Outsourcing

At the start of their journey, most inventors hope to manufacture their product in the United States, but as the women in The Right Sisters reveal, financial challenges often compel inventors to outsource the manufacture of their invention to a third part outside of the United States. I was one such person, and though I'm now finding ways to manufacture stateside, I have learned some important lessons about about outsourcing.

Most importantly, I learned that when you can't manufacture in the USA, you need to establish excellent relationships with the third party with whom you are working. The great distance as well as language barriers and cultural differences make this a challenging task. That's where networking comes to play.

I met Michelle Bonn through Big Fish Nation Nation, a business development program. Michelle is the owner of Expedient Trade, LLC, an international sourcing and manufacturing service company located in Buffalo, NY. Her expertise extends to international trade and manufacturing project management, so she was an excellent contact to help me negotiate some of the hurdles I faced while manufacturing in China.

I was drawn to Michelle's excitement, enthusiasm and drive as well as her expertise in the business of importing and manufacturing overseas. I was especially impressed by the fact she outsourced with women in third world countries--not to make money, but to help them to start businesses. I hired her to assist with outsourcing the manufacture of some of my new products.

Michelle's knowledge of importing and exporting and her relationships with customs was invaluable. When the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSIA) issued new laws, she found a qualified manufacturer to ensure that our products were constructed to be safe for kids. Michelle than helped KleenSlate secure the required Compliance Certificates. When I needed the advice of Chinese lawyers, she set up the communications. As our prototypes began to arrive for the new products, she listened to what needed to be changed and helped facilitate the necessary corrections. She understood that we wanted to be a leader in the dry erase industry and knew that meant delivering quality products to our customers.

Working with Michelle Bonn helped me build strong relationships with my manufacturing partners and underscored the value of surrounding myself with experts to help negotiate the intricacies of my inventor journey.

US vs. Overseas Manufacturing

When I initiated the production phase of my inventor journey, I was well aware of the debate related to overseas manufacturing. Determined to manufacture my erasers locally, I was delighted when I found a tool and die company a mere 60 miles from my rural Northern California location. I worked with them to create the molds necessary to manufacture the erasers. Not long after the first batch of erasers was produced, the company went belly up financially, leaving me with molds but no way to manufacture the eraser.

I had just left my teaching job and had pumped every bit of money I had into KleenSlate Concepts. About that time, another inventor connected me with a manufacturer based in China. The price was right, and I decided that I'd have to let go of my intention to manufacture locally if I wanted to keep my dream alive. But I was not totally happy with this option.

When we were interviewing women inventors for The Right Sisters, I found that others struggled with this same dilemma: i.e., wanting to manufacture in the US but not being able to afford to on a shoe-string budget. The cost factor loomed large and so we headed out of the country.

However, there is an administrative burden incurred in managing a supplier thousands of miles away. We ended up dealing with quality and delivery problems at great distance and sometimes under the burden of a language or cultural handicaps as well as time differences. Not only did I discover it was more expedient to manufacture here, I also felt it was more politically correct. Certainly, this was a personal bias, but I wanted to say my product was made in the USA.

Well, I'm going to be saying that soon. My friend Wendy Steele, President of TapeWrangler-www.tapewrangler.com- and featured in The Right Sisters, manufactures her own line of products at her manufacturing plant in Traverse City, MI. Wendy's company has our molds now and we will soon be in production. Later this month, I'll be saying, "KleenSlate dry erase paddles are made in the the USA."