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Rule #8: Design for manufacturability.

I have not designed for manufacturability, and I think for what I am doing, that’s fine. I’m basically acquiring all of the parts, doing a bit of soldering, a bit of programming, some drilling, filing and painting, and then some assembly.

The actual manufacturing of all the bits (at this stage) is happening elsewhere in the chain. Speaking of the chain though, I can already see (even with my initial run) that any area for small improvement can become a large improvement when you multiply it by 10, or 100, or 1,000 or more. That said, I’m considering investing in some better equipment. The hole saw I was using is just slightly too small. For a one-off thing, that was fine, as I didn’t mind a few minutes of filing to size the hole correctly. That “few minutes” times 10 or 20 starts to add up. I’ve also got a mediocre soldering iron, and if a better iron can make the soldering go faster, that’s a benefit. Getting things done faster means you’re making more in less time, and if you’re paying yourself (and you should be) then your hourly rate just went up.

I’m barely into this thing and I can already see where large manufacturers look for the smallest of savings to cascade into bigger savings (of time and money.) One thing I really don’t want to compromise on though is quality. I still make sure every unit looks good, and functions. I test each unit after programming and after assembly.

And now for some good news… I’ve made my first sale! I haven’t really opened the store to the public yet, but for the dozen or so people who were really interested in the product, I’ve started emailing them and offering them the first chance at ordering. We’ll see how it goes from here. Who knows, I may sell the first batch and then no one will ever want to buy one again. It’s a distinct possibility, and I’m protecting against that right now by not keeping a lot of stock. Oh, I’ve also learned more about shipping this week than I ever wanted to, and I still feel like I know almost nothing. Fun times!

Oh, I’ll warn you now: the next post in this series will be filled with amazing insight. Stay Tuned! :)

(See all the posts in this series: Begin, Stock, Buy Smart, Basic Rules, No Leeway, Be Open, Community, Manufacturability, Marketing, Shipping, Lessons Learned, The Real Costs.)

Rule #7: Create a community to support and enhance your products.

I haven’t really created a community (yet) and I’m not entirely sure I’d be able to, but as it is, I’m trying to service an existing community… the users of Sparkbooth.

Now I didn’t just jump into this existing community with the idea that there was money to be made… I’m a Sparkbooth user, and in solving my own problem I’ve also solved the problem of other Sparkbooth users. (And yes, I’m not the only one.)

I’m hoping members of the community support my product, and as for the enhancing part, well, that may happen just as a result of having customers. I’ve already thought about ways to make things better (the product and the process) as well as some alternatives that may be of interest to people.

Of course, there’s this bit regarding customer support:

Get it right and you can have a community rooting for you. Get it wrong, and you’ll have a virtual riot on your hands.

Hey, no pressure, right!?

(See all the posts in this series: Begin, Stock, Buy Smart, Basic Rules, No Leeway, Be Open, Community, Manufacturability, Marketing, Shipping, Lessons Learned, The Real Costs.)

Rule #6: Be as open as you can.

I think for this current project (the USB Button) I’ve been pretty open, especially since the original post that spawned this whole thing laid out the components, instructions, and code to make what I plan on selling.

Could I be even more open? Probably, but right now I’m more focused on getting the product out there, and seeing if people will buy it (and it looks like some people already want to.)

Here’s a fun bit from Rule #6.

If someone else decides to use our files, make no significant modifications or improvements, and just manufacture them and compete with us, they’ll have do so much more cheaply than we can to get traction in the marketplace.

If they can do so, at the same or better quality, then that’s great: the consumer wins and we can stop making that product and focus on those that add more value (we don’t want to be in the commodity manufacturing business).

Now, in my case, someone could easily do it cheaper. Well, I guess easily is an opinion. But again, if someone does all the work, and produces a decent product at a lower price, then good for them! And as mentioned, the consumer wins. (I’d probably even buy one!)

I’ve already got a guy who is telling any potential customers that they can just go to ebay and buy “one of these” for super-cheap.

By “one of these” he is referring to a plastic USB footpedal from China. I’m not trying to brag, but the button I’m building is all quality parts, and it’s in a die-cast metal enclosure, and it looks really nice. (Well, I think so.) If you’re running a photo booth at a wedding do you want a cheap plastic footpedal or something that looks awesome? Sure, you can rebuild the footpedal to look awesome, but not everyone wants to spend the time (or has the skills) to do so.

I thought about ignoring the comment from Gary, but hey, more power to him! I’m not going to ignore it, I’m totally going to talk about it, and link to it. How’s that for open?

(See all the posts in this series: Begin, Stock, Buy Smart, Basic Rules, No Leeway, Be Open, Community, Manufacturability, Marketing, Shipping, Lessons Learned, The Real Costs.)