So, what kind of spread would be sufficient? You will never think to include all of the costs involved in this endeavor so always build in a cushion. As a general rule of thumb, think about:

• How will it be sold and how will it get to the consumer?
• Are there many levels of price commissions in between?
• Will you sell it yourself, will you have a salesperson; will you hire an outside rep; will you sell directly to retail; will you sell through the web, on TV, to small retailers or Big Box?

All of these avenues will need to be considered.

Building Your Prototype:

Begin to build your prototype and list the cost of each component. Consider these things:

• Find out if your finished product is regulated by the government, FDA, EPA, DOT, REACH, OSHA, TSCA, etc.

Example – skin care is regulated by FDA and needs many levels of testing to market. An aerosol is regulated by U.S. Dept of Commerce and is a hazardous material. Certain storage and temperature requirements are involved that will affect the cost of your product.

Consider the time element involved to have your product meet the regulation requirements. This could take up to a year or more. How will you live in the meantime, pay for these tests and handle the delay to market?

• You will probably pay retail for the components, thinking you will have a less expensive cost when you buy wholesale.

This is true but don’t forget to consider volume requirements. They are considerable! When I developed SheerTan Sunless Tanning solution, my aluminum aerosol can minimums were 30,000 cans. This is the least amount a manufacturer would produce with a die plate printing my label on the can. There is some cost and minimums savings if you choose a standard can size and place a paper label on the can. At the time, the factories were running at maximum capacity with back logs and they wouldn’t talk to me for less than one million cans. That’s a lot of cans for this small fry! There was strategy in choosing an odd size can. I wanted only MY can to fit into the extended length wand sprayer so doing that did cost additional money. I ended up ordering from the Czech Republic which worked out beautifully (I was shocked!) but involved importing the product, creating additional steps and associated costs. I had to spend time comparing the cost of local production compared to international, less expensive production but adding in the logistics costs.

Working with an Engineer:

You have now collected and put together something that represents a prototype and know the cost of the components. You now need a drawing to take to a manufacturer so they will know how to build it. Even if you have pieced together a prototype, you probably will still need an engineer to help you create the design you have in mind.

Consider these things:

• Engineers are not created equal, let me stress this! A fabulous place to find them is www.Guru.com . After following local recommendations that didn’t work, I found exactly what I needed on the web. What a wonderful place to all your needs!
• It is general knowledge that each manufacturer has engineers and can design your product, in house. When considering this, understand that they will own the drawings so you must deal with them or have the product redrawn. If you work with them, try to always have the drawings sent to you in the format they use, even if you can’t open them on your computer. This will ensure you have the latest set of drawings, to date. You can download viewing software from the web that will allow you to view most any format they might be drawn. My engineer gave me a link with which to do so.
• Cap your costs, cap your costs, cap your costs! You will hear me say that now and in the future.
• Choose an engineer that has expertise I the field you need. Don’t choose a metals or aircraft engineer when you need someone who is experienced with plastics. Check their references and portfolios.
• Describe what you expect from this job and never offer them a piece of ownership.
• Describe what you are paying for – engineering services or patent ownership? Make sure this is clearly defined or the engineer will end up owning the patent.
• Determine time involved and have a deadline or time levels to completion. It may be necessary to pay at each completion level.
• After the prototype is made, the terms of the contract are met and the contract ended, determine how future adjustments will be handled.
• There are several formats that can be used for 3D CAD drawings. The two main ones are Auto CAD (.dwg – Drawing Web Format) and ProE (.prt – Part Files, .asm- Assembly Files). With ProE, Text format files to describe your dimensional drawings are .DWF, .DXF, ACIS & .BMP. ProE files can be exported in EASM, IGES and STEP formats. There are other formats available but these are the two used most. Find out which format your manufacturer works with and make sure your engineer can accommodate this format.

Build a Rapid Prototype:

Once your CAD drawings are done, you can now build a rapid prototype. This acts as insurance against having a product produced that malfunctions or is not built with maximum efficiency because of design. I will not address the details of each method because these descriptions are readily available with a little research. Cost is dependent on the complexity of your product.

