How to Start a Factory

The true secret to success is to do something you know about. If you try to read a book on a subject, or worse yet a magazine article, your learning curve would be huge and you may not recover from the lost time and income from trying someone else's idea.

Find something you know, something you enjoy doing and then put all your efforts into making that a success.

.........and look after those customers.

Find people with great ideas relating to things others want! I have loads of working designs and practical ideas but no money or fabrication facilities to follow up on them with.

People like me are every where! Just find those of us that have concepts that are within your realistic manufacturing capabilities. Many of us would jump at the chance to work in a fair and legaly binding partnership in order to pool our combined resources, skills and knowledge and get a positive return for our efforts.

just being interested will not cut it.

it has to be a part of you, you have to love it to a point it is an extension of you.

It will also be a direct competition on your personal life, that will be strained.

LOL

What are you interested in? If what you really want is to set up factories, you could set yourself up as a Venture Capitalist, and have inventors and businessmen come to you, to invest in their products and factories. That way, you don't have to invent anything.. but really find out what you want to do. What do you dream of?

Chris

Some project consultant will also give you the ideas and they will also provide the project report for the same but it is advisable to find your own idea because finaly you only has to put the affort to sale your product and create your position in the market.

Suggestions:

1.) New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur by Stevenson/Roberts/Grousbeck not sure which edition they are on.

2.) Competitive Advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Preformance by Michael E. Porter

3.) The Essential Drucker by Peter E Drucker

Key to creating something other than just a job for yourself is:

Differential Innovation - either innovative product or service, an innovative production process, a new business model, or by creating a new market. Therefore products found in a magazine, book, etc are public domain. So, you will need to modify or execute better than anyone else.

Best not to start with a product but identify an issue or problem that has a wide audience then create (Ford cheaper way to produce cars) or buy the product idea (Gates OS for IBM's new mahcines) to address this issue or problem. Then double or quadruple the estimate funds, time, and effort you think it will take.

Yes I have been through the process. Initially as an investor that quickly turned into hand on. Which brings up another good point find good people you can depend on but be prepared if they don't fulfill you expectations. Ability to react and timing to react will be critical in your endeavor.

Also entrepreneurs usually make bad managers and good mangers usually make bad entrepreneurs. It take different skill set so you might be able to buy the product already along develop path. I know there were point in getting my factory up that I would have given you a great deal.

Anyway best of luck and would be interest in hearing about your journey and your success.

Best of Luck,

Matt

Dear Shan

This is Ted Lee writing from Taiwan. Likewise, I'm always

thinking about so but to find and cut in a promising product

is very difficult, which you have to keep an eye on that

related field very closely for a long time. Probabily we could

discuss more if you'd like. My e-mail is tedlee@keithlink.com .

By the way, may I know what country you're locating in. We're

a manufacturer of probe station ( an equipment used for wafer

testing) in Taiwan. you could refer to www.keithlink.com

Thank you and best regards

Ted Lee

Shan

You have received some pretty good advice and I can confirm from first hand experience that it can work. I also am a EE with a career which gravitated to business management over 30 years. I wanted to start my own business for many years, but knew that my own personal limitations would present the largest risk to success & growth.

I finally partnered with two others like me with expertise in sales/marketing & creative design for manufacturing. Our persistence, passion and dedication (many long days and nights) led to such success that we then partnered with some other business associates and started another business.

We started with something we knew (market and technology), created new or better products, set up a customer focused business with all of the latest technical and quality features and poured our financial and sweat resources into those businesses. There are many books on this but only to be used as a model. The process is never exactly the same, so you can hope for the best, plan for the worst and continuously make adjustments & improvements.

Best wishes in your pursuit!

It is not book or magazine which will help but it is your experience and how thick your blood is to not feel pressure when things are not your way and does not feel very happy when things are the way you want to be.

Have a plan and have a time line and then work through that like a robot. Treat your help as your family, weave through the employee so you end up with good help and not a yes man type of guys.

Lastly remember you will give birth which will have extend families and those are your employees so respect them but make sure they have your core value and not there own greed since you already have that to make sure entire family is raised correctly.

Remember this is not dharam shala this is business and business is having core value and matching number to dollar and identifying and correcting the weakness of extended family.

This is model I use when I started industry in USA and India and still I believe on this.

We need to save human life and specially to our young one from crazy guys and that can done if we develop sensor which walks ahead of our army then we can save young kids from mines by road side or enemy hiding or identifying enemy other side of the boarder. This is now doable by having sensor implanted on rat and roaches and controlling using soft ware which is available.

Nano sensor material are available, MEMS are well developed. This is just an example I gave and only thing I did I made some one life little easier this is the business model I used when I started my first business.

You can always contact me on Masyood@gmail.com and when I am in India you may even contact me

ofcourse market study is necessary,but newer ideas in pace with new technology can be a good idea.laser weilding torch -for instance.optical cable applications ,ie using them in equipments etc.

but the main difficulty i belive is raising adequate funds.venture capital idea gives me some hope.i need to know more about it.can u please give more details.

thanking you

thanks to all for the prompt and helpful reply.this surprises me.i guess all who replied have similar dream .i was only thinking of a small scale industry.that too the fund to be raised with external help from banks ,govt etc.the idea of venture capital is very interesting .i heard some companies here have used it.i like to know more about it.please send more details.

regarding myself am an EEE graduate engg-electrical and electronics engineer from india.but please consider this as a discussion area and discuss the your ideas with everyone plus advising me.all the kind sugessions i value much more and i have great gratitude for that.

my ideas are in engineering products electrical ,laser applications,electronics etc.

