HOW TO CREATE A PRODUCT HELLO, I'M MARCUS and I am a serial entrepreneur, here to help you! I have created 4 brands and sold them all for multiple 6 figures collectively. Can something be done better? E.g. better quality, different materials, cooler designs/colors, better branding Does something not exist that I can invent? Does something exist, but it's hard to purchase online? 1. 2. 3. STEP 1: BRAINSTORM Go to Alibaba.com and sign up STEP 2: SOURCING Search for your product Reach out to manufacturers Start thinking about your current situation and if you can support warehousing the product in your office/home/warehouse. Warehousing your stock is the best option in my opinion, it allows you to have full oversight on quality control and customer experience. Dropshipping introduces slow delivery to customers, and you generally can't customize the product and packaging. STEP 3: INVENTORY Once you find a manufacturer (or a couple) that you like, order some prototypes to check the quality is up to your standards. I generally need 1-3 prototypes before I find one I'm happy with. STEP 4: PROTOTYPE This step is optional, but I think it's super powerful. Upload 10-30 videos to Tiktok with your prototype to see if there is demand. Proving demand gives me confidence to go ahead with ordering a bulk order. STEP 5: TEST THE MARKET STEP 6: BULK ORDER It's time! Go ahead and place the order with your manufacturer. Most manufacturers will take a % upfront to begin work, then require the remainder before they ship the goods to you. Also note that air freight is significantly more expensive than sea freight but you receive the goods in a week rather than month. STEP 7: CREATE A WEBSITE Use Shopify, plain and simple. It's the cheapest, easiest, and most powerful platform you can use for selling online. You get a free trial, so use that time to tinker around and get the website looking nice. I recommend doing a test transaction yourself to make sure it's a well-oiled machine before you push it live to customers. STEP 8: PRE-ORDERS This step is optional. If you go viral on TIktok, begin directing that traffic to your website and open pre-orders. Be transparent with your customers about the expected delivery timeframe. The cash flow from the pre-orders will help you pay for the bulk order, and also to pay for setting up the business (LLC, trademark etc). WANT MY HELP? If you are having trouble: - Finding a good manufacturer - Struggling with a product idea - Need some help with creating a high- converting website hit me up! Email me at lightsoutproducts@gmail.com