This month we shipped a lot. A laser engraving shop where you can watch videos of real work before you order. A free way to design and order custom photo magnets. A jobs board that now works in Spanish. Real repair prices for the whole Coastal Bend so you know what things actually cost. A way to share repair estimates with a link instead of trying to explain numbers over the phone. A clean weather forecast site for the region. A wind forecast for people who work on the water. A lot of stuff moved this month.
then order one for yourself. real videos of tumblers and signs getting engraved. not renders.
NPC Laser is our shop for custom laser-engraved gifts, signs, and tumblers.
By The Shop · Dispatch from Alice
head to npclaser.com and you'll see short videos of actual laser work. a tumbler getting etched. a sign coming to life. each one is real.
you pick what you want engraved, a gift, a sign, a tumbler, and the site shows you exactly what it looks like before you pay. then you can buy it. one person runs the whole shop solo.
if you've thought about making custom magnets for an event or a booth but didn't want to risk money upfront, that's solved now. you get two weeks to build and order without paying first.
if you run a local business and want to mail postcards, you can now pick exactly which blocks get them. draw a box on a map. we'll mail only to the addresses inside it.
if you're looking for work in the Coastal Bend, you can now sign up for email alerts on a local jobs board. pick your trade and your city. when a new job posts that matches, you get an email.
you work through a repair estimate on the local jobs board. now instead of trying to describe the number over the phone or text, you can send a link. anyone who clicks it sees the exact same estimate you're looking at.
there's a weather site for folks in the Coastal Bend region of Texas. head to npcweather.com and you get a clean, fast forecast for Alice, Corpus Christi, Calallen, Kingsville, Beeville, and everywhere else in the area.
if your day depends on which way the wind blows, you fish, you boat, you work on the water, there's a site for you. head to coastalbendwindzone.com. it shows wind speed and gusts across the Coastal Bend so you can decide if today is a go or a no.
you posted a job on the board. then you realized you got the hours wrong, or you want to raise the pay because you've gotten good applications. you don't have to take it down and start over.
We like this one because it comes straight from the FTC and covers all three threats in plain language, from spotting phishing emails to backing up files and what to do right after an attack hits. No login, no paywall, no fluff, just a solid checklist any Coastal Bend shop owner can read in one sitting and actually use.
We found a full free course, 59 step-by-step lessons with videos, written by certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, that walks you through setup, invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, and reporting from scratch. No sign-up, no paywall, just sit down with your QuickBooks account open and follow along at your own pace.
We like this one because it tells you to run a quick walk test first so you know whether your problem is weak coverage or a bad hop between nodes, and that keeps you from buying gear you do not need. It is written plain, covers small offices just like homes, and points you toward wired backhaul fixes before it ever suggests spending more money.
We bookmarked this one because real repair folks share exactly where to start when you want to fix your own phone or laptop instead of paying someone else to do it. Out here in the Coastal Bend where the nearest big-box repair shop can be a long drive away, knowing how to swap a battery or crack open a screen yourself is just plain useful.
This is the free, no-sales-pitch playbook straight from the federal agency whose whole job is keeping businesses safe from ransomware, phishing, and hackers. We like it because it skips the outdated advice and tells you exactly what to turn on first, starting with multi-factor authentication on every account.
We like this one because it skips the jargon and walks you straight through what the 3-2-1 rule actually means for a small shop, including real tool picks and a cost example you can steal right now. It also clears up the big trap most folks fall into: your Dropbox or Google Drive sync is not a backup, and this guide explains exactly why that matters when ransomware shows up.
