8 Eyewear: From Idea, to Launch, to Growth (And Quitting the Job)

[Vick]

Any idea what it would take to get APEL approved? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_Protective_Eyewear_List

Well I am having a few pairs meet ANSI Z87 civilian standard. It will take a lot more resources to get to APEL approved. def in the future though.

 

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[ZCP]

@Vick Have you identified a backup mfg.... both for safety and for extra capacity?

 

[Vick]

@Vick Have you identified a backup mfg.... both for safety and for extra capacity?

no not yet

 

[ZCP]

Time to mitigate risk!!

 

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[KLaw]

no not yet

Do you own the molds? Sorry - if I missed that detail in previous posts. Thanks. And keep kicking a$$!

 

[Vick]

Do you own the molds? Sorry - if I missed that detail in previous posts. Thanks. And keep kicking a$$!

yes. i own them

 

[RHL]

Yeah, I'd look for a secondary mfg. Get that NE C ST locked down.

 

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[GrensonMan]

@Vick when you start looking for a second manufacturer how do you plan on using them? Will you funnel lets say 30% of your orders through them and the other 70% through your main manufacturer? If you keep them in reserve, will you store materials with them so you can quickly ramp up production if things go south with your main manufacturer? Do you have a plan for how you would recoup stored materials if things did go south?

These are some of the questions I have been asking myself because I had initially planned on having a back up manufacturer to gain more control.

 

[Vick]

@Vick when you start looking for a second manufacturer how do you plan on using them? Will you funnel lets say 30% of your orders through them and the other 70% through your main manufacturer? If you keep them in reserve, will you store materials with them so you can quickly ramp up production if things go south with your main manufacturer? Do you have a plan for how you would recoup stored materials if things did go south?

These are some of the questions I have been asking myself because I had initially planned on having a back up manufacturer to gain more control.

I'm thinking of doing a 'Wayfarer' style in the future, along with my next style. 2nd manu will be 100% provider of the Wayfarer model. Mostly because my current supplier is not an expert in Wayfarer sunglasses, they focus more on the Sports style shades. So ya, looking for a really good Wayfarer manu right now. Reason I'm choosing a Wayfarer frame is to attract the female crowd.

tbh I'm not worried about my current manu right now. We have an understanding. They want to be rich as well. I just keep them informed on what I want this company to be. And they're starting to see me scale, so I don't think they want to lose me. If something happens, then I can always correct course. I def don't want to move the same mold from 1 facility to another. That sounds expensive.

I find I work better under stress. If something bad happens, I'll figure it out.

 

[SYK]

Loving the progress mate. You touched on it earlier on in the thread but can you elaborate how you find the Instagram accounts with 300k+ followers that you approach for advertising? It's proving a laborious task for me...

 

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[newfick]

my favorite thread on the forum. Awesome job

 

[Vick]

Need Advice

So were getting some Returns from the US, not because they dislike the product, but because they don't fit properly. Im gettin slammed with Brokerage fees for bringing the product back through Customs, plus shipping charges. So about $50 for a Return its costing me, plus the shipping expense to send it to the customer. Our return rate is extremely low, about 1% but could be much higher after all the Black Friday sales are opened xmas morning.

Any ideas on how to reduce this cost? I'm thinking maybe not to even bother with returns because the return rate is under 1%, like just refund there money and label it a marketing expense like what these guys do > http://www.shopify.com/blog/1491721...1-470-in-three-months-selling-cloud-notebooks

"Returns aren’t worth the effort. On the rare occasion that a case arrives damaged or defective, we either send people a full refund or a replacement. Dealing with returns just isn’t worth the effort for us and it’s also a pretty horrible experience for the customer. People are nearly always pleasantly surprised that we don’t require them to return the item before getting a replacement or refund. That makes them happy. We chalk this up as a marketing expense and move on."

But this idea could have a reverse effect if people find out that we just refund money, and they get to keep the product. For example, telling there friends and family, "hey these guys just refund your money if you tell them your unsatisfied, and you can keep them". Not sure how those other guys in the link are getting around this.

