Freight Forwarding
You are on this side of the ocean and your Open Source Hardware project is manufactured on the other side of the ocean. For a minimal amount of product, UPS/FedEx is ideal but you are now at the stage where you are manufacturing hundreds or thousands of product. How do you get it to market on this side of the world?
Freight forwarders are the ones who step up to the plate and help get your great invention to market.
A freight forwarder (aka forwarder or forwarding agent) is a person or company that organizes shipments to get large orders from the manufacturer to market. Forwarders will contract with a carrier to facilitate the movement of product. A freight forwarder is not typically a carrier but is an expert in supply chain management. Looked at in a different way, a freight forwarder is a "travel agent" for the cargo industry or a third-party (non-asset-based) logistics provider. A forwarder will contract with asset-based carriers to move cargo. The cargo can be moved by ship, plane, trucks and/or railroads. Cargo normally moves along via a combination of them.
Boiling that down to plain English:
The freight forwarder can ship:
- by air (fast and expensive)
- by boat (slow and cheaper)
- deals with custom issues
There are multiple freight forwarders out there and a good Google search will get them for you. Here are some reputable companies that do a good job of moving the goods from Asia to Canada.
Freight Net
(Freight Net. You can select different geographic regions with lots of selection within)
Eztrans Logistics (Mississauga Ontario)
Fast Freight Forwarding (Toronto Ontario)
Continental Connections (Mississauga Ontario)
Global PackNShip (Surrey BC)
Once you have your Open Source Hardware invention, do what you do best, keep inventing. Let someone else take care of the details who specialize in this. Your time is more valuable. Let the "travel agent" deal with this journey.
Happy inventing!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Vertical Lines + Numbers =
Barcodes
Yes, if you want to sell your product and not give it away to your mom and relatives, you are going to need a barcode. Barcodes are needed when your distributor or store that sells your product requires it. There is no law that says your must have a barcode on a product. However for stores, it is efficient for them to track each product they sell with a unique code.
Getting one is not actually that challenging. The cost can range quite a bit though and this depends on you and how many are needed.
If you are going to be cranking out items, it would be best to get your own. However, as this article is tailored more towards the inventor who needs one-offs, there are a number of companies that will sell you barcodes.
A few companies that will do this are:
- Simply Barcodes: http://www.simplybarcodes.net
- Buy a Barcode: http://www.buyabarcode.com
- Barcodes talk: http://www.barcodestalk.com
The BBB (Better Business Bureau) have given the above good marks. A good Google search will get you many more companies that can be used.
Barcodes can be printed using most computer printers. The simplest way to print a barcode is to use a barcode font. Also, print it in black and white on white paper. Do not use coloured ink or coloured paper. The printing with colour will reduce the contrast between the bars and spaces. With the awesome invention you have, hopefully your goal is to have the barcode printed during the printing of the product's packaging. For this, you will have to obtain a barcode film master from a vendor that specializes in this.
The size is normally 1.469" wide X 1.02" high. The minimum recommended size is 80% of that or 1.175" wide X .816" high. The maximum recommended size is 200% of normal or 2.938" wide X 2.04" high.
The organisation that makes this all possible is GS1. GS1 is an international not-for-profit association with member organisations in over 100 countries. GS1 is dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. GS1's main activity is the development of the GS1 System, a series of standards designed to improve supply chain management.
You can read more exciting info about GS1 at their site. Saying that, the focus for you is to concentrate on following your passion and getting that Open Source Hardware invention out there for all to enjoy!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2012 Reboot
Hello World
Time goes by quickly. It is already 2012. With today being January 1, this is the traditional Reboot day for all.
A lot has changed over the past year. My consulting gig has turned out to be a full time job. I was working so much that I missed Spring, Summer and Fall. It really makes you wonder why. My purpose for being here is not for that. So, with 2012, I look forward to rebooting.
This year, I am opening my own niche company. I will be focusing on the Open Hardware area. I excel in customer service, personal interactions and have an eye for detail. I am not a walking techno-brain so I will leave the inventing up to other people. My strength is in bringing inventions to life. You, the inventor, create and leave the rest up to me. I will get your product manufactured and brought to market. As an inventor, you do what you do best - invent and put your passion into that. After that, I take over and we are off to the races.
I am so excited about this year. I will be blogging about my experience. How does one go about doing this? I am a 40-something, happily married with no kids person, presently pulling in good coin at a job that is fine. I am going to chuck it to work on something that I feel will add to my life experience as well as others. There is so much out there and it is time to go after what I want instead of playing the safe route. Even if I don't "win" and have to go back to the consulting gig, I did not fail. I will be a much stronger, different person after this experience.