• These prototypes can be built quickly with no mold necessary and at a cost much less than constructing a mold.
• Three examples you might consider are:

SLA – Smooth but brittle – This design would be okay if you didn’t have to put much pressure to test the working part of the product.
SLS – Made of plastic and are flexible but would not be good when there is pressure applied
FDM – Can be made of ABS or Polycarbonate which is strong for pressure testing but has exterior with ridges like corduroy.

It is probably best to choose a manufacturer before or at the same time you are producing a rapid prototype. Because of their extensive experience, they can, often time, aid in design elements that will ultimately save money in the long run. But, let’s say for now, we have a prototype that you can be sure has all the necessary parts and functions properly.

Choosing A Manufacturer:

There are several ways to consider manufacturing your product. Can you pay for large volume to get a low cost or will you have to pay a high cost for small volume because funds are not available? You should get quotes from manufacturers in your local area, quotes nationally and quotes internationally. By comparing these side by side, you can determine which is best for your product. Consider these things:

• Locally, you have the ease of driving to the location to check the status of your product, be available, first hand, to witness the progress and address any problems as it develops. Control the quality of your product.

These advantages will probably result in a much higher cost.
You can successfully negotiate much lower volumes compared to international production.

• Nationally, you have more competition for pricing. You have availability to those that have expertise in the field you need compared to your local availability. You can possibly negotiate for lower quantities here, as well.
• International production makes available these options:

Much, much lower production costs – as much as ½ or more the cost in the US

Quality control can be a problem issue. This is not an insurmountable issue. I successfully manufactured SheerTan’s plastic injection-molded extended length sprayer by choosing a manufacturer that had a US presence acting as liaison and ensuring QC issues. Otherwise, it would be necessary to have an employee present at the time your product is manufactured to ensure you get what you want from your factory. This is quite expensive for the small business owner.

Much more time is involved when manufacturing and shipping from overseas.

Large volume quantities are required. For SheerTan Wand 10, 000 was the minimum.

You must consider the added cost of importing a product.

Here are some of the costs involved:

Duty is usually .034% of PO value
Harbor Maintenance Fee is .125% of PO value
Broker Fees are $250 but can vary
HTS is 5.3% of PO value
Merchandise Process Fee is .21% of PO value
Insurance is $.0002 of PO value
Shipping charges from the factory to the port city of departure to the US
Ocean shipping charges vary according to port and destination.
Trucking or rail charges from the arrival port to your facility.

Mold Discussion – There is much that can be covered in choosing molds. I will limit the exposure here to highlight each area of importance:

• The strength and hardness of the steel you choose makes a big difference in price, labor to repair and quantity it will produceRequire that the mold be made of tool steel. I used NAK80 with a hardness of HRC43
• Require that they guarantee the number of units your tool will produce. SheerTan’s wand tooling guaranteed 250k but would probably produce one million before adjustments or a new mold was needed.
• If you choose aluminum, it will wear much quicker but costs less. If you want to test the waters without paying for tool steel, then consider this option. The finish quality of your product will be less.

For plastics that are injection-molded, you should choose which pieces of your product each mold will hold. Consider these things when thinking about the quality you want:
A family mold tree holds all the pieces of your product. This means the smaller pieces will dry faster than the larger pieces. This will result in lesser esthetic quality and possible problems with assembly.

• Choosing to have “like size” pieces in separate molds will ensure quality but will cost more.
• Ask for half a dozen proof parts and make sure they know your tolerances.
• Make sure you have “patent pending” molded into the product, if applicable.
• Determine how your logo will appear – pad printed, hot stamped, etc.? These are considered “second treatments”
• Supply an assembly drawing if your manufacturer will assemble your product.
• Know your lead time, molding time, re-order times.

Quote the tooling separate from your production and state on your purchase order that you will own 100% of the tooling once the PO is paid in full. You will be able to take this tooling to another location if there is a disagreement with the production between your companies.

Achieving balance when considering your options is something you will need to spend some time doing to find comfort in your choices. With completion of these items, you should now know the cost involved. Determine what you think the market will pay for your product to see what spread of profit you have. We will continue next month working with the profit you have available and your pricing strategy considering the layers of commission necessary to take it to market.

