Start a Shower Head Business

One simply does not start any kind of business without conduction a fair share of market research. It’s no different for the showerhead business. One thing to always remember is to never indulge in any kind of business or make any kind of investment without looking into the demand and other business aspects. Business research means checking for the demand for your product, i.e., check whether or not people even want to buy the product. Imagine spending a fortune buying 500 blankets in bulk to retail sell and then realizing that no one really likes those blankets or people in your area don’t need blankets much. That’s one aspect you should consider. If your product has some unique feature that you want to coin, you will have to study your market very carefully to cash it. And that’s what market research is all about: Knowing your customers. Here are some key points to remember as the main aspects of market research:

Segmentation and targeting:

Segmentation and marketing mean dividing the prospective customers into groups based on some factors, which may be age, gender, race, religion, etc., and identify the specific group that your product might be willing to cater to. For example, if you sell beauty products such as lipstick, your target market may be women. Or more precisely: women interested in beautification or salons. Similarly, if you’re selling luxury showerheads, your target market may be wealthy people who are interested in having fancy accessories for their washrooms. But if you’re selling showerheads that are cheap and economical, then your target market would be middle-class people who would just make do with whatever shower is in their washroom. So your target market depends on your product mainly. You have to identify your target market and proceed with your research from there.

Demand evaluation:

This is a significant step as it helps you determine if there’s a need for your product. Now it’s time to approach the target market and identify a need. This leads to the decision on whether or not a showerhead business is even necessary. You can evaluate the demand by conducting surveys or interviewing people in construction companies and ask questions like (all depending on the type of showerhead you’re selling):

• Do you think people need better shower heads?
• Are people interested in investing in better quality but expensive luxury showerheads?
• How often do people need replacements for showerheads?
• How many people take an interest in making their washrooms fancier?

And many other questions like that depending on the things you want to know. You can also try to identify problems existing with showerheads and try to solve them. For example, you may ask:

• What problems do you face with your current showerhead?
• What would be an ideal shower?

So if a majority population says that their showers rust too fast or get damaged with water, you can solve their problem by supplying or selling a showerhead that is more durable and would not lose its shine and qualities.

Other things covered in market research:

The other things covered in market research for the showerhead business include:

• Pricing trends
• Studying the competition
• Taxes
• Industry
• Market share etc.

Since you’re stepping into the showerhead business, you need to determine your standpoint, i.e., what you intend to do when stepping into this line of work. Are you producing showerheads in your very own factory? Or are you outsourcing the job of production to someone else and are simply a retail seller? Your standpoint is basically your business model. There are four kinds of business models:

• B2B: Where one business sells to another business.
• B2C: Where one business sells directly to end-users/customers.
• C2B: Where individuals sell to businesses.
• C2C: Where individuals sell to individuals.

If you own a factory that produces showerheads or similar items, you can act as a manufacturer and produce the showerheads. You can then sell them to wholesalers or retailers who will take them out to the general public. Some online sites that offer showerheads wholesale include:

• Alibaba
• Westside Wholesale
• Made in China
• Conservation warehouse etc.

You can also find a shower supplier on your premises if you don’t trust online sellers. Suppose you’re specific about quality and have a luxury positioning for your showerhead business in mind. In that case, you can visit a factory and tell them about the qualities you want in the showerheads for your customers. You can even design one catered to your preference and research. The possibilities are endless if you have contact and experience.

Planning is a very crucial aspect of any business. Planning makes everything absolutely remarkable. Now that you have established where you stand (manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer), you need to develop a well-made business plan and put your plans on print or paper. Your business plan is everything you intend to do but in writing. It will include all the vital operational details of your showerhead business and how you intend to sell it. The business plan has many advantages. For example, you can use it to pitch your idea to your investors so they can finance it. The business plan of your showerhead business should cover the following essential aspects:

