Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Designer, All Rolled Into One

When that idea hits for the perfect invention some people might ignore it. However, an inventor will do something about it. To go from idea to final product takes a lot of work and a solid design.

Bret Schaller, the founder of Schaller Industries, Inc and co-founder of Willow Creek Animal Hospital, understands the process all too well. Not only is he an entrepreneur, he has experience in CAD (Computer Aided Design) and he’s designed his own projects (like the easel shown above). Through his business Bret is able to help inventors take their idea and turn it into something physical.

First, tell us a little about Schaller Industries, Inc.

Schaller Industries, Inc is both a consulting and a virtual manufacturing business. As SI finishes its 2nd year of operation we have a small client list and one product. The product was designed and prototyped in house. Production manufacturing, including packaging is outsourced to a local business.

When was it launched and what inspired you to start your business?

SI incorporated 1/1/2008 and immediately started work redesigning a bank building into an animal hospital. Inspiration to leave a 6 figure salary with excellent benefits came from several different areas. First I have a passion for product development. Working through new concepts, prototypes, testing, tooling, assembly, all the phases creates many opportunities for setbacks and problems to occur. Every time I resolve one of these setbacks, come up with the key solution that gets the project back on track, I get the feeling like kicking the winning goal, or running in the touchdown.

Second my wife’s dream to start her own animal hospital was a huge financial challenge. Acquiring the necessary funding meant putting our house on the line. Failure was not an option. The biggest fear was signing on with a general contractor that didn’t finish on time. We did not have enough money to miss the launch date. Crazy or not, I ran the project. Applying my analytical approach and problem solving skills, I knocked down every wall, jumped every hurdle, and came out on time and on budget. (Well maybe not entirely on budget, I never actually got paid for that first project.)

What are some of the steps that you and your client take that helps turn their idea into a salable product?

The process starts with an informal design review. I spend about an hour over the phone going over their concept and discussing all the potential concerns. Are there new, unproven concepts or aspects to their idea? What level of proof of concept testing is merited before investing in design time or tooling? Do they plan to bootstrap their launch with low cost tooling and small initial volumes? Do they have funding and the confidence to go big with high volume tooling and a manufacturing base capable of ramping up very quickly?

After these questions the marketing specifications are identified. Next I convert the marketing specs into engineering specs. This is something like ‘I want 3 speed settings’ becomes 10, 25, and 50 cycles per minute.

Conceptual models of their product are created in Solidworks and shared with the clients via eDrawings. The viewer is like a pdf viewer for 3 dimensional models. It’s a free download that lets the user rotate the assemblies, explode them, take cross sections, and even hide/show different components. It gives the clients total freedom to see all aspects of their product in a virtual space without the expensive of rapid prototypes.

As needed, multiple iterations of their concepts are carried out until the product is ready for prototyping and testing. Testing is tailored to the specific product. The level of complexity, intended usage, and duty cycle are all factors that determine what type and how much testing is necessary.

Following the testing phase is tooling fabrication, trials, packaging, literature, and finally launch.

Not every phase is required. For an idea intended to be licensed, the process could be complete with the conceptual models and a video animation. This may be sufficient to make the sale to a corporate team.

On average, how long does it take to reach that final product?

There’s not really an average time. The products I have worked on have all been very different. The children’s easels were designed, prototyped and tooled up for production in about 3 months. For a product made from injection molded plastic, requiring multiple tools the complete timeline can be anywhere from 3 months to over a year.

What separates your business from the competition?

My experience with Buell Motorcycle Company separates me from most of the competition. If you consider all the parts that go into a complete motorcycle, every manufacturing process available is represented. Over 9 years I worked in depth with injection molding, thermoforming, machining, casting, forging, tube bending, sheet metal, weldments, and many many prototyping processes. There are many design engineers with experience in a few of these areas. Finding someone that has worked in all of them is rare. I am confident that I can match my client’s products to the best manufacturing process for their budget and marketing plan.

Tell us a little about the Willow Creek Animal Hospital.

Willow Creek Animal Hospital has been open for a year and a half now. We specialize in small animals and offer services in medicine, surgery, dentistry, grooming, and boarding. Currently we have a staff of 11 people. My wife focuses on medicine and I manage the rest. One thing a little different about our hospital having an engineer on staff is in the level of technology we use. We have paperless records which many hospitals have switched to. We also have a 36” flatscreen monitor in our treatment area that functions as a live whiteboard. It lists every patient in the building and their needs, it also has a timer for people waiting up front. Everyone in the back can see who’s been waiting the longest and exactly how many minutes they have been in the building. With remote access, our doctor can bring up any records offsite to assist with emergency phone calls or just to complete writing records from home at night. Inventory is also tracked in the same system. I setup the security cameras so that I can see live video from my cellphone. When an alarm is tripped, my system calls my phone. In less than a minute I can see inside the building on my phone to determine if a dog is walking around or a person. With a high resolution, wireless camera, the doctor can also see inside a cage for a visual check on a patient or to see the equipment screens on the IV pump, or vital stats monitor.

How did you get started with the idea to turn an old bank into an animal hospital? What was the process like?

We liked the idea of utilizing an existing building in our town. It improves the appearance and costs less than building new. Location and size were the major points. We found both. I spent 4 weeks designing the layout. I had to work around the vault (12” steel reinforced concrete walls and ceiling) and the plumbing constraints. We needed sinks in the exam rooms so new drains were needed in the foundation. It came down to the depth of the building’s main drain as to how far across the building I could place a sink and still meet the slope requirements for the plumbing code. The vault functions perfectly as our radiology suite. The post installation inspection was unable to register any radiation on their meter coming through the walls.

In all, I spent 4 months renovating the building with the help of some local workers I hired and professional subcontractors for plumbing and wiring. The low point — sitting on the front step with the street blocked off out front, the Burger King next door evacuated, and 3 firetrucks, 2 city trucks, a back hoe, several police cars, and a small crowd of people watching the hazard suited people fixing the natural gas line we severed putting in a fence post. Yes, I did call before we dug the holes and the gas company admitted it was their fault. The open house was the definitely the highest point. We had literally a couple of hundred people come through and commenting on the 12’ ceilings, the ceramic tile floors, the dark wood cabinetry in the exam rooms, the custom built cat condos, it was great. I hadn’t been to sleep in over 24 hours because of all the last minute work I had to do, but I still enjoyed it immensely.

I can only imagine the work that goes into running two businesses so successfully. What goals do you still hope to accomplish with each business?

I named my consulting business Schaller Industries because I have 4 sons. I hope one or maybe all of them will want to work with me someday. While both businesses are currently profitable, my wife and I both believe in continuous improvement. We would like to see the animal hospital reach a point where a second doctor can operate the practice while we take some much needed family vacation time. For Schaller Industries I would like to launch one of my own products that produces sustainable income sufficient to allow for more family time.

Are there any new business ideas in the works?

My Core Revolution training product is ready for production. I just need to sell the children’s easels to pay for the tooling.

What are some of the lessons you have learned from each business?

From the animal hospital:

Get 3 bids on your SBA loan or any banking product. They are not all the same, and the people selling them, while they may work at a bank, are not necessarily expert financial planners. Do not tie up all of your available credit — ever. Not at the start, not during the initial phases, not during the first year, not ever. Solving problems is much easier when there’s some cash available.

From Schaller Industries:

Educate your clients. If they understand the work your doing, whey you’re doing it, and how it helps launch their product they will most likely tell their friends and generate referrals.

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