Linda Cooper, Author – Having developed SheerTan Sunless Tanning Products from idea phase through product development, I am your E-business expert. Experience includes emphasis on international plastic injection mold manufacturing, aerosol development, branding and packaging, logistics and fulfillment, patents, development of pricing strategy, home shopping network and infomercial experience, and building and developing websites.
www.SheerTan.com | linda@SheerTan.com | 214.679.3644

It was the summer of 2004 and the Texas heat was radiating into orbit reminding me it was weather for a great summer tan. For a moment, my mind journeyed back to my teenage years on the front porch step, a skinny sliver of concrete just long enough for my body where I sought the sun’s rays between 11 AM and noon for my weekly burn and peel. Slathered with iodine and baby oil, I turned like a lobster on a spit; my body never really got very brown.

Having finally grown up, I don’t seek to tan that way anymore but there were few options at the time and there was no such thing as a spray tanner. From there, I tried Coppertone in the early days and followed the progression of sunless tanners for years so I know I am a tanning guru.  Sunless tanning formulations have continued to improve and now more than ever, it’s the smart thing to do.  It was an annoyance not to be able to reach the back part of my body so I decided about 4 years ago to solve that problem. Out of my own personal need and the thought that other sunless tanners have the same problem, I had the IDEA!  I began to formulate plans for a plastic injected mold for a wand that would house a spray tanner aerosol to give just enough extension to reach the back side of the body when applying a sunless tan.  The SheerTan Wand and companion Sunless Tanning Aerosol began its existence.

Do you have a novel or technically sound idea you want to develop into an E-business website? From idea creation, there are many steps to final execution to consider and analyze.  In each of the following 12 months, I will discuss subjects you should consider when building your E-Business strategy.  To begin, I will focus on product creation E-Businesses.

• Does your product provide an unmet consumer need?
• Can you make it so the cost can have a number of mark-ups and still be competitive at retail?
• Does it appeal to a broad audience?
• If it is a niche market, do you have the expertise to have ‘a following community’?
• Ideas have no value – execution and proven product salability has value.
• Count on idea to execution costing more than 5 times your first estimate.

The Execution

Begin your strategy by possible IDEA protection, but how?

The information below does not constitute legal advice; seek a competent patent attorney to execute any patent filings.

• Research your idea to see if has already been created. You, of course, can Google your product to see if anyone is selling it, in addition to looking for it at retail locations where your item would be sold.  A handy tool is Google Patents that provides easy access to searching issued patents.  If it hasn’t been patented, then document your idea in a spiral notebook and have two friends or associates you trust witness your idea on the pages following. Keep this notebook safe to ensure your idea and date is validated.
• Only about 50% of patent applications are finally issued. Fewer than 3% of patented inventions every make money.  This is a hard fact you need to consider with great clarity before you spend a penny.
• There are three kinds of patents.  A utility patent, a design patent and plant patent. Use the plant patent if you are working with plants; otherwise, work with utility and design patents.
• The most important part of any patent is the ‘claims’ you provide.  These ‘claims’ are examined closely when comparing prior art by the examiners, are the basis for any court action regarding infringement and are considered to be the ‘what, how and why’ of your invention.

