Become a 100kGarages Fabber?

There are several ways that you might benefit from becoming a 100kGarages Fabber. Here are a few that we think are pretty important:

Most importantly, get more work for your business! 100kGarages is an easy way to get exposure to customers all over, especially people in your local area that might not even know that you, or the kinds of service that you provide, even exist.

Connect you with other shops with the same sorts of issues that you do. 100kGarages is a community of people that are dealing with the same things you are. They might be technical machining questions, problems finding a particular material, or a specific business question, but the Fabbers-only section of the 100kGarages forum is a good place to discuss it

Build your online presence. You may not have had the time to build your space on the internet, and 100kGarages can help get you started. We can direct you toward resources to create a website, including some great free ones, and you can get an account in the 100kProjects blog to post about the 100kGarages projects that you do. Your shop will also be on the Fabbers Map, where potential customers can find you quickly and easily. And if you have a design that you would like to make available to Makers to be cut by other Fabbers in other areas, we'll be offering listings in our marketplace in the future.

Help build a community of people with the same interests as you. There's an old expression that "a rising tide raises all ships", and the more exposure that people have to the idea of digital fabrication and having things made locally, the more we all benefit. You can help build this awareness

This isn't a one-way street...we expect some things from you in return:

Treat all your 100kGarages transactions in a professional manner, just like you would any other business transaction. It's VERY important that 100kGarages starts off on a positive note that benefit both Fabber and Makers, so keep this in mind from initial contact through job completion.

Respect the intellectual property rights of the Makers, and any files that you might get from them. If they say "do whatever you want with them' that's great, but make sure you have a clear understanding up-front of how they feel and what they expect from you.

Participate and spread the word. Participate in the 100kGarages forum and help other Fabbers when you can. When you do a neat job for a Maker, post about it on the 100kProjects blog. If you are a member of another forum that might be interested, do a quick posting about 100kGarages

Keep your equipment (and yourself) up to date. Make sure your tool is cutting it's best, and that you are up-to-date on software and the skills to use them.