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Product EVO, 1173 South 250 West, Suite 107, Saint George, UT (2026)

06/10/2025

Every time you personally handle a factory issue, you steal your team's growth.

I see this pattern with every product founder I work with.

Quality issue hits → Founder jumps on a plane to China.
Shipment delay → Founder handles vendor negotiations personally.
Production hiccup → Founder becomes the sole point of contact.

The result? Your team learns to wait instead of solve.

They stop developing supplier relationships. They avoid making manufacturing decisions. They defer to you on quality standards.

You think you're being responsible. Really, you're creating dependency.
Here's what successful product companies do:

→ Build escalation protocols before crises hit
→ Train teams to own factory relationships
→ Create decision frameworks for quality issues
→ Document supplier communication standards

Your job isn't to be the best factory manager on your team. It's to build a team that doesn't need you to manage factories.

Product heroes create dependent teams. System builders create capable ones.

What factory issue are you handling that your team should own?

05/14/2025

Trust Actions, Not Promises: The Hidden Cost of Supply Chain Transitions

In the wake of the recent US-China 90-day tariff pause, I've been having candid conversations with small business owners struggling with a critical question: "Should I believe my potential new factory when they promise a quick transition?"

The hard truth I've learned over 10+ years in supply chain management: **actions speak infinitely louder than words**.

When evaluating a factory's claims about transition timelines, look beyond the sales pitch to their track record:

• Ask for specific examples of similar transitions they've completed
• Request contact information for 2-3 references who underwent comparable shifts
• Inquire about their documented processes for knowledge transfer
• Evaluate their contingency planning for inevitable setbacks

Vietnam is backlogged right now. They don't have the labor to handle the huge increase in demand. Projects are moving slower than normal.

The most successful transitions I've overseen take 6-9 months minimum, even with established relationships and meticulous planning. Those who acknowledge this reality upfront are precisely the partners you want during challenging shifts.

As you navigate these uncertain waters, remember this: a partner who tells you the comfortable timeline you want to hear is less valuable than one who tells you the uncomfortable truth you need to prepare for.

What's been your experience with manufacturing transitions? Has a supplier ever over-promised and under-delivered on timeline commitments?

05/13/2025

"Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive"
--Andy Grove (Former Intel CEO)

The US and China agreed to a 90-day reduction in tariffs on Monday.

It offers short-term relief but creates long-term risk.

Every founder manufacturing in China should treat this tariff pause like a deceptive calm before a storm.

While others get comfortable, you should be getting ahead.

Strategic Urgency Loop
Use this 3-step mindset shift to avoid sliding into inaction:

1 - Assume volatility. Recent history has proven that nothing is predictable. Bet on disruption, not relief.

2 - Move while others pause. Competitors will delay action. You’ll gain margin, lead time, and capacity by acting now.

3 - Use the lull to lock in leverage. Negotiate while factories are still quiet—not when the rush starts in late Q3.

Actionable Takeaway:
If you're not making decisions faster during calm periods, you’re setting yourself up to lose during chaos. Use this pause to buy leverage, not time.

04/29/2025

Tariffs are loud—but are they really your biggest profit-eater? 🤔

Here’s a little secret I've discovered after working with dozens of entrepreneurs and SMBs:
The loudest problems aren't always the most expensive.

Sure, tariffs hurt, but sneaky costs like slow lead times, inconsistent quality, and lackluster supplier relationships quietly devour your margins.

My fix? The Tariff Impact Scorecard:

✅ List ALL suppliers (yes, even your packaging guys and 3PLs—no one escapes the list!)
✅ Rate each supplier (1-5 scale) on Cost, Quality, Consistency, Lead Time, Partnership Strength, and Tariff Exposure.
✅ Apply weighted scoring (Hint: Tariffs might be 30%, but don’t overlook lead time at 15% or partnerships at 20%).
✅ Spot your weakest links first, then make strategic, targeted shifts.

This isn’t theory. It’s math.
You’ll uncover hidden profit potential and stop chasing shiny tariff distractions.

Give it a try—your CFO (or your wallet) will thank you later. 💸

Curious—what hidden costs have surprised you lately? Drop your stories below!

04/16/2025

How bad did tariffs smack your business in the face? Feels like getting sucker-punched by Uncle Sam.

Here’s the thing: waiting to see what happens is NOT a strategy. In my experience, reacting to tariff hikes after the fact is like patching holes in a sinking ship—too late, too wet, and way too messy.

Try This Instead:

The 72-Hour Tariff Turnaround Playbook:

1. Set Your Pricing Guardrails: Define exactly how much you can adjust prices before impacting your competitive edge.

2. Identify New Suppliers: Identify backup suppliers outside tariff-heavy zones now. Many of your competitors are waiting, but suppliers outside of China are already getting a wave of new RFQs. Get ahead of the curve now.

3. Clarify Communications: Create a plan now to communicate price changes clearly and proactively with customers.

4. Identify Trigger Metrics: Decide on specific metrics ahead of time that automatically trigger your predefined response.

5. Create An Inventory Plan: Most of your competitors just cancelled orders from their Chinese factories. How can you maintain inventory levels to gain sales while they fail to deliver?

Because tariffs shouldn’t dictate your profit—YOU should.

