A business does not necessarily have to be built on the production of any large-scale products or global services. Sometimes even small and relatively cheap products can bring very good profits. A striking example profitable business, built on the production of small-sized products, is the production of souvenir magnets.
Is there demand?
When you came to visit, you probably paid attention to the collections of similar products that proudly took their place on refrigerators.
Almost every person has at least a couple of magnets at home, because they allow you to remind yourself and inform guests about where you managed to visit, and also simply help decorate the interior of the kitchen. Demotivational magnets are also very common, especially for those losing weight.
As you can see, the idea of producing refrigerator magnets is very interesting, especially if it is implemented correctly. After all, there is definitely a demand for the product!
Equipment for the production of refrigerator magnets
Let's consider what equipment you will need to make refrigerator magnets. It’s worth saying right away that there are several varieties of such souvenir products, and almost each of them has its own characteristics. Therefore, we will consider them in order.
Making vinyl magnets
One of the most popular types is a vinyl magnet. It is named after the material on which the desired image is applied.
Magnetic vinyl is very flexible and elastic, because it combines properties of 2 materials at once: rubber and magnet with permanent poles. It is filled with polymers as well as magnetic powder, which provides good fastening on a metal surface.
There are several species vinyl magnets:
Most convenient way production of vinyl magnets includes the following stages of work:
- print the desired image on photo paper;
- purchase a vinyl magnet with an adhesive base;
- laminate the resulting image;
- We glue the laminated design onto the magnet.
As you can see, the procedure is quite simple. The equipment you will need will be:
- separate room;
- computer with Photoshop program;
- as professional as possible jet printer and colored ink for it;
- cutter for shaping vinyl magnet;
- if you want to produce really good magnets that will vary in shape, then it is better to purchase a plotter as well.
Fridge magnet with photo to order
You can make a magnet with a photo in the same way as vinyl magnets. The only difference is that paper is used instead of vinyl.
Most often, people order a photo magnet, which depicts either themselves or their significant other, because such a product will become very an original gift . Therefore, in order for your photo magnet manufacturing business to develop fully, in addition to the equipment that we have marked as basic for the production of vinyl magnets, you also need to add a SLR camera.
Wooden refrigerator magnets
Wooden refrigerator magnets perfectly claim to be exclusive decorative items, as they look very aesthetically pleasing.
They are much more expensive and are used not only as souvenirs, but also as gifts. An original magnet of this type will be an excellent present.
But, in order to produce such a product, you will need special equipment, which is not so easy to find. Engraving machines are required that will apply the required image or pattern to the wood.
If you want to print photo magnets on wooden base, and not apply the picture itself to the wood, then you will need a special press apparatus that can securely fix the image on a wooden base.
Therefore, this type of business will be very expensive at the initial stage. It will require not only machines, but also:
- computer,
- wood forms,
- magnetic tape.
In addition, you will need somewhere to remove the remaining wood that will inevitably appear after each cycle. That's why this business should develop not at home, but in special enterprises.
Acrylic refrigerator magnets
Acrylic magnets have recently become increasingly popular due to their brightness and aesthetics. In addition, their cost is low, so they are easier to sell.
Making acrylic magnets will not take much time and effort. The main thing is that you manage to find a supplier of acrylic molds, because this part will become the body of the future souvenir. They are usually sold with magnetic tape already applied to the back.
So, acrylic magnets do not require any special equipment other than a printer, computer and photo paper.
Production process similar souvenirs are:
- print an image on photo paper corresponding to the size of the acrylic form;
- open the form;
- insert the image inside, carefully stretching it so that the picture does not wrinkle;
- close the top of the form so that the picture does not move.
Nothing complicated!
Implementation methods
In order for a business (refrigerator magnets) to be truly profitable, you need to be able to sell your products. In the case of souvenir magnets, this is quite simple. There are several ways to do this:
- open own point or even just a place on the market in resort towns so that tourists can buy your product. As practice shows, this method of implementation is quite good;
- seasonal trade It’s also good, because souvenirs are great for buying for all kinds of holidays;
- a good option would be to implement it through retail chains, but it is difficult to break into such an industry;
- own online store magnetic products will be in a great way sales of similar souvenirs.
Magnets to order
But if you want to arrange the production of custom magnets, then we are ready to offer next option development:
The most difficult thing in this matter is attracting a customer, so all your efforts need to be focused on this. Good advertising tools are groups in in social networks, small signs in places retail sales magnets.
Concerning costs, then for any of the models of running a souvenir business with magnets, except for manufacturing wooden products, you will need approximately 2 thousand dollars. This should be enough for equipment and advertising.
Depending on the success of the trade, profit can range from $400 to $1,000 per month. As a rule, over time, the number of orders, and with it the profit, increases.
Case will pay off in 2-6 months, after which you will receive a good profit, especially if you manage to expand your network in resort towns. Over time, the number of customers will only grow, which also plays into your hands.
