I think 3d printers will inevitably be a big thing, especially for entrepreneurs. I have no idea when they will be affordable on a small business/consumer level but the thought process got me thinking about how dependent businesses can spring up more easily today than ever. (If you don’t know what a 3d printer is, see here)
Some of these dependent economies are more stable than others, but when products are launched, entire secondary businesses can grow rapidly. iPhone cases are an obvious example. I think 3d printers will rapidly spawn secondary businesses and communities, things possible only because of the 3d printer.
- I wonder if and when 3d printing becomes available to the general consumer at some $500-$1000 price point, how the files for development will work?
- Will there be a new ecosystem of development files that can be loaded onto these machines?
- Will these files be protected and offline like PSD graphic design files are?
- Will they be traded secretly in forums and pirated? or will the architecture be easy to reverse engineer and anything anyone designs will be easily duplicated?
- Will refilling the consumables for these machine be a whole economy to itself?
I can see these pieces in my mind, on Amazon, on blogs. I can see the sudo-developers and managers creating an environment for supporting those with products. I can see product makers developing a custom computer mouse, or laptop cover, or any niche small item that can easily be sold to a niche community or the general public for rapid exposure and growth. Prototyping can be done in the living room without a fabrication middleman.
The entrepreneur evolution will continue to rise with these devices and dependent economies will continue to grow.
Applicable Lesson
One of my favorite stories is how the iPhone 4 antenna controversy, or “Antennagate” as it was called, created an entire economy and specific products in less than a day.
Steve Jobs made an “off the cuff” comment about how “Eminem might make a band-aid and everyone will want it” to fix the dead spot on the phone which spawned companies to make that exact thing, and sell out rapidly in the hours and days after the comment.
What existing product or service can you create a solution around? What can you improve on, train people on, compliment, etc?
Some of mine include: WordPress, Apple products, AWeber, Hostgator, Ejunkie, and E-mail Hosting dependent offerings.
Warning: Make an educated guess how much lasting power the secondary business has, don’t build your house on the sand, meaning don’t invest tons of time to make products and services around other businesses that could go away at a whim. You can still act on them, but think about the investment if that’s not obvious.
Be prepared to act and capitalize on opportunity!