3D printing and entrepreneurship are made for each other. Using 3D printing, companies like Shapeways, enable makers to rapidly design, prototype, iterate, bring to market, and sell innovative products with low initial investment and risk. However, creating great products is just the start – building a successful creative, maker business takes a lot of strategy, time and know-how of the right tools for the job.

In honor of Small Business Week, which runs from May 12 to 19, we’ve put together a special meetup on Monday, May 12 from 6 to 8:30 pm. It is hosted at the Wix Lounge in Chelsea, a free co-working and event space, by Wix.com. The theme of the meetup is “online tools to build your maker business,” and it includes a panel discussion with three of our top Shapeways designers and shop owners. They will talk about how tools like 3D Printing, e-commerce and a robust website and social media presence can empower maker entrepreneurs. 

The panelists include: digital artist and sculptor Ryan Kittleson; artist and designer Sophie Kahn; and entrepreneur and 3D printing artist Melissa Ng. These Shapeways shop owners will discuss how they have built their creative business and share tools and advice. 

We hope you will come ready to network and with questions about how to grow your business, as well as ideas and resources to share with other makers and creative entrepreneurs. We also hope you will bring products and prototypes you have created to share! There will be light refreshments served and plenty of time for making new connections with other makers. Please RSVP on meetup.com so that we can plan accordingly. 

We are really excited to be partnering with Wix.com for this event, which enables you to build a free and professional online presence, just the way you want it. With an HTML5 drag-and-drop website editor, 100s of web apps, designer-made templates, and tons of features, Wix gives you the tools to launch and manage your online presence. 

We look forward to seeing you next week!