Inspired!: Take Your Product Dream from Concept to Shelf
Each year, passionate, hard-workingindividuals launch tens of thousands of new products. Unfortunately, although a great number of these products serve a need or satisfy a want, the majority disappear from the marketplace within two years. It doesn't have to be this way. Most products fail not because they weren't good ideas but, rather, because the entrepreneurs behind them weren't prepared. In Inspired! Take Your Product Dream from Concept to Shelf, entrepreneur Vik Venkatraman provides the expert guidance you need to avoid the common mistakes most people make.Divided into three sections—Development, Launch, and Rollout—and using what the author refers to as The Inspired Method to help you build mutually beneficial relationships and make informed decisions, Inspired! walks you through each and every step of bringing a new product to market and ensuring that the product succeeds, including how to:Use Web tools to determine demandUtilize your personal network to gain access to those who can assist you through the various stages of launching a productCreate a mock-up and a prototype, and the difference between the twoSelect a name that increases your chancesof successNegotiate with suppliers, including thequestions you should askDetermine whether to manufacture yourproduct domestically or overseasPitch your product to retailers, and how to get your foot in the door in the first placeMarket your product on the WebFind financing from angel investors, venture capitalists, banks, grant programs, andentrepreneurship competitionsInspired! also includes sample letters to potential business partners, invaluable insights from successful entrepreneurs, and exercises to reinforce what you've learned.Launching a successful new product requires much more than just a great idea. Inspired! arms you with the knowledge—the knowledge most entrepreneurs lack—that can help you save time and money, and ensure that your product is one of the 10 percent that proves to be a huge success.