Magnets
Do you remember when Magnets were cool? Even before experiments at school I remember finding a nail that “stuck” to my fathers hammer, and him explaining why a compass works. It doesn’t matter that you can be taught the “how” and the “why” the effects of magnetism are like magic to most kids.
Thanks mainly to technological advances magnets have become “cool” for me again. The Maglev train here in Shanghai runs on electro magnets and literally “floats” on a cushion of repelling magnets. It reaches speeds of about 450km/hour and does so remarkably smoothly.
The applications for magnets are wider than you would think, the following list comes from www.coolmagnetman.com/magreview.htm : -
Headphones, Stereo speakers, Computer speakers, Telephone receivers, Phone ringers, Microwave tubes, Doorbell ringer solenoid, Refrigerator magnets to hold things, Seal around refrigerator door, Plug-in battery eliminators, Floppy disk recording and reading head, Audio tape recording and playback head, Video tape recording and playback head
Credit card magnetic strip, TV deflection coil, TV degaussing coil, Computer monitor deflection coil, Computer hard drive recording and reading head, Dishwasher water valve solenoid, Shower curtain weights / attach to tub, Power supply transformers…actually the list goes on a bit follow the link if you want more examples.
If you want to supply to manufacturers of other products you probably need to manufacture your own magnets, or at least buy in sufficient bulk that you can compete with manufacturers. It will be easier to find uses for magnets within the retail market, such as fridge magnets, magnets for educational purposes, and magnets for DIY projects.
For the purposes of today’s idea I am going to talk about fridge magnets. You can make your own using the clear instructions found at: - www.instructables.com/id/ELEREGKDVIEYKVVMLY
If you don’t have time to read it, essentially you can buy magnetic business cards in stationary stores and print onto them with a standard inkjet printer. Alternatively you can buy white magnetic sheeting for about $20 on Ebay for a piece 2’ by 3’. www.PaylessMagnets.com offers 2”X2” custom magnets at 55cents each giving revenues of about $118 from the same size roll. I reckon you could charge $1.50 at least for a one off personalised magnet which would give you revenues of $324 if you can find the buyers.
Given that you can print any image, whether it be a logo, cartoon, or photograph using an inkjet printer this gives you a way of making custom “fridge” magnets for anyone who wants them. In order to sell them we suggest the following: -
Networking
Ebay
Website
Advertise
Direct Response
Schools/clubs
Companies
If you make some magnetic photos for friends and family and ask them to stick them on their fridges, the chances are that visitors will ask about them and be re-directed to you. Naturally you would also tell everyone you know what you are doing and show them some of your own collection. Stick them on your desk at work, in the car, anywhere that people can see them and ask about them.
Ebay is very competitive for magnets. There are over 14,000 listed today. A search for photo fridge magnets only produces 69 results however and the most innovative idea there is a magnetic photo frame that can take any photo (you could make these too).
Google has 667,000 listings for “custom fridge magnets” which may seem a lot but is not overly competitive. Working with a good SEO firm can probably get you near the top of this list. Offline promotions and the addition of a shopping cart like the one at www.zen-cart.com should see you generating sales in no time.
Advertising in the local newspaper that you can put favourite family photos onto magnets for the fridge, lunchboxes, work stations etc. will definitely get you some customers. Advertising in local businesses such as Doctor’s waiting rooms, local notice-boards etc. will also be more cost effective and equally likely to generate results.
Direct response takes your advertising to the customer, drop flyers around your neighbourhood and see what kind of response you can generate. If it works well then either expand your leaflet dropping area, or start buying names of parents from commercial name list suppliers and mailing them your leaflets.
Many Schools still produce an end of year class, or even whole school picture. You could offer to put these onto magnets and provide the school with a commission on all orders. Equally many kids clubs such as boy scouts, ballet classes etc would also be a good place to market your “mementos”.
If you are happy to spend hours with your printer whirring away in the background, or get big enough to employ someone to mind the printer then you could start pitching your magnets to small companies. Put a calendar, or their phone numbers next to a logo on the magnet and suddenly they have a useful giveaway that will remind their customers to call back.
I would definitely start out by buying on Ebay. Pick up a couple of $20 sheets and have a go. If this works well then you can order larger quantities, or start buying in bulk from magnet manufacturers.
Given the mark up on this product line, I would not advise importing magnetic sheets from abroad. If you reach a large scale with industrial level printers then this obviously becomes viable.
This is a low cost start up business with great potential.
You will need to spend a chunk of time on each order initially but as you get better at manipulating files it shouldn’t take long to fulfil each order.
Offer discounts for multiple purchases. Mums might want to give Granny a couple of magnets if it makes financial sense.