if you have a product idea and you want to bring it to life here's how to do it in six steps first off let me start by saying that developing an original product idea and bringing it to market isn't a straight line everyone has different variables like budget and industry so there's no blueprint for this process but there are similarities and approaches that founders take so today i'm going to teach you six steps that have been consistently used by entrepreneurs to successfully start a business and ship their original product at the end i'll also go
over tips for the most popular industries including fashion food and beverage and beauty and cosmetics stay tuned for that because this is industry specific advice that you'll need to know hi everyone hope you're all doing well my name is michelle bally and i'm your host so i myself have brought my own makeup line to life and i've been through the product development process firsthand the product development process can be broken down into six steps ideation research planning prototyping sourcing and costing the first step is coming up with the idea even though this is the first
step many entrepreneurs get stuck here because often times people are waiting for a stroke of genius to reveal the perfect new product idea obviously building something totally new can be fulfilling but keep in mind that many of the best ideas are the result of iterating upon an existing product so for example the dyson vacuum in my opinion is one of the best inventions to exist was it the first vacuum to be created no the inventor made an iteration of the vacuum to make it better so don't get hung up on making something totally new in
fact you can use the scamper model as a useful tool to quickly come up with product ideas each letter stands for a prompt and you're going to want to ask yourself some questions so s stands for substitute ask yourself what materials can you substitute to improve the product can you use this product somewhere else or as a substitute for something else so an idea off the top of my head is you could create dumbbells that use a substitute material which prevents calluses and gym hands c stands for combine what would happen if you combined one
product with another product to create something completely new and what would happen if you combined purposes or objectives let's take bluetooth earbuds for example earbuds weren't new and neither was bluetooth technology but combined together a new product was developed and next up is adapt this refers to brainstorming ideas to tweak a product for a better output so ask yourself what do we need to change in order to reach better results so let's say the issue isn't the product itself but maybe there's just not enough of the product to meet demand in that case you'd adopt
the manufacturing process and keep the product the same m stands for modify here you think about how you can modify systems and processes in order to disrupt an industry this step makes you think about the bigger picture not just the product itself so you ask yourself how can we change the process in order to work more efficiently if the market was different how would the process look like then so let's take a look at netflix for example they modified a system they modified the way that people consume movies in order to disrupt the film industry
let's look at put to another use so we touched on this briefly but this technique goes into depth about how to shift an existing product to another market segment or user so ask yourself this what are the benefits for the product if used elsewhere can we recycle another industry's waste for a different use next is eliminate so this is my favorite because it's the most challenging but here you're seeing what you can take away from the product or process to force you to look at this from a new angle so ask yourself what would happen
if we removed a specific part and if we had to strip the product down to its essentials what parts would we keep and the last one is reverse so innovating can happen simply by changing the order of the process ask yourself what would happen if we produce this backwards how can we rearrange these steps for a better outcome as you're doing this method keep in mind that someone once said there is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know this method really works when you set a timer for
three minutes so just jot things down everything that just comes to mind unfiltered and you'll activate the subconscious and potentially transform existing ideas research so you've done some ideation now your next task is to research in order to validate your idea the overall goal in this step is to ensure that you're creating a product that people will actually pay for with your new idea you might feel super excited and want to just leapfrog ahead into production but that can really mess you up if you fail to validate your idea first product validation ensures you're creating
a product people will pay for this protects you from wasting your time money and effort on an idea that just won't sell there are several ways you can validate your product ideas you can start a crowdfunding campaign with crowdfunding you get people to pledge money to make your business idea come to life crowdfunding is one of my favorite ways to validate a business idea because instead of just asking a friend's opinion you're validating the idea by asking for investment if your idea can get a complete stranger to be interested enough in your product that they're
willing to pay for it you're on the path to a winning business you can get started on indiegogo or kickstarter with your crowdfunding campaign also ask for feedback on forms like reddit post a picture to a relevant thread in your niche and ask for honest opinions make sure that you're only choosing threads and communities that your target audience would frequent look at hard data by using google trends google trends will give you historical data on what people have searched in different parts of the world so type in questions or keywords that consumers are using to
find a solution that your product can solve for them so for example let's say that your product keeps vegetables fresher for longer if you use google trends to search for keywords like how to keep vegetables fresh and you see that a lot of people are searching for it then you have an indicator that your product might be needed doing your due diligence during the validation stage is important but know that you can never 100 validate an idea there will always be external factors that can't be controlled or predicted that being said however you decide to
