Posted on 03/04/2010 10:08:54 AM PST by MissEdie
I have a question/request/need for info on how to develop an idea into a marketable product. I know this pres. is anti-business, but I have an idea for a baby-product several moms have told me would be a wonderful idea. I need some help on finding out how to get it from an idea to an actual product on the market. Can any Freeper help? TY
One tiny piece of it - you’re going to need venture capital. The majority of small businesses that fail do so from being undercapitalized. Make sure you have a solid business plan in hand before trying to find that capital. You may have to do a lot of research to write one, but it’s worth the effort because it’s how you’re going to run your business.
If you created it....you may want to get a patent.
That’s so cool, tho! I love seeing people coming up with great ideas and doing well. It’s so ‘American’! Best of luck to you.
Step 1. Would probably be to contact a patent attorney, depending on the product.
Step 2. There are inventors’ showcase-type conventions.
Unless you have massive amounts of capital available to you, your best bet is likely to sell your idea to someone else.
MissEdie -
Best to you! There is a great business plan program that is used by the State of VA SBA ... I’ll Freepmail the link to you. Use the version that you can save in Excel. It’s got everything you need to put your financials together.
There are a lot of resources on how to do a business plan. A fellow conservative actually posted his pizza shop business plan on his Facebook page ... it may give you an idea of how to structure it.
Key thing: Do your research. Marketing, sales, demographics, trends. What is on the market that’s similar, or comparable? (This is good, because if it’s totally isolated from anything that’s on the market, maybe it’s because nobody wants it.) Also, how is it different (and better) from what’s on the market?
By the time you’re done with your business plan and financial forecasts (including the cost of development and manufacturing, or whatever), you will know your product and your market inside and out. That will give you the confidence to present your product to the people who would buy and/or distribute it.
If you can snag a domain name (Go Daddy is good) for your product, do that now. .com domains are still best.
Last thing: 99.9% of people (made-up statistic) are not good at doing everything needed to bring a product to market. Find people who are, and if you’re short on capital (who isn’t?), they may be willing to barter services in exchange for something you can do or make, or some other exchange that gives you value.
This is the spirit of America - something that lots of people around the world cannot do under their current governments. We are blessed! Best to you.
It’s actually quite easy. There’s a lot of experts out there to take you through the entire process. You just need some source of money, and lots of it.
BTT
Nully knows everything ping
A prototype will allow actual users to access the value of the product and its shortcomings. If you can't get past this point the rest doesn’t matter.
If you can, try to turn it into a protectable asset via patent filing. If going down that road, do not share the details with anyone else, as it counts against you in terms of public disclosure. Do your due diligence in looking for prior art (anything like it in market, disclosed in trade magazines, described in research reports, ...etc). If still OK, then hire a patent practioner. You should/will have to pay for a prior art landscape search by the professionals. They have them file the patent. All in all anywhere between 5k and 20k depending on complexity. Good luck...
I came to FR for the politics and stayed because of threads like this. Is there any topic some freepers don’t have knowledge of and experience with? BTTT.
I was thinking the same this morning on Chile thread, many people had opinions but a few actually know a lot about Chile.
.......and Space, Archeology, History, Finance, and on and on.
If it’s a complex/technology-based product, you’ll have to find somebody to fund you.
But if it’s something you can make yourself without too much expense, just start small. Make a few, see how friends like them, have them recommend to their friends, etc.
If it’s a hit, word of mouth should keep you busy. Maybe it’ll stay small, in which case you just have a neat hobby, or maybe interest picks up and you can expand.
LOL! I have been lurking around here since mid 1990s and have stayed for same reason.
You need to decide if this is a product you can manufacture or you need an established business to manufacture it for you. If it will be manufactured through an entablished manufacturer there will be set up cost and probably a minimum buy but they may also drop ship for you.
But for now prototype and get feedback through friends, family and blogs. Later set up an internet store and work with others to sell your product for you
Excellent idea. I would only add documenting everything with pictures and notes as it may be important later to establish priority.
My husband and I have spent our working lives selling our own ideas.
First of all, patents are very expensive. Not even qualified draftsmen can make the patent drawings, according to the patent attorneys we have consulted, because “they have to be done in a precisely defined manner”. The best advice we received was that a patent is only worth what you can afford to spend to defend it in court.
The first thing to do is prototype. There is many a slip between the thought and the product.
Then you must source your supplies. You can't afford to buy them retail, although you will do that for the prototype(s). The worst part about sourcing is having some idea that the supplier will be there in future and having some handle on how the cost to you will change over time. It will go up, but you need to price in a percentage of increase because of uncertainty.
