Steps to Bringing Your Product Idea to Life

At some stage in life, we all have a grand idea to change the world or change our lives for the better. The problem is that it’s not always easy to bring those ideas to life, especially if you don’t come from a lot of money. Having a product idea is similar to having a business idea, especially if the two go hand in hand.

There are some simple ways to improve your chances to get your idea off the ground, but you do need to consider. Market research, validating your idea, prioritizing work and life as you embark on this adventure and coming up with a plan that’s going to work. Below we’ve put together some simple steps to bringing your product idea to life.

1. Start researching the market. No matter what your product is, there’s every chance that somebody else out there is already doing it. It’s just that you’ve considered what they are not meeting for their audience and you know that you can beat them. Does your product require heavy manufacturing? Are you going to have to send your product overseas for creation? Will there be a need for CNC machining? All of these questions are going to have to be a part of your research into the market because how do you plan to get the product from your mind into a tangible asset that you can sell once you do? Grow it into a tangible asset. How do you plan to multiply that so that you can sell to other people? Coming up with your idea and researching the market is how you’re going to gain an understanding of it, so keep your idea as simple as you can. The clearer you can be the better, and using simple wording is going to help others to understand what really does make your idea special.
2. Develop a business plan. So you’ve done your research and you’ve got an idea and you think this could be a success. Congratulations, you’re already halfway there. Self belief is so important when it comes to bringing a product idea to life, but you really have to go deeper than that with the business plan that develops your idea fully. This business plan is going to be your blueprint, your guide, and your Bible. You need to plan your goals, and that’s what your business plan is for. You’re going to either try and help people make money or both, and if you’re trying to make money, then you need to think about how much people will be willing to pay for your product. If you’re going to be putting all of this effort into it and you know how much it’s going to cost for you to make your product, you need to consider how much you’re going to sell it for so that you can balance making a profit. Clearly you’d want a profitable business, so you have to think about the costs involved in running a company and in manufacturing that product.It’s going to take a lot for you to consider, but it’s always a good idea to have an understanding of these factors so that you are able to write a thorough, solid business plan so that you can gain financing that you need.
3. Get yourself some validation. You are not looking for a pat on the back here. In fact, what you’re looking for is somebody to hear about your idea and tell you that actually it’s something that makes sense. It doesn’t mean that what you have in your head is wrong, it just means that sometimes you need that extra umph and that validation from somebody else to say, hey, yes, that sounds like a great idea. Show it to your friends and family and ask them what they think about it. Take their feedback and use that in your production process. Validating your idea, again, it’s not a Gold Star event, but what it is is making sure that what you are saying makes sense out loud.If your friends and family would tell you the truth about your product, then they are the best people to ask before you try and sell it to strangers who you’ve never met. You should also try and network out a little to some entrepreneurs who have been in the market long enough to know whether or not you’re going to have something viable.
4. Develop an idea into a prototype. As we mentioned earlier on, as part of your research phase, you would have had to find out how much it costs to get your product made before you can do it on a larger scale. However, you do need to have a prototype so that you can see what it looks like before you go big. There are so many ways that you can go about getting your first prototype completed, and you can even make it yourself. Making a rough prototype with home bought materials is a good way to see your idea in reality before you start making a proper one with the right materials. Once you’ve got that initial prototype, then you can take that product of yours to the next level. You can use CAD, so computer aided design, 3D printing, fabrication, fiberglass or sheet metal to be able to get your prototype up and running.
5. Don’t forget to breathe. It may sound patronizing and that’s not what we mean to do, but you do need to take a moment to remember your work life balance when you are putting something out there into the world. What you’re doing is a big deal and you shouldn’t forget that, but you also need to make sure that you are giving yourself a moment to stop. Once you get started, that can be difficult. You’re going to get excited. You’re going to feel as if you are doing something amazing, which you are. However, you are just as important as your idea, so take a moment to breathe and stop along the way.