I like the following as it talked to me (hopefully you too). It came from an interview Steve Jobs gave:
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/11/30/must-watch-46-seconds-of-steve-jobs-on-changing-the-world/
"When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.
That's a very limited life. Life can be MUCH BROADER. Once you discover one simple fact.
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you will never be the same again."
Happy Reboot 2012. I am rebooting and I wish you success in your reboot!
Time goes by quickly. It is already 2012. With today being January 1, this is the traditional Reboot day for all.
A lot has changed over the past year. My consulting gig has turned out to be a full time job. I was working so much that I missed Spring, Summer and Fall. It really makes you wonder why. My purpose for being here is not for that. So, with 2012, I look forward to rebooting.
This year, I am opening my own niche company. I will be focusing on the Open Hardware area. I excel in customer service, personal interactions and have an eye for detail. I am not a walking techno-brain so I will leave the inventing up to other people. My strength is in bringing inventions to life. You, the inventor, create and leave the rest up to me. I will get your product manufactured and brought to market. As an inventor, you do what you do best - invent and put your passion into that. After that, I take over and we are off to the races.
I am so excited about this year. I will be blogging about my experience. How does one go about doing this? I am a 40-something, happily married with no kids person, presently pulling in good coin at a job that is fine. I am going to chuck it to work on something that I feel will add to my life experience as well as others. There is so much out there and it is time to go after what I want instead of playing the safe route. Even if I don't "win" and have to go back to the consulting gig, I did not fail. I will be a much stronger, different person after this experience.
I like the following as it talked to me (hopefully you too). It came from an interview Steve Jobs gave:
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/11/30/must-watch-46-seconds-of-steve-jobs-on-changing-the-world/
"When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.
That's a very limited life. Life can be MUCH BROADER. Once you discover one simple fact.
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you will never be the same again."
Happy Reboot 2012. I am rebooting and I wish you success in your reboot!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Where Good Ideas Come From
Do you want a great book to read? Are you thinking and looking to the future as to what you may want to do? Each one of us is special. For some of us, it may take a bit longer to get where you want to go but you will get there. A great book that I just finished reading is: "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation" by Steven Johnson.
Patterns play a key role in good ideas coming together. Johnson states that a series of shared properties and patterns recur again and again in unusually fertile environments. There are 7 patterns and the more you embrace these patterns around YOU (home, work, play. etc), the better you will be at tapping yourself for extraordinary thinking. Your ideas should not be protected, let them run free. Share, connect them, let them run free.
Pattern One: The Adjacent Possible. As you explore what is around you, this will open up new doors to you. You start out at here but when you move to the right, you are touching new ground now. This new ground now opens up new, additional ground around that point. This was not available to you when you first started.
Pattern Two: Liquid Networks. How to push your brain toward more creative networks? You have to place it inside environments that share that same network signature: networks or people or ideas exploring the boundaries of the adjacent possible. Don't be shy here, get out there and be a part of networks that you enjoy.
Pattern Three: The Slow Hunch. Keep an idea in the back of your mind. Sustaining the slow hunch is less a matter of sweat than of cultivation. You give a hunch enough nourishment to keep it growing and plant if in fertile soil, where its roots can make new connections. Then you give it time to bloom.
Pattern Four: Serendipity: Serendipity is built out of happy accidents but what makes them happy is the discovery you've made is meaningful to you. It completes a hunch, or opens a door to the adjacent possible that you had overlooked. How can serendipity moments occur: going for a long walk, extended bath/shower, reading (carve out dedicated periods where you read a large and varied collection of books/essays in a condensed amount of time). Technology helps. Have your own collections of quotes, ideas, random discoveries, hunches. Steve Johnson uses DEVONthink for himself. Wikipedia definition of Serendipity: the property of making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated, or the occurrence of such a discovery during such a search.
Pattern Five: Error: When we're wrong, we have to challenge our assumptions, adopt new strategies. Being wrong on is own doesn't unlock new doors in the adjacent possible, but it does force us to look for them. The trouble with error is we have a natural tendency to dismiss it. You should transform error into insight.
Pattern Six: Exaptation. An organism develops a trait optimized for a specific use, but then the trait gets hijacked for a completely different function. Wikipedia example: a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behavior. Bird feathers are a classic example: initially these evolved for temperature regulation, but later were adapted for flight. Real life examples are cities and media.
The most creative individuals have broad social networks that extend outside their organization and involve people from diverse fields of expertise. Diverse, horizontal social networks are three times more innovative than uniform, vertical networks.
