Starting a Business

Recently I was asked for advice from someone who was getting a patent for an invention and they needed a website to promote their product and sell it. They didn't want to spend a lot of money on a website, they just wanted to "dip their toe in the water" first. 


Where or how do you start? If you are going forward with wanting to manufacturer and sell your product yourself, (and you have gotten feedback from friends – they would buy it and for how much), there is a lot of marketing, website development, social media connections/applications, linking, search engine optimization, etc. that would need to be done to successfully launch a product using an ecommerce website. There really isn’t just a “I want to dip my toe in the water” type website that will actually bring you business of any significance. There are a lot of interconnecting business and marketing pieces that need to be applied to successfully launch a new product. 


Here are just a few things that need to be considered: 
Do you have a business plan?
Are you self-funding or are you planning to get investors?
Where are you having your product manufactured?
Have you established wholesale, distributor and retail pricing?
Do you have a product packaging design? 

Where will the packaging be made and figure in shipping and storage into your cost of goods.

What are your distribution plans (store placement, Internet, or infomercials)?
How are you bringing this to the marketplace -- do you plan to be the wholesaler and will you get manufacturer reps? 

Don’t waste your money and spend a couple thousand or more dollars to get a basic website up and running – just to “see how it goes.” If you want this to be a real money maker, you might want to add investors, with some knowledge of the elements mentioned above, to be a part of your venture. 

I have helped small companies put together a business plan, a brand and marketing strategy, as well a marketing materials and all the items mentioned above. Your best road to success is to have a well thought out business plan and marketing strategy before creating a true, working, ecommerce website.

It's your time and money. If you don't have the passion to create a company, and the time and some level of understanding of the business components mentioned above, here is an alternative: Consider searching for a distributor, (another words, a company that already has sales feet on the street and they just add it to their product line). Negotiate a royalty fee per item sold versus selling the patent outright, and you spend a lot less time, lower your risk and still be able to make a few dollars from your idea.  

If you just dip your toe in the water, 

all that is going to get wet, is your toe.

(This a very broad brush advice, and there are many many other details not mentioned here that should to be considered in your decision making process – if you need help with any of the above, you can contact Gary at ggreer@tampabay.rr.com).