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Tom Buzz Bernard
03-30-2013, 2:32 PM
Someone started a great thread about the future of the Laser business.

If we create our own products for the gift and merchandise market, the ideas/needs could be endless.

Many here are so gifted, resourceful, and talented to come up with their own ideas, some (I hope) will find this helpful to trigger new possibilities.

I hope to add more if it is OK with everyone?




Creation of a Laser Product




Part 1




Whether you have been in business for a while or you are just getting into the laser industry, we all come to crossroads for creating new products and ideas for expanding our business. I believe the best ideas will come from former sales. When a customer sees a product they like they may ask you to create something different for them and that eventually may become a full product line for you.

More profitable items will come from products you can create from scratch. Such as taking local raw material and turning them into something someone might buy impulsively. If I was looking for a new idea I would start with something I already know people will buy and create a new product for it.

I simply like to create new ideas. Of course, not all can have enough profit to be wholesaled, but I try to look for new ways to get the price point down so the item could be retailed and wholesaled. If you want to talk profit, pricing, perceived value, or even mark-up, let’s try that in this article while considering a new product creation.

I want to add this important point. You can also look at new product ideas as a way to get more attention for your business. If you create a product that is going to be presented in a crowd or shown to many it will give your business recognition. Something unique and new will get people talking, asking where it came from, and asking who are you.

Well let’s get started.

My initial thought is to create a product with a perceived value of around $30.00 (target). In order to reach my goal of 1000% markup I can only spend $3.00 in materials. Remember, have fun with this! Initial costs never add up to final outlay. The assumption is we are buying materials at retail and in small quantities. If we can hit our target with retail purchases, this only adds to the excitement of a winning product. :cool:


Note: I am not concerned about production time at this point. How many times have you made something and then figured out a way to make it faster or cheaper? If I can hit a target of 1000% mark up I might be able to absorb a little production time, at least until I perfect the idea.

I start my product search at the local big box store, such as Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I am looking around and trying to get ideas for different substrates. Now I know we all have gone to buy items to cut, engrave, and many times destroy – just to see what we can do or make with our laser. This is the fun part!

I must say that randomly looking around a store can sometimes be overwhelming to come up with an idea. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel if you are new to this. Go to a local retail store and look at finished products and think, “How can I create this with my laser? How could I make it better? Make it unique? Personalize it?” If you sell plaques and awards, think how can I stand out from the competition? I prefer the new product be something someone would buy even if it wasn’t for a special event.

I forgot to mention, prior to going to the big box store I did think about a subject/topic/focus in which to create a product. We have over 10,000 firefighters in Atlanta with many different stations. Every state, city, and county in the nation has firefighters. My best friend was a firefighter/paramedic. They are a very prideful group and most live and work together, share stories, and have a bond you seldom see in the private sector. If one gets something cool they all want it (at least that is what I’ve seen). What could I create that had ownership (the place they worked), was unique enough (they wanted to show it to everyone) and could be personalized (treasured for a lifetime)?

While writing this I have thought of six other great new product topics, so I will change this article to part one and we will create another product for next month. Let’s create one new product a month. That’s an easy goal to help expand your business.

You will need to see next article for what else we can create (what a tease:rolleyes:). I think I watch too much TV with cliff hangers to keep you watching! In this case it is new ideas to help you make money and that is worth having you come back!


So I want to make this “product” show where the firefighter works. Well, that is easy. Every firefighter is proud of the station he represents. All I need is to take a picture of the station and print it out on an inkjet printer or laser printer. Wait; how am I going to make that unique?

What if I took one of LaserBuzz’s Profession & Trade designs and made it layered? I want to make this product universal for both female and male firefighters so I will take both gender designs and break them apart in such a way that it allows me to assemble them in a 3D layer. If you look at the picture in this article I started with the Female, Male, and Fire Truck. The next level is just the Male and Fire Truck. The top level is just the Male and ax. I used shims to separate the layers to give more depth and uniqueness to the design.

I will need to get some height for a frame to include this product. I am thinking of using crown molding as the frame. I found pre-primed MDF crown molding in eight foot lengths at a reasonable price (we will cover price later). When the crown molding is cut the right way it will stand up high enough to give the product a unique look and depth, allowing the layered firefighters to be used. You will notice the picture shows the same crown molding cut and put together in the opposite direction. I wanted to see if we could use this for another idea. I do not like the pre-primed color of the crown molding so I got two colors of spray paint. One is a copper color, the other is black.

