What is sourcing? Is it something you need to get your product onto the store shelves? The answer is simple: YES!
Sourcing is one of the most important foundations your product is built around. It’s necessary to get your invention from the design phase or prototyping into mass production.
The purpose of Sourcing is to secure quality manufacturing and obtain deliverable cost information.
To gather this information, it’s not as easy as a Google search or a phone call. You must work with a reputable company to get the sourcing done. The information gathered while sourcing will help better the financial position of the inventor when it comes to mass production and keeping the costs down. The sourcing process is vital to the entire inventing process – lackadaisical sourcing can be the demise of your product and goals.
Once you have sourced your product successfully, you will know what your margins are and what your profit of sale could be! Need help with sourcing? Click here!
Typically, the final goal for an inventor is to get their product on the store shelves. But….how? There are many things to keep in mind, but we’ve cut to the chase and listed a few of the most important factors:
Presentation is everything! If you are going to be pitching your product to a big box retailer, or even a small company, your product presentation must be pristine!
A video demonstration. Tons of products are submitted on a daily basis to the big box stores. Yours will stand out if you have a high quality video that shows every function of your product, as the consumer would use it.
A realistic price point. You need to understand the market value for your product. Large retailers may not take on your item if the price point is drastically different than products in the same categorization.
Persistence! These large companies may receive hundreds of product submissions every year! It’s up to you be as persistent as possible – you know what they say, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease!”
Is my product ready? This is a very common mistake. Do not send your product for store evaluation until it’s ready. If you don’t have a warehouse with product ready to go, you may set yourself up for failure if a large retailer wants to put in an order for more than you can handle. Know what your capabilities are – work with your manufacturer to come up with a plan.
It’s very difficult to get a product to take off, initially – but never fear! With persistence, presentation, realism, and goals, this process will be way easier. Planning is the most important thing you’ll ever do as an inventor.
When developing a new product it is important to understand the dynamics of the inventing process. We see many inventors who may not understand the proper steps or path to follow to give their product the best chance for success. It is important to keep realistic goal! It is important to know exactly where you are at in development and what can be achieved in each step, and know how much traction you can gain towards your end goal of production.
It is important not to get ahead of yourself or the stage of development you are in, this can lead to mistakes and wasted resources. One common error new inventors make often is the expectation of a license deal early in development; this is extremely rare! I know there are companies that will contact you after you file for a patent; they sell you on the idea that they will secure a deal for your concept, that there are tons of companies they can market your product to that will take your idea do all the work, pay for everything, and all you have to do is collect a check.
This simply is not true; it is one in a million. It has been our experience that a product has to be brought through many stages of development before a company will even take a look at giving a licensing deal. Usually proven product sales are needed in order for this to happen; meaning you have spent money on the proper steps to get there, by then it may or may not be beneficial for you to take a licensing deal. You only get a small percentage of the sales.
Definition of LICENSING: Licensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. It is a process of creating and managing contracts between the owner of a brand and a company or individual who wants to use the brand in association with a product, for an agreed period of time, within an agreed territory.
Your best option may be manufacturing it yourself – do you really want someone else profiting on your idea? Don’t be a victim of low-cost licensing deals. It may be the biggest mistake of your inventing career.
As an inventor, the very first thing you should do in the process is make sure your product purpose is concise. Especially when you are working with patents, your mind must be made up when it comes to the specific function of your idea.
Here are a couple of things to do:
Write down the function of the product. For example, “My product will pick up animal waste with built in plastic bags, so the owner doesn’t get any of it on their hands.” This is a clear and concise purpose, of which can be expanded upon in the product development phase.
Get a professional drawing of your product. Make sure the engineer working on the idea has clarification on the product’s purpose.
Don’t change your mind often! The more you change things, the more likely you are to completely distract from the original idea. Stay firm – unless your product needs engineering changes to improve functionality.
Sometimes, in the production development process, friends and family may get involved to suggest changes and fixes to make your idea “better”. Be very cautious. Unless your family member is an engineer, you should consult your production company before implementing changes!
As an inventor, the desire to promote and market your product or idea is strong. You want the world to know about it, and support you. There are some huge drawbacks to that, and we’d like to explain them to you:
If You Market Too Early, You Don’t Leave Room For Changes – If you market your product in it’s infancy, you’re promoting a look and feel that may not be as refined as your final version. Having potential customers on board and then changing everything will not look good on your brand.
Consumers Won’t Rally Behind an Unfinished Idea – One of the biggest issues with crowdfunding is when inventors try to raise money before there is a prototype or plan in place. Using crowdfunding to get your initial capital for production is a bad idea – consumers won’t give money to a campaign that isn’t “for sure”. You need to invest in a working prototype, drawings, and a timeline so your investors feel comfortable about the final product.
Marketing Won’t Solve Your Problems – Some invention companies will tell you that they’ll market your unfinished product for an insane amount of money, before it’s even developed! Don’t fall for this – it’s the biggest scam around. Would you buy a product based on just a paragraph of text and a computer generated image? Probably not. You cannot properly market a product until it’s completed!
In the invention process, rushing is never a good idea, no matter where you are in the process. Some of the most successful campaigns out there have a solid timeline, proper backing, a team of professionals, and goals set in place. There may be setbacks here and there, but with a concise vision, it’ll do wonders. If you take anything from this blog today, just remember this – don’t fall victim to a “marketing your dreams” scam. It won’t work. Do some research!
