Bring Your Product Idea to Life - My experience attending the Top Drawer Trade Show

Jan 13, 2023

Creating a product to solve a problem - with Laura Seago - Futliit

This week my guest on the podcast is Laura Seago from Futliit. Futliit makes LED backpacks that use tech to make you properly visible. Our smart light-up backpacks are ideal for kids walking to school, commuters and in fact anyone who needs to be seen at night. Laura is a wonderful example of someone who saw a problem, and created a product to overcome this. Once she started looking into road safety stats she found that the majority of pedestrian accidents were between 3-6pm, when people are walking home from school and work. Laura worked with her family and carefully assembled team of teen testers and parents to develop the Futliit LED backpack. Laura shares the challenges and rewards of designing a product for teens, sourcing suppliers, dealing with covid delays, and marketing a new product that people do not know to look for. We also cover the specific mindset challenges of setting up your own business in mid-life, and navigating new technology and marketing platforms. Listen in to hear Laura share: * An introduction to herself and her business (01:14) * The inspiration for creating Futliit (01:44) * The seriousness of the problem (04:31) * Researching the market to see if there was anything else that solved the problem (07:09) * Putting together a test group of teens and parents (09:01) * Finding a manufacturer (15:55) * Dealing with delays in getting hold of samples (18:36) * Teaching herself the skills to run the business (22:12) * The challenges and rewards of creating a product for teenagers (26:08) * Marketing a product which people don’t know to look for (31:06) * Learning about SEO (32:32) * Choosing the right social media platforms to be on (33:56) * Using your network (39:11) * The importance of mindset and confidence when running your own product business (42:42) * Her number one piece of advice for other product creators (51:48) USEFUL RESOURCES: Futliit Website Futlitt Facebook Futliit Instagram Laura Seago Linked In Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber Of Commerce LET’S CONNECT Join my free Facebook group for product makers and creators Find me on Instagram Work with me Mentioned in this episode: Book your mini strategy session at discounted rate until the end of Jan 2023 Are you wondering whether you should start selling on Amazon? Maybe you have no idea what’s involved in selling a product on Amazon – and how to get started. Perhaps you’re not sure if you’d make any (or enough) sales? It could be that you need some certainty around whether it’s a good investment and worth your time. Book a Mini Strategy Session with me to find out whether it’s worth selling your product on Amazon, plus the steps you’d need to take to make it happen). If this is on your plan for this year I’d love to help you. I’m offering £20 off this service, until the end of January 2023. You’ll see the discount on the booking page. Book an Amazon mini strategy...

54 min