www.protosew.com

Re: www.protosew.com

Roy,

Thanks for your note and your kind words, and congratulations on your progress!

I carefully reviewed the protosew information, and it looks like a first class
outfit to
me. They surely seem to know what they are doing, and I love the way they saw a
problem and developed a service to respond. Yet another self-employment story.

There are two issues here, one is production and one is protection.

As to the prototype sewing, factories normally do this, but as the owner of
protosew
notes, USA companies hate making these samples. Thus the need for protosew in
USA.

Protosew does a great job of outlining the challenges in sample production, and
I do
not doubt they handle the job professionally and efficiently. Then they suggest
manufacturers, in europe and asia, ones I have no doubt are first rate.

The question you have to ask yourself is "how do I make money in this
business?' I
mean this literally and specifically.

For example, since you do not turn a profit filling out your tax forms, you let
a CPA
do that for you. Since you cannot work all the necessary trade shows and run
your
business you let sales rep sell for you. these are two areas where you surely
do not
make money, so you avoid those. So far so good.

But what about making money. When someone buys your product, what are they
paying you for? Sure, they get your pet-manager, but for what part of the
process
leading up to the retailing of the pet-manager are you getting recompense?

Normally, you are paid for the hard work (so hard, protosew offers it as a
service!) of
finding the best place in the world to have a given item made and getting a
sample.
Thus I make this central to my book and classes, how to find the best place in
the
world.

Next I lay out how you make yourself valuable to everyone involved. Doing the
part
no one else wanrts to do, making the part that hurst go away, is where the most
money is. (Not to forget the lifestyle of working on what we love is a major
compensation).

So let me be specific: I'd argue that your job is to find a company overseas to
do
exactly what protosew does. Read protosew's excellent review of the process and
problems. Every point they say "leave to us" should be things you yourself
become
expert in. This is what you will be paid for.

Now, certainly you can decide to have the great ideas, and work with protosew to
get
samples. And protosew rightfully mentions you still need to get customers.

And here is the reality of small business marketplace: the marketplace will
suggest
changes on every item you introduce, and each change will make your product all
the
more popular. As you continually change, protosew will be charging you for each
change, and this could become quite the cost center. On the other hand, if you
are
learning all that protosew knows, you earn the money, doing what you love.

As you know from the book, I am against patent protection, and largely because
the
item will be changing so much, at least that is where the profits are, in
change, that
soon enough your products are so far away from what was patented as to make the
patent desultory.

The way I see it, we have an idea that is pretty good, we make a prtototype, and
get it
going in the market. Based on feedback, we ever improve the item, and add items
that sell witrh our item. We are investing $5000 and grossing $10,000 (say) and
keep
the item as long as we are. Soon enough, because of alternatives in the market,
we
find we are investing $5000 and groosing $9000, that is to say we experience
diminishing returns, so we introduce new and better items based on customer
feedback. thus we maintain the invest $5000 and gorss $10,000.

The fact that at some point downstream, someone with economies of scale in
manufacturing, finance, distribution, etc has taken our idea and is now selling
it for a
lower cost to very many people is nothing to me. Those customers who are
attracted
to the item at the lower cost were never mine anyway, since I could not reach
them,
That someone is making money serving people I could never reach is nothing to
me.

The hypothetical case that someone will steal my idea and get rich is extremely
remote even if my product makes we wealthy, why should I spend time and money
defending something that will likely never be "attacked", and if attacked, it is
nothing
to me anyway?

Business is all about adjusting constantly anyway, so don't worry about any
advice I
give. the main thing right now is get orders. Try to buy your idea now at
upscale
stores, and get them to say "good idea and does not exist" If that process is
not in
the cards, get the prototype and walk into the retailers who you'd expect to
sell this
item, and ask them not for orders, but if it is something they would buy for
their
stores.

If so, ask them for the reps they like the most, and call that rep.

Or maybe you already have the customer problem solved... either way, do keep me
updated.


John

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "John Spiers" wrote:
>
> Hello John,
>
> My name is Roy Gilbert and I took your "Importing as a Small Business" class
> at San Diego State a few months ago. Since then the following has happened:
> - Invented a new product for the Pet Supply industry. (www.RGPetComm.com)
> - I have a Provisional Patent
> - I quit my job to work on my business full-time: RG PetComm
> - Trademarked "SmartWalk Manager" the name of my product
> - Working with an aluminum fabricator to make a prototype the metal portion
> of my product
> - Working with www.protosew.com to make the nylon fabric pouch prototype for
> my product. Part of their package is to give me guidance on how to setup
> contract manufacturing in China for the pouch. I've enclosed all of the
> documents that they've sent to me for your perusal.
> - My next step is to follow your advice once I get the prototypes: Get
> orders, arrange financing, order the product from overseas, take a markup,
> sell and reinvest....
>
> I also purchased your book which has been invaluable. The other book I
> could not have done without is "Patent it Yourself.
>
> Can you peruse the enclosed documents and let me know what you think ...
>
> Please put me on your listserv. I look forward to hearing from you soon ...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Roy Gilbert, Jr.
> RG PetComm
> Web: www.RGPetComm.com

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