Concept to Market Within 4 Months

(2 of 4)

The first month was pretty intense, and there is no slowing down.

Week 1

With pre-production approved, this is when the tools to make our products are made. Molds, templates, jigs, tooling, etc.

Plastic injection molds that are not too complicated can take around 4–6 weeks. It is important to define in advance an expected mold life and its materials. Short-run molds are usually made of aluminum. Larger runs may go for steel. Structural components use high strength steel, while cores and cavities use cleaner, machinable material that is highly resistant to thermal shocks.

Week 2

While the tooling gets made, it is a good time to work on the distribution channels. How do you plan to sell your product? Here is a non-comprehensive list of several options for the small business, with my opinions for each one.

• Your own online store: This is the best way to keep most of the sales profits, but do not underestimate the incremental costs and hassle of fulfilling orders yourself, dealing with customer support, and above all, marketing. You will spend tons of money and/or time making your newly launched brand known and desirable.
• Go for an existing platform such as Tindie.com, Etsy.com or Ebay.com: Online marketplaces and auction sites do some of the work for you in bringing traffic to your listing, and their commissions are not too high. There are options for promoting your listings, too. Most of the time, you will have to fulfill orders yourself.
• Amazon.com: with almost half of all U.S. e-commerce sales and a robust and comprehensive platform for sellers called FBA, Amazon deserves an individual spot on this list. Getting started is relatively easy for serious sellers, you benefit from their massive traffic, and you can ship your product to Amazon to have it listed as Prime eligible. You could fulfill orders yourself, but there are stringent requirements and it takes a while to have your products be labeled as Prime with this option. Keep in mind that some categories are overcrowded, advertising costs are rising, and fees are a bit higher than other platforms.
• Selling your product through Walmart or other retailers: I do not have a lot of direct experience with this, but several clients of mine do, and I have heard a few cautionary tales. Unlike online platforms, brick and mortar stores generally require you to deliver your goods to one or several distribution centers at specific dates, and things get complicated with unsold products. Not to mention that you have to pay a premium for top shelf space too. Certainly, once products get some traction, sales are good.
• Open your own brick and mortar shop: This alternative goes well beyond the scope of this article, so we will skip it.

Week 3

Molds for rubber casting

While tooling or production lines are being set up, there are a few things we should start working on.

• Customs Broker and/or Freight Forwarder: If you plan to import goods, having a good Customs Broker is a must. It is not about finding the cheapest, but the one with the most comprehensive services, and fair and transparent fees. Keep in mind that you do not need to bring a whole container — not even a pallet — when importing product.
• Warehousing: Even if you had your product checked on site, it is wise to inspect it upon arrival. The warehouse space must be adaptable to your needs: Are you simply using it for long-term product storage? Will you perform inspections or other tasks there? Are you fulfilling your own orders? These are some of the questions you might want to ask yourself in advance. If everything aligns, you might be able to store it at home and get a good deduction!*
• Website setup and hosting: If you know web design you can easily do it yourself. If you do not, hire a third party or use preexisting templates or visual sites that allow you to customize your own website. Find one with good terms and that does not make it hard to move your hosting away, and that does not keep the rights to your domain. TemplateMonster has tons of affordable templates, but you need to have your hosting sorted out. Then there are the eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, BigCartel or SquareUp which take care of almost everything.

Week 4

When tooling, jigs and raw materials are all ready, you should get a production sample for approval. This is not a prototype anymore, but an actual product. Hope you like it! Again, time to perform destructive tests, and if everything is according to standard and all the numbers make sense, it is time to give it the OK and start production.

Next week we will discuss a few things that should be sent to the manufacturer and other things to have ready by the time our product gets here.

*My usual disclaimer: This is a hypothetical exercise, and does not constitute legal or professional advice. So, do not base your decisions or planning solely on what you read here. Always consult professionals when in doubt!