416 - A Tough Love Special "100 Minutes of Friendly Advice Before Making A Product or Making A Mistake" with Greg Kerr of Miles To Go
So you have an idea and you want to get it out into the world but don't know if you're doing the right thing. Well business is a gamble but Mark Brickey and Greg Kerr are back to walk you through six steps to run your idea through the gauntlet of pricing and production and distribution so you can finally get to the most important part: making a sale. You've already established the 20ish Characteristics You Need To Succeed and now you're ready to stack your great idea up against the market to see if your product has what it takes to become an earner for you and get you one step closer to freedom. Greg and Mark have created hundreds of SKU's and have taken their combined product knowledge and customer awareness to help eliminate alot of the questions and risks you see before you and your million dollar idea that has yet to see the light of day.
Below are the 6 steps Mark and Greg compile with timestamps on where they start within the episode, expanded bullet points for each step, and some choice pull quotes to help you navigate through this dense episode of chicken nuggets.
Step 1: Conception (5:49)
Finding the intention of your product and how to showcase that best.
Pairing your concept to the chosen product and its varies avenues of distribution.
Gauging the market's honest value of your idea.
Reprogramming your brain when spending your hard earned dollars.
"What are some of the steps that you go through when you're conceptualizing an idea?"
"Does the world need this or do I need this?"
Chapter 2: Research (14:02)
Figure out how the marketplace currently looks and how you differentiate yourself within it.
Planning out the materials and their variables to add up in your cost.
Know where you will fit into the market to optimize your product for that.
"I feel like there's always room for something that's designed well."
"Can I beat Beats at their own game?"
"Many ideas that I come up with don't make it past Part 2."
Chapter 3: Establishing the Price (20:06)
Doing the match to determine wholesale and retail pricing based off your costs.
Ideal product margins for success.
Leaving yourself room for your eventual growth.
Resisting the rush to release and never selling out.
"When you're looking at other people in the market you're figuring out what their price points are."
"You've kind of pre-fucked yourself by not figuring out what you should be selling your product for."
Chapter 4: production (29:37)
Productions budgets and making things yourself or outsourcing.
What benefits justify upping your costs?
Padding your pricing to cover other costs.
Spending a little more to get a whole lot out of the purchase.
Upping production and the three decisions you can use to determine if it's worth it.
Taking risks on the break to determine what the market will bear.
Presales on products and best practices for customer interactions and expectations.
Gambling with your own money.
"You're going to have to get it priced and see if that still fits within the guidelines that I'm trying to sell it for."
"The only problem is... you got a lot more units to move but that's the name of the game."
"You are fucked if you get to that point."
Chapter 5: Selling It (52:53)
Establishing the who what when where and how.
Product photography and consumer trust.
Making a retail page means you should be making a wholesale page.
Setting minimums to make back money and justify your time.
Planning out when you promote with alternating content across various time zones.
Improving your promotional efforts through your own research.
Preparing for shipping.
"Next to the original idea, this is probably the most important thing you're going to do for this product."
"How do I catch the most fish without annoying the ones I already have?"
Chapter 6: Is It Worth It (1:07:30)
How Steps 1 - 5 justify your time.
Is it worth more than the price per if it fits into your long term plan as a secondary objective.
Yes you can make it... but what does it do for your brand.
Is it a business or should it be a hobby?
"How often do you get to the conclusion that it's a good idea but it's just not worth it?"
"Those lesson learned are with us right now today with these fucking crazy make believe careers.
Once again you are welcome. As Mark said, once you start putting these steps into practice you will increase how quickly you walk yourself through these steps and start making smart decisions with your money. Thanks again to Greg Kerr for sharing so much of his expertise and saving a few of us from a few less bumps and bruises down our own unique paths.