If you followed the steps in the earlier post, you now have product number one: a board built from in-stock parts at JLCPCB or a similar fab, with a design you can reorder and have assembled in days or weeks.
The business model is simple: build to order. You take payment, then you order the build. The inventory sits in someone else’s warehouse until you need it.
This works now because of three shifts:
- Assembly houses like JLCPCB and similar fabs keep large in-stock parts lists.
- Fabrication cycles are short. Days, not months.
- Shipping is predictable enough to plan around.
Put those together and the risk flips. You can sell first and build second. You do not have to buy hundreds of boards to make the numbers work. You can match small batches to real orders.
There are rules that keep this from breaking:
- Be honest about lead times. If it is two weeks, say two weeks.
- Protect cash flow. Build to order means you get paid before you buy parts.
The bigger point is who gets to play.
A single person can now run a hardware business that used to require a factory. Not because hardware became easy, but because fabrication became a utility you can rent in small slices.
That changes what gets built. Small markets and odd niches become viable.
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