After putting the frame together I sprayed the copper color first and then just dusted the black on in spurts (while the first coat was still wet) to give the frame the look I wanted. This is a prototype and I may decide to buy frames finished if the pricing is right and the mark up is there. I wanted to make the design stand out, not the frame, which is why I chose the colors I used.

The only thing left is to put the pieces together and add personalization. If you notice in the finished product I just put in the station number. I recommend making this a size to put a persons name for personalization.

Let’s break down material cost. Some of this will take some guessing, but as we get into production it will be easier to have exact numbers. I used off the shelf paper that cost me .02 cents a sheet for printing. I may decide to try archival or gloss to get a different look, but my goal is to price this proto-type with retail-bought supplies. My laser printer is cheaper to make prints than my inkjet, but my guess is about 30 cents a print. Let’s use 35 cents, with the paper.

Crown molding was $5.60 for an eight foot length, so $5.60 / 96 = $.06 a linear inch. My design used 44 inches which equals $2.64. I think I could shave this down to 40” and still have a great looking product. Paint was marginal. The cans cost me less than a dollar each and I barely used any, my guess would be 10 cents.

I used one square foot of wood material to cut the firefighters out and I still had room to nest more on the piece. I currently pay 38 cents a square foot, but I didn’t use it all. I’ll say I used 30 cents-worth. The print has to be glued on a rigid sheet and I would suggest chip board or something similar which could be bought for less than 15 cents a square foot. Glue used was some lipstick glue and wood glue. Very little was used in several spots – Let’s say 5 cents?

So let’s add it up. I come up with $3.59 (at full retail price paid) for substrates. I was shooting for $3.00 so I had room to add embellishments or different finishes. I might still have room if the perceived value is there. I also hope to buy some stock in bulk, like the crown molding could be bought in contractors’ quantity and in longer lengths.

Remember pictures do no justice to the incredible product you can make and that is why I took this new proto-type product to an east coast gathering of Laser owners and asked them what price they felt they could sell the item for (the perceived value). I wanted to know how much they would pay (wholesale) and also what they know their customers would spend.

To my astonishment they all said at least $75.00! Wow, that is more than 2000% mark up. The goal was $3.00 in material cost for a $30.00 product. I know Firefighters do not get paid a lot of money but you could still get a great profit if you only marked up 1000% which comes to $35.90 for our proto-type. Look at the exposure this may bring your company. How many fire stations does a single firefighter serve in a career? A Firefighter may want a personalized wall plaque for every station they served.

Maybe a resort, corporation, college/school (for graduation), museum, zoo, (I could name 50 different possibilities) may see this unique product and ask you to create something for them – using the same concept.

The most important part of moving your company forward is to keep making and selling products, not just because that is how you make money, but this is how you get exposure. We have all seen something we liked and asked, “Where did you get that?” You want the answer to be your company! :)


Timing is crucial for some ideas. Next month I think we need to come up with a new product for graduation. I think we have time for sales “this year” so let’s try something different for our laser. I have an idea and I can’t wait to show you!

Steve Kelsey
03-30-2013, 3:52 PM
Thanks, Tom.

Mike Null
03-31-2013, 6:09 AM
Tom

I like your idea. Thanks for posting it. My guess is that it will sprout a lot of other good ideas.

Vic Velcro
03-31-2013, 9:48 PM
Thank you, Tom.

I am new to this and have only received my laser unit a week ago. I finally have it plumbed for air and coolant as well as routed the exhaust. I am now at the stage of evaluating the unit for calibration and running a few of the ideas I formed while waiting for the unit to arrive. I am also formulating new ideas for the near future.

I look forward to Part 2.

-Vic

Tom Buzz Bernard
04-01-2013, 2:12 PM
Thank you, Tom.

I am new to this and have only received my laser unit a week ago. I finally have it plumbed for air and coolant as well as routed the exhaust. I am now at the stage of evaluating the unit for calibration and running a few of the ideas I formed while waiting for the unit to arrive. I am also formulating new ideas for the near future.

I look forward to Part 2.

-Vic

Part 6 product idea was my favorite :cool: (it was funny how I came up with that one) how's that for a tease :D