This is a Great Beauty Product, Right?
This is the first post in a 3 part series to help you flush out your new product idea. By the time you finish this series you should have refined your product idea to the point where it is flawless… or you will have determined that you need to go back to the drawing board altogether. But, alas, progress is progress and that’s what I’m all about. Let’s get to it!
It All Starts with an Idea…
So you have this great idea for a beauty product. You’re so excited because you just know it’s never been done before. Are you sure about that? Before you jump head first into product development, branding and marketing for your miracle product you really should do a little digging. Some of you are going to have groundbreaking ideas, others won’t. But don’t let that deter you from moving forward. If you find that a similar product already exists that means there’s a market for it. That’s good news! I mean, you want people to buy it, right? Right. We’ll talk about what to do if the product already exists in the next post. For those that hit the jackpot on a product that doesn’t already exist, let’s get to work! Here’s what you need to do to get the ball rolling.
• First things first…shhhhhhhhhh! Keep your idea to yourself. Don’t tell your best friend, don’t elude to it on Instagram and Facebook and don’t blab about it at your high school reunion to make yourself look successful (but you wouldn’t do that anyway, right?) Give yourself the chance to do all of your research, protect your idea and get the ball rolling before you start telling everyone what you’re working on. Let’s face it, everyone isn’t honest. Many people lack integrity and will steal your idea faster than you can hit Google. So start with zipped lips.
• Find out if there are opportunities to get legal protection for your idea. It’s not everyday that a cosmetic product qualifies for patent protection. But oh when it does! Start seeing green, Glam Girl! Quickly, a cosmetic stands a chance for patent protection if it introduces or requires some new technology (this is usually something to do with the manufacturing process), uses a brand new, novel ingredient (have you been hiking in the rainforest and found a miracle plant?), uses an existing ingredient/process in a completely new, not already patented way, etc. Maybe patent protection is not in your cards, but there’s also trade secret protection which is a bit easier to get. You may not see off hand how you can obtain intellectual property for your idea, but usually when you know it’s possible you start thinking of ideas to make it so.
• Decide what the selling points will be. What is going to make your target customer spend their money with you? I’m willing to bet the idea you have solves some sort of problem. It’s a problem you’ve had personally or one you’ve heard enough people complain about that you had a light bulb moment. Roll with that. Whatever sparked the idea in you will spark your customer to buy…if you sell it to them the way you sold it to yourself.
• Pick a market and set a price point. How much is your idea worth to you? Is this something that the have’s are going to want to have? Can you envision it in a beauty spread in your favorite magazine? When you see your product in your mind what does it look like?
• Do some research to find out how much of this idea you can figure out yourself before you need to call in a professional. The more you know about what it takes to get your idea off the ground, the better position you’ll be in to maintain creative control over it’s development. Some of the best projects I’ve worked on came from clients who did their research before they called me.
• Just do it. This is probably the most important part of this post. Don’t get stuck in your head so much that you talk yourself out of a great idea. Because one day you’ll look up and someone will be making millions off an idea that you had but never put your feet to the ground on. Don’t be that girl. It’s no fun. Ask me how I know.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