Patent Types

• A Design Patent protects the visual or external appearance of the product but not how the design functions.  The basic product function already exists in the market and you are changing the ornamental design, configuration or decorative appearance.
  • A design patent lasts for 14 years.  The time to issuance is much less complicated and cost is much less expensive than a utility patent.
  • Patent filing fees are $230 with patent attorney fees ranging from $900 – $3500 which includes an average of 8 drawings with E-filing to the US Patent Office.
  • There are no maintenance fees for design patents and can include only one claim.
  • There is no international protection under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). You have 6 months after the first filing to file for foreign priority in any country subscribing to the Paris Convention.
  • Provisional application and protection is not allowed. A request for continued examination (RCE) in not available.
• A Provisional Patent can be filed in advance of a utility patent and will give you immediate protection with a filing date, at which time your invention will become “patent pending”.
  • You can file this application to protect your invention at a lower cost for a period of 12 months.  This gives the applicant time to determine the profitability and patentability of the invention.
  • It will allow time to shop it around to potential investors or licensees who will possibly assist in paying the higher cost of the Utility Patent.
  • A Provisional Patent gives you a one year extension to the duration of the patent beyond the 20 years because the duration of the 20 years begins with the provisional date, one year prior.
  • Government fees are less since there is no need to file patent claims.
  • Will provide protection if you want to immediately produce and market your invention.
• A Utility Patent protects the way something is made and used.
  • A Utility Patent expires in 20 years.
  • Your application will be published and visible to the public 18 months after filing even though not issued.
  • After publication, inventors can claim reasonable royalties from others who make, use, sell or import the invention who may be infringing.
  • International protection under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is available.  Though this does not provide you with an international patent, it delays the expense of filing in other countries, allowing you more time to access the feasibility of selling your invention abroad.  Laws under the PCT allow you to file a single international patent application that will temporarily protect your invention in up to 117 countries for as long as 2 ½ years.
  • $350-$1,000 for filing fees plus attorney fees and foreign filing application fees.  Total fees can average $5,000 to $50,000 and up. My simple construction Wand costs $40,000.
  • Filers can request Continued Examination (RCE).
  • Annual maintenance fees apply after you file your application.  These fees are expensive so be sure to know what they are before you proceed.

Possible Pitfalls

Everyone would love to have 20/20 vision that comes with hind sight when they begin to create a business.  A multitude of errors could be eliminated and the learning curve lessened if that were possible.  The list below is some things I look back on and would change if I could do it all over again.

• If you have an engineer or anyone else that assists you in building or designing your prototype, they must be named as co-owner of the patent. You must have them agree to assign their ownership to you and have that executed before you begin the relationship with them. They must understand that you are hiring them as an independent contractor.  Though they will appear as co-inventors, they seek no monetary or IP claims to the invention.
• Most all inventors are scared that their invention idea will be stolen.  The truth is that most people will not care what you have invented until you reach a point where you have proven its marketability and have made enough money for them to notice.  By that time, you should have decisions of protection in place.
• I would have worried less about my idea being stolen and worked harder to have sought more opinions about the problems that might lie ahead.  Understand that your idea is worth nothing, it’s the execution, management, effort and finances that have worth.
• Understand your sweat equity has no value.
• Be sure to concentrate on capping the costs of your patent. Require that your patent attorney give you an accurate list of anticipated hours and filing fees.
• It pays to hire the patent office to ‘search’ for prior art.  It’s expensive – up to $10,000 – but less expensive than paying for a Utility Patent only to find there are other obscure inventions that, though very different, prevent your patent from being issued. I paid for the simple search $2,000 only to change my final prototype so much that what I searched for was not longer valid.  Remember if your invention has claims that are similar to prior art but the structure is very different, function wins over structure.  So, in my case, I had a claim that centered on pushing the aerosol can up instead of pushing down on the aerosol button to dispense the mist. There ended up being a prior art contraption comprising a 14 foot stick that held an aerosol can at the top and pushed the can up to dispense.  It had nothing to do with tanning or a structure that was 10” long that was a large cylinder instead of a stick.  Because the function was the same (pushing the can up) but the structure was different, the claim was denied.  My attorney led me to believe otherwise.
• Understand that your patent will take approximately 3 ½ to 4 years to even make it to the examiner’s desk, much less be issued.
• Patent attorneys want you to include as many variations of your creation as possible. In my opinion, they increase their fees overall by the number of pages they process.  Each variation must have drawings and explanations which increases the cost.  I would suggest limiting your application to a couple of variations understanding that by the time you finalize your prototype, it will be completely different than your original variations anyway.  This will require you to re-file the Provisional or apply for adjustments to your original Utility application.
• If you hastily file a provisional application and follow to develop your invention without accurately describing how it works in the provisional, you lose its advantage.
• Time passes fast when you wear all the hats.  You will find if you file a provisional patent (even if it covers the final aspects of your invention) you will be scrambling to complete the final design to be able to file the Utility Patent before your deadline.  I would suggest filing a provisional patent only if you want protection to immediately produce and go to market.  By not filing a provisional, you risk someone coming up with the invention before you complete the details and are ready to file a Utility Patent but in most cases, I would say you will probably be very safe with that risk.  A year seems like a long time but when you are trying to cover all bases, you might find it would have been better to wait and not file the provisional giving you time to work out the details and have the final prototype, one that works like you want, one where you have sourced the components and know the cost, etc. which will eventually save you attorney fees on your patent application.

