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Here I go into the wild blue yonder....
I finally decided to take action.
Do I know what I'm doing? Probably not. ha
But, I was reminded by MJ that we'll never know what we need to know, until we actually need to do it
After a littany of failed ventures over the last few years, I decided I have to keep trying. So it's on to my next project!
1. IDEA STAGE:
I had several viable ideas but knew I needed to pick just one to focus on, so I did. This is really hard for me since by default I think about 10 things at one time and have a hard time focusing.
I wasn't sure what methodology to use when choosing between ideas. I knew to consider the fastlane principles, but all of my ideas had fastlane potential as far as I could tell, so I just chose the one that I felt the best about; the one that would be most appealing to the market; the one that made the most sense with all factors taken into consideration (unless @MJ DeMarco , @Vigilante and @AllenCrawley tell me otherwise. haha)
2. PRODUCT:
I am developing an actual, tangible product and it's not related to technology at all. Thank God this has nothing to do with a squeeze page. It's in an industry that I know quite a bit about, and it's a product that helps people and fills a need. It's very high-end, and it does have major competitors.
3. QUESTIONS I ASKED MYSELF:
Is there a market for this particular product?
What's my difference?
Why would someone buy my product over another?
What's my selling point?
Who is my niche target customer?
What is my price point?
I started a 'venture notebook' where I write my notes when I am brainstorming and researching and gathering info.
4. NAMING THE PRODUCT:
I have done research in the past on naming products and companies so I already knew a little about the psychology that goes behind it. After several weeks of meditating on it (and a personal a-ha moment), I came up with a name for the product.
5. TRADEMARK
I immediately went to the USPTO and looked up the name I had in mind to see if anyone else had already trademarked it, because I didn't want to waste my time fighting someone in court later over something I could have prevented.
A few companies actually DID have it already (jerks!). I couldn't believe it because I thought it was so original. These companies were in completely different industries, however, so I think I should be okay from a legal standpoint since it will not be 'confusingly similar', which is usually what they go by. I plan to get the name trademarked as soon as I can.
6. WEBSITE
After checking on trademark status, I looked to see if the domain name I needed was available, and it was (yay) so I snagged the .com, and a few other extensions just for safeguard. Luckily these don't cost much so I went ahead and bought them.
7. MANUFACTURING
I started researching manufacturers online that make the type of product I want to develop. I studied their websites and information thoroughly and narrowed them down to about 5 or 6 that looked the most promising. I gathered their contact info, address, and phone number and put them in my venture notebook.
8. PICK UP THE DARN PHONE
Now it was time to actually pick up the phone and call manufacturers. This is where the self-doubt and insecurity started kicking in. I thought, 'They don't know who I am', 'They'll think I'm a new kid on the block that doesn't know anything', 'They'll hang up on me because they think I don't have any money', 'They'll tell me to get an agent'…..lol
I was shocked at what happened next.
Coming soon…..my amazing conversation with the Vice President of one of the top manufacturers!
I finally decided to take action.
Do I know what I'm doing? Probably not. ha
But, I was reminded by MJ that we'll never know what we need to know, until we actually need to do it
After a littany of failed ventures over the last few years, I decided I have to keep trying. So it's on to my next project!
1. IDEA STAGE:
I had several viable ideas but knew I needed to pick just one to focus on, so I did. This is really hard for me since by default I think about 10 things at one time and have a hard time focusing.
I wasn't sure what methodology to use when choosing between ideas. I knew to consider the fastlane principles, but all of my ideas had fastlane potential as far as I could tell, so I just chose the one that I felt the best about; the one that would be most appealing to the market; the one that made the most sense with all factors taken into consideration (unless @MJ DeMarco , @Vigilante and @AllenCrawley tell me otherwise. haha)
2. PRODUCT:
I am developing an actual, tangible product and it's not related to technology at all. Thank God this has nothing to do with a squeeze page. It's in an industry that I know quite a bit about, and it's a product that helps people and fills a need. It's very high-end, and it does have major competitors.
3. QUESTIONS I ASKED MYSELF:
Is there a market for this particular product?
What's my difference?
Why would someone buy my product over another?
What's my selling point?
Who is my niche target customer?
What is my price point?
I started a 'venture notebook' where I write my notes when I am brainstorming and researching and gathering info.
4. NAMING THE PRODUCT:
I have done research in the past on naming products and companies so I already knew a little about the psychology that goes behind it. After several weeks of meditating on it (and a personal a-ha moment), I came up with a name for the product.
5. TRADEMARK
I immediately went to the USPTO and looked up the name I had in mind to see if anyone else had already trademarked it, because I didn't want to waste my time fighting someone in court later over something I could have prevented.
A few companies actually DID have it already (jerks!). I couldn't believe it because I thought it was so original. These companies were in completely different industries, however, so I think I should be okay from a legal standpoint since it will not be 'confusingly similar', which is usually what they go by. I plan to get the name trademarked as soon as I can.
6. WEBSITE
After checking on trademark status, I looked to see if the domain name I needed was available, and it was (yay) so I snagged the .com, and a few other extensions just for safeguard. Luckily these don't cost much so I went ahead and bought them.
7. MANUFACTURING
I started researching manufacturers online that make the type of product I want to develop. I studied their websites and information thoroughly and narrowed them down to about 5 or 6 that looked the most promising. I gathered their contact info, address, and phone number and put them in my venture notebook.
8. PICK UP THE DARN PHONE
Now it was time to actually pick up the phone and call manufacturers. This is where the self-doubt and insecurity started kicking in. I thought, 'They don't know who I am', 'They'll think I'm a new kid on the block that doesn't know anything', 'They'll hang up on me because they think I don't have any money', 'They'll tell me to get an agent'…..lol
I was shocked at what happened next.
Coming soon…..my amazing conversation with the Vice President of one of the top manufacturers!
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