You must produce several dozen in order to know exactly how long they take and what the problems might be. By then, you will also know if you have reliable machinery that can take the punishment of production.
It is very difficult to merchandise (sell at point of purchase) just one item. You must breed a line of items that relate to your main idea. You can vary things like color and materials, perhaps you can vary size. Sometimes, while prototyping, you have another idea and that can become a companion product. I prefer to have 4 distinct units in a line. Too many and people are overwhelmed with choice, but only one allows them to reject it out of hand, quickly. The best is to have a major item and then a smaller, less expensive version. People may love your item and they may want to buy it, but cannot justify the expenditure at the time of sale. The smaller item becomes a *souvenir* that they buy to remind them of the one they really like.
To test sales, take it on the road. You cannot sell wholesale to retailers, to distributors and to catalogs until you know how it performs in the retail market. This sales test will allow you to find out all the objections and all the points people love. Then you can go back home and incorporate these into the product line. Craft fairs, craft markets, home shows and whatever retail venues you can find are where you do this.
You can do all of this without a patent. Each step you take puts you that far ahead of the competition. You can find a memorable name and copyright that. Put thought into your packaging. Many distributors will insist on barcoded packaging or RFID. If a catalog or distributor sells in Canada, you will have to file NAFTA certification papers, especially if it is made of fibers or textiles. Usually the distributor will be the one audited by Customs and they will have the form for you to fill out and they will walk you through it. Basically, you certify it was made in North America of North American materials. Your packaging will also need to take into account the way it will be displayed in a shop: will it sit on a shelf, hang on a peg board, have to be set up, etc.
If a product is going to make it at wholesale, the retailer/distributor will come to you. If you are overwhelmed by demand and have to start hiring labor to help you produce for your own retail venues, that is the first clue that the product will make it at wholesale. At that point, you book the wholesale trade shows in your industry market to reach the distributors and retailers. Consider ads in industry trades that go to the buyers at this time. You may want to retain the right to sell at retail and if so, you can offer the item online at a factory retail or manufacturer's retail price that does not undercut your wholesale accounts. Some distributors will want exclusivity. Don't do it. When they go under or decide to cut the item, you have no venues left.
Finally, remember a truism in this business: if everyone of your friends and family think this is a terrific idea, take a lot of time to think it through as it will likely fail. If everyone thinks you are insane to produce and sell this product, you have a good chance of success. This sounds counter-intuitive, but I can tell you that it is precisely accurate and I have proven it to myself over and over in the course of a 45-year career.
If you have any detailed questions, feel free to FReepmail me.
Good luck!
bttt
Great, helpful post! I know nothing of this type of endeaver - but I can tell that you do! For some reason I am reminded of the company that bought the JELLO recipe from the inventor for $400 after the inventor couldn’t sell it. The company handed out (mailed?) a small JELLO recipe booklet with all sorts of ways to make and present the Jello. Then, a week later went into town and sold it (door to door?).
Also, when times were good they marketed it as a fine, fancy desert. When times were hard, they marketed it as an inexpensive treat.
About the “suite of products”.
We just got a new puppy. Bought a collar, and a leash. Oh, and this “training harness” is really good - much better than a collar. And if you are going to have him in a vehicle, it is much safer to have him secured. This device hooks onto his harness and then through the seat belt. (Yep - all the same company!)
Interesting anecdote! Thanks for telling the story.
Sort of like Mod Podge. The inventor sold it for $1M in the late 1960s/early 1970s after she had developed the product AND a *craft* where the customer painted it over a print to simulate impasto brush strokes. She spent years developing markets, doing TV appearances and publishing project inserts and then books to earn that $1M. I have lost track of how many times the label has sold (that is, while still called Mod Podge) and how many knock offs there are.
As we all know, it it is now a staple used by everyone, probably at least once every few years for multitudes of projects. Like JELLO, it is a classic. Both have generated billions and billions of dollars, supported cadres of support services in the marketing and were able to thrive in any economic situation by being versatile. Both were also made of available and inexpensive materials.
Just to stay on track for thread purposes, I think there is a difference between a convenience food or a glue compound and a specific item/line aimed at a specific market. The latter is going to be more difficult to market widely and may not be as enduring.
Exactly.
Just imagine this manufacturer’s trade show booth. The buyer walks in and immediately can see how these products can be displayed, that they have endcap appeal for somewhere like PetMart and, of course, the add-on and repeat sales. One product alone would not have any of that potential.
Thank you for your advice! I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, but with a young child to take care of my computer time has been drastically cut!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.