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Can Shopify rip me off?

Real Deal Denver

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OP’s profile says he’s 63.

Some of his comments make me believe that. Talking about selling stuff to stupid people who like rap. You sound like my grandfather.

But your complete inability to realize you’re being naive, you sound like a 17 year old. You’re throwing temper tantrums like one too.

But what do I know?

I noticed you said complete. That adds a rather uncommon dimension to your descriptor.

I may be naive, ok - I'll rephrase that - I am naive...

I know I'm in that insane group of dreamers that really doesn't know any better of what to expect realistically. But, enough of those insane people do make it big, so the rest of us are excited enough to believe we can do it too...

But - with that said - I admit I am new, and I admit I am not chomping at the bit to jump in and work my butt off.

I guess maybe I am naive. I already knew that. I am okay with saying that, and I don't feel I have to defend that, or apologize for it.

I don't know where the temper tantrums remark came from. But, if it makes you feel superior, I will entertain that for you. Doesn't matter to me who the smartest one in the room is, and as you see from my comments quoted above, I admit it isn't me.

Glad I sound like your Grandfather. I am comfortable in my own skin as a Dad that has raised three confident, mature, and successful sons. And, as you already know, Dads usually are opinionated and experienced. That's a big part of what makes them role models. They also usually don't feel the need to conform just for the sake of being accepted into a group - a serious weakness of so many younger generation people. That's not an insult - that's just the way it is. We were all young and needed approval to stroke our growing egos at one time or another. It's called youth. And it's natural. But, some of us grow past that stage.
 
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Real Deal Denver

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In this thread you've spent the whole time arguing about how "easy" it is to go viral and build funnels and all this stuff. Talk is cheap.

Tell us how "easy" it was to get 2 million customers and how many hours you didn't work to get them, but tell us AFTER you've already done it. Until then, no one gives a sh*t how easy you think it is.

Because I'm curious:
Have you talked to your supplier(s)? Do you know your margins? Do you know what your market wants?

Why do you feel the need to insult and attack someone?

I won't even bother to answer your questions, because they are so childish and condescending.

You have a lot to learn in life. Others know a lot. Accept that. I have learned valuable lessons from people *decades* younger than I am. And older, as well.

But, I know that doesn't matter to you. What may matter though, is the painful realization that some astute sixth grader could run circles around you. So, for your entertainment pleasure, I submit the following:

I can read books, and I can find the books I need to read to learn things. So can an ambitious sixth grader. Get used to it, because that's the way it is. I'm a great coach, because I improve people. I tell them nobody was born knowing how to walk - and it goes into more depth, but let's keep it simple. I tell people that they can learn things just like someone else has. I certainly don't tell them they CAN'T be as successful or talented as someone else may be, and I sure as hill don't tell them they are IGNORANT.

Let's call it the way it is? I don't need a lecture - and I am not stupid, so don't tell me this is hard. If a talented sixth grader can do it, it's not hard.

Just thought you might like to know another side to the story. I am in the learning/building stage at the moment, and am in no hurry to launch this until it is fully ready.

With the right marketing and structure in place - which is the point of this thread to start with - I expect to hit sales targets that maybe nobody here has ever done. The "tone" I get from a lot of people is set this lemonade stand up and start making money! Um, no - I want to be on the shelves of every grocery store in the land, instead of starting tomorrow with my own cute little lemonade stand.

The quote below is a prime reason that I started this thread. It wasn't to go toe to toe with everyone that has a need to attack and insult anyone that dare think they can possibly master on-line marketing. It sure wasn't to spout off on my own skills and experience - because I have none in this particular area - yet.

It was to find a few nuggets of wisdom, like the following post, which is a perfect example of what I would not have even considered, had it not been brought up here:

If your manufacturer, the one who produces your on-demand products, sees that you're selling hundreds of thousands of units, what makes you think they won't start selling direct to consumers instead?! From reading the threads here, it has happened and it will happen.

That's the purpose of *productive* dialogue. Check your ego and insecurities at the door. The purpose of this meeting is to achieve focus and direction. Only.