Good day to all. Spring has already arrived and very soon the first spring holiday will come on March 8th. On this day it is customary to give gifts to mothers, girlfriends and work colleagues. There's a crisis right now, so you can't buy many gifts. I want to invite you to give small gifts to all the women you know without spending a lot of money. We will make decorative refrigerator magnets.
To make this magnet we will need:
- Magnetic tape (old magnet).
- Cardboard.
- Scissors.
- Pencil.
- Glue.
- Textile.
- Twine or twine.
- Woolen threads.
- Decorative flowers, elements.
- Beads.
First we need to draw a tree template on cardboard and cut it out. A decorative magnet can be made in any shape. Here are three templates for you to choose from. I chose the first option.
We glue magnetic tape (or just a magnet) on the back side. If you want to make a tree, it is better to glue a magnet to the crown of the tree and to the pot. Then we take the fabric, trace the pot on it, cut it out and glue the material.
We glue decorative elements on top of the fabric for beauty.
We take string or twine, wrap it around the trunk of the tree, and fix the ends with glue.
Now we take woolen threads of the desired color. Mine are green. We cut the thread into pieces 1-1.5 cm long, fold it in half, grease the fold with glue and glue it to the crown of the tree. Or we smear glue directly onto the wood, whichever is more convenient for you. So we cover the entire top of the tree. Make sure you don't have any spaces. The threads need to be glued tightly to each other, otherwise it will not be beautiful.
The magnet is almost ready. Glue flowers and beads to the crown.
Having shown your imagination, you can make various magnets from any available material, it would be free time and desire. This magnet is wrapped around satin ribbon. The flowers are made of corrugated paper. It is decorated with beads and sequins. The greenery is imitated from the packaging mesh for bouquets.
In previous articles we began to consider real examples from the practice of creating home mini-workshops, one of these opportunities turned out to be the production of refrigerator magnets.
In the first part devoted to the production of magnets, we looked at the production of refrigerator magnets on magnetic vinyl (what is magnetic vinyl?) with the application of an image (that is, banal printing of photographs on magnetic paper) or gluing a liner and a regular image with lamination on vinyl base. About this technology for manufacturing photomagnets.
It is worth noting that when buying souvenirs at the market or in a store, you come across not only “flat” photomagnets, but also three-dimensional figurines, which are no less popular, and perhaps even more so. The question creeps in, how do they make such refrigerator magnets?
So today we'll talk about ideas for home business in the form of making souvenirs on magnets. At its core, such a business clearly belongs to the original business ideas, if only because the success of the entire event depends to a large extent on the owner’s ability to be creative and always be in the “market”.
Now let's look in order at why making souvenirs with magnets is a best ideas for business in understanding a home mini-workshop.
– firstly, magnetic souvenirs are very popular and are well-known and most importantly favorite “toys” for children and adults. Moreover, such souvenirs have one big and very important advantage- price, market price souvenirs on a magnet are small and, as a result, the “park” of magnets in each home is systematically updated.
Several years ago, when we were just thinking about producing souvenir magnets, we conducted an experiment to calculate the “lifetime” of a set of magnets on a regular home refrigerator. They took as a basis my refrigerator (including two children) - refrigerator-1, and the refrigerators of two more people (one has one child - refrigerator-2, the second has no children - refrigerator-3). The duration of the study was half a year. The results were as follows:
Refrigerator-1.
At the beginning of the experiment, there were 15 magnets on the refrigerator, of which two were photo magnets and 13 souvenir magnets.
At the end of the study period, there were 8 magnets on the refrigerator, including 3 photo magnets, 2 acrylic magnets and 3 souvenir magnets.
At the same time, only one photomagnet remained from the original composition, and the average “age” of a refrigerator magnet did not exceed 2 months!!!
In total, in six months my family bought more than 30 magnets of the most different forms and sizes, and there was no priority, everything depended on where they bought and what assortment in point of sale was.
Refrigerator-2.
At the beginning of the period, 8 pieces, all souvenir magnets;
At the end of the period, there were as many as 30 pieces on the refrigerator, including 5 photo magnets and 25 souvenir magnets.
During the study period, 32 pieces were purchased (acrylic magnets were not purchased), the average “life age” in this case exceeded half a year.
Refrigerator-3.
At the beginning of the period there were 5 photo magnets and only one souvenir magnet;
At the end of the period there were 8 photo magnets and two souvenir magnets;
In half a year, 20 pieces were purchased, and of these, only 3 photomagnets and 17 souvenir magnets, while the photomagnets were not thrown away, but the souvenir magnets managed to “last” on the refrigerator for only one month.
Conclusion: Over the course of half a year, three families with different compositions bought 82 magnets, most of which, after a month or two, were either put into the closet or thrown away altogether. As a result, the demand for such cheap and at the same time original jewelry huge and at the same time permanent. You can draw the rest of your conclusions yourself.
