Do you want to start a glove company? If YES, here is a 19-step guide on how to start a surgical glove manufacturing business with no money or experience.
Surgical gloves are part of the medical supplies that are used in hospitals, labs and medical facilities, and those that are in the business of producing surgical gloves are known to generate sales always if the business is properly managed. Economic downturn hardly affects the usage of surgical gloves because it is one commodity that plays a major role in the health sector.
Steps to Starting a Surgical Gloves Manufacturing Company
1. Understand the Industry
Surgical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical examinations and other medical procedures to help prevent contamination of the patient during invasive procedures and to protect the hand from exposure to potentially infectious materials.
Surgical gloves are made of different polymers including latex, nitrile rubber, polyvinyl chloride and neoprene; they come unpowdered, or powdered with cornstarch to lubricate the gloves, making them easier to put on the hands
The sizing of surgical gloves is based on the measured length across the palm in inches, at a level slightly above the thumbs sewn. Surgical gloves are usually sized more precisely since they are worn for a much longer period of time and require exceptional dexterity.
Some of the leading players in the surgical gloves manufacturing industry are from the United States of America, and some of these surgical gloves manufacturing companies outsource the production of their gloves to other parts of the world; predominantly countries in Asia in a bid to cut cost.
The surgical gloves manufacturing industry is growing and there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch their own business from the scratch and still become a globally recognized surgical gloves brand. The advent of computer and computer software brought leverage in the surgical gloves manufacturing industry as the designing of surgical gloves can be conveniently done with the aid of a software.
2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies
- Demographics and Psychographics
Surgical gloves are used by medical practitioners and scientists. So, if you are thinking of starting your own surgical gloves manufacturing business, then you should look beyond producing and marketing your products to just medical facilities and labs in your city, but also all across the United States of America and other parts of the world.
3. Decide What Niche to Concentrate On
There is no niche area of specialization when it comes to the manufacturing of surgical gloves.
The Level of Competition in the Industry
The competition that exists in the surgical gloves manufacturing business goes beyond competitions amongst surgical gloves manufacturers in your city or country as it extends across the world.
This is because major surgical gloves brands from China, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom etc. can be found in pharmaceutical stores in the United States of America. So, it will be right to say the competition in the surgical gloves manufacturing line of business is tough.
The truth is that no matter the level of competition in an industry, if you have done your due diligence and you brand and promote your products or business properly, you will always make headway in the industry. Just ensure you have what it takes to churn out quality surgical gloves and you know how to reach out to your target market.
There are several surgical gloves manufacturing companies scattered all around the United States. So, if you choose to start your own surgical gloves manufacturing company in the United States, you will definitely encounter stiff competition.
Besides, there are larger surgical gloves manufacturing companies that determine the trends in the industry and you should be ready to compete with them for customers.
4. Know the Major Competitors in the Industry
In every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and the general public than others. Some of these brands have been in the industry for a long time, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses and the results they have achieved over the years.
These are some of the leading surgical gloves manufacturing companies in the United States of America and in the globe;
- Shen Wei (USA) Inc.
- Sempermed USA
- GLOBAL GLOVES LLC
- The Islandia Group, Inc.
- LATEX RUBBER GLOVES DIS.
- TNA International
- Tri Star Medical
- SG Health Production LLC
- PolyTech Synergies
- GainMax Medical Products
Economic Analysis
If you are looking towards successfully launching a business and maximizing profits, then you need to ensure that you get your economic analysis right and try as much as possible to adopt best practices in the industry you choose to build a business in.
Surgical gloves manufacturing business is not a green business, as a matter of fact, you will come across several brand names in your local pharmaceutical stores when you go shopping. So, if you are mapping out your economic analysis, you should also carry out thorough market survey, costing of the required raw materials, branding and other resources needed to successfully run the business.
If you are considering starting a surgical gloves manufacturing company, then your concern should not be limited to the cost of setting up the business but also on branding and on how to build a robust distribution network. The truth is that if you are able to build a robust distribution network, you are going to maximize profits in the business.
5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch
Unfortunately, you can hardly find the franchise of a surgical gloves company to purchase meaning that if you want to own a surgical gloves manufacturing business, then you must be ready to start it from the scratch.
The truth is that it will pay you to start your surgical gloves company from the scratch. Starting from the scratch will afford you the opportunity to conduct thorough market survey and feasibility studies before choosing a location to launch the business.
Please note that most of the big and successful surgical gloves manufacturing companies around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand. It takes dedication, hard work and determination to achieve business success.
6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
If you decide to start your own a surgical gloves manufacturing business today, one of the major challenges you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established brands whose products can be found all across the United States and the global market. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.
So also, just like any other business, one of the major threats that you are likely going to face is economic downturn and unfavorable government policies. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely face also is the arrival of a new surgical gloves manufacturing company in same location where yours is located.