For you, and the many over-achiever sixth graders out there, I leave the following honest and heart felt sentiment:

By the way, I'm damn proud of EVERYONE here that is successful and has done it on their own, as well.
 

biophase

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The wrinkle in the equation, that gives me some level of protection is that my products are mine alone. Nobody can buy up my inventory. The are produced for me alone, on a per order basis.

So ask your supplier how many they made every week.
 
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Dave Daily

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I like the responses, but let me make things more clear, just to be sure that I am understanding everything correctly.

I build an infrastructure of funnels, etc. selling candles. I want this to be totally automated. I want my customers to find my websites, and eventually be led to my Shopify ordering page. There they will place an order for a candle, and it will automatically to to Candles USA, which will ship the candle out.

Throughout this entire process, I will not be involved in handling an order in any way. And I'm sure not going to be shipping anything. My goal is to not do anything.

So, since I'm "out of the picture" so much, my worry is that Shopify could accept the orders somehow without me knowing about it, and "hijack" my sales. Since the order process goes through them, could they short circuit the process somehow and cut me out of the picture? I would be using the manufacturer/merchant that is already approved and set up with the Shopify system.

Maybe that makes things a bit more clear. Do I have anything to worry about?

Hey @Real Deal Denver ,

Long time no chat.

Try a Shopify experiment! Don't start with your best product, just pick a lesser one and see what happens. I'm interested to see the results. I'm looking to setup a product biz in conjunction with Together Tables, so I'd be really interested to see your experience.

Maybe I'll beat ya to it. ;)
 

Real Deal Denver

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So ask your supplier how many they made every week.

Can you elaborate on that Bio?

Here is what I have gleaned from the comments.

Your plan should work perfectly.

If they started ripping off their customers, do you think their clients would continue to use them?

I thought I'm the biggest worrywart and most paranoid guy among everyone I've known, but I guessed you dethroned me lol

Nopes - you control it all

Just check the ego mate and you're gonna do fantastic!

This is all GREAT, but then...

Or wait, somebody else has all the inventory and is dropshipping or fulfilling for you right? So you're weakest link in your paranoia should be your supplier.

If your manufacturer, the one who produces your on-demand products, sees that you're selling hundreds of thousands of units, what makes you think they won't start selling direct to consumers instead?! From reading the threads here, it has happened and it will happen.

The probability of all that happening (read: YOUR MANU RIPPING YOU OFF), IS WAY higher than Shopify ripping you off.

I study everything that has been posted here. Study it - don't just read it. And I assure you, some of it makes me incredibly happy, but some of it raises the hair on the back of my neck...

And that's all good. That's why this thread exists for me. I know there is a ton of information out there, and one of my strongest characteristics is to study and learn from others. I've already learned volumes.

Good luck to you! Your ego is strong, and I hope your intellect catches up as that could make you unstoppable.

By using all this feedback and insight, I am truly HOPING to be unstoppable. Vigilante, as usual, hit the nail square on the head with the reason this thread exists!

I know many here have made mistakes along the way, and I know I'm going to too. I want to have the insight to be aware of what may not work, so I can better recognize and prepare for the encounters. It's just that simple.

Only fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Or something like that...
 

Real Deal Denver

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Hey @Real Deal Denver ,

Long time no chat.

Try a Shopify experiment! Don't start with your best product, just pick a lesser one and see what happens. I'm interested to see the results. I'm looking to setup a product biz in conjunction with Together Tables, so I'd be really interested to see your experience.

Maybe I'll beat ya to it. ;)

Hey Dave ~

You are a go getter, so I don't doubt you'll beat me to the punch.

But before you jump in, let me throw this on the wall, and see if you like it.

I don't think I can "afford" to do anything less than a full force market launch. I need time on my side to scale. The longer I am unknown the better, because once the wolves catch my scent, it's an ongoing race in the marketplace.

My competition is inevitable, but why not "own" the market for a month or two, and take advantage of being unique, so I get all the market buzz.

Earlier, I posted that if only five people tell five people about my product, and that process repeats for each person - at the end of ten days, I will have market exposure of some degree to over twelve million people. I need those ten days in the market, all by myself (more or less). I am excited to think what 30 to 60 days can do.

Of course, those are ideal projections. I don't expect them to actually work - BUT I do know what can happen in a set period of time. I have to have SOMETHING to go by.