Watch a few episodes of this show, and you will get the idea. (click on "watch episodes")

dear cris ur earlier comment was good and helpful.but i did't

saw any clips.what that mean?what that site is for?

If you are interested in raising venture capital, you have to first decide on your product, lets say the laser welding torch as you mentioned. Lots of good advice above, about designing this product so that it has a unique market appeal.

After you've decided these design issues, make a prototype, or a series of prototypes: something you can show to the investors which is working: something you are proud of because it does what you wanted. This is far more appealing to an investor than any amount of drawings or discussion.

Be open to critical appraisal of the prototype. Investors might suggest modifications: think about this in advance and how it would impact on functionality, market appeal, and production cost. It is worth getting consumer assessments of a prototype before finalizing your design. Who will be buying the laser welding torch? Get some experienced welders to try it out and see what they think: how does it measure up against the alternatives. What features are especially useful or attractive? Is there anything critical that should be changed. Having the inside track on the consumer response before you approach investors will definitely help you to pitch the product.

A physical prototype also has the advantage that your material necessaries have been exactly defined. That means you can cost realistically, and know where you'll be getting the bulk supplies for manufacturing.

Plan the production process, and lay it out for the investors on paper. Have a realistic assessment of the time/labour needed, and how the manufacturing process and specific equipment or skilled personnel will make it efficient to produce. You will have to have a plan to pay off the startup costs, and a schedule of expected return on the investment - that's all that matters to investors, in the end. They want to see a margin of profit that will turn their money into more money, ASAP.

Since you are the inventor/engineer, a partner with marketing skills is a good idea. Your marketing half should be able to convince the investors (and you) that they will be able to get the product out to the market and sell it, to get the returns rolling in.

Some investors are hands-off: they just want to put in money and get more money in exchange. Others might want to get involved in the business - you should pay attention and make sure these relationships are well defined in advance.

You might want to think twice about looking for venture capital for a small manufacturing startup. If you can raise the money yourself, you retain control, and your business is less subject to pressure to produce profits when you are developing your market. If you don't make much from it during this time period, you can tighten your belt to get through the establishing phase.

The other thing is, you may find it hard to get venture capital for a small scale startup. If you did start a small factory on your own credit, and made a success of it, you would then probably find it easier to get venture capital to move from a small, established operation to a larger facility.

Hi shan,

From the way you phrase your question it seems as if you are dreaming, and starting a 'factory' if something you would like to do, but you have no idea of business or what to do when you find something, or what to do when someone asks you to make something or part of it? ===============================================

1) Factories and businesses are usually started by people whom have an interest in, or have perhaps invented something and it will pay them to invest in machines and a building, rather than ask someone else to manufacture the item.

2) You know what you need to make. You then look for machines which will make it or the individual pieces to make up the item you want building.

3) You need a factory which the machine will fit into. Often the production-line machines are very long so you much find the machine size before you build or hire a building for the machines.

4) The machines you use will necessitate a particular type and size of power distribution board.

5) The number of people you need to operate the machines and assemble the item you want to make need a minimum of rest rooms, canteens etc. You will also need a fire safety system like fire extinguishers etc, air-lines, and power sockets, in addition to the basin ones already fitted.

6) It will help safety if you have the factory lined with areas that should be driven on by fork lifts and hand trucks, to move pallets of work around. And other areas where the machines should be assembled that will make your products.

7) These areas should be measured and marked out as 'tight' as possible, and the rest of the space can be used for offices and storage.

8) This is all very basic stuff and forgive me for not going into too much detail. I would need to know what you are making and the type of Industry to explain further.

More info' would be a help if you are actually ready to build a factory or order machines.

Keep in touch please.

hi shan,

first, make it look good on paper. I don't know how deep your pockets are, but in these times, it's always best to exert due diligence in financial projects.

with the financial angle in view, you might want to rephrase your question to "What project would yield me a return on the investment of my time and money?" having asked that, you will be compelled to conduct a feasibility study that will scan your target market's opportunities and threats. the whole thing will take time, but it'll be time spent well, and won't make you regret losing a substantial amount of money over a project that was not well thought of to start with.

if you wish to do the feasibility study yourself, as I can glean from your post, go to your local library and find books on how to do this. but if you want it done faster, and more reliably by experts, you can actually commission somebody from your local chamber of business and industries. I suppose they'll have some expertise in helping you come up with this study.

armed with this, you can then start investing with a greater degree of confidence, into your dream factory. best of luck! the world can use more Engineer - Investors!

Hello shan,

If you have something you want to make that comes from your heart, and that you believe will make money, after a check there is a 'market' for your product, go ahead and make it.

1) Making something at home and trying it out on the public to check if

there is a market for it, will cost 'virtually' nothing. All the 'arranging' to get things (parts made), and talks with your Banker, can be done at home. Costing nothing.

2) Renting or hiring a factory can end up costing hundreds of thousands!

Money which would or could go towards the manufacture of your product/s.

Money which could be put towards making your product/s by someone else, who already has a similar business, in your Country or another, perhaps China, who may be able to manufacture more cheaply than yourself locally? Running 'A FACTORY' is no big deal! However, a 'business' which makes money and perhaps employs several people, is something to feel proud of.

Half my friend's whom have set up factories, started making the product at home before ever buying or renting a place to manufacture it. Think about that?

It may also pay you to check what is local to you and ask about possibly sharing a part of a building to manufacture or make/build anything, possibly even sharing the machines already in use at the factory perhaps?

Just a suggestion. ................ One which any good Financial Advisor, connected to the Bank or not, will, or should perhaps be asking you? Plus asking about a good business plan as well.

Good luck.