Week 6, a change in direction! We are now focusing our energy on producing bracelets because it through various customer discoveries the profit margin between producing bracelets and producing dog collars showed to be of minuscule value. Therefore, by focusing on just producing bracelets we can produce more in order to server the JMU student body! 

We have also begun trying a different design for our bracelets. The new design would only encompass us to use one type of rope and therefore eliminating the process of binding two colors. So far we have had mixed reviews on the new design. Both male and female demographics seem to like the bolded two color coordination bracelets however the male demographic have also high remarks for the new design as well. We will continue on discovering our customer segments and hope to schedule some time next week with various clubs in order to get our product out there. The days are going fast therefore we are now stressing to make it big! 

This week JMADDY gear has focused on continuing to do more market research and discover how much customers are really willing to pay for our products. What we have learned is that many customers are more than willing to pay approximately $5 for our purple and gold paracord bracelets. We started production the previous week and have already sold the dozen or so we made. What we have found is that although our target market is people who would consider themselves adventurers, many other people are willing to buy the product simply for the unique school spirited bracelet that is unprecedented on JMU's campus. As for the pet collars, we have not begun production, but are still pondering on possible ways to make our rugged collars adjustable. Our current problem is that we would have to get measurements form each customer and then custom make the collar for every customer. We feel that this may make our already narrow market even smaller as many customers may not be willing to take measurements themselves, order the collar, and then wait several days to receive their product.

Board Meeting 2

Some things we took from your responses:
            Try to expand our market into other areas
            ›Maybe add another design
            ›Try to sell face to face to alumni and students at School sponsored events such as football games
            ›May introduce other colors for more specialization

The Statistics: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhZ6z9U6rHr0dGFFN1pNMTlpRGs5WlhLMnBiTFpNdXc

This past week were working on continuing customer discoveries and really trying to hone in on what will make our product stand out to potential consumers. We realized that students around JMU really like the idea of JMU themed dog colors. Through some customer interviews we even had people saying they would purchase one even if they do not have a dog, but would give it to someone as a gift! We have also decided to make our dog collars ourselves which will allow us to make them cheaper and keep costs down. It is so important for us to keep our costs down because our potential customer base is very concerned with price. Looking forward we would like to have the first batches of collars out by next week!! We are also going to continue to make the JMU bracelets because they are super easy to make and are actually selling and are able to give ussmall amounts of income as we await our dog collar production.

This week JMADDY Gear has focused on learning what is JMU students would like to see in JMADDY's gear pet line. Many students have expressed to us that they would be very interested in quality, school spirited pet collars; specifically for dogs and cats. One of the potential materials we would use is paracord, also known as "550" cord, for of its 550 lb weight capacity. Using a cobra weave, paracord can be woven to make an approximately 3/4" wide weave that can be made to your desired length. Using paracord as the material will allow us to offer a unique and incredibly durable pet collar to JMU's animal lovers. 

One of the problems we have realized with our product is the collars are made to length and do not accommodate adjustments. And because dogs come in many shapes and sizes it would be difficult to pre-make collars. This means we will either need to design a way to make these collars adjustable or only do custom orders. 

Another product we have been working on is a JMU colors paracord bracelet. We have already made some prototypes and they have gotten some great responses from students. Making the bracelets to be two colors involves cutting and melting two different colored lines of paracord and melting them together to form one uniformed piece. Its not too difficult but requires a little more time.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KDF3rAfHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwEZVEPJ2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-R4tgNWTIc

Board Meeting 1 Suggestions:

}Based on the written assessments we are going to:
   
    }Continue with customer discovery to gather more proof of demand

    }Give the product a name more relating to Dog accessories

    }Focus on JMU Alumni and parents of Students as a Novelty Item

    }Distinctly define which products we will produce

    }Focus on person to person selling

    }Consider Cat Collars along with Dog Collars