Afterburn: Maker Talk After Dark

Afterburn: Maker Talk After Dark

By Erik & Ashlee CrowellBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Afterburn: Maker Talk After Dark episodes

  • Scaling for Q4: Hiring, Training, and Getting Found by AI

    Scaling for Q4: Hiring, Training, and Getting Found by AI | Afterburn Ep. 8

    Back from Printing United and a week away, Erik and Ashlee came home 400+ items behind. This one is about scaling for Q4: hiring and training new help, turning our system into the training manual, why we skipped a $1,200/month marketing agency and built our own AI systems instead, and why your corporate gifting window closes at the end of October.

    All Episodes: https://afterburn.show
    Maker Resources: https://mfco.app/makers

    28 min
  • Mall Shop Math, Fraud Orders & the Package That Vanished

    Mall Shop Math, Fraud Orders & the Package That Vanished | Afterburn Ep. 7


    Erik and Ashlee get into what it really costs to run a maker shop inside a mall, the fraud filters that save you from chargebacks, and the FedEx package that vanished into the mail system. Plus the air assist fix that cleaned up the Hydra 16 and a Printing United preview.

    All Episodes: https://afterburn.show

    Maker Resources: https://mfco.app/makers


    48 min
  • Community Over Competition? Ft John Modi - MakerFlo

    This week on Afterburn we're joined by John Modi, the co-founder of MakerFlo, one of the biggest blanks companies in the game. We get into the stuff makers argue about all the time but rarely get to ask a founder to their face. Grab a seat for this one.

    Late-night maker talk, after the shop lights go down. New episodes every week.

    ▶️ Episodes: https://afterburn.show

    1 hr 4 min
  • Next Level Maker Conference - Worth It?
    Is a maker conference actually worth it? The money, the travel, closing the shop for a few days? We put that question to the two guys who built one.
    This week Kristen and I hang with Mark Collier and Will Louie from Next Level Maker Events to talk about Next Level Maker Conference 2026, "REFRESHED", and the honest version of what you actually get out of an event like this. We get into how they fell into laser design, how they teamed up, and why they'd rather build a room for makers than just sit in someone else's.
    It turns into a real conversation about why making stuff can get lonely, what happens when you finally get in a room with people who do what you do, and why the hallway is sometimes worth more than the sessions. Plus the vendor room, the Creator's Corner, giving back through Wipeout Kids Cancer, and a healthy amount of complaining about social media algorithms.
    Grab a seat. This one's a good hang.
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    What we get into
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    • How Mark and Will got into laser design (and into business together)
    • What REFRESHED actually is, and who it's really for
    • The "is it worth the ticket" question, answered straight
    • Why the vendor room and Creator's Corner are more than a sales floor
    • Making stuff is isolating. A room full of makers fixes that.
    • Giving back with Wipeout Kids Cancer
    • The usual gripes: algorithms, and why we can't have nice things
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    Takeaways
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    • The laser world is better when makers build together instead of guarding secrets
    • A conference isn't the sessions, it's the people. That's where the value hides.
    • Getting out of your own shop and around other makers beats grinding alone
    • The right room can change how you think about your business, fast
    • Supporting a cause like Wipeout Kids Cancer makes the whole thing mean more
    • And yes, the algorithm is out to get all of us
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    Chapters
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    00:00 Introductions and background
    01:06 Falling into laser design
    02:30 How Mark and Will teamed up
    07:07 The Next Level Maker Conference
    19:07 Is it actually worth it?
    20:59 Why "Refreshed"
    24:01 Inside the vendor room
    25:44 The heart of REFRESHED
    27:19 Making stuff can get lonely
    28:12 Getting in the room and growing
    34:23 Vendor Room and Creator's Corner
    36:22 Learning and making connections
    47:51 Supporting Wipeout Kids Cancer
    51:11 Getting ready for the event
    52:11 Community and showing up
    59:00 The social media gripe session
    01:00:28 What we're each fired up about
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    Learn more about REFRESHED / Next Level Maker Events:
    https://nextlevelmakerevents.com/
    Afterburn - Maker Talk After Dark. New episodes every week.
    1 hr 6 min
  • Trailer: It Starts With a Spark
    Welcome to Afterburn, the after-dark maker show for people building real businesses with lasers, UV printing, DTF, embroidery, and custom products.
    Hosted by Erik Crowell and Kristen Thompson. Every week we get into the real stuff: pricing, workflows, mistakes, tools, trends, and the messy middle of turning maker skills into revenue. Plus rotating guests.
    First full show: Thursday, July 16 at 9PM ET.
    Watch live and find every link at https://afterburn.show
    Pull up a chair.
    1 min

About Afterburn: Maker Talk After Dark

From the publisher's feed

Afterburn is the after-dark maker show for people building real businesses with lasers, UV printing, DTF, embroidery, and custom products.

Every week,