An inventor and entrepreneur offers guidance for readers hoping to create and sell their own products.
Hanna, in his debut, draws deeply on his own experiences with product development and startups in this short but comprehensive guide for budding entrepreneurs. He targets the book at readers who intend to develop and sell a physical product; as a result, much of the material here covers aspects of prototyping, manufacturing, and retail and direct-to-customer distribution. The author leads readers through each step, drawing heavily on his own device, the Mail Chime, for examples. Readers with no previous experience with patents or manufacturing will find the book easy to follow, as the text offers everything from keyword suggestions for manufacturer searches to a sample nondisclosure agreement. (Indeed, this emphasis on the basics is occasionally taken to the extreme, as when Hanna suggests that readers download Adobe Reader for PDF files.) Hanna is candid about his successes and failures, and he makes his anecdotes useful by offering specific numbers, giving readers a clear picture of the costs and potential benefits of each type of marketing. He also encourages readers to think carefully about the financial aspects of a product launch, from investment sources to the relationship between profit margin and sales volume. Overall, this guide is filled with enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and its potential. Although the book’s close focus on Hanna’s specific Mail Chime experience may make it less applicable to some types of businesses, it nonetheless provides solid, real-world advice throughout.
A thorough overview of how to develop and market a new product.
