According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 80 percent of new businesses survive a year or more of operation. It’s no different in the consumer health and medical product industry. While a startup takes a lot of work and can be a scary proposition, the rewards can be immeasurable. As medical devices and home health products become increasingly connected, there are more and more opportunities for startup opportunities with consumer health products.
Consumer Health Product Startup Tips
Take a look at these four ways you can ensure a startup in this industry finds success for that first year and beyond.
Find Enough Cash
It doesn’t matter what type of business you start, extensive cash flow is the key to stabilizing your business and breaking the barriers to entry with any product. Companies involved in home health products and medical devices are no different. The road to product launch can be long and product testing and approval may require significant capital investments. It’s important to be smart about taking on investors and avoiding the roadblocks that prevent entrepreneurs from securing loans.
Start by creating a solid business plan to help attract investors or obtain necessary funding from lenders. Consider consulting with a business advisor who has plenty of experience launching consumer health products and may have a connection to retailers, designers and understands the importance of patent law. An active investor with real world experience can be a big asset. His or her guidance will prove invaluable and can save you significant amounts of time and cash.
Hire the Right People
This one is really important: you have to hire the right staff, consultants or agency to ensure your consumer health product startup gets off on the right foot. You will need qualified, experienced designers, developers and staff that is ready to transfer a product from prototypes to manufacturing. Products that require human factors testing or interface design may require an industrial or product design firm that understands consumer health or medical product design. Even though you’re eager to get your business up and running, take your time and choose your team wisely – it’ll pay off copiously.
Refine Your Pitch
The competition is fierce for consumer health, and success or failure may depend on how effective your pitch for funding and investment is. You need to be able to clearly state the goals, expectations, forecasting and target audience that your product will solve a problem for. Unfortunately, no matter how well you understand your industry and how skilled you may be, you may still experience hiccups as you try to run your business. The best sales pitch ideas combined with great presentation skills will help you convey a successful roadmap to any investors that you may be seeking to involve.
Understand FDA Requirements
There is no denying it; the present is a time when the medical and consumer product worlds are intertwined. Medical devices that consumers can use themselves are hotter than even – wearables can encourage health habits, and other products can solve health issues and improve the individual’s quality of life. Even the Food and Drug Administration is on board with the life changing devices being created today; the FDA has created an approval fast-track for Apple, Fitbit, and Samsung, making new health product technologies available to the public much faster while slashing the time and cost needed to develop them. As you run your business, it is essential you follow the federal and state regulations for your health products application to make sure you are on the right track from day one. Understanding the federal requirements for taking a consumer health product to market creates a better understanding of your product development road map.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to launch a successful product, so remember that your vision, passion, and skills, combined with preparation, are key to a successful future.
Health Product Photo via Shutterstock