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Finding a local manufacturer - Q & A

Clarice calls with a unique request - how do I find a manufacturer with connections ONLY in the U.S.?

Rich Sloan:  We're going to Clarice out of Las Vegas, Nevada.  What a city Las Vegas is, Clarice.

Clarice:  Yes, it is.

Rich Sloan:  You don't sound too excited about it. 

Clarice:  I don't really –

Rich Sloan:    You don't like it?  It's okay. 

Clarice:  To be honest with you, I don't really like it here.

Rich Sloan:  It's crazy? 

Clarice:  You know, it's adults' playground, and I'm not into --

Rich Sloan:  Yeah. 

Clarice:   -- wasting and losing my money.

Rich Sloan:  There you go.

Jeff Sloan: Well, let's make some money.

Rich Sloan:  I thought everyone wins in Las Vegas.

Jeff Sloan:  Yeah. 

Clarice:  I don't think so.

Jeff Sloan:  No.  Take a look at those palaces they've built off of other's people money.  You'll see that -- in fact, all those people that you hear coming back from Las Vegas, all of them saying I won --

Clarice:  Yeah.

Jeff Sloan: I think the story -- there's a another story --

Rich Sloan:  Just might be otherwise.

Jeff Sloan:  Yeah.  Just might be otherwise. 

Clarice:  Yeah.

Jeff Sloan:  So, okay, Clarice.  Let's forget about losing money, and let's think about making money.  What can we do for you? 

Clarice:   Okay.  Well, I have a question.  Actually it's a series of questions that kind of all go together.

Rich Sloan:  And we only have a one-hour show today. 

Clarice:  Okay, okay.  I'll give you background real quick.  I have a patent.  It went through.  I'm looking for a manufacturer, but I'm looking for manufacturers here in the U.S. that don't have oversea connections.

Rich Sloan:  Why? 

Clarice:  Because I think people here need the jobs.

Rich Sloan:  Okay. 

Clarice:  I'd like to keep the jobs here in the U.S.

Rich Sloan:  Okay. 

Clarice:  I know it's gonna be a little more expensive, but I really believe in keeping it here.

Rich Sloan:  Fine.  That may be a great choice. 

Clarice:  Yeah.  Another thing, too, is I don't really like it here.  I'd like to move back to Michigan.

Rich Sloan:  Okay. 

Clarice:  And my -- you know, and the third question is, am I able to conduct business out of the State of Michigan if my manufacturers are in the U.S. but in other states?

Jeff Sloan:  Well, certainly.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah.

Jeff Sloan: There's absolutely no problem with that whatsoever.  You'll typical need to pay, you know, income tax in the state in which you claim as your primary residence and as your primary place of doing business.  But there's absolutely no problem whatsoever in having manufacturing elsewhere. 

Clarice:  Okay.

Rich Sloan:  Clarice, Just -- can you share with us what your product is that you're gonna have made or is that confidential?

Clarice:  Well, I can sort of you a --

Rich Sloan:  Just the field or something. 

Clarice:   -- the gist of it.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah. 

Clarice:  Okay.  It's a closure system for clothing.

Rich Sloan:  Okay. 

Clarice:  Actually, my background -- I'll give you that -- is in nursing and textiles and apparel.

Rich Sloan:  Okay. 

Clarice:  And I decided to combine the two together.  So I've come up with a closure system for clothing for people with physical limitations is what I'm really interested in.

Jeff Sloan: And you're gonna have your closure system manufactured by a contract manufacturer, it sounds like, in the U.S. and absolutely you can do that if -- many times, you will pay a little bit more to be here in the U.S.  But you may also be able to use that in your marketing that it is completely made in the USA, and there are certain customers who will respond very positively to that. 

Clarice:  And that's what I read.

Jeff Sloan:  Yes, absolutely.  And there are manufacturers all around the country who are hungering for good projects, especially high-volume projects.  So --

Clarice:  Okay.

Jeff Sloan:  This -- a closure system like the one you're referring to probably will have a good amount of volume associated with it if there is indeed a market for it –

Clarice:   Uh-huh.

Jeff Sloan:  -- that you develop.  Now is this -- is this a -- you do want to create a business, Right, that --

Clarice:  I do want to create a business.

Jeff Sloan:  Okay.  And the closure system is sold to the makers of what?  Or it's sold to --

Clarice:   The closure system is actually gonna go on my clothing line.

Rich Sloan:  Right.  She's gonna create a clothing line, using the keep, and the differentiator's gonna be your closure system. 

Clarice:  Exactly.

Jeff Sloan: I think it's hot.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah, I mean, in concept, it certainly sounds right.

Jeff Sloan:  Niche, she's found a niche.

Clarice:  Yeah, and, you know, I don't know how you feel about this, but I think about keeping the market small and just to the target market.

Jeff Sloan:  Absolutely.  The more narrowly focused you get the easier it is for you to create clear and concise messaging to your customer. 

Clarice:  Okay.

Jeff Sloan: The less expensive it is because you don't have to waste money on, let's just say, people who aren't in your bull's-eye target market. 

Clarice:  Okay.

Jeff Sloan:  And that should lead to a lot of momentum for you.  By the way, if you want to expand to other markets after that --

Clarice:  Uh-huh.

Jeff Sloan:   -- after you've got your momentum, that's an easy thing to do.  And you can actually go on to StartupNation.com.  There a couple of things that I think would be really interesting for you. 

Number one, we've got a variety of key moves that we've identified on StartupNation.com.  And one of those key moves talks about a company by the name of Posh Tots.  And it talks about how the woman who created Posh Tots created her product line for Posh Tots first and then expanded to a new endeavor called Posh Living.  And she was able to build up a multi-million dollar business by focusing in one area first, using that strength, then she went on to a new niche.  So there's a probably great lesson in that for you. 

Clarice:   Okay.

Jeff Sloan:  The second thing is we have just launched at StartupNation a community area where you can talk with other entrepreneurs who have the skills, perhaps, that you're looking for, or the experience, and can advise you and mentor you, or simply provide the camaraderie.  You might be able to provide some answers, too, to some of those entrepreneurs there, so we'd encourage you to --

Rich Sloan:  And the access to that community section is all free.

Jeff Sloan: Oh, yeah. 

Clarice:  Okay.

Jeff Sloan:  Totally free.  So check that out when you go --

Clarice:  All right.

Jeff Sloan: -- to StartupNation.com.  And if you do end up going back to Michigan, just make sure you have a winter coat come the fall. 

Clarice:  I haven't given away my winter coats.  I'm still hanging onto them.

Rich Sloan:   Okay.  All right.  Well, thanks a lot for calling into StartupNation Radio, Clarice.