Pattern Seven: Platforms: Stacked platforms lies in the knowledge you no longer need to have. You don't need to know how to "do X or understand Y", you just use it and build upon it. Open platforms generate new ideas. Keep your ideas open and not closed.
Hats off to Steve Johnson!
Patterns play a key role in good ideas coming together. Johnson states that a series of shared properties and patterns recur again and again in unusually fertile environments. There are 7 patterns and the more you embrace these patterns around YOU (home, work, play. etc), the better you will be at tapping yourself for extraordinary thinking. Your ideas should not be protected, let them run free. Share, connect them, let them run free.
Pattern One: The Adjacent Possible. As you explore what is around you, this will open up new doors to you. You start out at here but when you move to the right, you are touching new ground now. This new ground now opens up new, additional ground around that point. This was not available to you when you first started.
Pattern Two: Liquid Networks. How to push your brain toward more creative networks? You have to place it inside environments that share that same network signature: networks or people or ideas exploring the boundaries of the adjacent possible. Don't be shy here, get out there and be a part of networks that you enjoy.
Pattern Three: The Slow Hunch. Keep an idea in the back of your mind. Sustaining the slow hunch is less a matter of sweat than of cultivation. You give a hunch enough nourishment to keep it growing and plant if in fertile soil, where its roots can make new connections. Then you give it time to bloom.
Pattern Four: Serendipity: Serendipity is built out of happy accidents but what makes them happy is the discovery you've made is meaningful to you. It completes a hunch, or opens a door to the adjacent possible that you had overlooked. How can serendipity moments occur: going for a long walk, extended bath/shower, reading (carve out dedicated periods where you read a large and varied collection of books/essays in a condensed amount of time). Technology helps. Have your own collections of quotes, ideas, random discoveries, hunches. Steve Johnson uses DEVONthink for himself. Wikipedia definition of Serendipity: the property of making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated, or the occurrence of such a discovery during such a search.
Pattern Five: Error: When we're wrong, we have to challenge our assumptions, adopt new strategies. Being wrong on is own doesn't unlock new doors in the adjacent possible, but it does force us to look for them. The trouble with error is we have a natural tendency to dismiss it. You should transform error into insight.
Pattern Six: Exaptation. An organism develops a trait optimized for a specific use, but then the trait gets hijacked for a completely different function. Wikipedia example: a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behavior. Bird feathers are a classic example: initially these evolved for temperature regulation, but later were adapted for flight. Real life examples are cities and media.
The most creative individuals have broad social networks that extend outside their organization and involve people from diverse fields of expertise. Diverse, horizontal social networks are three times more innovative than uniform, vertical networks.
Pattern Seven: Platforms: Stacked platforms lies in the knowledge you no longer need to have. You don't need to know how to "do X or understand Y", you just use it and build upon it. Open platforms generate new ideas. Keep your ideas open and not closed.
Hats off to Steve Johnson!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Annual Filing - are you up to date with Big Brother?
You are a starter. You have incorporated your company and you are working away creating good stuff. You are enjoying the entrepreneurial buzz. The adrenaline is rushing. The stress is there but it is the motivational kind. You are well past your first year of incorporation humming along.
Now that you have past the first year, this is an important time for your company. It is not a romantic time but it is a time nonetheless that you must go through. Is your Annual Filing information with the government up to date?
Yes, you must keep your information up to date with the government. In Canada, you can review the status of your company by visiting Corporations Canada website (http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/h_00000.html) and select "Search for a Federal Corporations". Type in your Company Name or Corporation Number and voila, you arrive at your baby. From this page, you can view the pertinent information.
The key piece that you are looking for is "Status of Annual Filings" This should be updated for the year you just finished. If it is, you are a Starter that is on the ball. If it is not, go to Corp Canada's Online Filing Centre and locate "File Annual Return". Input your company info and proceed through the steps. For a cheap $20, you can complete this in the comfort of your own space with no middlemen (can we say Canada Post). The result...a headache free and fast way to ensure you are up to date with Big Brother.
Big Brother is actually a very nice and helpful one for us Canadians. The online filing centre is so helpful that any person can go through it. As you are a starter, this will be no problem for you. Just have the discipline to do this yearly.
Now that you have past the first year, this is an important time for your company. It is not a romantic time but it is a time nonetheless that you must go through. Is your Annual Filing information with the government up to date?
Yes, you must keep your information up to date with the government. In Canada, you can review the status of your company by visiting Corporations Canada website (http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/h_00000.html) and select "Search for a Federal Corporations". Type in your Company Name or Corporation Number and voila, you arrive at your baby. From this page, you can view the pertinent information.