go about validating your idea it's important to get feedback from a substantial and unbiased audience as to whether they would actually buy your product be wary of overvaluing feedback from people who would definitely buy if you were to create your theoretical product because until money changes hands you cannot count someone as a customer validation research will also inevitably involve competitive analysis if you've got a solid idea chances are there are already players in this space do a bit of sleuthing by visiting your competitors websites and signing up for their email that way you'll see how
their marketing and how they're making sales all in all once you've completed the research step you'll be able to answer these two questions is there demand for my product can i differentiate myself from my competitors if the answer is yes to both we'll move on to the next step planning i know finding a product to sell online is a deep topic and requires research validation and knowing how to source and sell the products so if you're hungry for knowledge and you want to learn how to do this yourself you're going to want to check out
the free 40-minute webinar that will teach you how to find and source a winning product to sell just click the link in the description box below planning when you eventually approach your manufacturers to build your first prototype you're going to want to have a concrete idea of what your product's design is and how it will function so it's important to take the time to plan before you jump into the prototyping the best place to begin planning is with a hand-drawn sketch of what your product will look like the sketch should be as detailed as possible
use labels explaining the various features and functions now you don't need to be a professional quality drawer since you won't be submitting this to the manufacturer at this stage but if you're not confident in your sketching ability it's easy to find illustrators for hire on dribble upwork or 99designs the diagram should have a list of the different components or materials the list doesn't need to be inclusive of every single detail but just the important ones so that you can start planning what you need in order to create the product for example a drawing of a
purse design can be accompanied by this list zippers large and small vegan leather straps protection pouch embossed label and interior wallet after that start thinking about what category your product will fall into will the product be an everyday item or will it be for special occasions will it use premium materials or be environmentally friendly think about the packaging labels and overall quality of your materials before you start sourcing and costing these are all questions to consider in the planning phase since they will help you not only with a product development but your marketing as well
prototyping the goal of the prototyping phase is to create a finished product as a benchmark sample for mass production i'll tell you that it's unlikely you're going to get your finished product in a single attempt you'll have to experiment with several versions you'll have to slowly eliminate options and make improvements until you feel satisfied with your final sample prototyping also differs significantly depending on the type of product you're developing in the cheapest and simplest case you can prototype yourself this would apply to food recipes cosmetic products and clothes assuming that you have a skill set
however more often than not entrepreneurs will work with a third party to prototype their product in fashion and apparel this usually involves working with a local seamstress for clothing and accessories you can even get in touch with a cobbler for shoes you can really easily find someone local to you by using google if you live in a large city you can tap into student talent through universities and colleges administrators from these universities or college programs can usually grant you access to their internal job board where you can create a request for prototyping help for objects
like toys household accessories electronics and many other hard or plastic objects you might need a 3d rendering in order to make a prototype artists or engineers who are trained in design and drafting software like cad can be contracted to do this check out freelancer to find someone there are also user-friendly tools like sketchup tinkercad and vectory if you're a founder that wants to learn how to create 3d models yourself you can save money and have more control over this after you have a 3d design on the computer you'll need to turn it into a physical
model makers used to have to get molds made for each part and molds are pretty expensive but luckily with the innovation of 3d printing designs can be turned into physical samples at a much lower cost with a quicker turnaround time after you have a prototype that you're happy with the next step is the sourcing phase so you're going to want to gather the right materials find the right partners and then after you'll go into the production phase this right here is also referred to as the supply chain the supply chain is the vendors the activities
and the resources that it takes to get a product into the customer's hands this phase also includes finding the right warehouses figuring out your shipping situation but for the most part you'll probably be looking at finding the right manufacturers i don't know if you've ever read the book shoe dog but it's a memoir by the founder of nike it showed me the importance of diversifying your supply chain you should find multiple suppliers for the different materials that you will need and you'll also want to find two different manufacturers having a backup manufacturer will allow you
to negotiate costs for one but it'll also allow you not to be overly dependent on just one manufacturer if you don't have a second option you'll be at their mercy if they're late on orders or if they suddenly decide to increase their prices on you sourcing several options is an important part of safeguarding your business for the long term when it comes to looking for suppliers there are plenty of resources both online and in person this might seem old-school but many business owners will attend trade shows dedicated to sourcing trade shows like magic in las
vegas provide the opportunity to meet hundreds of vendors at once to see touch and discuss materials and build personal relationships with the suppliers trade shows can be valuable when it comes time to negotiating prices it also saves you time to see everything in one day rather than waiting for everything to be shipped to you so try looking at trade show exhibitor lists online costing after research planning prototyping and sourcing is done you're going to have a clearer picture of what it will cost to produce your product costing is the process of taking all that information
