Industrial ads/offers - where? And where do I get answers? (leasing, payments)

[Peanuttree]

As life has gone on, I have found more and more that very little information is offered about anything in the sphere of insustry/commerce/economics, etc.
I come from a rich, obtuse family, where "COLLEGE" is the only thing that exists that you do. First it's COLLEGE, and then you get a job. Obviously, this doesn't work nowadays, and from the get-go was never meant to work for every single person. They are incapable of thinking outside of this box, along with all the other ways they are completely oblivious (my Dad insists that leasing cars is the more sensible option, and my Mom once described one of those win-weekly-payments-for-life lotteries as "not a lot of money")
I only RECENTLY even realized there are technical schools! I didn't even fully know that a lot of manufacturing is done by machinists, or even what machining is.
Another one, I think of ideas all the time (businesses or inventions), which often creates very specific, pointed questions that I'd need the answer to. In my experience, from what I've seen, college is the LAST place you'll ever find the answers. AND they also will NOT teach you where you'd look to find the answer!

So, in general, I'm always wondering, WHERE DO I GET THESE ANSWERS at a reasonable cost?
I've thought of maybe just posting ads at grad schools, offering like $50 rewards for answers with citations

Also, more specifically, where are industrial ads, or ads of people looking for investors posted? Like for example, I never want to invest in "traditional" fiscal instruments, people of my philosophical standpoint (they're all speculative, you need to invest in something that provides income). So, lets say I wanted to invest some money in a factory start-up, where would I find such investment opportunities?
A similar/same question is where do people put industrial ads. Like, one idea is an energy drink I came up with, and one thing is I'd need a specific ingredient, which is produced via a specific but common process, which is frequently used in making decaffeinated coffee, but also other food-production facilities. Where would I find these factories? Or, where could I put an ad offering a price per drum I'm willing to pay for the certain extractive I need? I've heard of AliBaba, but from what I understand, that's for buying/selling equipment.

So if you want to get specific, and avoid my tl;dr question, let me put the Two main specific things I want to know
-Where do I find industrial/factory investment opportunities where I can invest in new factories? Could even be small scale food companies
-Where do I find facilities/factories to talk to about producing ingredients? Where could I post ads offering a price per amount for somebody to produce an ingredient for me?

[Hemlock140]

I have a small side business manufacturing parts for several companies, they all found me through my website. For investing, have you looked at the many crowdfunding sites now up where people look for investors? Look at Crowdfunder, GUST, Rockethub etc. You can pick the ones you like.

[Hemlock140]

Sorry if I was confusing, but I gave those as places where you could find other people with projects to invest in, many of them manufacturing.

[andywire]

First off... If you want to talk to anyone in involved in manufacturing, cut to the chase! We don't have time to sit and decipher what it is you want or need. Say it in as few words and sentences as possible, time is money.

With that in mind, consolidate what you are asking in an organized, easy to read fashion, and somebody may attend to your needs.

[andywire]

Originally Posted by Peanuttree

So if you want to get specific, and avoid my tl;dr question, let me put the Two main specific things I want to know
-Where do I find industrial/factory investment opportunities where I can invest in new factories? Could even be small scale food companies
-Where do I find facilities/factories to talk to about producing ingredients? Where could I post ads offering a price per amount for somebody to produce an ingredient for me?

I guess I can work with this...

Are you looking to start your own manufacturing operation, or are you looking to provide seed money for a factory owning hopefully? If it's the later, don't even bother. Without industry experience, you're better off donating your money to charity. In both cases, your money will be lost with no potential for return. At least with the charity, it will be put to good use.

There are tons of things you need to first learn about the manufacturing sector. First, narrow down the area you intend to focus on. There's all kinds of niches and specialties. There are manufacturers who simply polish parts. Others may heat treat. Still others may anodize. There is rarely one operation that handles everything in house.

As for your last question, I have no idea. I'm a tool maker, not a chemist. There are all types of exchanges for people to acquire ingredients from all over the globe. Everything from synthetic marijuana substitutes to the most basic and common of bulk chemicals. If you go this route, I wouldn't buy any large quantities right off the bat. Buy a couple small quantities, measure the consistency of the product and the ease of doing business. Gradually increase your order sizes once you find a reliable source. That applies to doing business with ANYONE in any realm. Be warned... I have worked at large manufacturers who have long established and seemingly solid relationships with secondary op manufacturers and suppliers. Even they screw things up once in awhile. That's business.

Many of those chemicals can be found for half the price from Chinese manufacturers. That's like playing Russian roulette. Sometimes you score a home run. Other times, you don't even step up to the plate. Quality control doesn't seem to exist in China.