So, you have an idea of something you want to manufacture and think it could become a profitable business, but you’re just not sure where to start? Let’s take a look at some of the first steps you need to take.
Survey the market
During this stage, you’re going to want to go straight to the source. If you’re thinking there’s something you could manufacture to make a nebulizer smaller, for instance, talk with health care professionals to see if this is something that the would see as necessary.
Is your idea related to keeping potted plants watered while people are on vacation? Visit local plant nurseries to get an idea for what options are already readily available, and schedule time with managers of these places to see if they’d be interested in a product like that.
This goes for anything you create, from physical manufactured pieces to software; make sure you have potential buyers before you spend hundreds of hours (not to mention money!) creating these things.
In this beginning stage, if the people you speak with are interested, see if they’ll also be open to giving feedback on the pieces you manufacture, which leads us to the next step.
Create a prototype
Brainstorm, then get working! In the era of 3-D printing, you have countless options to tweak your prototype. Start with the most basic idea you have, and build it from there. Don’t overthink things though; the team that you assembled earlier to give feedback will be essential in this stage. While you might be thinking of effectiveness, those people you spoke with earlier might bring up things like appearance or comfort.
A small home 3-D printer will work for now, but long-term, you’ll likely want to invest in a CNC machine along with all the bells and whistles. You can learn more about those and compressors to help at C&B Equipment.
Once you have a solid prototype that addresses the main concerns from your feedback, create enough that you can offer them to those people who helped you, which in turn leads us to our last beginning stage: marketing.
Start marketing
Marketing is everything! If you have a great product, and nobody knows about it, you’re not going to sell a single one. Make sure you have a budgeting market to get the word out about what you’ve built. Word-of-mouth marketing is priceless. If the team that you assembled earlier has positive things to say about your product, this is invaluable to your company. If you don’t have a huge marketing budget, consider offering them free products to advertise in their stores, or use in their line of work. If your product is something that your friends and family can use, this word-of-mouth option is another avenue that is relatively affordable. After you’ve exhausted your immediate connection, you’ll also need to market in traditional ways as well, but you’ll be on your way to establishing yourself as an expert in the field.
With these three stages, you’ll be able to get your product up and running and on its way to the shelves of stores near you.