gathered so far and adding it up to see what your cost of goods sold will be otherwise known as cogs next you can determine a retail price and gross margin begin by creating a spreadsheet with each additional cost broken out as a separate line item this should include all of your raw materials factory setup costs manufacturing costs and shipping costs it's important to factor in shipping import fees and any duties in order to get your final product into your customers hands don't forget to include this as these fees can have a significant impact on your
cogs depending on where you're producing the product if you want this product pricing calculator i'll make sure to leave it in the description box for you if you were able to secure multiple quotes for different materials or manufacturers you can create a second version of the spreadsheet so that you can compare this is also helpful if you're comparing local production versus overseas production at a glance it might look cheaper to go overseas but once you input your duties your taxes and shipping you might be surprised once you've calculated your total cogs you can come up
with the retail price for your product and subtract the cogs from that price to get your potential gross margin or profit on each unit sold let's take a look at the three most popular industries with specific tips starting with fashion and apparel tips for developing a new fashion product in the fashion industry product development usually begins the old school way with a hand-drawn sketch or the digital equivalent made using a program like procreate a sketch is then developed into a sample using a pattern maker or a seamstress during the prototyping phase a size set is
created which means a range of samples with different measurements for each size you want to sell once the side set is finalized it is then put into production rather than make the product some fashion and apparel businesses choose to use print on demand to produce their clothing in the beginning print on demand allows you to upload designs to a third-party app that connects your store with a warehouse and a screen printing facility when an order is placed online your design is then printed onto an existing stock of t-shirts sweaters and various other items on offer
creating a finished product without the need to design the entire garment if you want a full in-depth video on how to start a fashion line i'll link that video right over here tips for developing new beauty products from makeup to bath products to skin care many beauty brands are focusing on all natural ingredients and sustainability which makes it easier to prototype a product on your own using everyday ingredients white labeling is also popular in the beauty and cosmetics industry which is the process of finding an existing product or manufacturer then packaging and branding the products
that they already produce whichever route you decide to take mass manufacturing for cosmetics is usually done by working with a lab and a chemist to make sure that quality stays consistent at scale consider that you'll need to have proper labels and warnings research fda regulations and how they pertain to your product and packaging both where they are produced and where you intend to sell them you'll also need to conduct tests and add necessary expiration dates that indicate shelf life tips for developing new food products food and beverage products are among the easiest to start developing
at a low cost and from the comfort of your own home creating a new energy bar can be as simple as buying ingredients and tweaking the recipe in your own kitchen laramerican did this when she started larabar in order to move from recipe to packaged goods that you can sell in store or online you will need to find a commercial kitchen that is licensed to produce food and has passed a health and safety inspection these kitchens are usually set up with large ovens and cooking equipment to accommodate large batches but if you are considering mass
production and packaging a co-packer or co-manufacturer might be a better option these are manufacturing facilities that specialize in processing raw materials and producing food and beverage products at scale you'll need to think about labels and warnings that display ingredient lists nutritional information and expiry dates you'll also want to get acquainted with the laws and regulations like health claims like i mentioned earlier each journey to a finished product is different if you find yourself struggling just to figure it all out remember that every product that came before yours had to overcome the same challenges as you
you have the potential to make great things happen manifest positivity by envisioning your success and speaking it into reality in addition to a positive mindset following these steps will help you break down the overwhelming task of bringing a new product to market into more digestible phases follow these steps to set yourself up for a successful final product selling online with your own ecommerce website has never been easier faster or more scalable shopify is a really great place to start setting up your store can actually be done in a matter of days and you can do
it all by yourself you don't need a fancy coder you can get started with a free 14-day trial there is no commitment at all you don't even need to give your credit card information and you actually have two full weeks to build a fully beautiful branded personalized ecommerce store i'm going to leave a link for you in the description box so you can take advantage of the free 14 day trial so now you have the tools to get yourself started on developing your first new product if you're hungry for more knowledge and you want to
learn how to find source and sell a product that already exists you're going to want to check out this free 40-minute webinar just click the link in the description box below to register learn with shopify is a channel dedicated to small business owners with big plans we post new videos every week that gives you the knowledge you need to start and grow a successful online business so make sure that you're subscribed if you thought this video was helpful make sure that you're giving it a big thumbs up because that's going to help our channel and
our community grow i'm your host michelle bally thank you so much for watching and i will see you in the next one [Music] bye [Music] you
