I Outsourced Label Manufacturing To Jump Start My eCommerce Business

John Collins, also known as “The Paper Airplane Guy”, dreamt of being a Guinness World Record holder. All his life he loved paper airplanes, and he realized early on that he was very good at designing them. Using his in-depth knowledge of origami and airplane aerodynamics, Collins has created dozens of incredible new paper flyers. His ultimate goal — to hold the world record for the longest paper airplane flight. Collins made several attempts to break the record, but on his own, he couldn’t do it. He needed help. He needed an arm that could throw a paper airplane world record distance.

That’s when Joe Ayoob entered the picture

Ayoob was a professional arena football player. He played quarterback, a position that demanded a strong throwing arm. It turned out that Ayoob’s arm had just the right combination of power and finesse.

After eighteen months of practice throwing Collins’ paper airplanes, as a team, Collins and Ayoob were ready to attempt a world record. On the twenty-sixth of February 2012, they did it. Ayoob threw Collin’s paper airplane at a record distance of 226 feet and 10 inches. Collins’ dream had come true. A new Guinness World Record was the result of Ayoob and Collins’ teamwork.

Teamwork is critical when starting a new eCommerce business. There are so many tasks that need attention, it’s nearly impossible for a single person to handle them all. Perfection in any of them — that’s nearly impossible. As business owners, we need to be aware of our strengths, and how best to use our energy. Contracting the production of our products to a private label manufacturer removes many tasks from the dreaded to-do list. They’ll have the expertise, the knowledge, and the facilities to produce our products. In this article we’re going to discuss why hiring a private label manufacturer will save you time, money, and headaches by covering:

1. Production costs
2. Experience
3. Facilities

Let’s get started by going over point #1: production costs.

Do you have the financial means to develop a new product?

Before even a single item is sold, every business invests copious amounts of time, energy, and finances on product development. The product creation process must be understood. Product formulation must be perfected. Once an initial product is finally created, it must go through testing and retesting before there is a final version that is worthy, and suitable, for sale. The initial creation of a product comes at a huge cost. And that’s before there’s any actual production.

What’s in the “bottle” is just the beginning

There’s the cost of the bottle, the labeling, the packaging, and the process of filling the bottle itself. Of course, the same applies to any product being produced, not just those going to bottles. Even before bottles are filled, suppliers need to be found for the bottles, the labels, and the ingredients. This isn’t the case for a private label manufacturer. If they’ve been in business for a while, they will already have connections and suppliers for everything that goes into production. There are huge cost savings here, both in time and money.

Speaking of time, how soon do you want to bring your product to market? If your answer is ASAP, then let’s get going on part #2: experience.

There’s no sales revenue without a sellable product

The longer it takes to bring a product to market, the longer it will take before there is any revenue. All of the design, creation, testing, sourcing, production, testing, trials, and yes, more testing, takes a lot of time. It’s more than a matter of weeks or even months. It could be years before a sellable product is produced. Taking advantage of the experience of a private label manufacturer is a huge time-saver in getting a product to market.

Private label manufacturers help you hit the ground running

They have the supplies and means to get a trial product out within days or weeks, not months. You can never short-cut the testing phase, but using a private label manufacturer will shorten the time required. If you’re manufacturing your product yourself, you’re starting entirely from scratch. Not so with a private label manufacturer — they’ll have a prototype ready very quickly. They have everything ready to go from day one. As well, if they need any new products or suppliers, they’ll know quickly where to go. There’s one more issue to contemplate if you’re going to manufacturer your own product — where will you make it? This brings us to our third and final point: facilities.

Does the production of your product require a commercial kitchen?

Or a fully stocked machine shop? Are there any special tools required to manufacture the product you want to sell? When starting out, unless the product you’re creating is in the same industry as you’ve already been working in, you’ll need to find the equipment and have the space for production. This is another huge drawback of producing a product yourself over contracting to a private label manufacturer. But wait, there’s something else we business owners don’t like to think about.

Let’s not forget those inspections from government agencies

Are you prepared for them? If you’re manufacturing your own product, do your facilities meet all of the government-required safety and cleanliness standards? If your product doesn’t have that many requirements, then you’re fortunate. But don’t think the government agencies will simply overlook your business. Hopefully, you never get an inspection visit, but if you do, do you know how to prepare for or handle it? This is another headache that private label manufacturers have experience with and can take care of.

Does hiring a private label manufacturer mean a loss of control?

It may feel like hiring a different company for the purpose of production will mean you can’t control the production process. For the most part, this is true. However, they are intentionally being hired to take care of the entire aspect of production. The fear of loss of control shouldn’t stop you from hiring someone. You’ll be involved in the initial design process, and all final products should have your absolute approval.

A private label manufacturer is there to remove a major task in the operation of your business. And besides, you’ll have done all the necessary research and vetting in finding the perfect producer for your business. Have a read of my article “How To Wisely Choose A Private Label Manufacturer (even if they aren’t the least expensive)” if you need a few tips.

TenX Beard Products went from concept to sales in three months

That was because they had no experience in producing their product and found a private label manufacturer with years of experience. Quick disclaimer — I’m the owner of TenX Beard Products. The private label manufacturer we contracted our production to was able to quickly put together prototype samples. After a couple of rounds of testing and tweaking the formulas, production began. It took only months, not years, for TenX Beard Products to go from concept to having a product for sale and revenue coming in.

In summary, a private label manufacturer is there to help

Starting a new business is a very large endeavor. The whole process can be entirely overwhelming. Hiring a private label manufacturer to design and create your products will save you headaches and allow you the time you need to focus on all the other aspects of your business. They’ll save you money because the design phase will be shortened. They’ll help you get a product to market quicker because of their experience. And they’ll help you comply with government regulations because they’ll already have the facilities required for production.

John Collins would never have achieved a world record on his own

Collins could have designed the greatest paper airplane in the history of the world, but he didn’t have the arm to propel it. Joe Ayoob did have the arm, and he helped Collins set that world record. A private label manufacturer can help quickly get a business idea from paper to production to sales. This frees you to focus on working on your business, rather than in your business.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you enjoyed it and found it helpful, please share this article with your social media. As I recommended earlier, a great next read is an article “ How To Wisely Choose A Private Label Manufacturer (Even If They Aren’t The Least Expensive).” In that article, I cover how to find and vet a private label manufacturer that is right for your business idea. Cheers.