Parameter moniter business idea

[jayden kolonne]

Skip to the ::: for the idea this is just my background. I am a highschool student taking my third buisness class this year and we have to create our own buisness as an assignment. I have had an idea for a while about building a system that can monitor ph, temp, Alkalinity, calcium and many other stuff. I am good with robotics and this would be fairly easy for me to develop but I need to know if there is a market.
:::
I want to build a cheap paramater sensor kit with an app which would be priced around 150-300 depending on price of materials. You can chose what sensors you would want from a list I will add later if there is enough people intrested. If you would be interested just like to post or comment. Thank you for your help and have a good rest of your day.

(Mods, I have a feeling I didn't put this in the right category or maybe needs to go into marketplace. Just let me know, I'm still somewhat new to r2r.)

 

[sketh]

Sounds like an interesting idea. “Hanna parameter testers” are a more expensive version of what you are talking about.

If you can make it cheaper, just as accurate, and have an app to track all of the parameters, I’m sure people would love to try it out!

 

[Formulator]

Um yes there is a market with several products already out there to do this. Many of us use them. Apex Trident and Hydros Maven are probably the most popular.

Here is a screenshot of my

 

[Formulator]

150-300 depending on price of materials.

You are cutting yourself short. The existing systems go for well over $1000

 

[jayden kolonne]

Um yes there is a market with several products already out there to do this. Many of us use them. Apex Trident and Hydros Maven are probably the most popular.

Here is a screenshot of my

That is why I want to create this. That is close to 800$ I could do it for 200 and it would be just as accurate.

 

[paragrouper]

I assume the 150-300 will adequately cover your overheads and provide a suitable profit. If so, it would be an incredible value, as others who are playing with automated testing are commanding a far higher price. Even non automated test kits can far exceed your target price point. Do this and you are my hero.

 

[jayden kolonne]

You are cutting yourself short. The existing systems go for well over $1000

Sorry I didn't see this, but I want to create a product that only makes what I deserve not ripping people off. Each sensor cost close to 20 dollars. The brain cost 40 and the wifi controller to connect to the app cost 30. It's not worth 1k it's worth 300 or so. I just want to make people happy and do what I love.

 

[Malcontent]

There are lots of app/software guys who always think they can undercut the market. That is until they find out they have to build some sensors themselves or they cost $300 each.

 

[Formulator]

Sorry I didn't see this, but I want to create a product that only makes what I deserve not ripping people off. Each sensor cost close to 20 dollars. The brain cost 40 and the wifi controller to connect to the app cost 30. It's not worth 1k it's worth 300 or so. I just want to make people happy and do what I love.

That is noble of you, but I think you need to take another business class on “capitalism” .

 

[Formulator]

There are lots of app/software guys who always think they can undercut the market. That is until they find out they have to build some sensors themselves or they cost $300 each.

I don’t know if this completely explains the high cost of commercial controllers/monitors. I think in general, we get taken advantage of due to being a niche hobby, and manufacturers have massive profit margins

 

[paragrouper]

That is noble of you, but I think you need to take another business class on “capitalism” .

Actually, it is a method to create a market entry opportunity. I would still aim a bit higher to help fund the next great idea.

 

[Malcontent]

I don’t know if this completely explains the high cost of commercial controllers/monitors. I think in general, we get taken advantage of due to being a niche hobby, and manufacturers have massive profit margins

Well, I don't see any $20 alkalinity sensors on Digikey...

 

[Formulator]

I had an idea just talking about this with you guys - could you make it a DIY “kit” with all the parts to make your own controller/monitor? For people that might like to build electronics and play with arduino, but don’t have the knowledge to put it together from scratch. Kind of like they make “build your own drone” kits.

 

[14 foot reef]

Marketing, packaging, business cost, license, insurance, employees, warranty replacements, these things all add up. The Niche manufacturers may be making decent profits but, until you actually run your own company, you won't understand all the hidden cost that come with bringing a product to market.
I believe there is room for you idea in the market place, I just think your price point will not fuel growth and pave a clear path to success & growth.

 

[BeanAnimal]

That is why I want to create this. That is close to 800$ I could do it for 200 and it would be just as accurate.

Looking at the "retail" cost of an item and what you think it costs to produce can be misleading.
The most important part of a business is the business plan.

So let's list a few important things.

MARKET:
-what is the demand? How many people want these things?
-how much of that is being serviced by the competition?
-how many people want, but can't afford?
-etc.


COST:
-what is your cost to develop?
-cost to manufacture?
-cost to support?
-cost to advertise?
-insurance
-legal fees - what if you infringe or are infringed on? What if you get sued by a customer? etc.
-hosting - does this store data or use cloud services somewhere and who pays?
-business licenses, permits, other costs like electricity, rent, internet, phone, etc.
-etc.

INCOME:
-what are you going to be taxed?
-what is your time worth?
-etc.

DURABLE GOOD:
If your item is durable. people don't need to keep buying it from you. You need a plan for RMR (recurring monthly revenue) or some means to keep selling things to customers. So you sell them testing supplies, right? Well that is a double edge sword. it is hard to be profitable on common chemicals as people will find cheaper sources. On the other hand if you make your product use proprietary consumables, people will hesitate to buy and be locked into relying only on you. Stuff to think about!

