Starting a small business. How do i get orders?

I am starting a small electronics company.
I will be selling headphones / earbuds (of my own design) and usb powerbanks.

I am starting with $1200.

After 4 weeks of small business study, i have a solid 20 page business model.

I don't know where to start though.
How do i find a company in china willing to put my headphones together??
What about packaging, should i package it myself at my end and save any possible chance off someone knocking off my brand, or get it packaged from the factory?
Who do i approach to get my product into chain stores and retailers warehouses??
Should i list on amazon? Maybe even alibaba?

Ausfag here if you have any geographically specific info post up.

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What makes them unique? Do you have all the CAD done?

I manufacture a lot of items in China (my partner and I are engineers), and I don't really know how you would do this for $1200 dollars unless you've done all the engineering yourself.

> Look up suppliers of similar headphones on alibaba
> Order a big enough amount so they make specifications (1k2 prolly won't be enough)
> Sell via Amazon to get started, it's the best way to get the cashflow going
> Optimize pictures, bullet points, product description, title and gather at least 20-30 reviews via giveaway
> Work hard. Don't ever slow down. Build momentum and use it.
> If your conversion rate is fine, run a PPC campaign for two weeks and adjust bi-daily. Track the progress if it's worth it
> Tell suppliers you will re-order double the amount within 2 months if they accept a smaller order quantity (s. point 2)
> If sales pick up, re-order asap and don't run out of stock. Lend yourself some money from your parents/friends to avoid this. This is crucial and can break you if this product really takes off
> pay them back as soon as your second shipment is sold off. If your margin is big enough you should be able to reorder 150% of the second order or three times the amount of the first order
> Keep amazon going while you build your own e-commerce shop or let someone build it for 2-300$ (it's easy via shopify and some youngsters always eager to earn a buck)
> Scale on Amazon while building up social media channels. Tell your giveaway reviewers to leave a comment on the social media channels too so you simultaneously build your reviews on Amazon as well as your brand on social media.
> Start FB and Instagram ads and drive traffic to your Shopify store since your margin will be WAY bigger on your own store vs. Amazon.
> If you have a good product and have followed all of these steps, you will make exceed 6 figures in sales and 3k net profit per month WITH EASE within one year.

Screenshot this and use it, this usually would cost people about 250$ if this was an in-person business coaching meeting based on the 15 mins it took me to type out.

I can get cad models done. I have design and specifications on paper. I have quality requirements also for wire/plug.
First products will be hi-fi earbuds, and hi-fi ear buds with mic for phones ( 1 for apple 1 for android)
Once headphones generate sales i will add rebranded powerbanks to the line up.

1200 is just far too low. Typically when we make products for our clients they're likely going to have to spend $3-5k for initial product launch.

20 pages, to operate a mall kiosk.

Okay, faggot!

Ah, gotcha. You're gonna just throw that $1200 away.

You should just flush it. It would be more entertaining, at least.

You have no idea what's waiting for you. If you have any design that's even slightly interesting and marketable, the Chinese will copy it and be selling it on Alibab and Fast-tech before you can even get your business license. Watched a guy go through it, with iphone cases and a pretty solid iphone stand for the car. They not only stole his idea, and had it on the market first, but ran the line at night using his molds, and slapped a different company name on them. He lost every dime he sank into it, and he went through months of lawyers, filing for patents, going over there, and talking to everyone about who to trust.

But you go ahead. Tell us how badly you get fucked, it'll be entertaining. You can't compete if you're going to manufacture in China. Even Apple can't stop their shit from being ripped off.

Well you'd pretty much get fired before you finished your first line.
I am not selling generic or knock off earphones.

Usb powerbanks i can do that, but it has to be a solid design that is not being rebranded in the aussie market already.

I really dont want to deal with amazon/retail sales, but im thinking its nessicary in order to get it off the ground.

I need to get my product into the hands of wholesalers/chain stores.

I dont have parents, and very few friends, none in the position to help me financially.
I do however have aquaintences that can can help me in certain areas, ie do my accounting

>nessicary
You can't even spell, and you expect to be taken seriously as an entrepreneur?

>I need to get my product into the hands of wholesalers/chain stores.
Good luck with that. Costco won't look at you unless you make a brand that's unique to their stores, and can guarantee production on a scale you can't afford. Same for pretty much everyone else. Chain stores are locked up with exclusives that corporations negotiated to keep their products on the shelves, and not their competitors - chains won't even take your phone call unless you're LG, or Apple.

Do you know anything about this industry at all?

M8 theres no costco in Australia.
I was thinking a chain of gas stations for eg

It was an example, you fucking mong.