With all that said, my business model is sure NOT going to be selling things through friends and family, or at a flea market, to start out. No - I want a few thousand people to start out. Even with one thousand, I can do great in a week or two.

There are equally talented people out there that can produce a similar product as mine. I've no doubt that there are rip off artists that will blatantly steal my product and knock it off for a buck fifty cheaper.

But I'm not focused on that for now. I'm focused on speed and market coverage to be maximized. If I can do that well, the rest should fall in place all by itself.

I don't take drugs - but I do believe I can sell over a million products in a month. I wonder what I would think with the help of some good drugs in my system? LOL.

Who can comprehend McDonalds feeding over 68 million people a day? Oh yeah - NOW things start looking better, because we're looking at it from the point of what actually is possible. That's the true power - I realize what IS possible, and I'm trying to fine tune things so when this rocket DOES launch, it could sell a million in a month. Not could - but should - if I may be SO bold!

I don't need drugs! I can find this stuff out all on my own - without making it up!

Wacko? Maybe. But then again, maybe not.

I may have told you TOOO much. I can hear you packing up your power tools and ramping up to conquer the internet! Well, there's plenty of space for all of us there!

Dream BIG or go home!
 
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biophase

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Can you elaborate on that Bio?

Sure, if you sell 50 in a week, call your supplier and ask them how many they shipped out. If they shipped out 80 then you will know shopify stole 30 orders from you.
 

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Why do you feel the need to insult and attack someone?

I won't even bother to answer your questions, because they are so childish and condescending.

Where did I insult and attack you?

How exactly is asking about your margins childish and condescending? We can help you more if you tell us your margins. Most progress threads on the forum will mention margins.

I'm pointing out that no one gives a sh*t about your opinions on stuff you have never done. This is pure mental masturbation.

It's great to dream big, but you eventually have to stop dreaming and start doing.
 

Real Deal Denver

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Where did I insult and attack you?

How exactly is asking about your margins childish and condescending? We can help you more if you tell us your margins. Most progress threads on the forum will mention margins.

I'm pointing out that no one gives a sh*t about your opinions on stuff you have never done. This is pure mental masturbation.

It's great to dream big, but you eventually have to stop dreaming and start doing.

Hmmmm. I really had to stop and think about your post for a few minutes.

I apologize. I took it as throwing my concept in my face and laughing at me. I see that I jumped to conclusions. Written responses can be misread, and that happened in a big way - so again, my apologies.

Grocery stores may operate on 2% net margins. That's a dangerous line to live on. Yet, their payroll can be a few hundred thousand dollars a month. That's amazing, isn't it?

I am now, and have been, in my own business that has 100% profit. I have no cost of goods or overhead. I don't work on margins - I work on cashflow projections. I sell my time and expertise. I don't have a business - I have a job.

Instead of margins, I am looking at this business purely as scaleable income. The formula is very simple - two bucks profit on a million sales. Maybe two to three million sales if things go better than expected.

I can understand why somebody might think that is laughable. I have chopped and sliced it many ways to produce a best and worse case market analysis. Since I will have no inventory, no employees, and no overhead, this is a unique beast that doesn't need too much financial analysis. Simply put, all I have to lose is my time and effort in putting this together. If I only sell one product, to my dear Mother, I will have at least gained a ton of knowledge.

I must produce a world class product that will be attractive enough to sell on its own. It has to be a head turner. I can do that. And I must master mass marketing to launch this on a large enough scale to be hugely successful. I can't do that, but I know that it CAN be done. I'm working on it...

Einstein once said that if you can't explain something in simple terms, you don't understand it well enough.

Being that I have simplified this does not mean I don't understand it, or I am naive, or I am a dreamer. Managing this is the skill-set of taking control and STEERING it to success. This is why the CEOs are paid the big bucks. They have the vision and leadership which produce results. Notice that I didn't include "try to" or "maybe" in that statement.

To mention the TV show Shark Tank once again, I have seen hundreds of products there that make millions of dollars profit that are aimed at much smaller markets, and frankly, simply don't have the market appeal my product has. Let's take one example - a sponge cut out in a smiley face design? Yes, that's a product, and it has done very well. Let me be honest for a moment - what an incredibly STUPID idea! Yet, a mature adult actually thought this one up! I would have thought, maybe a four year old brainstormed this brilliant product - LOL. But I can't argue with results - it was someones dream, and it's making millions. A buck or two at a time. Scale it up baby!

