This contributed post is by Jason Dirkham.
So you’ve decided that you want to be your own boss? Great! But have you thought about what it is that you want to sell? Often, the hardest part of starting up your own small business is deciding what product/s it is that you actually want your customers to buy. Coming up with the perfect product can be a difficult and complicated process, but luckily for you, I’ve shortened it down into four easy steps.
Choose A Target Market
If you have no idea what sort of thing you want to sell, then you should start by deciding who you want to sell to. Pick a target market with whom you have some experience, so you can think of things that they might like to buy. If you have children, then it might be easy for you to come up with some great ideas for children’s toys. If you’re a young entrepreneur, then you will have knowledge on the sorts of products that students like to buy.
Conduct Market Research
Look for gaps in your target market, and try to think of products that would fit in this gap. If it’s fun, quirky, or useful, and hasn’t been seen before, then it’s a possible product idea. Brainstorm some ideas and write them down. Then ask some members of your target market of their thoughts and opinions on your ideas. This could either happen in focus groups, one-to-one interviews, or reviews or surveys. The one with the most positive response is your winner.
Make Prototypes
You should start the creating process by making basic prototypes of your product idea. Try making several prototypes that are slightly different from one another, and pick the best one or two. Then you can make more prototypes based on these models, and continue this process, improving your product more and more with each model. You’ll probably find that your final product is very different from your initial idea and design. You will probably sell these handmade models to start off with before you have enough money to start mass producing them.
Start Mass Production
Once your business has picked up, and you are getting a regular profit, it is time to start mass producing your product. You could do this earlier on if you had the funding, but most small business owners wait to see how the earlier version of the product does on the market, before making any major investments in products that might not even sell. At this point, it’s likely that you are incredibly busy running other aspects of your business, so you will want to hire someone to oversee the production of your product. You might want to ask for candidates who have a Master of Supply Chain and Logistics Management, to make sure that they have the knowledge required for the job.
Retail business is ever-changing, so even the “perfect” product is at risk of failing. However, if you have thoroughly conducted your market research, and your product is in a tip-top condition, you have a much higher chance than those that jump in without any planning.