7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)
When starting a surgical gloves manufacturing company, the legal entity you choose will go a long way to determine how big the business can grow; some surgical gloves manufacturing companies design their business and products for regional market, some for national market, while others for international market.
From a general perspective, you have the options of choosing a general partnership, Limited Liability Company, or a sole proprietorship for your surgical gloves manufacturing company. Normally, sole proprietorship should have been the ideal business structure for a small – scale surgical gloves manufacturing business especially if you are just starting out with a moderate startup capital.
But, if your intention is to grow the business and have your surgical gloves distributed across the United States of America and other countries of the world, then choosing <a ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>sole proprietor is not an option for you. Limited Liability Company, LLC or even general partnership will cut it for you.
Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. If anything goes wrong in the business, it is only the money that you invested into the company that will be at risk. It is not so for sole proprietorships and general partnerships. Limited liability companies are simpler and more flexible to operate and you don’t need a board of directors, shareholder meetings and other managerial formalities.
These are some of the factors you should consider before choosing a legal entity for your surgical gloves manufacturing business; limitation of personal liability, ease of transferability, admission of new owners and investors’ expectation and of course taxes.
If you take your time to critically study the various legal entities to use for your surgical gloves business, you will agree that limited liability company; an LLC is the most suitable. You can start this type of business as limited liability company (LLC) and in future convert it to a ‘C’ corporation or a ‘S’ corporation especially when you have the plans of going public.
Upgrading to a ‘C’ corporation or ‘S’ corporation will give you the opportunity to grow your surgical gloves manufacturing business so as to compete with major players in the industry; you will be able to generate capital from venture capital firms, you will enjoy separate tax structure, and you can easily transfer ownership of the company.
8. Choose a Catchy Business Name from the ideas Below
When it comes to choosing a name for your business, you should be creative because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to create a perception of what the business represents. Usually it is the norm for people to follow the trend in the industry they intend operating from when naming their business.
If you are considering starting your own surgical gloves manufacturing company, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;
- Clint Moore Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- Medic Plus Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- Sync Skin Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- OJZ Surgical Gloves Manufacturing Company
- Sally Graham Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- Green Life Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- All Shades Surgical Gloves Production Company
- Deb Rosen Surgical Gloves, LLC
- Lincoln Xavi Surgical Gloves, Inc.
- Beci Lamb Surgical Gloves, Inc.
9. Discuss With an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You
In the United States and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your surgical gloves manufacturing business.
Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own surgical gloves manufacturing business in the United States of America;
- General insurance
- Health insurance
- Liability insurance
- Workers compensation
- Overhead expense disability insurance
- Business owner’s policy group insurance
- Payment protection insurance
10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents
If at all there are any businesses that require intellectual property protection, then surgical gloves manufacturing business should be one of them. The truth is that your design and your style need to be protected or else anybody can successfully fake or create similar products.
If you just want to protect your design, your company’s logo and other documents or software that are unique to you or even jingles and media production concepts, then you can go ahead to file for intellectual property protection. If you want to register your trademark, you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO.
11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification
Although you do not need any special professional certification before you can successfully start your own surgical gloves manufacturing business, but you will do yourself a whole lot of favor if you study medical designing or related courses before starting this this type of business.
It will afford you the opportunity to truly maximize the business; you will be able to have full grasps of the business from start to finish.
12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate
The essence of having the necessary documentation in place before launching a business in the United States of America cannot be overemphasized. It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations.
If you do, it won’t be too long before the long hand of the law catches up with you. These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own surgical gloves manufacturing company in the United States of America;
- Certificate of Incorporation
- DBA
- Business License
- Glove Manufacturing Business Plan
- Employee Handbook
- Employment Agreement (offer letters)
- Operating Agreement for LLCs
- Insurance Policy
- Online Privacy Policy Document
- Apostille (for those who intend operating beyond the United States of America)
- Company Bylaws
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
- Franchise or Trademark License (optional)
13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital
Starting a surgical gloves manufacturing business can be capital intensive. Securing a standard production facility is part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital, but if you choose to start the business on a large scale, you would need to go source for fund to finance the business because it is expensive to start a standard large scale surgical gloves manufacturing company.
When it comes to financing a business, one of the major factors that you should consider is to write a good business plan. If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business.
Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for start – up capital for your surgical gloves manufacturing business;
- Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
- Raising money from investors and business partners
- Sell shares to interested investors
- Applying for loan from your bank
- Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
- Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends.
14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business
When it comes to choosing a location for your surgical gloves manufacturing business, the rule of thumb is that you should be guided by the demand for such product and easy access to labor and raw materials.
Of course, if you are able to secure a central location for your surgical gloves manufacturing business, it will enable you cut the cost of transporting your raw materials and finished products to and from your production facility and warehouse.
It is important to note that a business facility in good location does not come cheap hence you should be able to allocate enough fund for leasing / renting in your budget.
If you are new to the dynamics of choosing a location for a business such as surgical gloves manufacturing company, then you should feel free to talk to a business consultant or a realtor who has a full grasp of the city and perhaps country you intend starting your surgical gloves manufacturing company.
