If you have an idea for a new product, where do you start?  Starting a new product or service can be challenging!  It would be nice to put down some steps on how to get going with the product.  Getting the product in front of customers is still some time away, but you don’t want to wait too long.  Do you know who your best customer is?  Your best customer isn’t “Everybody”.  How should you best focus your marketing money?  These are all questions that should be answered in order to successfully sell your product. 

Your product also needs an identity.  Something that will differentiate it from others out there.  An identity is more than just a name and a logo.  Will the identity you’ve chosen serve you?  Does the identity fit in with other products in your portfolio?  Is your message consistent?

While working as an avionics engineer, I was asked take over as Technical Project Manager for a retiring coworker.  While working as a Technical Project Manager on the factory release of a new product, I became interested in product management.  I didn’t know anything about product management, but it piqued my interest.  At the time, I had spent over twenty years working as a System Engineer on smart highway projects, telecommunications systems, fiberoptic networks, and avionics systems.  I wanted to go in a new direction.