Today I heard back from the manufacturer on details of how I am allowed to use their brand. Thankfully everything I had designed so far was right inline with my ability to use their brand. In fact they are allowing me to use more materials than I had originally planned which is helping the web site come along.
Besides making great progress on the design of the micro site, I also setup the web hosting, purchased a domain name, and setup Google Analytics. Hopefully between tonight and tomorrow I will be able to finish the design and start developing the site. At this point is seems fairly likely that I am investing a bit too much into the micro site, but I do enjoy designing and implementing web sites so it seems like a reasonable use of my time.
~Nathan Hein
Yesterday and today I have been working on putting together a micro site to test the market I have identified. I have yet to hear back from the manufacturer on the approved use of their brand, but in the interest of making progress I am just continuing on preparing the site. Lacking approval to use key pieces of their brand I have been sending a substantial amount of my time developing an original brand through design. The web design & brand are coming together well though.
With the marketing testing to begin soon(hopefully), I am also in the process of identifying a accountant to help me get the books in proper order for this new venture. Upon hiring an accountant I also plan to get Port Eighty, Inc. ready for the next steps I intend to take this year.
~Nathan Hein
Muse 1 is being particular difficult with the reality of owning an inventory. I do not want to own an inventory, it creates a lot of new challenges before even getting into the accounting side of the business. I have made great progress in forecasting operating income needs, profit margins, and sales today though. Markup appears to be okay, order processing and fulfillment charges seem nominal, but manageable. At this point I just need to get some final details on how I am allowed to use the manufacture’s brand, and get the micro-site to test my market.
~Nathan Hein
Today I have started working on the micro-testing web site for the product. I am still working with the manufacturer to clarify how I am allowed to use the brand, and if there is collateral available. After starting to crunch numbers for Fulfillment by Amazon, it looks like they will be a solid partner for fulfillment. I will still need to see how I want to integrate sales from the web site into Amazon because there system is preferential to the transaction take place through Amazon. More or less if I let them handle payment, which I want to, they can completely manage refunds. Downside to this from what I know at this point is that my clients would have to be on Amazon.com to make payment. I am not certain I want that user experience as I feel it could cheapen the experience.
I also looked into using Shopify, but quickly learned all they are offering is an online store application. If I use them I still need acquire a merchant account on my own. Since I only am selling a single product the ability to manage many products and a store of goods is not necessary.
~Nathan Hein
