Hello Falconmum, I will be happy to help.
I am not a business coach (far from it!) and I don't sell products either, but I have set up my own business and have been through the good and the bad, so I can give you many tips that may help you through the process. I also did a business course with the School of Creative Startups and I read a tone of business development books.
The first step I would recommend, before you even start making prototypes or setting up the business, is to find out if people really need your product and if they will be happy to pay for it.
1. Define clearly and to the point who your target market is. "Nurseries" is too generic, you should specifically define what type of nursery, where they would be located, what type of education they provide, etc.
2. Call a few of these nurseries and ask them if they would be happy to give you feedback on a new product. Go to see them and get as much feedback as you can, including how much they would pay for it. It is very important that you explain to them the benefits of the product, not just the features. Change your design if needed.
3. Make a list of other similar products already in the market, how much they cost, what their benefits are, etc. If there is a gap in the market, you should also find out why (too expensive to make?, not needed?)
4. Find out the costs of product, including manufacturing your design, any overheads, creating a website, marketing, sales, packaging & branding. You should have a list of suppliers willing to make your product. Or if you are going to make it yourself, you should have a list of materials and a clear idea of how long it will take to make and how many you can make.
5. If the cost of of the above ends up being way over the price of your product, you either need to review the price or the costs.
It is not about having a good product at a good price, but the value people will see in the product and how much they will be willing to pay. The more time you spend on this step, the less worries you will have in the future. furthermore you will already have a list of nurseries ready to buy as they would have "designed" the product with you.
And without spending any money yet.
If you have already done all of this then you are ready to go!.
I hope this helps, just drop me an email if you think I can help you in any way.
Kind regards,
Inma
inma@theoldschoolclub.co.uk
(here is the link to my blog where I post about how to set up and run a creative business in case you find it useful
http://www.teachcraftrevolution.com)