When all of that stuff adds up, the item that has $100 of parts in it has to be sold for $800 to make sense to bring to market, especially when sales volume is low (tens, hundreds, thousands of items) because everything else that went into it put the actual cost to produce it closer to $700 eve though the parts only cost $100.

This is not to discourage you, but to give you an idea (just an overview) of what actually goes into bringing a product to market. I assume a lot of this will be covered in your class and thus the reason for the assignment.

Ahh I see 14 foot reef beat me to it while I was writing a novel....

 

[Formulator]

Ahh I see 14 foot reef beat me to it while I was writing a novel....

LOL, I do this all the time. Brevity is not my strong suit… So when I do this, I’m always slightly ticked that someone beat me to making an excellent point, and then immediately jealous of their ability to make a point so much more quickly

 

[jayden kolonne]

Looking at the "retail" cost of an item and what you think it costs to produce can be misleading.
The most important part of a business is the business plan.

So let's list a few important things.

MARKET:
-what is the demand? How many people want these things?
-how much of that is being serviced by the competition?
-how many people want, but can't afford?
-etc.


COST:
-what is your cost to develop?
-cost to manufacture?
-cost to support?
-cost to advertise?
-insurance
-legal fees - what if you infringe or are infringed on? What if you get sued by a customer? etc.
-hosting - does this store data or use cloud services somewhere and who pays?
-business licenses, permits, other costs like electricity, rent, internet, phone, etc.
-etc.

INCOME:
-what are you going to be taxed?
-what is your time worth?
-etc.

DURABLE GOOD:
If your item is durable. people don't need to keep buying it from you. You need a plan for RMR (recurring monthly revenue) or some means to keep selling things to customers. So you sell them testing supplies, right? Well that is a double edge sword. it is hard to be profitable on common chemicals as people will find cheaper sources. On the other hand if you make your product use proprietary consumables, people will hesitate to buy and be locked into relying only on you. Stuff to think about!

When all of that stuff adds up, the item that has $100 of parts in it has to be sold for $800 to make sense to bring to market, especially when sales volume is low (tens, hundreds, thousands of items) because everything else that went into it put the actual cost to produce it closer to $700 eve though the parts only cost $100.

This is not to discourage you, but to give you an idea (just an overview) of what actually goes into bringing a product to market. I assume a lot of this will be covered in your class and thus the reason for the assignment.

Ahh I see 14 foot reef beat me to it while I was writing a novel....

So let me go down the list,
I made this post to find the demand, hopefully if I check back in 24 hours I can get 100 likes or so, I know it's a lot but maybe that will represent close to 20 buyers.
The competition is apex and other similar brands, but I will be cheaper as an advantage of going with me instead of the big guys. I see alot of people wanting one but they are just to expensive.
For a tds, temp, and ph sensor+ brain it cost me 120 dollars. I can charge around 150-180+ shipping for that. Then if customers want extra sensors they can request it based on availability. I will charge 20+ cost of sensor for each new sensor they want. I can create a patent or just make an llc and not worry. It doesn't cost anything to manufacture as I have all the stuff at home and I will just take the profit of sales as payment. I can advertise and support on here. I can also get my little brother to make a website as he's made a couple before. Data will be stored on the personal device. It will have the ability to compare previous numbers to current and see a log. It cost around 125 where I live to make an llc. If I make less that 12k I will not have to pay taxes. All the sensors I have avaliable as of now are digital and not chemical which means no reactant. I can expand on that in the future, but I don't see a point in making people buy my reactant over a cheaper one. People can Aldo buy more sensors from me as they would need a software update to add those sensors so that would be a cost if they want.
This is a good start I appreciate the list of questions.

 

[jayden kolonne]

Hey everyone so just for the record the original base model will include a 3d printed case for the brain, 3 sensors, a ph, tds, and temp sensor. I plan on charging 150-180 for the base model and you can message me to add certain sensors based on msrp of those sensors+20% of those sensors. This will cover the cost of building code and display for those sensors. I also found a way to make this system power outage safe which will switch to battery power when the power goes out and back to wall power when it comes back on. This will be a 50$ add on. Hope this is a reasonable cost. I want to be transparent especially being a small new buisness I need to be cheaper for the customer.

 

[Formulator]

hopefully if I check back in 24 hours I can get 100 likes or so, I know it's a lot but maybe that will represent close to 20 buyers.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up and I don’t think that is an accurate way to measure demand. By the end of the day this will probably slip down the list and not get as much traffic.

I don’t think you need to worry about demand. Controllers and auto-testers are HOT, and I think cost is the biggest barrier for most that would like one and don’t have one already. So if you can make a quality product and even undercut the price of the big ones by 20-30%, I think you could make a killing.

 

[IceNein]

Parts cost $120, and you want to sell for $150 to $180, and you haven't factored in any other costs? Better you than me.

I mean if it did what you said it did, for $200, and other people tested it independently and reviewed it here, I would buy it. So if that sounds like a good deal for you, then by all means go for it.

I am not being sarcastic here, I would absolutely love something at that price point, but personally looking at your math, it wouldn't be worth it to me to sell something like that.

I mean, I value my time at $30/hour minimum. And that's for doing something I like to do, like helping out in a hobby. Driving to the post office alone would eat up all the profits if you were selling in ones and twos.

So I'm just cautioning you to factor in absolutely everything before you do something like this. If I were going that route, I might just do the project open source, and maybe sell circuit boards that I designed and had manufactured at JLCPCB in bulk.