The Cost of Product Development

I wish somebody had told me this BEFORE I started working on bringing my product idea to market, but apparently you are supposed to cost out your great idea before you even make a move.

I’ll have to go back and read the books I have on the subject, because I surely don’t remember reading anything about THIS.  But I’m told that many a good idea has been tossed in the dumpster because the numbers just wouldn’t add up.  Go figure.

(Literally: GO FIGURE.)

I guess you take your product idea and find out how much it will take to make it….everything from a mold (if it will be an injection molded part) to material to production runs to packaging.  If you can do it for an amount that will allow you to sell it for retail at 3 or 4 times the production cost, you have a winner.

If not, go back to the drawing board. (And of course figuring out the retail price point, or what the general consumer would actually PAY for your product is a whole ‘nother ball of wax.  But you could try to guess at a reasonable retail number and go from there….)

Of course, I went forward before “costing it out,” but I learned a lot along the way and am now working toward getting my production costs somewhere closer to where I need them to be.

For the next product, though, I’m going to do a lot more work ahead of time!  (Assuming I survive THIS product launch, that is!)

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote: “While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility.”  Lee DeForest, Radio pioneer. 

Halloween: Scary for Another Reason

This week Owen and I were at a playgroup we like to frequent from time to time.  After we were there awhile I started to listen in on a conversation that a few of the moms were having about the prices of Halloween costumes.  One mother said she just spent $35 on a Halloween costume for her kid. 

My jaw dropped.  $35 bucks for a costume for a one-year old??!

What was funny was that she was explaining how her husband just about hit the roof (who could blame him?)  But she rationalized by saying that $35 wasn’t much at all if you looked at the prices of some of the more elaborate costumes out there today.

Well, I did a little research.  She’s right.  The cost of costumes is outrageous. Some of the online baby stores are having some Halloween sales, though.  So if you aren’t picky as to the costume you want (and/or the exact size needed) you can find some for $15 or $20 or so (plus shipping.)  Unfortunately for Owen they didn’t have anything in his size that wasn’t a “girl” costume.  (Talk about husbands hitting the roof…can you imagine buying a ballerina costume for a 2-year old boy?)

My next stop: eBay.  Now here is where you look for Halloween costumes.  Most are used once (if at all) and my guess is most of the mothers (like the one I saw at playtime) paid $35+ for their kids’ costumes last year and are now trying to unload them to try to get some of their “investment” back.

This is prime “Halloween costume” territory. 

We bid on one Bob the Builder costume.  Starting bid: $.99.  I’ll go as high as $6.05 plus shipping – $10.00 total.  (And by the way, I looked online for a few stores selling the “new” Bob costume.  $38 plus shipping.  Give me a break!!)

What’s scary is there are parents like the mom I’m talking about who think NOTHING of spending $35, $50 or MORE on a Halloween costume for a kid who isn’t even old enough to grasp the concept.  I don’t care how much disposable income you have, that’s just plain nuts! I wish I had retained some of my sewing skills from the classes I took a few years ago.  I’d start sewing up a storm and selling costumes!  We could retire early! 

Anyway, better get back to monitoring my eBay auction.  Good luck finding your Halloween costumes this year!

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote: “Can we FIX it?  YES WE CAN!”  Bob the Builder

My Pick for Website Stats: Google Analytics

Lots of us that work at home have a website of some sort — for many its a “professional” site (related to what we do while working at home); still others maintain a “personal” site with photos, blogs, pictures of the family, etc. 

Either way, chances are you like to have a sense of “hits” to your site – when folks are visiting, how they found your site in the first place, etc.  My number one pick for stats: Google Analytics.  http://www.google.com/analytics/

I should tell you that it took me something like three or four months to get a password to sign up — Google Analytics was (and still is) extremely popular, and the Google folks were scrambling to keep up with the demand (believe it or not, its FREE!)  I’m not sure what the waiting period is now, but I can tell you it was well worth it.

Now that I’m “in”, every day I get a report of the activity on the website.  I see, for example, what Google terms people have used to find my site.  (Just as an example, this past week I noticed “lorraine warner ny.”)  In this example I was able to backtrack through to see what IP/Network this search term originated from.  Sometimes the data is available, and sometimes it isn’t.  In general I like to see what networks or servers have accessed the site, as it gives me a sense of who might be on, and when, and from what part of the country the “hits” are coming from.

Other useful reports include how many visits per “network” (or location) and how long visitors stayed on the site – it helps to know if I’m capturing people’s attention!  I’m still trying to analyze the wealth of data Google Analytics provides, but so far I’ve been pretty happy with the results.

Every day I keep track of the hits, as well as where they originated from, and who the possible visitors are (I can usually tell friends, family and acquaintances from the location and network used.)  Referring source is also helpful (like any hits through the Jobs For Moms website, where I have two published articles.)

The only down side are the hits from “undesirables…”  That is, folks you don’t want viewing your site.  Just as an example, there are people that comb the web looking for sites that have email addresses listed prominently.  They compile these email addresses (which are “good, workable” addresses) for spammers.  I’ve seen my spam email increase ten-fold in the last month or so. 

At least Google Analytics helps me to identify these possible “undesirables.”  I need to look into whether I can block my site from those I don’t want viewing it.  (If employers can block which sites employees view at work, can’t I do the same in reverse?)

I’ll have to tackle that one in all my free time.  In the meantime, though, Google Analytics has been extremely helpful so far.  I look forward to using it for a long time to come!

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote:  “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” Pablo Picasso.

Moms: The Chief Energy Officers

Every mom out there, whether you are a stay-at-home, work-at-home, or working mom deserves the title “Chief Energy Officer.”  I kind of like that title….the CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies got nuthin’ on us.

People often ask me how I get everything done…some days I’m really not sure.  I’ve said before — scheduling is key.  (Housework and sleep are, of course, optional.) 

But on those days when you can no longer avoid the necessary housework try squeezing in a few chores (one or two a day) during times when the kids are otherwise occupied.  Lunchtime? Load the dishwasher.  Watching Sesame Street?  Throw in some laundry.  Coloring? Playing with blocks?  Think about starting dinner.

You get the idea.

Almost without exception I save “naptime” and “bedtime” for “work time.”  Occasionally I’ll do some laundry or another quick chore but I really find that I’m most productive (work/writing-wise) when I can have 1-3 blocks of uninterrupted time to, well, work at home.

Being Chief Energy Officer is a lot of work, but its worth it!  And I’ll continue to share my tips for “getting it all done” as long as folks are interested.  Thanks for reading!

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote:  “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” – Tenneva Jordan