Quite often, people have greats ideas or even prototypes, but end up stuck, wondering what to do. Remember that knowledge is power. The more you know, the more control you have over the product development process. Keep learning and you grow more powerful every minute.
To help you gain that power, I've listed several questions you'll need to ask about your new product. View the list in a general way at first and make sure you understand the concept involved.
1. WHO WILL MY PRODUCT BE SOLD TO AND HOW MANY OF THEM ARE THERE?--Check the industry journals for sales in your product category. Ask your local librarian for help and search statistics from the U.S. Census, Standard & Poors Index, etc.
2. HOW MANY PRODUCTS CAN I EXPECT TO SELL TO MY TARGET AUDIENCE?--If your target sales group is all women who have kitchens and work regularly, the population might be 50 million. A realistic percentage of women who will buy your product is between one-half of one percent and four percent.
This translates into translates between 250,000 on the low side and 2 million on the high side. Four percent means that one woman out of 25 owns your product. That's a lot.
3. WHAT IS MY TARGET AUDIENCE BUYING IN PLACE OF MY PRODUCT?--People must be doing something to fill your product's need at this time. What products are they using? What do they cost? What are the inconveniences? Check local department stores, mail order catalogs and specialty stores.
4. WHAT'S THE LIFE SPAN OF MY PRODUCT?--Fad items can only be expected to last one season. General consumer products usually last three years before needing redesign. Durable goods, tools, and specialty items that are targeted to a specific loyal audience may last five to seven years before needing major redesign.
5. IS MY PRODUCT A SEASONAL ITEM?--Seasonal items (beach products, skiing items, etc) can only be sold during a single season. Obviously, this is not as desirable as a product that is sold year round.
6. IS MY PRODUCT IDEA PROTECTABLE?--Your product idea must be unique enough to qualify for a patent.
7. HOW MUCH WILL MY PRODUCT COST TO MAKE?--Any product you see for sale in a department store costs between 20 to 30 percent of the retail price to manufacture.
8. HOW MUCH WILL IT COST FOR THE TOOLING TO MANUFACTURE MY PRODUCT?--Tooling is needed to product a product in large quantities. Plastic parts need injection molding tools made out of steel. The rule of thumb is about $200 per square inch of surface area of your product.
Plastics can also be vacuum-formed into shells and blow molded for inexpensive tooling. The cost is about $10 per square inch for vacuum forming and $50 per square inch for blow molding.
Metal parts are either die cast ($100 per square inch) or die cut (inexpensive custom electronic chips cost between $5,000 and $50,000 to tool up).
9. HOW DO I FIND THE SOURCE OF THE COMPONENTS USED IN MY PRODUCT?--One of the best sources is the Thomas Register. It's a series of books where the components are listed alphabetically. Any component you can imagine is listed in there. You can find the Thomas Register at your local library.
Another great source is the industry journal for your product category. Call the editor of your particular journal and ask for the annual directories. You can also take a competitor's product apart and look for company names on stock components.
10. WHERE DO I GO FOR HELP IN DESIGNING MY PRODUCT?--Look in the Yellow Pages under "Designers, Industrial."
11. HOW DO I FIND A PATENT ATTORNEY AND WHEN SHOULD I USE ONE?--Look in the Business Yellow Pages under "Attorneys, Patent." It's best to wait until you've built a prototype of your product before patenting it. then you'll be able to patent every detail of your design.
12. HOW DO I FIND SOMEONE TO HELP ME LICENSE MY PRODUCT?--Mind to Money has a licensing division. Write to Mega Systems, P.O. Box 888, Morton Grove, IL 60053. Beware of companies that ask for up front fees to license your product. Better to give a percentage of royalty after the product is licensed.
Sometimes sales reps are good for licensing products. They already have a relationship with manufacturers so they can get in the door more easily.
13. HOW DO I MAKE SURE NO ONE RIPS OFF MY IDEA WHILE I'M SHOWING IT AROUND?--Use a confidentiality form and have those who view your product sign and date the form.
14. HOW DO I CHOOSE WHETHER TO LICENSE OR MANUFACTURE MY PRODUCT?--Basically, licensing is the safe way to go and leaves you free to develop more products. Manufacturing means raising start up capital, but you get to run the show and make more profit per sale.
Now it's time to ask each of these questions with your particular product in mind. Take your time answering these important issues and remember--Be Honest. Good luck.
Ken Tarlow is president of Tarlow Design, a full-service product development company that helps independent inventors design, prototype, patent and license consumer product ideas. He has developed more than 300 consumer products worth over one billion dollars in retail sales. Tarlow's office is in San Rafael, CA. He may be reached at (415) 457-6428.
The above article was excerpted from Tarlow's MIND TO MONEY, a cassette tape/workbook package that can help you develop a new product from the idea stage to the marketplace. MIND TO MONEY may be ordered from the Dream Merchant at $59.95 plus $4.95 CA sales tax and$5 shipping and handling ($69.90 total). Send orders to the Dream Merchant, 2309 Torrance Blvd., Suite 104, Torrance, CA 90501.
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