June 30, 2020

3D Printing as a Side Hustle | Nikko Mendoza

37 minutes

Today’s episode features Nikko from Nikko Industries.

What a cool and unique guest who is on his way to making $250k this year off his 3-D print business.

This business was no easy task as Nikko didn’t become a U.S. citizen until he was 25.

What started as Nikko just trying to be an awesome dad, quickly turned into a life-changing money endeavor.

Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about this awesome episode.

Episode Summary

Nikko’s Background

Nikko’s parents were not good with money

Nikko and his family immigrated to the United States

At a young age, he made a vow that he would not be the same way

He would provide and be smart with his money for him and his children

Due to being an immigrant, he wasn’t able to think about college or many things until he was 25

Nikko joins the military after getting married and becoming a citizen

Then he realizes how much more money he could make on the outside

From there he takes a traditional commercial role but keeps an eye on entrepreneurship

Nikko’s Entrepreneurial Journey

Nikko talks about all the failures he had along the way

He had so many setbacks that at one point he just quit

But then things turned around for him

He says, When I stopped chasing money, money started chasing me

Nikko says you really have to love what you do to be successful

The business venture that really turned things around for him was 3D printing

Birth of Nikko Industries

Nikko’s drive was to find something that helped him enjoy his time with his kids

His son loved things like Thor and Iron Man etc

Nikko came across someone on Instagram who had printed pieces to a costume

He put the 3D printer on the back-burner for a month to make sure he was serious

After a month he couldn’t stop thinking about it and bought one

He started by building a community and youtube channel

Then he started looking to actually sell products

Scaling a Business

Nikko admits that he doesn’t know how to design these products from scratch

He leverages others to make the designs and market it

His biggest skill is delegation and making sure he’s tapping into the right products

His 1st year he made 50k in revenue

2019 his revenue grew to $130k

In 2020 he’s on pace to make over $250k in revenue

Most of this revenue is just off of the digital files

He says that he spends about 4 hours per week

And now he’s coaching others to build 3D printing businesses

Then a person can take these files and use their own printer to make them

Nikko also has a big focus on giving back

During the Covid outbreak, he was printing free face shields for frontline workers

Key Takeaways

Stop Chasing the Money: Nikko talks about how things started turning around when stop solely focusing on the money.

Maximize Your Skills: Nikko never designs a file yet makes so much money on them, he uses his skills of delegation to the max

Call to Action

Just go educate yourself in 3D printing. Whether it’s Nikko’s side hustles, medical advances, or even housing solutions, it’s such a cool topic that everyone should check out.

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Nikko’s Information

Website: 3D Printed Profits

Youtube: Nikko Industries

Instagram: Nikko Industries

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By Cody Berman and Justin Taylor

4.8

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