The key piece that you are looking for is "Status of Annual Filings" This should be updated for the year you just finished. If it is, you are a Starter that is on the ball. If it is not, go to Corp Canada's Online Filing Centre and locate "File Annual Return". Input your company info and proceed through the steps. For a cheap $20, you can complete this in the comfort of your own space with no middlemen (can we say Canada Post). The result...a headache free and fast way to ensure you are up to date with Big Brother.
Big Brother is actually a very nice and helpful one for us Canadians. The online filing centre is so helpful that any person can go through it. As you are a starter, this will be no problem for you. Just have the discipline to do this yearly.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Escape from Cubicle Nation Review
Hello Everyone
I have just finished reading the book, "Escape from Cubicle Nation" by Pamela Slim. This book is on my reading list which comes from Josh Kaufman via his PMBA reading list (http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/).
If you are a person that is thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, this is a good book to read. Pamela has captured many essential points you should think of before you take the leap. If in your mind you are ready to take the plunge, she provides many good points that you should have thought of before you run, run, run.
If you are married, you need your spouse on your side, pulling for you and not impeding you. You must have the conversation with them as you are thinking of doing this and continue to converse with them to ensure they back you up. The two of you must be on the same page and there are many good points that Pam brings forward in the book.
Pamela had many good points that I could go on an on about. Instead of regurgitating them, I urge you to read the book yourself (You can buy if from Amazon: http://amzn.to/9GRVR0) . I will point out some good topics that were of particular interest to me.
One of the biggest fears of taking the leap to an entrepreneur is the Fear of Failing. Fear is a natural instinct within us and it is something that you should harness so it will work for you and not against you:
- Examine the truth of the fear.
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- Develop a strong safety net.
Passion. Summed up in one word what entrepreneurs answer is the critical ingredient in business models. So, when you really feel enthusiastic about what you are doing, it is not work, it is like play. You will not even notice time fly by. So, passion is the key!
Would you like Fries with that? An interesting concept she had in her book. This refers to coming up with truly useful add-ons that won't be a huge price burden for the customer. Example: when a customer buys a router, ask them, "Would you like fries with that?" and watch them add ten dongles to their purchase. Would you like fries with that wOOush (dongle).
Another good point Pamela brings up is "The Fatal Assumption". This is attributed to Michael Gerber in he book called "The E-Myth" which describes "Why most small businesses don't work and that to do about it".
The Fatal Assumption is: If you understand the technical part of the business, you understand a business that does technical work".
The reason it is fatal is that it just is not true. In fact, it is the root cause of most small business failures. The technical work of a business and a business that does that work are two totally different things. Example: the engineer goes into the semiconductor business; the technical writer starts a technical writing business.
These people believe that by understanding the technical work of the business they are immediately and eminently qualified to run a business that does that kind of work.
This is simply not true!
Pamela also has some good insights on "Signs your Business idea Might be Feasible or Might be an Expensive Hobby". I would suggest going over this to help guide you.
As you move forward from employee to entrepreneur, ensure you have a team that you call on. You will need people to talk with regularly and bounce ideas off of. Other people you can use them as resources as they will have expertise in an area you are not, you can use them for idea generation, etc. Having people with you for the journey makes it easier on yourself.
Pamela references Guy Kawasaki and he has some good advice in the book, "The Art of the Start". This is in regards to "Make Meaning". The truth is that no one really knows if he is an entrepreneur until he becomes one - and sometimes not even then. There really is only one question you should ask yourself before starting any new venture:
Do I Want To Make Meaning?
Meaning is not about making money, power or prestige. It's not even about creating a fun place to work. Among the meanings of "meaning" are to:
- Make the world a better place.
- Increase the quality of life.
- Right a terrible wrong.
- Prevent the end of something good.
To summarize, Escape from Cubicle Nation is a very practical book that is chock full of advice for people contemplating the move to becoming an entrepreneur. If you have "crossed the Rubicon" in your mind, this is still a good book to tie up loose ends and jog the memory and guide you in the beginning parts of your journey.
I hope you enjoy Escape from Cubicle Nation as much as I did.
Mark
I have just finished reading the book, "Escape from Cubicle Nation" by Pamela Slim. This book is on my reading list which comes from Josh Kaufman via his PMBA reading list (http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/).
If you are a person that is thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, this is a good book to read. Pamela has captured many essential points you should think of before you take the leap. If in your mind you are ready to take the plunge, she provides many good points that you should have thought of before you run, run, run.