The other alternative is, keep our stock at Amazon in the US so there's no need for Customs Clearance back to CA. But what if the product is returned damaged, box is damaged, or not sell-able, the product needs to be reviewed by us, so that the quality level is good for re-selling. Not a fan of this idea. I hate losing control over the products visual appeal when shipped. It's very important for a high priced product.

Not sure what else I could do, other then just deal with the $50 charge every time the product is returned. I'm guessing this is usual for international business. Things would be so much easier if I was a US citizen, 95% of our sales are now from the US.

Any ideas?

 

[ZCP]

Find an agent in Buffalo that US returns can ship to. Have them photo and send info to you. You provide details on what to do. Maybe it can be someone that sells them for you in Buffalo as well! Tell them you want them to be your US rep. They get a lower wholesale price for handling returns.

 

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[Vick]

So me and the wife were talking.

We both agree that we want to live our lives in a warmer climate anyway.

And It makes sense to me to live in the country where 95% of our profits lie. Plus the warm weather I love Canada, but from a business perspective and life perspective, it makes sense to make this move eventually.

So in the long run, we'd like to move to the US and setup shop there.

I imagine it's pretty difficult to do this, not like we can just say, 'Hey we want to become US residents, done deal'.

Did you have a hard time doing this @Eskil ? You recently did this correct?

 

[KLaw]

Find an agent in Buffalo that US returns can ship to. Have them photo and send info to you. You provide details on what to do. Maybe it can be someone that sells them for you in Buffalo as well! Tell them you want them to be your US rep. They get a lower wholesale price for handling returns.

@Vick
I would like to offer my Ohio address to you. You could have the returns shipped to my home (or we could set up a po box). I could send pics to you or we could do some skype reviews between us so you can "look"at the returns. Once we have accumulated x amount I could send those to you in bulk. I don't want or expect any compensation, discounts, etc.. I would just love to be of some assistance for your growing business. Now, I know you don't know me and I would have no problems signing a contract, non-compete, NDA, or whatever and providing my personal info allowing you to perform any type of background check on me. If you are interested in discussing this further PM me. If not, I fully understand and wish you the best of luck. You are a true inspiration.

 

[wilddog]

So me and the wife were talking.

We both agree that we want to live our lives in a warmer climate anyway.

And It makes sense to me to live in the country where 95% of our profits lie. Plus the warm weather I love Canada, but from a business perspective and life perspective, it makes sense to make this move eventually.

So in the long run, we'd like to move to the US and setup shop there.

I imagine it's pretty difficult to do this, not like we can just say, 'Hey we want to become US residents, done deal'.

Did you have a hard time doing this @Eskil ? You recently did this correct?

My wife and I are in the same boat. Specifically California or Texas. Cheapest bet would be a business visa since it applies to all family members.

 

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[Vick]

My wife and I are in the same boat. Specifically California or Texas. Cheapest bet would be a business visa since it applies to all family members.

Is the process extensive? Difficult to be approved?

 

[wilddog]

Is the process extensive? Difficult to be approved?

I'm sure eskil has better insight. But if I recall correctly, you'll be looking into the E2 business visa. Which requires a certain amount of capital to apply.

 

[Vick]

I'm sure eskil has better insight. But if I recall correctly, you'll be looking into the E2 business visa. Which requires a certain amount of capital to apply.

500k - 1 mil investment. jeez thats nutty

 

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[wilddog]

500k - 1 mil investment. jeez thats nutty

That's if you want permanent resident status. I think you need over $50k as an investor and just renew every 5 years. I've heard from multiple sources that once you have the visa, you're pretty much guaranteed renewals.
Try this site for more info canadiansinusa.com

 

[biophase]

Vick,

You should find a friend in the US to handle your return. If not, for any other reason than to make your customers ship the sunglasses somewhere. That would alleviate your concerns of people making fake unsatisfied claims. Then you just ship the customer a replacement once your US friend verifies that they received the sunglasses. It's up to you if you want to make that friend inspect them, but I would just have him log that it was returned.

