How do companies start offering manufacturing?

So I called my dad, who stated his own company manufacturing welding wire 15 years ago, and he told me “If someone asked me that, knowing what I know now, would I do it all over, and I’d say ‘Am i crazy, or what?’”

That said, here is his advice:
Step 1, get a brilliant idea. does anybody need your product? who? Do market research. know your competition.
step 2, What equipement will you need? what will that equipment need for it to run.
step 3, Know how much EVERYTHING will cost. don’t get grand ideas on a cocktail napkins, nickel and dime stuff now, or it will all hit you later. That being said, know who will provide venture capital for this.
step 4, go to city hall and get a local business licence. Then with busisness license, get a state and federal ID. a good CPA will help you with this. A CPA will also help you with tax issues, especially if you will be doing interstate shipping.

I have no direct experience with this, this is all my dad’s advice. unfortunately he’ll be hard to reach the next few weeks, so good you asked this in time.

Good luck with your idea.