Outsourcing

[michooie]

Hi
I'm a mom of 2 boys 3 yrs and 13 months. I work full time at a dead end position. I have a boss that would fire me before allowing me to tele-commute.

I have a muse idea- it's not my idea but it's something i'd like to copy. It's a product I saw on the internet and only available in Japan-(baby bibs and potty training tools) I just spent the last 2 hours trying to figure out how to make this potty training tool.

I have no idea how to get started, can I outsource the research and have prototypes made through elance or another outsourcing company?

Has anyone used elance or any outsourcing company that was recommended in the book?

Thanks in advance
m

ps- has anyone tried the eye gazing exercise- i live in nyc and i honestly gave it a go today but i just couldn't get myself to stare at anyone long enough- besides most people look away before you even start to make eye contact :eek:

[DaveCraige.com]

Hello, interesting idea!

It sounds like a physical product. I haven't heard of anybody here making a physical product for sale. I would expect the legal work to be quite hard.

eLance and Odesk usually have, in my opinion, subpar design work. Start with www.themeforest.net for web stuff.

All the best.

[sub8hr]

Actually tried the eye gazing exercise a few years back when I heard it from another guru type guy. Learned a couple things. Dude staring at another dude's eyes on the street can be... awkward. Look intently enough and most guys will look away sheepishly. About 1/10 will give you a good stare down. Same story when my gazees were female too. Except they were more like deer in headlights when I locked eyes with a woman. Oddly enough, my dating life became quite active thereafter...

[kamakiri]

What product were you looking at? I could probably get you all the information you need with a quick google.co.jp and a phone call.

And i do the gaze every day. The thing is, like many martial arts, you get good at it. You start to own more people just by eye contact.

[michooie]

Thanks for all your replies- 1 of the products is sold at Muji - it's a bib made out of a similar material as an umbrella and the other is a potty training tool

any feed back would be greatly appreciated

[sub8hr]

Have you tried calling Muji stores in NY and seeing if there's any way to get it through their US distribution? Muji seems to be slowly taking over the world...

[camdengirl]

I'd definitely not try the staring exercise in a big city - I live in the UK knife stabbing capital! LOL!

I'd say trying to research the market in terms of getting confirmed orders would be a good idea. Things like Babies R Us/supermarkets/ etc. Often on Dragons Den when faced with a physical product the dragons send the entrepreneurs off to do pre-selling to the big companies and guarantee sales before actual manufacturing. I'd also recommend some general desk research on baby products and the size of the market too - it's all good ammunition for the bank manager!

Would it be possible to find a way of importing from the original manufacturer and selling as a distributor? It's possible that they'd be willing to do this and it would mean you were able to judge the market without R&D costs?

Good luck!!!
C.