How To Pick The Product You're Going To Make & Sell + How You Build It!

How To Pick A Product & Then Build The Darn Thing.

So you've decided that you're ready to pick your handmade product and build it.

You're taking the "entrepreneurial leap." You're making the change. Taking the risk. In hopes to change your life and the life of your family.

This can be a scary time, I'm not going to sugar coat it. 

But it can also be one of the most exhilarating times of your life. 

But... How do you even know what type of product you want to sell? 🤔

Let me walk you through the thoughts you need to think, when you're thinking about making a product to sell. (I dare you to say that 3 times as fast as you can.)

1. Does my life have anything to do with this type of product?

If you don't do yoga or wear leggings, don't sell yoga pants. If you don't know anything about something, don't start trying to build/make it and sell it just because you heard someone say you could make a lot of money doing it.

NEWS FLASH: you can make a lot of money doing ANYTHING if you're smart enough and willing to bust your tail to make your dreams come true. 

So look at your life... what is something that you come in contact with often, or know something about that is in high demand? That should help you narrow it down a bit.

On to #2.

2. How much money will I have to invest up front to start making this product? 

There are TONS of products out there that you can start making today with nothing more than maybe a couple hundred bucks worth of tools or equipment to start making. You just need a few power tools, maybe a sewing machine, etc...

Some products require thousands of dollars of equipment or tools upfront to start manufacturing.

If you don't have any money, you shouldn't pick those things as you'll get discouraged quickly and lose your motivation to move forward.

If you have enough money to invest in some equipment, go for it.

Here's the biggest thing to consider: If you pick a product that has a very "low barrier of entry" meaning - it's easy to start manufacturing for nearly no money, that probably means you're going to have a lot of competition because everyone is doing it too.

If you pick a product that requires more upfront investment, you will probably have less competition as most people are risk averse and don't want to put up a bunch of their own cash to start a side-hustle or a business.

BUT.

With that being said, if you know how to set yourself apart in your product, your marketing, your customer service, and the way you sell your items, you can still dominate in a market that has a low barrier of entry. 

But it's something to keep in mind.

3. How Do I Want To Sell This Product?

Do you want to just sell in your local market? Do you want to sell your products online and ship them everywhere within the United States? Do you want to be on Etsy? Do you want your own website? Do you just want to sell them at the flea market or on Facebook Marketplace? Do you want to sell them in retail stores? 

These are all important questions to consider because whatever you want is going to have its own advantages along with its own challenges and drawbacks.

If you just want to sell locally, then your business will have an "income cap" on it, meaning that one day you will make as much money as you can possibly make. NOW, you can still make hundreds of thousands of dollars in a local market that is hungry for your product. But the good news is that it's much easier to figure out the logistics of getting your products into your local customers hands.

If you want to sell nationally, your income is never capped. You could become a multi-millionaire if you play your cards right. You can ship your products to New York City and Washington State If you're in Texas. It's a beautiful thing. But you're going to have to learn how to build a website, drive traffic to your website (through online advertising), and then learn how to manage the logistics of shipping your product.

When I started my custom furniture business, this is not something that I thought about AT ALL. Now that we are controlling our local market in the custom furniture industry, I want to grow our business and expand into more of a regional or national market.

The problem?

It's hard to ship 10' dining tables. Really hard and really expensive. 

So think about that BEFORE you pick your product. 

Summary

These are the 3 key questions to ask yourself as you begin to think about making your own product.

If you are still having trouble coming up with an idea, I've compiled a list of the 48 most profitable handmade items you can start making and selling today. Just click here or on the picture below to download this free list.

Okay, so once you pick your product, you've gotta figure out how to build it, right? 

Right. 🤔

It can feel really overwhelming figuring out to make something from scratch, especially if you've never done it before!

The good news is that there are THOUSANDS of resources online that will teach you how to build or make nearly ANYTHING you could think of. 

Want to build furniture like me? YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE.

Want to sell handmade clothing? YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE.

Want to make pottery? YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE. YOUTUBE.

Get the picture? 

Here's the thing. You're going to have to be proactive in figuring stuff out. Nobody is going to show up at your house and give you a free lesson on how to build your stuff. 

That's part of starting a business. It's part of getting better as a person and as an entrepreneur. 

So Google It.

Youtube It.

Ask people you may know that know something about it.

Figure it out.

But you can do this! Trust me guys, If I can do it, you can too. But you have to shift your mindset from the couch potato way of thinking to the warrior way of thinking.

You have to tackle every day with the attitude that "I don't know how to do _______ yet, but by the end of the day today, I'm going to know how to!"

That's how I learned to build furniture.

It's how I learned to build a website.

It's how I learned to market my products on facebook using facebook ads.

It's how I learned to take product photography.

It's how I learned to keep up with my finances.

It's how I learned to do everything I know that helps me run my business.

You gotta just jump in and get your hands dirty.

Summary

So how do you build your product? 

You dive in. You make mistakes. You learn. You grow. You get better.

You google it. You youtube it. You find the ways of doing it that work better for you than others.

Get proactive, get off the couch and figure it out. Nobody is coming to your house to make your dreams come true any time soon. 

You're in charge. Remember, in business there aren't any rules (Other than don't break the law) to how you do things. There aren't any rules to how you make your product. Or how you market it. Or how you sell it. 

So just jump in and try it out! 

Later on we will dive into how you should test the market to see if people want your product also.

So there you go, after checking this out you should have a pretty good idea how to pick a product to make and sell and then how to learn how to build it if you've never done anything like it before. 

If you're still struggling figuring out what product you want to make, be sure to click here to download my free list of the 48 most profitable handmade items you can start making today. 

Remember, YOU CAN DO THIS. Your life really can change. Your finances can change. YOU can change.

See you guys on the flip side,

-Zach