Ep. 015: 8 “Must Do” Tips on How to Launch a Physical Product — With John Benzick

Are you thinking about launching a consumer product business?  Then get the inside scoop on how to boost your chances for success.  Listen to John’s 8 insider tips on how to launch a product, even if you’re feeling frustrated, confused and uncertain. Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast Get the Free eGuide (8 “Must Do” Tips for Launching a Physical Product) that was mentioned in this episode Get the Free Business Plan Template that was mentioned in this episode Episode Transcript: Greetings Product Launch Rebels, and welcome to the Product Launch Rebel podcast, I am your host, John Benzick, the founder of VentureSuperfly.com, the website that helps you double your entrepreneurial courage, even if you’re in a sea of self doubt. Today, I am offering my own advice on how to launch a physical consumer product.  In fact, I’ll be revealing my top 8 “must do” tips to help launch your product. Obviously, I interview a lot of entrepreneurs on this podcast, to get answers to questions about how to launch a business.  But I thought I’d boil down the many strategies, down to the essentials, and summarize the major over-arching themes regarding successful product launches. The 8 tips that I’ve distilled down in this episode are based on several things: First, they are based on the things I learned over the years by launching, or helping to launch, several consumer product businesses.  I’ve been involved in launching my own a snowboard and ski outerwear brand, where I manufactured product in China and distributed to ski, snowboard and outdoor retailer shops across the country; and I’ve also been an owner in an energy supplement brand where we manufactured and distributed a small energy inhaler to hotels, spas, drug stores, grocery stores, and sporting goods stores across the U.S. and internationally. Additionally, these 8 tips are the result of my mentoring many entrepreneurs in my roles as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and CEO-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota, as well as being a mentor with the Techstars Retail Startup Accelerator in Minneapolis. There are many things that an entrepreneur needs to do well, both strategically and tactically, but the 8 tips that I’ll talk about today are – I believe – the essentials to giving yourself the best chance to make it work. So, the Eight Must-Do Tips for Launching a Physical Consumer Product are as follows: 1.  Be passionate about your product, industry and customers. Well, this might seem obvious to many of you, but beware.  Sometimes, if we’re not careful, we can get enticed, temporarily, by the shiny, glittery, trendy-oriented industries or product categories that we see in the magazines, in online articles, or what our peers seem to be excited about. When you peel back a layer, however, and over time, you might discover that the product, or the category, or the customers that are served, ultimately, deplete your energy. I experienced this personally, before I started my first business, which was a snowboard and ski clothing brand.  Just prior to that business, I was planning to launch a gourmet fast-food retail concept called FreshWorks.  I put a lot of time into designing the business plan, looking at retail locations, working with chefs to develop the menu, among other things.  But, slowly, over time, I discerned that even though I thought the concept was cool, I had to be honest with myself – the restaurant business was just not for me.  I learned that I just wasn’t passionate enough about any of the key aspects of the business; for...