor kids. The thing is, with pediatric prosthetics, this type of thing is valuable for every kid since their body is constantly changing and growing, and to get a full on prosthetic with a custom socket to fit them at every stage of their childhood is crazy expensive. This field is very neat, I suggest you check out orthotics as well. I've seen some 3D printed arm braces and scoliosis braces here and there. You can also looking into schooling, but they lie about O&P professionals getting 100% employment. It's slowly becoming more saturated now that it's a masters degree program and no one wants to hire a graduate that didn't get grandfathered in through the apprenticeship process that it used to be.