Are they buying the product, or the design? I see it, but I can't figure it out. I guess a lot of people like smiley face emoticons... because it's raking in the money.

I guarantee you that my product will sell 100 to 1 - at the VERY least - compared to a smiley face sponge. THAT'S where my confidence comes from.

And I have a few hundred more examples that I can beat the pants off of. Mini-popcorn. Would you ever buy mini-popcorn? Who cares that it's mini? What a stupid idea! Sells by the millions though. A brother and sister thought that one up. Hey - I can't argue with success. It works! Astounding...

What makes me think I can sell this anyway? I know I can beat the pants off a sponge, for sure!

After this is said and done, I may have found the title for a book, that will make a lot of money too. "How I beat the pants off a sponge, and you can too!"
 
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Real Deal Denver

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Sure, if you sell 50 in a week, call your supplier and ask them how many they shipped out. If they shipped out 80 then you will know shopify stole 30 orders from you.

Duh - of course. I'm getting immersed in details and failed to see the logic of that one!

One of the details I'm immersed in is having my supplier undercut me. Whoa - I didn't think of that until this thread.

Although I will own the designs and the molds to create my products, I guess they could steal them from me directly anyway.

I'm not dealing with a manufacturer's product - I'm making my own, one at a time. I thought it was secure, but now, thanks to the dialogue here, I see that there could be issues...

WHAT do you think of that?
 

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Off-topic, but hire me today for a low price of $5,997 and I’ll do your marketing for you. :D

P.S. great thread here, didn’t read the entire thread but lots of valid points.
 

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Real Deal Denver

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Off-topic, but hire me today for a low price of $5,997 and I’ll do your marketing for you. :D

P.S. great thread here, didn’t read the entire thread but lots of valid points.

You have no idea of how close to truth you are. I'm looking in that direction.
 

Real Deal Denver

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Embed your company or product name in the mold.

Great idea. I've already incorporated that.

But my worry is that, on a national scale, someone could sell thousands of these and I'd never find them in the market. It is the wild wild west out there. Survival. By whatever means possible.

The more this comes into focus, however, I am seeing that my efforts should be on catapulting my products into orbit, and not worry about the stragglers fighting over scraps on the ground below.

This thread has been invaluable as a sounding board in that regard. I could not have progressed my thinking to that level without the feedback here. Having something sink in and ponder it takes time. I think I've gone from 1st grade to 4th now. A lot of progress, but very far to go still.

I know of no other place that these conversations could have taken place, on this level of understanding. I read somewhere that you can only see a certain distance ahead. When you get further, you can see more. Sounds simple, but to actually experience that, is wonderful.
 

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Let me explain. Shopify will be THE portal which takes the order. The sale will be completed using their software. They will have the customer name, the credit card number. The order. That puts them in a unique position to cut ME out of the picture. Can an employee of Amazon cut me out of the picture AND keep the sale? No. But if Shopify does it, I could be completely in the dark about it. The sale is entered into THEIR system - not mine. They could do an end run and complete the sale with the fulfillment center. Could it happen? Yes. Would it? I don't know.


Look, you REALLY need to get over yourself and your imaginary product and your outlandish dreamy sales volume. You're paranoid of something that isn't gonna happen to sales you're not even getting! You've taken non-action, and went a step further with it.

Why don't you try to sell a couple of them before you get paranoid about a billionaire stealing your idea/product/sales!
 
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Striver

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How about you just check your inventory at the end of the week and see if it matches up with your orders?

You've got SOME nerve, guy! Who do you think you are... introducing LOGIC into this situation. :p
 

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Your mindset is evolving positively. Keep learning.
 

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I feel like you're constantly searching for a reason to not pursue this. There is very little risk (if any) of Shopify stealing your store. You need proof? Look for lists of the most successful shopify stores.

Shopify Inc Canada - IP Addresses Owners World Database

Here's a link that shows all of the websites hosted by Shopify. You can also view the page source of these websites to see it uses Shopify.

So the next question, to me, is: Are you going to be bigger than Fleshlight, Dailysteals, Radioshack, and Geeks.com? Even if you are, can you at least find some comfort in the fact that these brands trust Shopify with all of their customer data?