• A detailed description of your product. This should include everything from its design to the reasons that it is unique. Your value proposition makes your product different from others and why consumers should be more willing to purchase it. If your product has something unique and desirable, that should be the feature that should be cashed and highlighted in most parts of the business plan.
• The financial plan is a vital component of the business plan. It includes the forecasted financial statements of your business plan. These are predicted statements that predict how much your business will be earning in the next 3 or more years. This is generally an estimate. The financial plans also include details of how much money you will need to start your business and pricing. Creating forecasting statements is not very easy if you don’t know accounting and finance. You can either get help from a professional or learn to make them.
• The operational plan will include details of how your showerhead business is going to function. The various teams or departments you have in your business need to coordinate with one another. The operational plan mainly highlights how the different departments can team up to give you the desired results. It can also include information about your suppliers, i.e., where do you get your products from?
• The marketing plan is another crucial aspect. Marketing is how you intend to sell your product. How do you convince consumers that these showerheads are the best out there? What forms of advertising (if any) will you use to promote your product? How will you position it in the market? How will you sell the product better than your competitors? The marketing plan answers all these questions thoroughly.
• Your business plan should also talk about the competition in your business. For example, it should include how many other firms or retailers are selling showerheads in your region. It determines who your competition is.
• The market analysis portion of the business plan can include the market research you conducted earlier. It should include information about your target market, their needs, their likes and preferences, their characteristics, and how your showerheads are an ideal fit for them.

No business can run without some financing. You need money to start any business. Now for financing a showerhead business, you might need a lot of money if the materials used in the making of the showerhead are expensive or luxurious.  This won’t be much of an issue if you already have the money in savings. But if you do not own that kind of money and don’t have a partner who is ready to invest with you, you will have to explore your options. There are several ways you could finance your business. This can be in the form of loans or angel investors or through an incubation center. However, it would help if you remembered that the product you’re promoting should have something special about it or something to attract your financers. Here are some of the ways you can finance your product:

• Loans: You can get loans to give a starting push to your products. You can get loans from banks or other financial institutions. However, you should remember that the bank won’t immediately just give you the money. You need to have substantial success prospects for your business, i.e., you need to convince them that your project is viable and result in profits. This can be reflected by your credit history or experience in previous businesses. Also, banks charge interest on your money. You will have to return that principal plus an extra amount of interest to your bank. So you should only make banks an option if you’re ready to indulge in that.
• Investors: An excellent way to get financing is through investors. An investor will provide you with the capital in hopes of getting returns from it. In other words, they will give you the money, but you will have to give them a certain amount of money in return for their investment. Again, gaining the capital of an investor requires convincing. Your showerhead either needs to be different from all the rest or just be absolutely phenomenal. If not, you need to showcase your business expertise and develop a plan that will lead to the sales of showerheads regardless of their quality. In any case, you will have to convince your investor somehow that the project is worth investing in.

Your first need to identify your target market and focus your marketing strategies towards that segment is marketing your product. You can’t use the same marketing strategy for women as you do for men and vice versa. Similarly, you can’t use the same marketing plan for kids as you do for adults. For a showerhead business, you would have to target your advertising strategies towards construction companies, specifically the housing industry and the hotels industry. The following are some ways to advertise shower heads;

• Paid promotions (through digital marketing)
• Video ad campaign
• Television Advertisements
• Flyers, billboards, and other print media
• Online marketing through social media
• Door to door selling
• Blog posts
• PR packages, and much more!

Depending on your product and market segment, your marketing strategy is bound to change. In order to sell your showerheads, you need to convince the consumers that this is the best they will get. You need to develop a good image of your product in the consumers’ heads. Marketing is probably the most creative yet challenging part of your business. Do it right, and your business is going to reach the sky!

Now that you have your finances in order and your showerheads ready to be sold, the most game-changing step comes into play: Execution. Some may even say that execution is all that matters in a business.  In short, execution simply means how you bring your business plan into practice. So conducting all that is planned and meeting all the objectives effectively and effectively would be successful execution and management. If you have many people on your team, it needs to be made clear to them what your business objectives are and what your business is trying to achieve. Every business has different objectives. For example, one of your showerhead business objectives could be to sell 200 showerheads in the first month. As a business owner or manager, you could assign different tasks to people and give them some decision-making power. As a manager, you need to use your thinking power and make decisions based on what you feel is suitable for your business. There are no clear-cut rules for successful execution and management. Neither can one statement apply to all kinds of businesses? So this is the tricky part. As the owner of a showerhead business, only you know what is right for your business, and you are the one who knows the people on your team the most. No book can give you a rule there. So after assigning tasks and decision-making power, you also have to monitor the personnel and yourself (if you are a sole proprietor) to ensure that the operations are in order. Keep checking on performance and make new strategies where necessary. Keeping up with changes and new advancements and styles in the bathroom accessory industry is also necessary. Always have room for change and the capacity to cope with change.