r/manufacturing • u/Desperate_Wonder315 • 8d ago

Productivity Question

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a manufacturing business but lacks a specific product idea? While the common advice is to leverage existing industry knowledge, their background is primarily in accounting. How can they identify a viable direction?

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u/sarcasmsmarcasm 8d ago

Don't.

Owning and operating a manufacturing business is not like deciding to start mowing lawns when you are 15 years old.

The expertise in the process is very important. Knowing the product is critical. Understanding process flow, manufacturing terms, a bit of engineering, purchasing, selling, and so much more are vital to success.

Then there is the "is it the right industry for me" question. If you don't even know what you want to produce, then you have no idea if you will find any joy or interest to carry you through each day.

If you have interest in a long term plan to start one, get a multi year job working in manyfacturing and learn about it first.

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u/SquigglyEmperor 8d ago

find a small local manufacturer that'll let you shadow for a week, you'll spot a dozen problems worth solving faster than any spreadsheet could tell you

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u/Aggressive_Ad_507 8d ago

The people I've seen pull this off are business owners and entrepreneurs who build off of their existing skillset in business. Entrepreneurs who don't come from a manufacturing background treat it like any other business and hire talent as needed. I don't believe someone needs to know manufacturing to start a manufacturing business, they just need to know how to start a business, and there are plenty of resources on how to do that.