Most importantly, before choosing a location for your surgical gloves manufacturing company, ensure that you first conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey.
The possibility of you coming across similar business that just closed shop in the location you want to open yours can’t be ruled out. This is why it is very important to gather as much facts and figures before choosing a location to set up your own business.
15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs
If you are considering setting up a surgical gloves manufacturing company, then you should be prepared to purchase equipment and machines like industrial molding and cutting machines. These are the basic machines needed to launch this business.
If you don’t have enough cash, you can start with fairly used equipment but if you are financially buoyant, then you should go for brand new ones since they usually have a long life span.
As regards leasing or outright purchase of a production facility or warehouse, the choice is dependent on your financial standings, but the truth is that to be on the safe side, it is advisable to start off with a short – term rent / lease while test running the business in the location. If things work out as planned, then you go on a long – term lease or outright purchase of the property.
When it comes to hiring employees for a standard surgical gloves manufacturing company, you should make plans to hire a competent Chief Executive Officer (you can occupy this role), Admin and Human Resources Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager, Surgical Gloves Designers, Quality Control Officer, Tailors, Accountant, Distribution/Delivery Van Drivers and Client Services Executive.
On the average, you will need a minimum of 10 t0 15 key staff members to run a small – scale but standard surgical gloves manufacturing business.
The Service Delivery Process of the Business
When it comes to the manufacturing of surgical gloves, the first step to take is to come up with a design and then have the design approved by the board. The next step is to determine the quantity and types (colors and sizes et al) of the surgical gloves to be produced.
Other steps involved are cutting, molding, and putting finishing touches. The next step is to pass them through the quality control department before properly packaging, labeling and branding the products for sale cum delivery.
It is important to state that a surgical gloves manufacturing company may decide to improvise or adopt any business process and structure that will guarantee them efficiency and flexibility.
16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed With ideas & Strategies
Generally, running a business requires that you should be proactive when it comes to marketing your goods or services. If you choose to launch a surgical gloves manufacturing business, then you must go all out to employ strategies that will help you attract customers or else you will likely struggle with the business because there are well – known brands determining the market direction.
These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your surgical gloves manufacturing business;
- Introduce your products by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to hospitals, labs, clinics, pharmaceutical stores and key stake holders throughout the United States and Canada.
- Advertise on the internet on medical related blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to get your message across
- Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
- Directly market your products
- Provide discount days for your distributors
- Advertise our business in community health based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List your business on yellow pages’ ads (local directories)
- Encourage the use of word of mouth marketing (referrals)
17. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win
The quality and uniqueness of your surgical gloves, your business process and of course your pricing model are part of what you need to stay competitive in the industry.
If wholesale distributors are making profits from selling your products, they will be more than willing to go the extra mile to help you push your products to every nooks and crannies of the cities they distribute the products. Another possible competitive strategy for winning your competitors in this particular industry is to build a robust distribution cum business network.
Over and above, ensure that your organization is well positioned, key members of your team are highly qualified and your surgical gloves and other similar products can favorably compete with the some of the best in the industry.
18. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers
When it comes to business, no matter the industry that you choose to pitch your tent in, one of the easiest ways to increase customer retention and perhaps to attract new customers is to produce results and satisfy your customers always. If your customers are satisfied with your products, they can hardly source for alternative products.
Statistics has it that one of the major reasons why clients source for alternative service providers or product is when there is a drop in quality.
Another reason is poor customer service. If you can continue to improve on the quality of your surgical gloves and other similar products that you produce and your customer service delivery, then you won’t struggle to maintain loyal customers.
Part of what you need to do to achieve this is to track progress, results or outputs with the aim of improving on them quickly as the case demands. When it comes to managing your customers, and building loyal clientele base, you should purchase a customized CRM software.
With a customized CRM system, you can easily stay in touch with your clients (you can carry out quick surveys, you can introduce new products and prices to them without any hitch, you can felicitate with them on their birthdays and other anniversaries, you can keep track of their progress, you can send bulk sms and customized emails and above all, you can easily receive complaints and feedback from them).
19. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity
If you are in business and you are not deliberate about boosting your brand awareness and communicating your corporate identity, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portrays your business to be. One of the secrets of larger corporations is that they are willing to spend fortunes to boost their brand awareness and to continue to communicate their corporate identity the way they want people to perceive them.
If your intentions of starting a surgical gloves manufacturing company is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.
No matter the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is dynamic and it requires consistent brand awareness and brand boosting cum promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create corporate identity for your surgical gloves manufacturing company;
- Place adverts on both print (newspapers and medical related magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based events/programs
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your business
- Install your Bill Boards in strategic locations all around your city or state
- Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
- List your surgical gloves manufacturing company in local directories / yellow pages
- Advertise your surgical gloves manufacturing company in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site.
- Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your vehicles and distribution trucks/vans are well branded with your company logo et al.