You're going to sell shitty earphones in gas stations. Good business plan, faggot. I guess things like margins and profit don't matter to you, huh?

Flush the cash. It's a better use of the pitiful amount you somehow managed to accumulate.

Better yet, use some of it to buy a dictionary.

you're doing everything from design to retail? I doubt $1200 will even cover the administrative and legal fees.
what were these four weeks of study? most large cities should have small business support centers that answer these kind of questions.

Plenty of retailers (Big W, Kmart, Target etc) sell generic brands at outrageous prices.
My brand will be a premium brand at generic prices. I aim to eventually have a high end line up to be sold in tech stores alongside sony/jbl/pioneer and the likes.

I have my brand name already, the name should attract attention.

Agreed. $1200 dollars is peanuts. Triple that and then maybe you have a chance.

>premium brand
At gas stations.

Just flush the cash, moron. You have no fucking clue about what you're doing.

Everything is covered. It's not that technical in aus. I have 1200 for product/packaging/shipping.

Do you flip burgers and buy shitcoins, or are you a business owner?

I have years, experience running small businesses.. just not with retail.
Money makes money, that makes more motherfucking money.

to correct myself, i do have limited experience with retail also, but not my own products.

you have a lawyer as a partner? otherwise you're leaving yourself open to being screwed by whichever retailer you work with.
also it doesn't sound like you've prototyped and tested you product yet, too early to buy the design in bulk. not even sure if you can find a reliable manufacturer that will consider $1200 a bulk order.
>My brand will be a premium brand at generic prices.
the only difference between generic and premium when it comes to consumer audio is marketing. and I assume that $1200 also includes your marketing budget.

I doubt your serious because your asking for help on Jow Forums. but if you are you really need to find real advice outside of the internet

sounds too easy to be true. no thanks.

Yes, i know a lawyer who would spare some time for me if needed.
I also have an aquaintance who does patents and patent law.
I have made sure i've got every aspect covered...
The only thing i dont is getting my products into stores..
I know its not easy or everyone would be doing it, but where do i actually start?

If you think the only difference between generic and premium brands is marketing you need your fuggin ears checked m8.

Generic stuff is shit. Firstly, volume is lower, worse eq/freq response, lots of clipping and distortion.
Secondly, cheap designs, cheap wiring that breaks inside, plugs that last 2 months if the wires aren't already broken. Uncomfortable as fuck.. wires to short.. i could be here all day

jesus, it's like pulling teeth just to get enough info out of you to give some relevant advice but forget it if you're going to be rude about it. explains why you've resorted to Jow Forums
also there's a difference between premium and quality. ie beats by dre, monster cables, etc.

Why bother with the powerbanks?, they can't have the same margin as the headphones.

It is all about margin and intangible value. Headphones could have intangible value. Powerbanks are merely a commodity.

Try and 1000X it. You guys are so removed from the real world.

I didnt just decide headphones would be good to make and have a good profit margin. i have bought many headphones / earbuds over the last 2 years and notices the variable quality and realize there is a market gap. Powerbanks would be just adding a item to the range in order to build my electronic engineering brand, yes the profit margins due to price / cost of shipping etc mean much less profit.

Sorry to say but if you actually have a unique design, you're looking at more like 10-50k minimum to get started. Tooling isn't cheap and the manufacturing company isn't going to foot that bill for you.

Now if you just want to rebrand some generic crap and get it in a different color, you could get a first shipment for $1200. If you can sell it quickly and with enough profit you might be able to get a custom line going after about 5-6 rounds of it.

Op here again, on my phone now.. not home.. doing real world research today.
If you think i cant launch a brand with 1200 im going to do it.. every business started somewhere.. apple started with $500..

Cost of making tiny little plastic shells for earbuds? Fuck all. Thats all that has to be custom made.
Even in small batches its still cheap.

>apple started with $500..
Apple was initially funded when Wozniak sold his calculator for $500 and Jobs sold his VW Bus for $750. That was in 1976. Calculating for inflation that is almost $6000.

Their big break came when a client agreed to buy finished computers at $500 a piece and placed a $25,000 order. They then got a line of credit for $15,000 (~$67000 in today's money).

Not the actual parts themself. Simple plastic parts are manufactured in a process called injection molding. They squirt molten plastic into a steel mold. This mold has to be designed in CAD, precision machined, and tested. If you luck out and the mold works right on the first shot, congrats. If not, start over. It also has to be engineered to be usable with their machinery. If the piece needs to be double sided, the mold will cost more. If parts need to fit together the tolerances will need to be tighter. If you want to do custom colors, you will need custom dye blends which are not cheap.

now lets apply that logic to a pair of $9.99 rrp headphones.
$1000 for 300 - 500 pairs of headphones + $200 for packaging should be enough to get off the ground?