Source Direct Presents – 6 Keys to Invention Success
We’ve put together a list of the 6 Keys to Invention Success – use these when looking for a company to help you realize your inventing dreams and goals.
#1 – Do your research and look for obvious red flags! We often hear inventors complain about being taken advantage of by invention companies claiming to have all the answers. A company that gives you a price for your project without seeing the product first-hand is probably not the direction you should go. Inventions are intricate, and no two are alike. Don’t settle for a one size fits all program unless you are looking for cookie cutter results. An honest company will want to evaluate your product to determine the right next steps for you.
#2 –Spend Wisely and Read the Contract. We all only have so many financial resources to achieve our product development and commercialization goals. If you partner with a company, make sure they are money well spent. If a company sends you a quote for services, make sure you get clarification on exactly what you’ll be receiving. The biggest mistake you can make is spending your allocated capital incorrectly on services that don’t get you where you want to be.
#3 – Be Open to Suggestion. Inventors often fall in love with their invention. And it’s understandable. However, there may be suggestions given to you to help enhance/improve/modify your product so it will have a better chance in the marketplace. Experts have years of experience in manufacturing, consumer buying habits, retail requirements, etc. that they may suggest you apply to your product to increase its commercial viability. Keep an open mind.
#4 – Try to Get It All Done Together. Spreading your project across to many different companies can be hazardous to coordinate. Letting ONE COMPANY handle the project eliminates finger pointing. We are responsible from start to finish.
#5 – Keep Marketing In Mind. When your product has completed manufacturing and is “on the ground” ready to go to the consumer, do you have the proper sell sheets, proper pricing, shipping logistics, social media campaigns, or website design? Remember, you only have a few seconds to make a first impression; you’ll want your marketing materials to be persuasive and engaging, while highlighting the benefits of your amazing product. Utilizing every open source of digital and direct-to-consumer marketing will help promote your product to the appropriate audience.
#6 – Has The Manufacturer Been There Before? Make sure the company you choose walks the walk and talks the talk. Find out how many products of their own they have taken from a design to a finished product and actually sold them through. Ask them the last time they were on a factory floor. You need a manufacturer working for you who knows how to handle every step of the process – make sure you’re paying an expert, not someone who will be soliciting help from someone else.
Chances are, if you are an internet browsing human being, you’ve stumbled upon a crowdfunding website, or have seen people trying to raise money on a digital platform. It’s very common to see folks raising money for a trip, buying a new iPhone, medical expenses, vacations, charity, and even invention launches.
There are a few things to know before jumping into Crowdfunding. If you are an inventor looking to raise all of your funds on a Crowdfunding platform, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into. There are different rules and constraints for each popular Crowdfunding site…I’ve done the research for you so you know which one works best for you!
Don’t get involved with crown funding until you have a quality video demonstrating your product as well as a functioning prototype to show what your product does!
Kickstarter – This is the most popular, I have seen, for Invention funding. A few things to know: Firstly, it’s an all-or-nothing method of fundraising. If you do not reach your funding goal, you wont get any of the funds pledged. Secondly, there are also fees associated with it – Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds off the top, and then there is also a 3% and $.20 per pledge fee for payment processing (fee breakdown – citation here). Though Kickstarter is the most popular, you may want to avoid it if you don’t necessarily have the largest following and support backing.
Kickstarter Fee Structure
Indiegogo – Indiegogo is a pretty substantial platform for Crowdfunding, alongside Kickstarter. From the Indiegogo website, “It is free to sign up, to create a campaign, and to contribute to a campaign.* When your campaign raises funds, Indiegogo charges a 9.0% fee on the funds you raise. If you reach your goal, you get 5.0% back, for an overall fee of 4.0%.” There are a few more fees to pay, and different tiers of funding:
Indiegogo Fee Structure
GoFundMe – Finally, the 3rd Crowdfunding source I’d like to go over is GoFundMe. Probably the easiest of all, this platform just deducts 5% and $.30 per donation, and a 3% processing fee for payments (fee structure here). The fee structure is very similar to Kickstarter, however, you get to keep any and all of the funds that you raise, even if you don’t reach your goal. GoFundMe is growing in popularity, and has claimed to have raised $1.2 billion in donations since it’s inception.
GoFundMe Fee Structure
Final Thoughts from Source Direct
It’s up to you, the inventor, to make the decision that is most appropriate for your product. From a professional marketing standpoint, keep these thoughts in mind:
Use Kickstarter If…: You have a large following of people, ready to give. Also, be prepared to have incentives to give to the donors.
Use IndieGogo If…: You have a medium sized following and a reachable goal in sight. Make sure you use a lot of social interaction to gain a following.
Use GoFundMe If…: Your following isn’t huge, but your product/idea is something that any browsing donor may be interested in. Promote your GoFundMe as much as possible, because you’ll get all of the funds regardless of your goal…but still set a reasonable one!
We would like to suggest using GoFundMe, because as an inventor, you are relying on any/all funding and assistance to get your product moving. This is a good way to get a head start on your funding. Try out a goal of $1000, see what happens, and then go for more!
"Source Direct was instrumental in helping me get my No Think Wedges on the market. From a drawing to finished product, they were there the whole time, excellent quality work." - Mike Nicholson, Owner of E-Z Cure
"You are in good hands with Source Direct. I have nothing but good things to say about Ed Mauro and Source Direct. My experience with them have been great and very professional. They are a company that goes far beyond their call of duty and will do all that it takes to get the job done." - Charisse Edey, NY