Honestly, your entire plan is to sell a "flash in the pan" fad product, right? That should be easy to replicate since fads are constantly changing. So TRY IT. If Shopify steals your idea (spoiler alert: they won't), then you know you can't trust them as a platform. If they don't, you now know that you can replicate this business on Shopify in perpetuity until you're selling 30 million sunglasses.

If you're still too scared of Shopify, why not consider Woocommerce? There are plenty of dropshipping and order fulfillment plugins for Wordpress that will cost you less (long-term) compared to Oberlo's monthly fees.

There are solutions to your problems. You're not the first person to have the idea to dropship a unique product, and there are countless successful dropshipping companies, both hosted on and off of Shopify's platform.

Just go for it already!
 
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Real Deal Denver

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Look, you REALLY need to get over yourself and your imaginary product and your outlandish dreamy sales volume. You're paranoid of something that isn't gonna happen to sales you're not even getting! You've taken non-action, and went a step further with it.

Why don't you try to sell a couple of them before you get paranoid about a billionaire stealing your idea/product/sales!

ezgif.com-optimize (1).gif
 

Real Deal Denver

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There are solutions to your problems. You're not the first person to have the idea to dropship a unique product, and there are countless successful dropshipping companies, both hosted on and off of Shopify's platform.

Thank you for your solid advice and information.

I don't know why you're impatient. I've founded and ran several business ventures, all of which were successful, and I didn't just "jump in the deep end" on any of them. On several of them, I did drive out my competition that thought they had the market sewn up before I came on the scene. So, I think there is a lot to be said for planning and laying a strong foundation. Knowing what I have done to my competition, I want to make triple sure I can defend myself against, well, someone like myself that DOES understand marketing well, and has the resources and knowledge to dominate a market. Yes, that scares me a lot.

So, I do what I can. Which is to learn and plan. And then launch. No testing of the market - no slowing testing the market. Ignite, and launch, at full power. Maybe even launch at MORE than full power. I'm kicking around the idea of kick starter (pun intended).

However, I've never launched and scaled a business on a national level before. This is fascinating on so many levels. The funny thing is, although I'm going to entering three markets, there are no products out there that do quite what I'm doing. The ones I've found concentrate on being cheap. I'm going the opposite direction: class and quality. In the fast food business, who wants to copy McDonalds? Nobody. Everyone else has a hook to distinguish themselves as being better somehow. Nobody says they are cheaper than McDonalds. Not a one.

Read every word in the book cover below - that says it all. This is what I am doing. I don't know how to do this. Yet. But others do, and I'm learning from them. By leaps and bounds.

1st Mill Customers.JPG
 
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Merging Left

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Fair enough in regards to planning. I think the Shopify fear has been beaten to death at this point, don't you agree? What's the next hurdle you're facing?
 

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The wrinkle in the equation, that gives me some level of protection is that my products are mine alone. Nobody can buy up my inventory. The are produced for me alone, on a per order basis.

It's relatively trivial for a competitor to BUY one of your products and reverse engineer it if they want. This isn't new, and even car manufacturers do this.

Reverse engineering - Wikipedia

Your proposed solution to that is to get fast success with "viral" products but that presents a whole array of other challenges.

So, I do what I can. Which is to learn and plan. And then launch. No testing of the market - no slowing testing the market. Ignite, and launch, at full power. Maybe even launch at MORE than full power. I'm kicking around the idea of kick starter (pun intended).

Good luck with that. Skip the market testing steps while you're at it and drop $100K on ad spend. Michael Jackson is grabbing his popcorn...

But, I know that doesn't matter to you. What may matter though, is the painful realization that some astute sixth grader could run circles around you.

You're the one who seems to be obsessed with sixth graders... I guarantee the successful folks here don't give a ____ about other people's success (If anything, they celebrate it). Your scarcity mindset is evident with every word you type.

You claim that you've come here to learn and you're being respectful, meanwhile you've rejected quite a lot of advice already from the very people you claim to want to be learning from.

Surely you've seen the Shark Tank episodes where the person pitching their business proposal is immune to the Sharks' constructive feedback and advice?? Yup, that's you.
 

