One of the biggest struggles for an aspiring entrepreneur is making a vision come to life. Developing a product can seem very intimidating and it can often be hard to figure out where to start when developing a product. However, here is a list of steps to take to initiate the process of developing a product idea:

Step 1: Come up with an idea if you haven’t already.

This may seem like common sense, but sometimes the hardest part of creating a product is figuring out what product to create. One of the best ways to do so is to use a model commonly known as the SCAMPER Model. This model is a fantastic way to be creative and stands for:

Substitute (ex. Agave instead of Honey)

Combine (ex. Combining a regular bike with the power of a battery)

Adapt (ex. Hat that turns into a helmet)

Modify (ex. Car with the ability to put its top down)

Put to another use (ex. Using paper in straws)

Eliminate (ex. Online car purchasing service)

Reverse/Rearrange (ex. Uber so that your kids will be safe)

In this step, it’s all about being creative and finding problems to solutions.

 Step 2: Research.

Make sure your idea is something that people will want before you create it. Make sure not to waste time, money, and effort on an idea that isn’t in demand or needed. One way to do research is to do surveys, ask for feedback on social media, talk to family about your ideas, or even launch an ad for a product to see how many people click on it.

Step 3: Plan out your venture.

This step is huge and should take up a majority of your time when creating a product and a business. In this step you should figure out things like how you will sell your product (retail or online), what your target market will be, what variations you should have, the amount of money it will take to create and sustain the business, and the amount of time it will take. You will need to layout a business plan in order to figure out all of the components in an organized way. A basic and easy business plan can be found at https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrocremades/2018/12/10/business-plan-template-a-step-by-step-guide-for-entrepreneurs/#7f72a06f120e. Some sections of a business plan can be hard to figure out but just try your best to project numbers as close to reality as you possibly can.

Step 4: Prototype your product.

If everything goes well with your business plan and the venture seems feasible, move on to this step. Prototyping makes everything feel more real and is the first tangible step in actually creating the product. The best part about prototyping is that this is the time when you want to hear criticisms. Criticism is fantastic for feedback and hearing what people like and dislike about your product.

Further, prototyping when making a new food is very different than prototyping a new piece for a car, but the general concept is making a realistic model of your product and seeing what improvements you need to make. If making a mechanical piece or something that may be hard to make without a sketch, you can create a virtual drawing with tools like SketchUp or Vectary. If the product you are creating needs a specific and unique design, you may want to use 3D printing techniques to create prototypes to bring to investors. 3D printing prototypes also allows for you to get nitty gritty with figuring out how exactly the product will look, feel, and work.

Step 5: Manufacture and start “doing”.

Before the “Manufacturing” step, you want to make sure all of your prototyping is finished as well as your business plan. You will want to make sure you have come up with costs, suppliers, marketing plans, funding, revenue streams, operations, and all the nitty gritty details of running a product business. Once you have all of these things figured out, you then will want to choose how to manufacture the final product. In your business plan, you should have figured out how you were going to create this product, whether it be by yourself or by outsourcing the manufacturing. In this step you should also figure out the supply chain and how these products will get from Point A (wherever they are being manufactured) to Point B (the customer’s hands). This step may include calling many manufacturers, co-manufacturers, and other companies to figure out your supply chain exactly. Finally, once everything is figured out, start doing and begin selling your product.

Depending on the product you are creating, this cycle can alter and vary dramatically. However, this general overview is a good theoretical approach in the steps you should think about while developing a new product. It’s important to remember that you have to make sure the project is feasible before getting ahead of yourself and going too fast. Take your time and remember that the process can be slow.