Meet Nicki Piland, also known as The Laser Chick!
I am a mother of six amazing kids. My husband Tommy and I have four boys and two girls. I currently work full time for the federal government, and my husband and I have three businesses, which include The Laser Chick LLC, a remodeling/renovation company, and website/graphic design.
I asked Nicki to tell me more about herself and her background.
I was born and reared in middle Georgia, US. I currently live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. It’s not far from where I grew up. I remember when I was younger I wanted to get out of here so badly. I wanted to travel and be adventurous. The solution to this was joining the Army. Seven years later I was medically discharged from injuries that I obtained while serving.After leaving the Army I was lost in a lot of ways, civilian life didn’t come easy after soany years of structure and discipline. When I returned home I immediately started college to help myself grow. Didn’t take long before I got a job on Warner Robin’s Airforce Base as civil service. After 10 years this is still where I lay my heart and soul into helping the warfighter succeed!
Nicki is not only a hero in uniform, she is also a graphic artist by trade!
It has remained my passion throughout my entire life. Although I majored in English literature in college, reading and writing is how I express myself. I’ve always been more of an introvert, it wasn’t until I dove off into the laser community that I truly felt I belonged. Have that security and support from the community allowed me to grow not only business wise but personally!
Nicki’s adventure into the laser world began in 2019, so she has nearly five years of laser knowledge and experience to share with her followers and community!
When the pandemic hit, I was pregnant with our last child. My full time job immediately sent me home to telework. Anyone who knows me definitely knows I am not a sit at home type of person. So I got board real fast, scrolling through Facebook one day and this ad for a Glowforge pops up. (May I note that I am an impulse buyer, definitely my weakness.) Anyways, I say to my husband, “I want one of these!” After some debating, he finally agreed with me and we decided to purchase the Glowforge Pro.
There was a small, yet mighty bump in the road for Nicki at the time.
I literally had no credit, no savings, nothing. I went through a divorce, which basically left me with nothing but my kids. So for me to be able to purchase this machine I had to have some help. Mom to the rescue! My mom, who is absolutely my best friend and is always there to support me, allowed me to use her credit to finance the Glowforge.
Moving forward a bit, didn’t take long to realize that this machine wasn’t what the hype made it out to be. So, after paying it off within eight months, my husband and I knew that we could make this a business. However, we also knew we would need a lot larger and more industrial laser.
Like many of us in the laser world, Nicki needed a bigger and stronger machine to keep up with her quickly-growing laser business, so she turned to Aeon Laser USA and purchased a MIRA9 just one year after purchasing her Glowforge.
I was terrified, can I operate this thing? Can I afford it? This is a large investment! After some careful thought and figuring out out to finance the machine. We went for it! (I literally took a loan out of my retirement to pay for the Mira 9.) This machine allowed me to have the ability to have a rotary. The machine did come with a rotary, hotdog style. I honestly never plugged it in. I knew when I bought the MIRA9 that I wanted the best of the best for rotaries. Didn’t take long for me to find the information I was looking for. LensDigital: PiBurn rotary, I spoke to several other creators and they helped me determine what I needed. I purchased the Piburn V4 Omni setup.
Upon receiving her PiBurn Omni, Nicki immediately set up The Grip functionality.
I honestly never looked back from that point on. My laser journey has continued to grow and I have grown with it!
Nicki’s business today is ever-expanding. She not only offers physical products, she is also now offering her own custom digital files for other creators as well (and that extra passive income never hurts)!
Most of my sales are through vendor events and digital files. I’ve recently worked in a lot of new marketing and building more online product sales. I typically have a larger amount of digital file sales than I do product sales each month. Partially because I prefer to design. My main clientele is other laser crafters. The second set of clients are those who come to arts and crafts festivals. Since events are a best guess on product sales, I tend to keep a large variety of products on hand.
How did Nicki find LensDigital and ultimately decide on a PiBurn as her rotary choice?
The amazing Liz Rivers, with The Laser Outpost [Facebook Group], hooked me up with the information on a PiBurn. Liz took me under her wing and walked me through the buying process and setup. I couldn’t have bought a better piece of equipment! Easy to set up, easy to use, quality, and amazing customer service. The Omni Configuration was by far the best choice for my needs. It gave me options, I had the rollers and the availability of The Grip. To be honest, I connected the Grip and have used it for everything I’ve need the rotary for at this point. My recommendation for anyone looking to invest in a rotary PiBurn is the way to go. You are not going to find another machine out there that compares.
Nicki is most inspired by her family and the laser community.
Watching other makers succeed and accomplish goals is the most rewarding part of being an influencer.
Nicki’s biggest piece of advice for those considering taking a leap into the world of starting their own business?
Take the constructive criticism from other makers and turn it into positive outcomes. Make sure you ask questions, the laser community is overwhelmingly helpful and caring.
Want to connect with Nicki and check out her products and files? Visit her links below!
Website: https://www.thelaserchick.ink
Etsy Page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaseredbyTLC
Email: thelaserchickgroup@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laseredbytlc
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thelaserchick
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thelaserchicklasercraftinggroup