If you are married, you need your spouse on your side, pulling for you and not impeding you. You must have the conversation with them as you are thinking of doing this and continue to converse with them to ensure they back you up. The two of you must be on the same page and there are many good points that Pam brings forward in the book.
Pamela had many good points that I could go on an on about. Instead of regurgitating them, I urge you to read the book yourself (You can buy if from Amazon: http://amzn.to/9GRVR0) . I will point out some good topics that were of particular interest to me.
One of the biggest fears of taking the leap to an entrepreneur is the Fear of Failing. Fear is a natural instinct within us and it is something that you should harness so it will work for you and not against you:
- Examine the truth of the fear.
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- Develop a strong safety net.
Passion. Summed up in one word what entrepreneurs answer is the critical ingredient in business models. So, when you really feel enthusiastic about what you are doing, it is not work, it is like play. You will not even notice time fly by. So, passion is the key!
Would you like Fries with that? An interesting concept she had in her book. This refers to coming up with truly useful add-ons that won't be a huge price burden for the customer. Example: when a customer buys a router, ask them, "Would you like fries with that?" and watch them add ten dongles to their purchase. Would you like fries with that wOOush (dongle).
Another good point Pamela brings up is "The Fatal Assumption". This is attributed to Michael Gerber in he book called "The E-Myth" which describes "Why most small businesses don't work and that to do about it".
The Fatal Assumption is: If you understand the technical part of the business, you understand a business that does technical work".
The reason it is fatal is that it just is not true. In fact, it is the root cause of most small business failures. The technical work of a business and a business that does that work are two totally different things. Example: the engineer goes into the semiconductor business; the technical writer starts a technical writing business.
These people believe that by understanding the technical work of the business they are immediately and eminently qualified to run a business that does that kind of work.
This is simply not true!
Pamela also has some good insights on "Signs your Business idea Might be Feasible or Might be an Expensive Hobby". I would suggest going over this to help guide you.
As you move forward from employee to entrepreneur, ensure you have a team that you call on. You will need people to talk with regularly and bounce ideas off of. Other people you can use them as resources as they will have expertise in an area you are not, you can use them for idea generation, etc. Having people with you for the journey makes it easier on yourself.
Pamela references Guy Kawasaki and he has some good advice in the book, "The Art of the Start". This is in regards to "Make Meaning". The truth is that no one really knows if he is an entrepreneur until he becomes one - and sometimes not even then. There really is only one question you should ask yourself before starting any new venture:
Do I Want To Make Meaning?
Meaning is not about making money, power or prestige. It's not even about creating a fun place to work. Among the meanings of "meaning" are to:
- Make the world a better place.
- Increase the quality of life.
- Right a terrible wrong.
- Prevent the end of something good.
To summarize, Escape from Cubicle Nation is a very practical book that is chock full of advice for people contemplating the move to becoming an entrepreneur. If you have "crossed the Rubicon" in your mind, this is still a good book to tie up loose ends and jog the memory and guide you in the beginning parts of your journey.
I hope you enjoy Escape from Cubicle Nation as much as I did.
Mark
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Hello World on Re-Boot Day
Hello World
My name is Mark Gyurcsik and this is my first blog post. Not to say I am not publishing on the web as I do have my identi.ca account (get yourself one if you are not on identi.ca yet).
Today, June 1 is an exciting day as it is Re-Boot Day. This is the day in the year (half way more or less), that I celebrate to recalibrate myself for the remainder of the year. Re-Boot day is just like New Year's Day. Out with the old and in with the new. You need to do this throughout the year to keep yourself fresh, new and optimistic for the remainder of the year. Life can throw many things at you consistently. Do not fret over them as the future is always hopeful. Push and persevere.
So everyone, please join me in celebrating Re-Boot Day. Recalibrate your goals. Start fresh and new. The year is young and the possibilities are endless. What will you do to Re-Boot yourself?
Mark
My name is Mark Gyurcsik and this is my first blog post. Not to say I am not publishing on the web as I do have my identi.ca account (get yourself one if you are not on identi.ca yet).
Today, June 1 is an exciting day as it is Re-Boot Day. This is the day in the year (half way more or less), that I celebrate to recalibrate myself for the remainder of the year. Re-Boot day is just like New Year's Day. Out with the old and in with the new. You need to do this throughout the year to keep yourself fresh, new and optimistic for the remainder of the year. Life can throw many things at you consistently. Do not fret over them as the future is always hopeful. Push and persevere.
So everyone, please join me in celebrating Re-Boot Day. Recalibrate your goals. Start fresh and new. The year is young and the possibilities are endless. What will you do to Re-Boot yourself?
Mark
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