Can you please offer some advice on my business idea?

Question

Hi,

Can you please offer any advice on my business idea? Do you forsee any problems please?

I have this idea for a small business. I have done some research, and found that there may be a demand for this product. I want to create a small electronic device, that people can use to experiment with high frequency sound.

I am planning to just sell a small transducer (to create the sound) and a photo copy of a plan for an amplifier (plus circuit diagram) which people could take to any electronics technician, like and electrician and have built.

Once I pay to have the transducer designed, it should be able to be built for under $20us pc in asia. The complete package that I sell (just transducer and photo coppies) should be no larger than a packet of cigarettes, and weigh less than 200g. I should be able to ship it cheaply through the standard mail to just about anywhere in the world. I am hoping to sell this product for under $100us.

There are some possible legal issues with the final product having the possibility of being abused. It could be used to harass people and possibly cause accidents, so I am going to go to a consumer goods solicitor to have a short contract drawn up to supply with the shipped item. Also, the device may have enough power to deafen someone if aimed at their face so I am going to recommend hearing protection. Additionally the device may have enough power to paralyse someone if used in a certain way. Also, the device could inadvertently electrocute the person using it, so I am going to have it designed to run on a 12volt input, have some insulation added to the outside of the transducer, and try to get the engineer to reduce the current whilst maintaining voltage, in an effort to salvage as bigger percentage of the power as possible, and hopefully reduce the power to a non lethal level. Also, I am going to have a clause written into the contract to cover this.

I am hoping to market my product directly on ebay and possibly open a yahoo store. Also, I would like to wholesale it to a number of parties who may be interested in distributing it.

This is just an idea at the moment and may take a long time to develop. In the interim, I am planning to experiment with the smallest 15kHz transducer I can find, and hopefully I can get some firmer ideas about frequency and power.

Can you guys please offer any ideas or suggestions about my business idea? Do you forsee any problems please?

I think the main issue is not so much the danger of this product itself, as insulation can be used, and reduced power specifications can be determined for the transducer. The main issue seems to be with the danger of high frequency sound between 15kHz and 20kHz and the high level of sensitivity humans seem to have to it. As far as I can see there are no reputable published research articles on this which I can find on the web. I find this fact very surprising when one considers all the implications. Some possiblilities are that high frequency sound could be used as a harassment method (can go through wall of a house), to cause an accident (like a car accident), or in some cases even temporarily paralyse someone. The noise pollution could keep people awake for extended periods of time, it could prevent people from being able to study, and generally prevent a landlord or person renting a property from having "the right to enjoyment of the land" the main founding real estate principle.

I think it would be the responsiblity of someone selling this device to include some information about the dangers of high frequency sound between 15kHz and 20kHz. I will have to speak to a consumer goods solicitor about having a short contract of warning about the dangers.

I think I will also have to speak with the govt. dept. which manages business and product safety in my state. Also, even if it is legal for me to sell in my state, I may have to check with a solicitor how I can sell it overseas on the web.

Answer 1

I think you need to work on the kinks of it because those are extremely serious and you can have lawsuits hanging over your head. Just keep working on it and make sure to take care of everything.

Answer 2

Who would buy this product? (clearly define your target audience.)

How many potential customers are there for this product? How do you know this number?

What purpose does this product serve? What problem does it solve?

Are there similar, better, cheaper competitive products already in the marketplace?

Why would someone buy the transducer if they still have to have a specialty technician build the amplifier? Where would they find such a technician? How much will he/she cost?

How will you market this product? Will you wholesale it to electronic retailers? Sell it directly to the public? (if selling directly, how will you advertise it? distribute it? warranty and service it?)

Best wishes and good luck.