Real Deal Denver

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You claim that you've come here to learn and you're being respectful, meanwhile you've rejected quite a lot of advice already from the very people you claim to want to be learning from.

Surely you've seen the Shark Tank episodes where the person pitching their business proposal is immune to the Sharks' constructive feedback and advice?? Yup, that's you.

Another post with selective reading syndrome. I used to take it for granted that the point of my message would be understood, but now I see that it can be twisted and picked apart by more than a few people. That's fascinating to me.

I bet if you wanted to, you could find a lot of posts in which I am very appreciative here. Since I've already addressed this syndrome several times, I'll leave you to your own research on that. It's clearly there if you want to see it. Or you can ignore it, and focus instead on the very small quantity of pushback commentary to others that have responded as you did.

Either way, thanks for the lecture though.

Here is a tiny synopsis of what I said earlier, that kind of hits on addressing what you said for me to be aware of. This is what is known as, in my parts, as the meat and potatoes. Substance; not rhetoric. A plan. Direction. I welcome any responses in kind.

I don't think I can "afford" to do anything less than a full force market launch. I need time on my side to scale. The longer I am unknown the better, because once the wolves catch my scent, it's an ongoing race in the marketplace.

My competition is inevitable, but why not "own" the market for a month or two, and take advantage of being unique, so I get all the market buzz.

Earlier, I posted that if only five people tell five people about my product, and that process repeats for each person - at the end of ten days, I will have market exposure of some degree to over twelve million people. I need those ten days in the market, all by myself (more or less). I am excited to think what 30 to 60 days can do.

Of course, those are ideal projections. I don't expect them to actually work - BUT I do know what can happen in a set period of time. I have to have SOMETHING to go by.

With all that said, my business model is sure NOT going to be selling things through friends and family, or at a flea market, to start out. No - I want a few thousand people to start out. Even with one thousand, I can do great in a week or two.

There are equally talented people out there that can produce a similar product as mine. I've no doubt that there are rip off artists that will blatantly steal my product and knock it off for a buck fifty cheaper.
 
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Real Deal Denver

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So where are you at with this? What steps are you currently taking that are pushing you towards your goal?

1) I have researched subbing out the work to design my products. I found that the cost is way too high, and the quality is very sub-par. That throws it squarely back in my lap.

2) I have taken the position that I must create the designs of this product myself. I don't have the capabilities to do this right now, but I will within a couple of weeks. I have bought a new computer and software that will allow me to create world class results. Needless to say, I'm not taking any shortcuts. The end results will be excellent, even in the established market I am competing in. I have done things very similar to this before, but not computer based.

3) I am consuming books on the marketing methods I will need to launch this on a large national level.

4) Both the creation and the marketing are pretty intensive endeavors - but nothing that is impossible by any means. I have hired a company to help with the marketing phase of this, and may hire more people if I feel the launch will be lacking in quality or power.

5) I am highly considering a kick starter campaign, as this is a very consumer orientated product. I know I could sell a few thousand of my products there. This will serve to launch, as well as fund, my business for the first few months - not to mention the inherent marketing that will boost it for a long time.

I have several books on Kick Starter, as I am thinking this would be a no-brainer to launch it. The key is having a product that get noticed right away by being unique and stunning. With powerful marketing being behind it, I expect it to obtain orbit in less than two months. At that time, I don't want to be saddled with running the company day to day, or developing products. I'll leave that to Shopify. I want to maximize the marketing. I'm even looking at licensing deals to incorporate "legendary" brands into my product, like Harley Davidson, for one.

Marketing is the key that will unlock all the doors. One small but powerful example of that is this: Let's say I get 3,000 people to buy my product in the first month, which I consider to be conservative, but let's go with that. I now have 3,000 customers that I can send a promotion to to give them, say, 30% off our "new line" of products - but only if they order within the next six days. Bam - instant mass advertising that doesn't cost me a dime. I might not make much money on it - but I'm not losing money. I'll play that game to scale this up.

I'm keeping my profits low. Say 2-3 bucks per item. If I do 5,000 sales a month, life is good. I expect to do more than that, but those are my conservative projections. I can "expand" my lines of products to tap into my client base even further.

This is an amazing adventure. It's like I've been drugged my whole life, and now I'm off the drugs and fully awake, for the first time.
 

