Ben Folkes, managing director of 3D print and CAD services company 3D Folkes what advice he would give to someone starting out.
What do you currently do at ‘3D Folkes’
I’m the Managing Director at 3D Folkes – I still play a very customer facing role as well as dealing with the organisational side of the business.
What was the inspiration behind your business?
I’d always been really interested in how things were made from a young age and I loved designing things as well so when I found out you can build your own 3D printer, it was a no brainer. Eversince, we’ve been continously growing but the passion for design has never changed.
Who do you admire?
I have the typical entrepreneurial admirations for people like Elon Musk who are a bit out there with their ideas but then I also admire a lot of my famly members (as cliche as it sounds) as I was brought up around a lot of really hardworking people and some that ran businesses as well.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
I’d definitely have been open to advice from an earlier stage. I went for too long thinking that the only way to be successful was to do everything myself and it turned out, that’s just not realistic or even a smart thing to do.
What defines your way of doing business?
Very focused on quality and customer service as our 2 main values. I really believe in the idea that people buy into other people, not just a product.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
The good days will always outweigh the bad. It’s never going to happen where you don’t run into issues – it’ll always happen – it’s just about accepting them, getting past them as quickly and efficiently as possible and keeping on going. Then you can really enjoy it when things go well.
