How can I estimate the market size for a platform business that combines product information with consumer behavior information?

Walmart calls it "Pay from Scan." Also "Guaranteed Sales." Sam's Club calls it a "Road Show."

Your brand must conjure associations beyond the clothing itself. Fabric is only fabric. Attractive design matters, but market competition is enough to drive down prices. If you intend to ask a premium, then your product line must SUGGEST more than it literally is. Eventually, certain brands reach maturity and can point to an established reputation or high-profile adoption by the rich and famous. But you can start out by honing a brand "story" that captivates attention. Parts of that story are visual; others are verbal. Naming -- which is a large part of what I do -- is crucial when it comes to instantaneous unconscious communication. The right name tells your story for you on first contact with investors or consumers. Thereafter, it echoes in the mind, resonating with associations people bring to your product from their own experiences. Those associations add value. This is true whether you're a luxury brand or a maker of upscale outdoor gear like Patagonia, which takes its name from rugged South American highlands. In addition to your brand name, I would recommend paying close attention to all of your written copy. Make it unified and stylish ... in whatever way best fits your product line and intended audience.

Having 4 dogs and being a former sugar addict, I love the idea of dog cupcakes, kudos! My wife and I are currently solving a very similar issue with her t-shirt business. We don't have a freshness issue to deal with like you do, however we do have a scalability and growth issue that we are tackling. Understand, there isn't really anything that remarkable about dog cupcakes, it's cool concept but it would be very easy for someone to deconstruct and create their own recipe and brand. So you'll need to focus on how you sell your cupcakes. What value you offer your customers? Why your recipe is unique? Is there any portion of your product, formula or service that could be trademarked or patented? Do you have a memorable name, tagline and mascot? Are the health benefits to your product? I know that in some cases pet food can be highly regulated so you may not be able to make specific health claims. Next, I think you should look at a three pronged approach that is scalable: 1. Continue to develop your local market, treating it like a test kitchen. Work on new recipes, concepts, products, ideas and test them locally. Build a unique product line and a unique system for creating those products. 2. Develop a strong network of pet owners, pet shops, boutiques, organizations and so on. 3. Market your dog cupcake system and sell it as a turnkey package. This could be as simple or as fancy as you want to make it. The simple way would be to sell one time "starter package" with upgrades on a subscription model. This would include order forms, marketing plans, marketing materials, new product ideas, training videos, shopping lists, ingredients and so on. The expensive way would be to lawyer up and create an actual franchise but this can be very very expensive. I hope this was helpful and I'd be happy to work with you further on developing your business. Good luck and I look forward to buying Sadie, Charlie, Nixie and Sachi some tasty treats from you in the near future!

I have several years of experience in marketing and optimization in the eCommerce space for one of the largest online jewelry retailers in the U.S. I also have several year of experience working with online retailers that operate under a subscription models. In order to answer your question, you will need to consider the following: Will your subscription revenue generate enough income to maintain the operational strains of this business model and be profitable? If you do not know the answer to this, you need to work backwards to arrive at the monthly pricing for your subscription service. Some things to consider: 1. Cost associated with operational logistics like shipping and fulfillment (assuming customers have to receive and ship the jewelry back to you) 2. Carrying costs associated with holding on to inventory on consignment. (assuming you will not own the jewelry outright) This may come with other contingencies like having to carry insurance and the operational aspects that will help you handle recovery of lost / unreturned inventory, etc. 3. Costs associated with building a transactional platform that is built for the monthly activity you will have with a subscriptions service. If you take Macy's for example, most customers place online orders 4 times per year or so. In your case, the nature of your model requires a different platform as you will be taking recurring payments, arranging returns, maintaining credit card / payment information, etc. In short, its a different animal that your startup eCommerce type platform. If you'd like to get more details or insights I'd be happy to hop on a call and chat.

I live in Brooklyn, NY, which is a really fertile ground for small business retailers. My experience speaking with a lot of the shop owners is that they simply don't have the resources to maintain an online presence. Just keeping the brick and mortar operation running consumes most, if not all of their time, especially if the are also creating and producing their own products. For many that I do see take a shot at e-commerce retailing, they may get Shopify/Squarespace site set-up, then just run out of steam to keep it going. One innovative, in-between approach that I've seen one of my favorite shops take, is to actually focus on using a single social media channel, Instagram, and maintain an e-commerce function through it. (See @peopleof2morrow on Instagram)