I have a niche idea for a product (modification really) in a field I work and see the potential for use every day. What is my next step?

I will need to physically make an item. Nothing very complex but not something I can do. How do I find this person/company?

From what I can tell this product does not exist, so is this something I need to try to patent? I feel like I should do market research and make sure OTHER people think this is as useful as I feel it would be before I spend much money and time on anything other than selling the damn thing.

I am not looking for a step by step guid or anything ( but would take it haha) I will put in the time learning how to do what I need. What I am hoping for is help filtering out the bs and figure out what to look for, what to read, who to talk to etc...

Thanks for the input guys! Just logged in and saw the comments, thanks again.