Any Pricescopers manufacture their own product/s?

[Boogins]

Hi there. I was wondering if any Pricescopers reading this have developed and sold their own products? I am a WAHM who has an awesome (I think, but I may be biased lol) idea that I want to make my millions on. I have been doing some research online and it looks like getting a prototype made is the first step...then find a manufacturer, most likely overseas for the specific item I am looking into. I think Pricescope is inhabited by some really interesting and prosperous people, so I thought someone might be able to give me some advice. Any tips or warnings? If you have done this, how long did it take you to start turning a profit from conception to sales? I have an online business already, but it is selling other people's products, so this is definitely new territory for me. We just bought a home and had a baby and my business is still very new, so we don't have a lot of capital to put towards this right now, so I guess that is a concern of mine too. Anywho, I would love your input! Thanks!

 

[chemgirl]

I don't have a product, but I am a huge fan of the Canadian show Dragon's Den where people pitch their ideas directly to investors. The investors always stress the importance of knowing your market (how large, what type of turnover, need for your product), sizing up the competition (is there anything similar on the market), and making a distribution plan (ie tradeshows, infomercials, retail stores) before moving forward with your product. Its important to ascertain whether your product is viable before investing money in its development.

Goodluck inventing and I hope it works out for you!

 

[redline_blueline]

Hi there. I don't post here much - mostly lurk, but I thought I could chime in here.

My husband is an industrial designer who also sources products for manufacturing in China. Also, almost two years ago he started his own company to sell his own line of products.

You're correct that your first step is getting a prototype made. The best bet would probably be to find a industrial designer/product designer that would be able to take your idea and do the following:

(1) Refine the design so that it's ready for market (if it's not already) and optimal for cost-efficient manufacturing. This should also include choosing materials for your product to the exact specifications (i.e. - specific type of plastic and Pantone color).
(2) Create a CAD model that will be used to 3D print the prototype. Prototypes can also be built by hand - but that type of module would mostly be used to show potential investors. You will need a CAD model to have the molds built for manufacturing. Also, make sure that the CAD model will be able to be used to build the molds from - not all of them are. There are a lot of CAD programs on the market and not all of them are geared towards engineering/manufacturing.
(3) Engage a manufacturer (overseas or local) to make your product. Overseas manufacturers are the cheapest, but you will need an intermediary that will work as a sourcing agent to begin business with them. As far as I know, you can't just call up a manufacturer without having a previous relationship with them. You might be able to work directly with a local manufacturer.

You should be able to find an industrial designer that will be able to all of these things for you, but not everyone has all of these skills, so look around. They might also have expertise in patents, if you're interested.

As far as what the cost would be . . . I can't sugarcoat it for you. It would probably be be in the range of five figures or higher.

Initial test runs with a manufacturer would be in the thousands or even tens of thousands (depending upon the complexity of the product). I think this cost includes the cost of the mold or molds and minimal material costs. Once you agree to move into manufacturing you are looking at the cost of the materials (assuming the molds are already paid for) for your initial product run. You will be able to calculate the per-part or per-product cost versus the sales price to see what your margin will be and how many pieces your will need to sell to pay for the molds and materials.

As far as my husband's company . . . they have been on the market and selling product for about a year and have yet to turn a profit. The goal is to pocket a small profit for ourselves at the end of this year (yea!). To date he's probably spent around 30 grand on materials and manufacturing alone - but his material cost is more expensive than most. And he's manufacturing locally, not overseas. Fortunately for my husband, there was no cost for design or development since that's his "day job" and he has those skills. He spent about a year from design to market - roughly six months would be the fastest but it can also take much longer too.

Let me know if you have any other questions I could answer. I know this all might sound really discouraging but please don't let it get you down, there are ways to raise capital and/or share the risk with investors.

 

[VRBeauty]

Is there a SCORE chapter near you? That's Service Corps of Retired Executives, not guys on the make... A friend has been consulting with them on launching an on-line business, and it sounds like they've been giving her a lot of very good feedback.