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Jesus fuck youre retarted

>Who do i approach to get my product into chain stores and retailers warehouses??
Listen mate I've worked in retail chain head offices. Retailers have dedicated buying teams that will meet you and discuss the product with you and negotiate a price and volume.
However they usually buy from people that have established businesses. JB Hi-Fi isn't going to stock an unknown headphone because
a) you might not be able to deliver the quantity they need (you won't), and
b) your product is of unknown quality, it might break and negatively affect JB's image, and
c) you have no market, no demand whatsoever. Why would someone buy your product over another cheap pair of phones?

You need to impress the buyers, so you need an established sales record already. I suggest selling at market stalls, then build your way to independent retailers, then aim for chains once you have enough volume.

Going straight to warehouses/chain stores will get you laughed out the building currently

Except Steve drove down the road to an electronics supplier and bought standard off the shelf components and assembled them in his garage.

So what you are saying is that you think China will model the product for you, have it CNC milled, have it quality tested, produce the item and ship them to you for $2/pair with an initial investment of $1000?

Thanks. This is the kind of relpy i was hoping for
Jb is one store i eventually want to get into.
a) true. Which is why i want to find a wholesaler that will take my first batch.
b) it will be quality components, drivers made by phillips. And the wiring and plugs have to be up to high standards and will be tested for durability. 100% quality assurance.
c) i have a market, there are many people like me. I also have a marketing and a budget specifically for marketing

I can buy headphones for $1 off the shelf retail in cheap shops..
Secondly, the shell design i want does probably already exist.
Thirdly, they will be off the shelf parts anyway. Yes, Im just paying the chinese to put it together. That is what they do.

I vaguely remember hearing, in australia it has to be packaged with your brand before it enters the country..

Yeah, this.

NEVER do business with chinks. Ever. EVER. There's a good documentary called the China Hustle. Everyone on business needs to watch it.

M8 im making headphones, i didnt just invent the wheel

Doesn't matter. You WILL get fucked over. If you have a golden goose, you'd save the eggs and sell em long term. A Chink will cut it's throat and eat it, because they know every other chink will as well.

They're the Jews of the East. They have barely any conscience about fucking each other over, and 0 about a Gwailou like you or me. We say this because we've been down this road. I tried the whole buying shit from China thing, found a nice niche etc. It was only a few hundred per week, but I wanted to build on it. Suddenly, eBay and Amazon listings appeared and undercut me. Yep, the obscure product I was getting, supplier just cut me out. Doesn't matter if they half ass it, and kill their own markets, or don't provide any after-sales support or whatever, or that letting me handle the Western side would make em more money in the long run. They just want that quick, easy buck and to get out again, regardless.

Do whatever you like mate, but you do know there's a reason Abbot just passed the laws to kick the Chinese out of our economy don't you?

Protip: Pajeets and Filos are actually far more trustworthy than Chinks (believe it or not). Not as well set up for high tech stuff, but just product assembly will be fine. I've had a decent time with Filos in particular. Hell, you can get decent work done in Africa these days too. Just.....stay away from the Chinks.

>solid 20 page

Means nothing.

>electronics

Bad idea.

Again, just headphones m8. No golden goose. Just the same thing everyone else is selling but better quality than generic shit

>I am starting with $1200


for what, your business card budget? yeah that would probably cover it

More power to you. You at least have the right attitude. Don't lose that!

M8 its 2018. are you mocking me? Theres a machine near my place that does 100 business cards for $20.

What did you use to study small business?

Buddy I'm Australian.

Look on ebay. Look at all the shit you can buy for fuck all, now look at where it all comes from. China. They can sell an item AND have it shipped to us cheaper than any Australian business can possibly compete with.

But good luck with your no name 'brand'.

I import knives from china and sell them locally for 3x.

user you need a lot more than $1200 to manufacture over seas, you can’t even send a half shipping container ovross the pacific for that much.

You can however design you’re own headphones for example and have the parts manufactured and then you build them as they are ordered saving about 50% of your manufacturing costs.

Mate we do have a costco, it's in Melbs ya dumbcunt

> beats
> quality

user, please
don't tell me you are serious
marketing is the only thing that those piece of shit earphone have

Sydney too

Wow, apparently there's one in act, sa and qld too now

But not faster. Not everyone wants to wait up to two months for their goods to be delivered.

>Starting E-commerce in 2018