Entrepreneur Becomes "The Face Of 3D Printing" Through Innovation & Excellent Company Presentation

Mike Moceri is the founder and CEO of MakerOS, a cloud based business management platform for advanced manufacturing founded in 2015 and headquartered in Detroit. Their product is aimed at small to medium sized businesses that make custom fabricated goods for their customers, including 3D printing services, product development studios and industrial designers.

As a startup founder and CEO, Moceri's responsibilities include talent acquisition, fundraising, leading sales, brand development and structuring the vision for MakerOS. His entire career has been present in the 3D printing industry where Moceri co-founded the world's first 3D printing retail service bureau in Chicago (3DPX), and established the premier 3D printing service in Detroit (Manulith). Moceri is also a featured speaker at exhibitions around the country. In 2015, Moceri was named "The Face of 3D Printing" by DBusiness Magazine.
 

 
What are the five areas you would recommend small businesses focus on to differentiate themselves in the manufacturing arena?

 
Brand development

I see far too many manufacturers with websites that have been built in the late '90s to early 2000s. You may think all the information is there, but most potential clients will take one look at your landing page and think you're from the stone age. You wouldn't wear that shirt you bought in the '90s to a client meeting, neither should your website. Hire an outside firm to develop a visual and written language that best represents your company.

 
Invest in innovation

Set aside a yearly budget for either purchasing new equipment, software or training programs. Your clients want to see your company ahead of the technological curve, and your employees want to work in an environment that values progress.

 
Adopt a cloud-based CRM and ERP system

Nothing slows down production more than not knowing where client's orders are, manually tracking your inventory or managing hundreds of email chains across multiple projects. Cloud software like MakerOS was built directly to address these issues to save you hours of tedious inaccurate work while increasing revenue.

 
Hire a consultant

You may think you are a master of industry, but there may be some areas that you didn't even realize you are lacking in. An outside consultant can take your business to the next level with a fresh set of eyes and skills to solve your most present or hidden problems.

 
Customer feedback

Your production facility should already have a QA process, but so should your customer service department. Sometimes the only way to get feedback from clients is to directly ask them and give them incentives for their thoughts about your service. In my experience, sometimes the best ideas on how to improve product or service come from typically silent clients.

This article was written by Michelle Guilbeau for CBS Small Business Pulse.