Linda Cooper, Author – Having developed SheerTan Sunless Tanning Products from idea phase through product development, I am your E-business expert.  Experience includes emphasis on international plastic injection mold manufacturing, aerosol development, branding and packaging, logistics and fulfillment, patents, development of pricing strategy, home shopping network and infomercial experience, and building and developing websites.

www.SheerTan.com
linda@SheerTan.com
214.679.3644

Dr. Laureen Wishom

As an author, strategist, coachsultant and solutionist™, I work primarily with female career professionals and women business owners. One of the major problems that these women face is moving from “reactive” to “proactive”. In a study on time management, every one minute spent in planning resulted in reducing the time required to complete an activity or project by three to four minutes. Spending ten minutes in planning can reduce project completion time by thirty to forty minutes, while one hour in planning can reduce completion time by three to four hours. Did you know that if properly utilized, fifteen minutes of planning can effectively control your time for an entire day?

If you have not been a successful time manager in the past, here are a few helpful tips:

• Know your prime time and energy level.
• Respect, protect and direct your prime time.
• Have clearly defined goals and objectives.
• Implement an action plan for all projects.
• Develop systems and processes.
• Prioritize your projects.

Setting proper priorities is key to success. Here are a few tips:

• Plan time for preparation and creative thinking for long-term projects. The short-term urgent tasks will always consume your time unless you plan to spend it otherwise.
• When you have a multitude of things to do, go through them quickly and make a list of what you need to do, by when and by whom. After completing the list, handle each piece of paper only once. Do not start a task, do a portion of it, then put it back on the pile. You’ll end up working harder not smarter.
• Don’t start lots of tasks at the same time – even if you can handle multiple tasks at the same time. This is not always the most effective or efficient way of handing multiple tasks.

Did you know that there are two words that describe an individual’s approach to life, career and business? The two words are “reactive” or “proactive”. Reactive people wait for things to happen and then they respond. Proactive people respond by taking charge of their lives through planning, sound decision-making and successful project execution.

Studies indicate that more than 80% of all people fall into the “reactive” category leaving 20% or less in the “proactive” category. If your plan includes success and you need to move from “reactive” to “proactive”, give Masterpiece Solutions LLC a call. We assist female career professionals and women business owners in developing systems and processes that allow more time to make more money.

Dr. Laureen Wishom
Website: www.masterpiecesolutions.biz.
Phone: 281.584.0348

Marketing 2 Women International is continuing its virtual exploration of the women in business market by presenting a forum on how to do business with Texas’ women in business on Thursday, June 25 from 3 – 5 PM Eastern via teleconference.  Participants will learn how to use the current marketing infrastructure to market their companies to Texas’ women in business market while targeting niche audiences – government, lawyers, Realtors, Retailers, & more.  It’s smarter to use the PR, marketing, and advertising avenues already in place to shorten the amount of time and money it takes to conduct your marketing campaign.

The business forum will help companies located Texas expand their client base throughout its metropolitan areas by laying the foundation for lucrative collaborative relationships.  They will also be introduced to US and international business and professional women interested in collaborating with them to tap into Texas’ women in business market.

Participants will learn about the cultures,  business opportunities, metropolitan areas, issues affecting business women in Texas, business women magazines they should read and buy ad space in, upcoming women’s expos, special events planned by local women’s business groups, cable TV shows focusing on women in business that sell commercials, blogs and podcasts they can purchase ad space on, etc. They will also be introduced to business and professional people who can open doors for them so they can begin leveraging their business associates and sharing the costs of marketing to women Texas. It’s time to market smarter and leaner so we can maximize our profits while cutting our expenses.

