need advise

Re: need advise

It is hard to give you an answer on production costs, legal fees, operating costs without having an idea about the product - which understandably you do not want to give. A couple of suggestions though:

-If you need a CAD drawing go to Outsourcing to Freelance Programmers, Web & Logo Designers, Writers, Illustrators on Elance to get someone to bid on your project
-If it is a physical product look to have it manufactured in Mexico and China right off the start because of the labor scale differences
-Search the US patent database to make sure your product does not have a patent already

Good luck.

Re: need advise

vks;31961 wrote: It is hard to give you an answer on production costs, legal fees, operating costs without having an idea about the product - which understandably you do not want to give. A couple of suggestions though:

-If you need a CAD drawing go to Outsourcing to Freelance Programmers, Web & Logo Designers, Writers, Illustrators on Elance to get someone to bid on your project
-If it is a physical product look to have it manufactured in Mexico and China right off the start because of the labor scale differences
-Search the US patent database to make sure your product does not have a patent already

Good luck.

These are great suggestions I would add that I would make sure to check out the competition as well you may be able to find more information as well especially if it is public.

Re: need advise

Prior to going into this endeavor you may want to examine your personal finances and determine how much of your own money you want to put at risk. You could also go to a bookstore or the library to get information on how to launch a new product.

Re: need advise

Yes, I would do a patent search first as many "great products" are already patented. If there is something already there, see if your product is different enough to move forward with. Unfortunately, you can spend a tremendous amount of time and money to produce something only to find later that it is already patented. Would advise you hire a patent attorney to search for you (and you will certainly need one to draft the patent application). Remember, you want to file ASAP and you will be protected from the filing date if the patent is approved, but it takes about 2 years for the approval process - thus all of the above due diligence is important.

Second, find a good CAD designer who you can trust unless you are a mechanical engineer and can draw up the design yourself. If you really have something patentable, you should have a non-disclosure agreement for everyone to sign (CAD designer and prototyping company), these are not rock solid, but make people stop and think.

Third, if all of the above is a go - then find a company that can facilitate manufacturing in the US and/or Mexico in the beginning. Low volumes can still be produced in the US. Larger volumes need to move to Asia/China, but you do run the risk of copying (if you have a cool/unique product). Google "rapid prototyping" and many of those companies can handle cradle-to-grave from design to mfg'ing low quantities for you.

Good luck.

Re: need advise

First you need a plan. What are the steps that need to be accomplished to get from where you are (uncertain) to where you want to get to (on the road to success)? You will need a designer, similar to an engineer, who will provide the directions for implementation. The designer will supply a flowchart, instructions, a list of resources required, estimates, sub-contractors and schedules. You can do the design yourself or you can hire a consultant.

Next, you will need a project manager. The project manager will take the design and put it into practice. He will need to manage all aspects of the plan. He should be resourceful, focused, self starting, experienced, convincing, managerial and organized. You can do the management yourself or you can hire an experienced project manager.

You may need other assistants as well but they should be choosen by the project manager to augment his own abilities.