Field Guide 4 — Your Product Has a Price. But Will It Make Money?

Find out what your product must earn—and what it will cost to keep it moving.

A product can sell and still struggle financially. Ingredient cost is only one part of the equation. Packaging, manufacturing, freight, production losses, and sales-channel requirements can change your margin substantially. Meanwhile, cash may leave your business well before customer payments arrive.

This field guide helps you examine the financial realities behind your product. Work through costing, pricing, cash requirements, and commercial viability so you can understand the assumptions behind your numbers before committing to a launch or larger production run.

Use it to:

• Build a fuller picture of product cost.

• Test whether your selling price supports your intended sales channels.

• Understand the difference between revenue, profit, and available cash.

• Evaluate how minimum orders and inventory affect funding needs.

• Identify which costs, prices, or assumptions need further work.

Whether you’re setting your first price or questioning why sales aren’t producing enough cash, this guide helps you see where the pressure lies. Use it to prepare better questions for manufacturers, distributors, and financial advisers—and make more informed decisions about what your business can support.