A simple Amazon Business

[Ian O'Bryant]

I am starting this thread because of The Paint Brush Cover Progress Thread. The Paint Brush Cover thread has helped me in figuring out certain steps in building a company and I hope that this thread will help someone else as much as the Paint Brush Cover has helped me. This will be my documentation of success and failure. I started this company with an old engineering friend of mine. I will be keeping this company nameless until the LLC papers are finalized.

I got the idea for this company when I was looking for a specific gift for my dad around Christmas and found only garbage products on Amazon. Nothing that I would spend my money on and few reviews calling it a good product. It is nothing that screams "Millions a year!!!" but I see it as a perfect first company to build and get some income growing that is separate from my current job.

Let me tell what I have already accomplished with my friend and partner of the company. We have used Jungle Scout to research the product and found that money could be made on it. My friend and I proceeded to create a Builder's requirement document to identify exactly what we wanted our product to do. I have filed a name reservation to see if the business name we came up with is available and if it is, will file the LLC paperwork. My partner has begun building a prototype of the device and we are hoping to have a working prototype by next month.

We have just begun to build this company and I have used the Fastlane Forum for a while to gain wisdom from others. This is my chance to give back and to show where we go wrong and where we succeed. Hope this thread helps and welcome to the show.

 

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[Ian O'Bryant]

Okay, update time. It's been two weeks since the last post and we have begun the slow grinding portion of starting a company. My partner went back to school and has begun to develop our product at the school. He believes that he can have a prototype built in about three weeks. We are also reconvening early next month to go over some more specifics for the company such as who is in charge of what and also to begin creating the design of our product. The designs to go over will include the actual design of our product, the box design, the website we will make, our business cards, and our message to the consumer about why we our bringing value into their lives.

I am still waiting for Georgia to get back to me about whether my name for the company is available. It still sits as a file pending on their website. I have decided to use my time to study what makes a brand and how we can apply it to our company.

I do have some questions for the users of this forum if anyone can give me a hand. I have set up this company as a LLC (the paperwork is in my name) with my buddy. We have agreed to split the profits as he develops the product and I sell it. What legal questions should be discussed between us? What risks come with having two people in charge of a LLC? Also, what price can we expect for having someone CNC a plastic exterior for our product here in the United States? If anyone has any insights to these questions, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Walter Hay]

I do have some questions for the users of this forum if anyone can give me a hand. I have set up this company as a LLC (the paperwork is in my name) with my buddy. We have agreed to split the profits as he develops the product and I sell it. What legal questions should be discussed between us? What risks come with having two people in charge of a LLC? Also, what price can we expect for having someone CNC a plastic exterior for our product here in the United States? If anyone has any insights to these questions, it would be greatly appreciated.

I can't help with the legal questions, except to say that any share arrangement should be formal, and shoudl take into account the possibility of a break up of the partnership.

I can help regarding the plastic exterior. CNC covers a broad spectrum of processes, and to answer sensibly I would need more information.

Do you need flat sheet cut to shape? Do you want 3D printing? Do you need a thin exterior molded? Does the exterior have to support internal components? Have you any idea what type of plastic you want to use? If not I would need to know things such as strength requirements, UV resistance needs, flexible or rigid?

If you don't want to disclose confidential information on the forum, you could PM details and I can probably make recommendations. I am privy to confidential information provided by quite a few members who have sought my help privately, and I don't operate any business, so you can be sure I will not pass on or use the information.

Walter