From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas Into Money

192 Pages·2008·3.57 MB·English

by  Phil Baker

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Praise for From Concept to Consumer
“Ifyouareaninventorordeveloperwithagreatideaforaproductand
theneedtogetitmanufacturedanddistributed,thisisthebookforyou.
Here,PhilBakerrevealsthevaluablelessonshehaslearnedfromhis
manyyearsofdevelopingproductsforhimselfandothers,gettingthem
designedandmanufactured,sometimesintheUnitedStates,sometimes
inAsia.ThediscussionofAsianoutsourcingisespeciallystrong.‘The
advantageisnowtotheswiftandthecreative,ratherthanthebig,’says
Baker,‘buttogetthatadvantageyou’llneedtogotoAsia.’Sounddaunt-
ing?Don’tworry;thisbookisadelightfultourofthevirtuesanddangers
ofoutsourcing.Ifyouwanttogetyourproductproduced,thisbookis
essentialreading.”
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—DonNorman,NielsenNormanGroup,Author,The Design of Future
Things
“I’veknownandadmiredPhilforyearsandtothisday,Ikeeplearning
aboutsignificantproductsthatIdidn’tknowhehadahandinbringing
tomarket.He’sseenitallanddoneitall—andinthishighlyreadable,
immenselypracticalbook,hetellsall.”
—HarryMcCracken,FormerEditor-in-Chief,PC World
“PhilBaker’sbookshouldberequiredreadingforanyentrepreneuras
wellassuccessfulcompaniesplanningnewproductsbecausetheywill
gainimportantinsightintowhatittakestodelivernewandinnovative
productsinadigitalageinwhichconsumersdemands,tastes,anddesires
oftenchangeovernight.”
—TimBajarin,President,CreativeStrategies,Inc.
“PhilBakercombinesalong-earnedknowledgeofproductdesign,manu-
facturing,andmarketingtogiveusaninsider’slookathowacompany
orentrepreneurturnsanideaintoareal-worldproduct.Ideasareeasy,
heobserves,butcreatingsomethingpeoplewanttobuyisacomplicated
business,withmanytradeoffsanddifficultchoices.He’sbeenthere,done
that,anditshows.”
—DanGillmor,Director,KnightCenterforDigitalMediaEntrepreneur-
ship,KauffmanProfessorofDigitalMediaEntrepreneurship,Walter
CronkiteSchoolofJournalism&MassCommunication,ArizonaState
University
“ Fewpeopleintheconsumerelectronicsindustryareasuniquelyquali-
fiedasPhiltoserveasaguidebetweenideaandproduct.Evenifyou’re
notmakingagadget,From Concept to Consumeroffersaninsightfuland
increasinglyrelevantlookintoaverydifferentkindofprojectmanage-
ment.It’swellworththereadifyouwanttobuildsomethingpeople
love.” ptg6113307
—RyanBlock,FormerEditor-in-Chief,Engadget andCofounder,GDCT
“PhilBakerisoneofthosepeoplewhosecareerhasspannedagenera-
tionofpersonaltechnology,andhe’sseenitall,fromthedesignlabs
ofCaliforniatothefactoryfloorsofGuangzhou.Thisbookdistillshis
experienceinahighlyreadableguidetotheinsandoutsofgettinga
producttomarket,andthepracticaladviceheofferswillsavemanyan
entrepreneurfrommonthsandmillionsofdollarsofpain.Anyonewith
aproductindevelopmentorintheirheadshouldreaditbeforetheytake
anotherstep.”
—JeremyWagstaff,TechnologyColumnistandBlogger
“PhilBakerisoneoftheworld’sbestmindsintheconsumertechnology
productsindustry.Hiskeeninsightandreal-worldunderstandingof
productdesign,development,production,andmarketingcomesfrom
yearsofexperienceversusfromsomeonewhohasonly‘studied’thecon-
sumertechnologyproductsmarket.”
—AndyAbramson,CEO,Comunicano
From
ConCept
to
Consumer
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From
ConCept
to
Consumer
phil
baker
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how to
turn
ideas into
money
Vice President, Publisher: Tim Moore
Associate Publisher and Director of Marketing: Amy Neidlinger
Series Editor: Stewart Emery
Editorial Assistant: Myesha Graham
Development Editor: Russ Hall
Operations Manager: Gina Kanouse
Digital Marketing Manager: Julie Phifer
Publicity Manager: Laura Czaja
Assistant Marketing Manager: Megan Colvin
Cover Designer: Pentagram
Managing Editor: Kristy Hart
Project Editor: Chelsey Marti
Copy Editor: Geneil Breeze
Proofreader: Kathy Ruiz
Senior Indexer: Cheryl Lenser
Compositor: Bumpy Design
Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig
© 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as FT Press
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
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FT Press offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or
special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales, 1-800-
382-3419, [email protected]. For sales outside the U.S., please contact Interna-
tional Sales at [email protected].
Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-13-713747-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-713747-3
Pearson Education LTD.
Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited.
Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd.
Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd.
Pearson Education Canada, Ltd.
Pearson Educatión de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
Pearson Education—Japan
Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baker, Phil, 1943-
From concept to consumer : how to turn ideas into money / Phil Baker.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-13-713747-8 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. New products. 2. Product
management. I. Title.
HF5415.153B35 2009
658.5’75--dc22
2008020661
For Jane, Karen, Dan, Holly, Kyan, and Clive
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Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
01 New World, New Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
BuildItandTheyWon’tCome.....................3
NewRules.................................7
Asia...................................10
02 Just Do It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
OrganizingforRapidDevelopment.................15
GetCustomerInput..........................20
LeveragingOutsideResources....................21
RememberingThatLessIsMore...................24
Don’tGetHungUpwithPerfection.................26
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03 The Basics of Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Development..............................32
Marketing................................37
EstimatingSales............................39
ProductSpecs.............................40
Schedule.................................41
ProductCost..............................44
04 Industrial Design Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
DiscoveringID.............................56
TheIndustrialDesignProcess....................64
05 Why Outsource? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
TheRiseoftheOEMandODMModel...............67
Taiwan.................................69
MainlandChina............................70
Asia’sAdvantage............................72
IsOutsourcingforAll?........................73
ProtectionofYourIntellectualProperty..............75
ProductQuality............................76
TheChineseFactory..........................78