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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Other - Advertising & Marketing |
How to I launch my business and get my products made(any tips would help)? |
Im new to all this business thing and to be honest I dont know where to start! I have a product line Id like to get going (gift/home decor type products marketed towards younger and older women) and I have all these ideas and designs that Ive done for the products, but I don't know whats the next step? my ideal destiny for my "brand" would be for them to be sold at retail stores nationwide(gift shops/dept stores/etc). Anyways, I heard about setting up a booth at a trade show, but what exactly is a trade show? Would I have to have these products already manufactured? Would the attendees want to place orders right then and there? Or what about a licensing firm? I dont know, I only have these ideas and concept designs, I would need to have someone make them professionally. Well any information would help, thanks to all! You can start by going to trade shows. Trade shows are places where you can show your products and expect to get orders from attendees / buyers. Some attendees are people who own gift stores. There are several trade shows in the country. The largest is the Altanta Gift Show. Depending on your budget, start exhibiting at trade shows near you. It is important to have products made to exhibit. Most buyers want products deliver soon. You can start making small quantity to show. Selling to national retail stores is difficult. That market is quite complicated. A lot of the national retail store buyers don't visit trade shows. They don't have time. They will send their assistants, if at all. When presenting products to the national retail chains, you need to have a presentation including packaging, competitor analysis, weight, dimension, etc. Licensing is an option but can't comment without knowing your product. I suggest you should talk to your local Small Business Development Council (SBDC)or Economic Development Council (EDC). Both of these agencies are either government funded or partial government funded. The names may be slightly different in each state. Most of the services are free or very low cost. Call your local government office or visit the library. Both these agencies can help you with a business plan and some marketing plan. If you need more information, feel free to email me. Good luck. Ben Source(s): I've been a business counselor with EDC and VP of product development for over 20 years working in various industries. Additionally, I've done hundreds of trade shows and presented hundreds of products to retailer in the past. Create exact samples of your product. A tradeshow is where people in the industry go to make new business contacts. The tradeshows specialize. You probably need a distributor that can guarantee distribution to your market. But you have to guarantee them product. find a manufacturing source that will make the product on demand. If you get an order for 1000 they will make 1000. You have to have the money. Otherwise I suggest that you go to home improvement shows to test your product sellability. |
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