Luckily when I wrote my business plan I included several different strategies for bringing my product to market. Of course finding a licensing partner was my first strategy after all it was the cheapest and easiest to execute. Early on in this process several people told me that I had to be prepared to bring this product to market on my own; that is produce it, develop the distribution channels and get it in front of the end consumer. After I got over the disappointment from the licensing deal that fell through the first thing I did was go back and review my business plan, there were still a lot of good strategies in there I hadn't  executed yet and it was time to get going.

I knew I had to develop a larger unit from the feedback I got at the show, so I drew up some design drawings and sent them to the wire production team at Kasper Wire Works. It would take 6 to 8 weeks before I received a first prototype. I also took this opportunity to improve the design of the handles so they would fold up better for easier shipping. I sent a sample of the smaller current version to a Chinese importer recommended by a fellow inventor I meet at the show, to see if I could get my production cost in line. At the show a lot of people like my concept, but thought I was nuts to even consider making it in US. Finally I started contacting every company that did business in the kitchen gadget and utensil market space. I kept very detailed records of the companies I solicited, who I talked to, who I emailed, what correspondence I sent and where I mailed samples to. Also in my original business plan was a strategy to partner with one of the premium Hotdog manufacturers, to me it made perfect sense, my market research showed the customers that owned a Hotdog Ez Bun Steamer reported consuming 30% to 40% more hotdogs, after all their Hotdog appetite was no longer limited because the only buns in their kitchen were stale.

So I guess as it turned out I actually implemented plan B, plan C, plan D and plan E at the same time. As you can see I was pulling out all the stops, but without a licensing deal it would take at least 6 months before my product was ready for the next step, unfortunately I didn't have 6 months, I had a family to feed. That’s when I got a phone call from one of my most trusted former bosses offering me a job selling consumer electronics again.