Tonight we’ll start with product development- so if you’ve ever wanted to create something but didn’t know where to start, keep reading…!

In October 2009, I was playing in a golf tournament, a 4-man scramble to be exact, with my cousin, uncle, and dad. As the day went on, the conversation evolved into something that caught my attention- an idea that stemmed from my cousin to rotate through the ball as if there was a rod extending from my hip. After making a few swings I thought he might be on to something, so we made a trip down to Home Depot and Staples to pick up the supplies for the first prototype. Indeed it worked! We’re talking about an oversized clothes pin with a wooden dowel rod, and it really worked. The next step was create preliminary drawings and find someone that could create real, tangible prototypes that would represent a manufacturable product. Little did we know, this would be a much more daunting task that originally thought.

Being ignorant about how to turn concept into product, like most, I turned to the Internet. I discussed the idea and shared the drawings with a few companies, but it was difficult to get any serious response. Most people were out of state and it didn’t seem like there was a lot of genuine interest in helping out a couple of college kids to manufacture legitimate prototypes. After a couple months of searching, I was finally referred to a company in Southlake, TX – Project Design Services. PDS specializes in CADD design, prototyping, and manufacturing – it was a perfect fit to get us going. The prototypes were all that we needed to get rolling with market testing and research. We didn’t have a sophisticated plan, but we did have a brief set of questions to ask instructors and golfers what they thought about the product as they tested it on the driving range. Needless to say, the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, and that is why we’re in the marketplace today!

After we had proved the concept and decided on a design, we began to look for local manufacturers. I had heard stories about sending things overseas, quality issues, on-time delivery, and everything else that comes with sourcing out-of-country. I wanted to support a local business, and luckily, I found the guys over at Sunbelt Plastics in Frisco, TX. Literally, less than 10 miles from my house, and a family owned business of 35+ years. These guys took the product to a new level, helped get us set up with an injection mold, and we were off to the races. After about 8 weeks of tooling, we had placed our first order of inventory that would be delivered just before the holiday season in 2010. In less than 1 year, we had gone from a goofy concept on a golf course, to having real inventory that was ready to hit the market! It’s been quite the learning experience and we’ve been through multiple prototypes, but the experience has been priceless. The statement is true, everything always takes twice as long and costs twice as much – but we have been able to create a unique, quality, and useful product in a crowded industry on a shoestring budget. We’re already having an impact on the way people learn the game of golf, how instructors teach it, and working towards making the game more enjoyable for all!

This was just half the battle, but we’ll have to discuss other topics such as packaging, websites, graphic design, and all the other aspects of product development over time. There’s a lot that goes into each component of the product, and each requires laser focus so that each part contributes something unique. I’ll be the first to admit that we continue to lack in certain categories, but  have roadmaps to fill these gaps as the product grows and we’re able to reach more people in the marketplace.

If you’re a golfer, I hope that you’ll try the product and let us know what you think about it – we offer a money back guarantee, and have yet to hear negative feedback from anyone. There’s a lot of gimmicks and useless golf devices out there, but I assure you Tempo Teacher™ brings a unique element to the game. If you’re not a golfer, I hope you’ll enjoy the blog posts about being a start-up, our testing new products and services, and reading what has or has not worked for us. I’m a firm believer in entrepreneurship and small business, and I want to help others have the opportunity to create their own destiny.

Truly yours,

CB