Marketing 2 Women International is continuing its virtual exploration of the women in business market by presenting a forum on how to do business with Texas’ women in business on Thursday, June 25 from 3 – 5 PM Eastern via teleconference.  Participants will learn how to use the current marketing infrastructure to market their companies to Texas’ women in business market while targeting niche audiences – government, lawyers, Realtors, Retailers, & more.  It’s smarter to use the PR, marketing, and advertising avenues already in place to shorten the amount of time and money it takes to conduct your marketing campaign.

The business forum will help companies located Texas expand their client base throughout its metropolitan areas by laying the foundation for lucrative collaborative relationships.  They will also be introduced to US and international business and professional women interested in collaborating with them to tap into Texas’ women in business market.

Participants will learn about the cultures,  business opportunities, metropolitan areas, issues affecting business women in Texas, business women magazines they should read and buy ad space in, upcoming women’s expos, special events planned by local women’s business groups, cable TV shows focusing on women in business that sell commercials, blogs and podcasts they can purchase ad space on, etc. They will also be introduced to business and professional people who can open doors for them so they can begin leveraging their business associates and sharing the costs of marketing to women Texas. It’s time to market smarter and leaner so we can maximize our profits while cutting our expenses.

Women Collaborating to Help Other Women Thrive Instead of Survive the Recession

Marketing 2 Women International is pleased to announce the prelaunch of Texas Women Partner. Take a look around to acquaint yourself with our unique concept.

The Business and Career Reinvention 2.0 section is going to be a “work of business art”. The business relocation section will allow local business and professional to recommend the “best of” in their metropolitan area while plugging their own company.

Texas Women Partner will be “manned” by a high powered team of distinguished business and professional women. Not only will they help women in their state thrive during and beyond this recession, they will serve as door openers for women from other US and global metropolitan areas who want to tap into their local women in business market by utilizing their products and services.

Women who want to step out from the crowd by engaging in outside the box cross marketing activities are invited to submit an application for one of the ten spots available for Texas businesswomen in Marketing 2 Women International.

Over the next few weeks, our center will be filled with information supplied by local magazine publishers, leaders of women’s organizations, and owners of companies whose products and services are building blocks of Texas’s marketing infrastructure. Please register as a user on our main blog and subscribe to our RSS feed. We welcome your thoughts and ideas on what you would like for us to cover to truly make this center beneficial for your company.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. — Barack Obama

The world stopped on January 20 to watch the 44th president, Barack Obama, get sworn into office. During his speech he told everyone that we need to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work.” It is going to take all of us working together to fix this financial mess.

We have to start creating new opportunities for ourselves by effectively marketing our companies to boost our bottom-lines and outsourcing work so we can direct the flow of money into the women in business community. A lot of self-employed women have had to step up to the plate as the bread winner because their spouse has been laid off. It is more important than ever for us to cross market, engage in JVs, and form alliances.

Marketing 2 Women International and its partner companies are here to help you navigate through the recession. Contact us if we can be of service to you.

Marketing 2 Women International is looking for 10 seasoned business and professional women who want to become known as the #1 expert in their field in the state of Texas that can help women owned companies keep their doors open during and beyond this recession.

We are seeking companies that offer essential business products and services — Marketing, PR, Accounting, Event planning, Sales coaching, Advertising, Business development, e-Business consulting, Business coaching and Publishing for our women’s business consortium.  Involvement is limited to one person per category.

While your competition is participating in the recession by cutting staff and marketing costs, you will be able to keep your company in the spotlight by sharing the cost of marketing with other companies who want to crush their competition. You can participate in expos together; buy full page ad space in the top business and consumer magazines; send out tip post cards; conduct joint workshops; purchase cable advertising; and more.

Advertise like a BIG corporation on a tiny budget by pooling your marketing dollars with complementary companies and watch your visibility and profits grow in 2009.   You will cross market with companies in your state to expand your client base as well as with companies in other states and countries so you can grow your client base in over 200 metro women in business markets.

If you are looking for a new business association that will help you stretch your budget and market your company in 2009, click here to find out how Marketing 2 Women International can help you build a $1 million + company in spite of the economy.

Download an application

Ask how you can cross market with one or more of your business associates to reduce the cost of signing up.