Hey Traveler, My little web business has been great for me. I think there are two main factors that have helped make it a success. First, the "plug and play" ability of your product will affect you greatly. When my customers have a problem with a product, I go to great lengths to keep them happy. Normally if someone has a problem, the first thing I do is call them. That really helps customer satisfaction, which is a big factor as most of my sales result from "word of mouth". Luckily, the PNP capability of my product is pretty high, so I don't have to do this often. Second, you need to have high enough profit margins that you will want to keep doing it. I draw the line at about $30/HR because there are always going to be little unexpected expenses & issues which take time for you to address. I do know of people who have started a garage business & sold their product with very low profit margins, and quickly got into trouble. In one case, sales went crazy, but profit margins weren't enough to keep the guy going. He had to shut down the business and spend three months filling backorders. He still isn't very popular on the net. I'm now looking at tapping that market, using a design that costs much less but sells for a little more. :-) Volume is pretty low, just a few units a week, but it is enough to make it worth it. I haven't had any major problems with supply, Outpost.com once delayed shipment of some of my parts for two months which caused some headaches, but I worked it out. Needless to say I don't order anything from them anymore. Overall, I've loved doing it. I'm a student (graduate in May! Anyone hiring? :-) ), and the extra cash has been great. This year for Christmas break I'm going skiing instead of getting a job for three weeks. :-) Which brings up another issue you'll have to address, how do you ship when you are out of town..... If you have any questions feel free to e-mail, I'd be glad to answer anything I can. I've done a pretty good amount of research on PCB manufacturers, etc., etc., so maybe I can help you. HTH, Steve Ruse -----Original Message----- From: Traveler Hauptman To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Date: Monday, December 10, 2001 8:45 AM Subject: [OT]:How successful has your garage bussiness been? >Hi all, > >I'm considering starting a business selling some electronics/microcontroller >modules I'm developing as a side venture. Does anyone have stories of their >own successes/failures they could share so I can get a better idea of what >I'm getting myself into? What kind of volume do you get with your niche >product? Nightmares with suppliers or product support? Anything that might >bring me to my senses and make me return to being a slave to the Man? > >Regards, > >Traveler Hauptman -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.