Then when you get low on stock, you can have him go through them at that time and use those returns as your last available stock to ship.

Since you said you aren't getting many returns, the most this person would have should be around 10-20 pairs??

 

[Deon]

^^ Those are two different visas

EB5 --> 500k - 1 Million --> Instant residency
E-2 --> About $100k-$150k (No set amount, but people report that this amount got them the visa) --> Unlimited visa renewals as long as the business is still going

 

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[Vick]

Vick,

You should find a friend in the US to handle your return. If not, for any other reason than to make your customers ship the sunglasses somewhere. That would alleviate your concerns of people making fake unsatisfied claims. Then you just ship the customer a replacement once your US friend verifies that they received the sunglasses. It's up to you if you want to make that friend inspect them, but I would just have him log that it was returned.

Then when you get low on stock, you can have him go through them at that time and use those returns as your last available stock to ship.

Since you said you aren't getting many returns, the most this person would have should be around 10-20 pairs??

Interesting idea.

I guess the issue with this idea is trust. But, my wife's parent live in Florida for 6 months of the year, maybe that might be a temp solution, till something better is in place.

 

[Vick]

^^ Those are two different visas

EB5 --> 500k - 1 Million --> Instant residency
E-2 --> About $100k-$150k (No set amount, but people report that this amount got them the visa) --> Unlimited visa renewals as long as the business is still going

This guy mentions as low as 15k. > http://legalservicesincorporated.com/203/
Seems wrong to me though. I'll consult a lawyer.

Also, pardon my knowledge on this matter. But for some reason I though I had to pay the Gov this amount of money, but really this money is all in the business, correct?

Not sure how this works. More reading I must do

 

[Deon]

This guy mentions as low as 15k. > http://legalservicesincorporated.com/203/
Seems wrong to me though. I'll consult a lawyer.

Also, pardon my knowledge on this matter. But for some reason I though I had to pay the Gov this amount of money, but really this money is all in the business, correct?

Not sure how this works. More reading I must do

The E2, I believe you can use on your business, yes!

EB5, no! There are some "centers" or I can't remember the name that you invest in... 500K for the ones in a troubled industry... 1 million for the rest

I'm not 100% sure about how it works to be honest, as i haven't gone through the process... But i read this stuff a long time ago and this stayed in my mind. A lawyer would be of course best

Good luck!

 

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[slodki]

Vick, you have already paid customs/taxes the first time the sunnies entered Canada. I wonder if there is anyone in the customs dept/shipping dept you can speak with to explain the situation and see if you are exempt from paying all these brokerage fees again during product returns.

Essentially you are paying customs/taxes twice for the same product. Is there a certain way you can label the return shipping etc which bypasses this? Maybe have a barcode on the packaging and a list of barcodes each time you pay fees? Then if you get a return you simply cross reference??

The idea of having someone you trust in the US to handle returns sounds good. However, if you decide to ship product back to Canada then you'll be faced with the same problem - having to pay customs/taxes twice on the same product.

What about labeling as 'gift' for the time being?

 

[Vick]

is anyone else sucking at sales recently?

cause i sure am.

 

[Catalyst]

We are a seasonal product so with the exception of Christmas sales we are in our dip. I would think your ski and snowboard segment would be crankin though.

 

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[Vick]

We are a seasonal product so with the exception of Christmas sales we are in our dip. I would think your ski and snowboard segment would be crankin though.

ya, you would think.

im guessing everyone spent there money already for xmas.

everyones bone dry

 

[Phones]

At least you guys in the US/Canada have BlackFriday, selling summer seasonal products sucks during October-December, It starts growing again in January.

But you know what's best? Whatever you did in terms of marketing, if it worked in the winter (higher marketing costs + bad seasonality), will work in the Summer (usually slower season, CPC are lower).