Curious—do you have a tariff playbook ready, or are you still reacting? Drop your strategy (or struggles!) below. Let's swap tips! 👇

02/06/2025

A crucial part of starting QA in the prototyping phase is establishing initial quality standards. These standards serve as a baseline for what constitutes acceptable quality in your product.

Here's how we approach developing these initial standards at Product EVO:

✅ Identify Critical Parameters: During prototyping, we identify the key characteristics that are essential to your product's function, safety, and user experience. These might include dimensions, performance metrics, aesthetic features, or durability factors.

✅ Set Measurable Criteria: For each critical parameter, we establish measurable criteria. For example, if we're prototyping a water bottle, we might set standards for leak resistance, drop strength, and insulation performance.

✅ Define Acceptable Ranges: We determine what range of variation is acceptable for each parameter. This helps distinguish between minor variations that don't affect quality and significant deviations that do.

✅ Document Testing Methods: We outline specific methods for testing each quality standard. This ensures consistency in how we evaluate prototypes and, later, production samples.

✅ Refine Through Iteration: As we produce and test multiple prototypes, we refine these standards. We might tighten tolerances where we find it's necessary for product performance, or loosen them where we discover overly strict standards are driving up costs without adding value.

Ready to define what good looks like?

Read more on our blog at https://hubs.li/Q034MGr40

01/28/2025

🎯 Quality Management isn't just a checkpoint – it's the backbone of business excellence. Swipe through to discover the 4 pillars of effective QA that drive sustainable success.

The QA Promise: Transforming business operations through systematic excellence and unwavering commitment to quality. Here's how →

🔍 Defect Prevention: Stop problems before they start. Proactive identification and correction save resources and maintain product integrity. Quality isn't expensive – it's priceless.

✓ Compliance Mastery: Meeting industry standards isn't optional. Strong QC ensures legal and ethical operations, building trust with stakeholders and regulators alike.

Customer-First Focus: Exceed expectations, don't just meet them. When quality becomes your signature, customer loyalty follows naturally.

📈 Never Stop Improving: Quality Management is a journey, not a destination. Use data-driven insights to continuously refine and enhance your processes.

Learn more here 👉 https://hubs.li/Q034mBq60

01/16/2025

Your factory should be more than just a yes-man. You want a partner who's going to push back when your designs are off, suggest improvements, and generally act like they have a stake in your product's success.

Because guess what?

They do.

Here's what you should be looking for:

🗣️Proactive Communication: They should be flagging issues before they become disasters.

⚙️ Quality Systems in Place: Ask about their internal QA processes. If they look at you like you've grown a second head, run.

👀 Transparency: They should be open about their capabilities and limitations. No smoke and mirrors.

📈 Continuous Improvement: Look for a factory that's always trying to up their game.

It's on you to set the standard and keep them accountable.

Ready to learn more?

Read our latest blog on Quality Control at https://hubs.li/Q032VhDt0

12/03/2024

🔍 Think Quality Management is just about catching defects? Think bigger!

Here's what many businesses don't realize: true quality management is about building excellence into EVERY stage of your product's journey - from initial design to final delivery.

A solid Quality Management System has two powerful components:

✅ Quality Assurance: Preventing problems before they happen
✅ Quality Control: Making sure everything meets your high standards

Growing your business? This becomes even more crucial! As you expand, your quality system needs to grow with you, ensuring every single product maintains that same level of excellence your customers expect.

👉 What quality challenges is your business facing? Share your experiences below!

08/13/2024

You can fool everyone but your customers.

Build products from the outside in. Start with customer love, then business model, then funding, then teams.

A product without buyers is just an expensive hobby.

07/17/2024

Here's a startling statistic: 95% of new products fail!

Why? According to CB Insights, it’s because almost 54% of new products either had a flawed business model or there wasn’t a market need for the product.
Avoid common pitfalls by following these four steps:

1️⃣ Uncover Customer Needs: What is it that your target market really needs and wants versus what you want to innovate?

2️⃣ Estimate Total Market Size: Market size doesn’t necessarily mean opportunity size. Use your research of competitors to evaluate a reasonable market size for your product.

3️⃣ Estimate Serviceable Obtainable Market: Be like Goldilocks: don’t go too big and
don’t go too small with your obtainable market size. It could work against you.

4️⃣ Stop Vetting and Move On: Market research won’t give a 100% answer. You have to continuously define and redefine your product, its marketing, and your business model.

Want more?

Check out our guide on “How to Conduct Market Research for a New Physical Product: A Step-by-Step Guide."

https://hubs.li/Q02GjdVX0

07/09/2024

When creating a new physical product, it's easy to try and please everyone.

But Airbnb CEO and Co-founder, Brian Chesky, has an idea that can help solve this dilemma: Build something 100 people love, not something 1,000,000 people kind of like.

As entrepreneurs building a physical product, it's tempting to try to appeal to everyone, but real impact, loyalty, and enthusiasm comes from creating a product that deeply affects a select group of people and solves a meaningful problem for them.. When you are developing a new product, it is better to appeal to an exclusive audience who will fall in love with it rather than a larger audience who’s indifferent.

If you want to learn how to uncover what the 100 people who will love your product need, read our latest blog on conducting market research for new physical products: https://hubs.li/Q02FYb3P0

Product EVO

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