MJ DeMarco

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5) I am highly considering a kick starter campaign

FYI, if you're concerned about people ripping off your concept really fast, this might not be a good idea.

There are people who literally just surf Kickstarter looking for products to rip with the ultimate objective of getting faster to market. They use Kickstarter as a proof of concept and then try to beat the project starter to market.

If you think your product has a limited lifespan before knock-offs, might be something to think about.

There's also a thread here about this:

Can i copy an idea that will be on Kickstarter but not yet on the market ?
 
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NuclearPuma

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You should read Laurie Greiner's book "Invent it, sell it, bank it."

I found it gave pretty good insight into the process of bringing a product to market.

I think the advice in that book would help you do market research and prove the idea before going to Kickstarter or spending tons of time and money on development.
 

biophase

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1) I have researched subbing out the work to design my products. I found that the cost is way too high, and the quality is very sub-par. That throws it squarely back in my lap.

2) I have taken the position that I must create the designs of this product myself. I don't have the capabilities to do this right now, but I will within a couple of weeks. I have bought a new computer and software that will allow me to create world class results. Needless to say, I'm not taking any shortcuts. The end results will be excellent, even in the established market I am competing in. I have done things very similar to this before, but not computer based.

3) I am consuming books on the marketing methods I will need to launch this on a large national level.

4) Both the creation and the marketing are pretty intensive endeavors - but nothing that is impossible by any means. I have hired a company to help with the marketing phase of this, and may hire more people if I feel the launch will be lacking in quality or power.

5) I am highly considering a kick starter campaign, as this is a very consumer orientated product. I know I could sell a few thousand of my products there. This will serve to launch, as well as fund, my business for the first few months - not to mention the inherent marketing that will boost it for a long time.

I have several books on Kick Starter, as I am thinking this would be a no-brainer to launch it. The key is having a product that get noticed right away by being unique and stunning. With powerful marketing being behind it, I expect it to obtain orbit in less than two months. At that time, I don't want to be saddled with running the company day to day, or developing products. I'll leave that to Shopify. I want to maximize the marketing. I'm even looking at licensing deals to incorporate "legendary" brands into my product, like Harley Davidson, for one.

Marketing is the key that will unlock all the doors. One small but powerful example of that is this: Let's say I get 3,000 people to buy my product in the first month, which I consider to be conservative, but let's go with that. I now have 3,000 customers that I can send a promotion to to give them, say, 30% off our "new line" of products - but only if they order within the next six days. Bam - instant mass advertising that doesn't cost me a dime. I might not make much money on it - but I'm not losing money. I'll play that game to scale this up.

I'm keeping my profits low. Say 2-3 bucks per item. If I do 5,000 sales a month, life is good. I expect to do more than that, but those are my conservative projections. I can "expand" my lines of products to tap into my client base even further.

This is an amazing adventure. It's like I've been drugged my whole life, and now I'm off the drugs and fully awake, for the first time.

Ok this update makes absolutely no sense now. So you basically don't have your product designed yet. Yes, I understand that it may be a t-shirt or something that is made on demand, but you are sitting at the idea phase, basically step 1. You don't even have your designs yet?

You just bought a computer? Are you learning photoshop, illustrator or a CAD program? All have steep learning curves. I guess you could be proficient in 2 weeks on one of these, but highly unlikely to the level you need to be.

Then you toss in kickstarter as a means of launch. Ummm, this is not the way to launch. Do you have money to pay for your product or not? You do know that successful kickstarter campaigns take months of pre-work before the launch right? Of course you do, because you've read a bunch of kickstarter books. But then again, you didn't know that Kickstarter is the best way to get ripped off and beat to market.

"I now have 3,000 customers that I can send a promotion to to give them, say, 30% off our "new line" of products - but only if they order within the next six days. Bam - instant mass advertising that doesn't cost me a dime."

LOL, OMG, I can't laughed out loud more at this sentence. You made me scare my dog. I'm 100% sure that this will work. It does sound like you're on drugs now.

You sound like a theory and step by step person. You've read alot of books and plan to follow them into battle. This is great but if you think everything plays out like the books, you are going to unpleasantly surprised and your bank account is not going to like it either.
 

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