– second, we are actually talking about a direct continuation of the first, the “park” of magnets is changing rapidly, as a result, production in small batches is the most economically profitable. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account competition, and from this position the presence original models and a constantly changing assortment are the key to the success of the entire business.
– third, simplicity in the technology of manufacturing refrigerator magnets. Actually, most souvenir products, like photomagnets, do not require specialized production lines and small-scale batches can be easily produced at home, which in fact makes them an excellent area for home business. We’ll talk about the production of magnets and their technology further, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog about business ideas.
I think I answered the question why making magnets falls under the category of home business ideas, but also 100% falls under the definition best business ideas, just like original business ideas.
Now, in a nutshell, about the process of making souvenir magnets, we will talk about this in more detail in the next article. A souvenir magnet is a small figurine made of clay, plastic, plaster with glued reverse side magnet or magnetic vinyl (depending on the weight of the souvenir itself). The main task when making refrigerator magnets is to make a figurine. Actually, the whole beauty of such a home business lies in the fact that such figures are “cast” at home and actually do not require much skill. If you take the issue seriously and look for information on how such magnets are made in China, then I assure you the level of technological effectiveness of the process, as well as other nuances, is comparable to home conditions. Unless you make them at home of better quality and most likely from normal raw materials (the quality of Chinese magnets raises serious doubts; what is used as a raw material is covered in a “big secret”).
Now, briefly about the technology for making magnets at home:
– we make it ourselves or we find it suitable look future refrigerator magnet, there are several options here, starting from simple copying with adding additional elements or just simply order an artist to make a sample. By by and large the process of “finding” the layout is similar as in the other form.
– based on the layout, we make a mold, and making the mold is simple, after all, there is only one volumetric side in a souvenir magnet.
– pour the selected material into the mold, cool it and get a ready-made souvenir, only without color;
- color the souvenir.
Actually, all this can be done in small room at home - that’s why we consider making magnets a home business idea.
In the next article we will analyze the production technology in more detail and consider the main nuances in the production of refrigerator magnets, do not forget to subscribe to the blog, to be continued.
There are several ways to make a magnet at home. The first and second methods are suitable for simple home experiments and for showing to children. The third and fourth methods are somewhat more complicated and require care and caution.
Options for making simple magnets with your own hands
Method 1To create a magnet you will need the most simple materials available at hand:
- Copper wire.
- DC source.
- The metal blank is the future magnet.
The simplest electromagnet made of wire, battery and nail
We take a metal blank and wrap it with copper wire. A total of 300 turns should be obtained. We connect the ends of the wire to a battery or accumulator. As a result metal blank will be magnetized. How strong its field will be depends on the power of the current coming from the power source.
Method 2
First you need to make an inductor coil. The future magnet is placed inside it, so a compact size blank is used. The procedure is exactly the same, except for the fact that the number of turns of wire should not be 300, but 600. This method is good if you need to make a magnet of increased power.
Copper wire on ferrite magnet
Method 3
Involves the use of mains electricity. The method is quite complex and dangerous, so manipulations must be verified and careful. A fuse is added to the standard set of accessories, without which it will not be possible to create a magnet. It is this that is connected to the inductor coil, inside of which there is a metal workpiece. The fuse is connected to the network. As a result, it burns out, but at the same time manages to charge the object inside the coil to high levels.
Be careful! Such experiments pose a danger to life and often lead to a short circuit in the electrical network! When choosing a similar method for manufacturing magnetic elements, follow necessary measures precautions and prepare a fire extinguisher that will quickly extinguish a possible fire.
A special magnetometer will help you evaluate the result of the work - it will show how strong the resulting product is.
How to make the most powerful magnet yourself
The most powerful magnets in the world they are made from the rare earth metal neodymium. Iron, neodymium and boron are powdered, mixed, shaped and sintered in microwave ovens. Then the workpieces are magnetized and applied protective covering made of zinc or nickel. It is very difficult to repeat this process at home. But there is another way.Method 4
The first step towards realizing the goal is to find the broken hard drives from the computer. If you don’t have a broken hard drive on your household, you can try to find non-working devices on Avito, Darudar or other classifieds sites.
Magnetic head in an open hard drive
Disks have a magnetic head that is used to control the writing and reading of data. The second step is to completely disassemble HDD and gain access to this head. On it are curved plates made of a neodymium-iron-boron alloy. They can be glued to steel members, but are often held in place by their own magnetic force. The largest neodymium magnets are found in the oldest hard drives.
Of course, the easiest way is to buy a neodymium magnet the desired shape and strength. On the other hand, if you have several non-working hard drives, then it would be extremely imprudent to simply throw them away.
The World of Magnets online store offers you to buy neodymium magnets at the most attractive prices. Select suitable products from the presented catalog and place an order. Purchase of finished products from necessary parameters- it’s always easier, faster and more profitable than trying to make neodymium magnets yourself.
