There is a process in an internet business which I haven’t mentioned in a blog entry before. It doesn’t have to apply to information products. It can actually apply to most types of products.

Sometimes putting your own steps into a flowchart will make your own business easier to understand. Spotting unnecessary steps and eliminating unproductive parts can save time, as well as money in some cases.

Here’s the business process.
I’ve added descriptions for each process. If you’d like to use this for improving your own business, feel free to do so.

New Product Development

Engineering

The first part is engineering. In my business, it is not drawing a blueprint, nor is it using some special software, or hiring some specialist to do any work for me. Engineering in the product creation process is getting an idea. Using my own brain and thinking about what I know. If there’s an idea I think of which I want to pursue, but need additional information for a product, I will use content sites, blogs, books, and friends for additional research.

Production

Once you’ve researched your idea of a product in the engineering step and have decided to pursue it, you will now need to produce it. In my internet business, producing a product has a process within itself. For videos, it starts with recording using screen capture software. They are then compiled into a compatible format for best viewing experience. Audio, or text, and software may also be used instead of video.

Now, the videos I compiled are ready to be burned to a CD or DVD. I use data CD’s if my product will fit on them.

Does the product work when played from the CD? Yes? Then it’s time to download the software from the “machine”, or CD/DVD manufacturing service.

The manufacturing service software uses 6 steps with the outcome of your CD or DVD being ready to purchase by a customer, or in quantities for yourself.

Finance

There have been no costs in the product creation process at this point.

Marketing

This is an endless procedure. I release my product for the first time promoting it in a new blog entry as a special. The subscribers who are on my blog update list are often the first to be notified, to purchase my new product.

I’ll continue to promote the product on my blog as necessary.

I’ll also write articles, or will have articles written for me to promote my product further.

Sales and Support

Sales are taken care of by the manufacturing service. A check is mailed to me once a month. $1.60 is deducted from each sale for the cost of the CD/DVD disc and case. The manufacturing service charges the customer a handling fee, and the correct shipping cost to get the product to their address. I do not keep either of these fees.

No support is available for the product. Neither I or the manufacturing service accept refunds for the physical disc courses. All steps should be clear enough to understand in the course, and the disc was already tested and works from my own computer. Any additional information is found at my blog. The URL is advertised either in the product itself, or on the case of the product.