What's Next?

What I Think Is Next: 
I think that the next thing for Sleep Belts is to manufacture and test a prototype of the design. Without having an actual physical product, it is impossible to determine whether or not it is even feasible to continue the idea. The seat belt would need to undergo crash tests for safety, comfort tests, and ease of installation tests just to name a few. The design I have in mind may work, but it is unlikely and would need to be tweaked as necessary. While finding a new market can lead to success, with a physical product that needs to pass safety regulations and varying state laws, testing a prototype is the most important step, that cannot be overlooked or skipped.
Existing Market Interviews:

1. First I interview my friend Renan. He is a college student attending Santa Fe College, along with his brother. He also works part time at a car dealership. Their family lives in Miami so they travels down occasionally and alternate drivers for the roughly 5 hour trip. After providing him with basic details of what my product is and how it works,as well as where I am in the design process. I then asked him what he thinks is next for a venture like mine. He laughed, and then said, that he doesn't think it will be possible to get it approved by law. I then asked him what I should do to get to that point, and hes said that I would have to build a model of the belt and test it, and release results to the media and state vehicle legislation.  I also asked who he believes would be a good market to look towards next, if my product were to be further in development. He said that selling to car manufacturer or aftermarket seatbelt supplier might be easier then selling directly to consumers, because it would mean I could target specif companies, and then if I convince them to sell my product, could avoid marketing to consumers, which is more expensive. 
2. In an interview with another student, Daniel, I asked what he thought was next for my business. He said that in order to begin marketing the product, I would have to prove to the target markets, and the industry, that it works, that it is safe, etc. He couldn't really provide any more insight, because he said without a testable product, my idea is just an idea. While its not an optimistic way to see things, it is certainly a very true statement.
3. Lastly I interviewed my brother, who does fall into my target market, similar to myself. I asked him what would be next for my business. He believes that it will be impossible to get approved by state safety regulations without testing and financial assets, but that this would be the next step. He also brought up the fact that creating a prototype and testing it in proper conditions is going to be very costly for someone of my financial position, and so even before doing this, the first step would be to raise funds to continue the project. 

Reflection:

• After talking to these people who fall into my existing market, I am more confident that my next step, while very difficult and time consuming, is also straightforward. All three believe that it is impossible to create and market my product without first creating a prototype, conducting tests and getting it approved by safety regulations. That is the future of my product, if I chose to pursue it further.
• In my first interview, I also became more inclined towards new possible market to target, which is seat belt and car part retailers. I had thought of this myself during the Growing Your Social Capital assignment, but was leaning more towards marketing to a new group of consumers. There are, however, many benefits to having a B2B relationship/market that outweigh the profits from entering a new consumer market. 
• The second interview confirmed my own beliefs that without a product, all I have is an idea.
• In my third interview I thought of the future in a whole new light; that is the darkness that is the future of my idea without financial capital. 

New Market:

My new market is aftermarket seatbelt suppliers. This is a very different market, as interactions are business to business rather than business to consumer. The fact is that if I sell to a possible retailer of products similar to mine, I can displace some of the workload to another party. While this will decrease my own personal profits, it will make success a more likely outcome in the long run. For this market to even be considered as a possibility, I already know my product has to be more established, and that they will only hear from me if I have a prototype that has been tested and proven to work. If I were to market my product in this way, it would provide value to these businesses in the form of new revenue.

New Market Interviews:

1. I again emailed Seat Belt solutions, the company I spoke to in the assignment on social capital. This time I asked specifically, with an idea in mind, how my business would be helped by working with them. They said first and foremost, that in order for a seatbelt design to be sold, it must past a series of tests including, of course, crash tests. To work with them, I would need to either manufacture the product myself and sell it to them, or sell the design to them for manufacturing. These options, of course, would only come after being approved by the state of Florida safety regulations, and if there is proof of possibility profit to be made from the idea. If All of this were to work out, working with aftermarket seatbelt retailers such as them, would help my business grow, and leverage some of the work required to be successful. 
2. In this interview, I visited the car dealership that my friend Renan works at. His dad is one of the managers at the dealership, so I interviewed him. I explained what my concept was, and where I was in the development process. I then asked how it would help both our businesses if I were to work with them, and also what I would have to do next to eventually reach that point. He said that I would need to have a already marketable product, that has been tested and approved, and has made a profit. He told me that his business, in relation to mine would basically be an investor. I would provide them with part of my business, in exchange for their experience and marketing/ sales service. They would be profiting off of my concept, and I would get a part of the each sale. 

Reflection: 

• I learned that this new market, while being a customer, is more specifically an investor. They would need to profit off of being part of my market, and so I would in turn, receive less personal profit, but have experience and another partner working towards the goal of selling my product. I knew going in that these businesses would require the product to be already developed, tested and approved, and these assumptions were correct. One thing that surprised me was the benefits I would receive from working with other businesses. They would be helping establish marketing for my product, and of course taking a majority of the profits from sales, because they are doing much more work than myself. It sounds bad, but for someone who has no financial assets to get going, it is probably a good idea.
• This new market is very different from my existing market. Because it is a B2B market, it is more of an investor relationship, whereas selling to consumers directly is not. it appears more attractive simply because it will help my product reach the shelves quicker and easier.