Working with an Expert When Seeking Help with your Invention Ideas

Welcome to part two of our posts on on the value of working with experts to get help with an invention. If you missed our first post on Choosing the Right Invention Idea Expert make sure you check it out.

Working with an expert when seeking help with an invention may not be as straightforward as you would first think. Below, we’ll break down a areas that you’ll need to think about when it comes to getting the most of your invention idea expert.

Learn to Listen

Listen, listen, and listen some more.  If you are not listening to what your expert is trying to tell you then you are not only wasting your time but also theirs.  After all, chances are that you came to them for help with your invention. Sure, there are a lot of us inventors out there that tend to be scattered brained and listening might not be our strongest asset.  If you are one of these types of individuals ask your expert if you can record the conversations that you have with them.  Should they tell you, “no”, then make sure that you take plenty of notes.

Be Flexible

Most experts out there are busy people.  You’ll need to be flexible in order to work around their schedules.  Take some time now to look at your calendar and find out where the gaps are or when you can move some of your appointments around in order to be available at a convenient time for your mentor.

Location, Location, Location
You’ll need to figure out where you could potentially meet with your expert.  Are you going to meet at a restaurant, in between a training session at a conference, at a trade show, or at a residence?  Then again, maybe meeting in person just isn’t practical for either of you.  In that case can you interact online via Skype, through email, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even Facebook?

Be Prepared

Make sure that you have some sort of agenda or questions that you would like to ask your expert every time you get together.  That way, your meeting won’t waste either your time or your advisor’s time.  Creating an agenda is quite straight forward.  Simply, write down three items that you would like to get the expert’s advice on and then rank them by priority.

Get Feedback
Your expert might give you some suggestions on how to make your invention better or how to get through the invention process while avoiding some potential issues.  Unfortunately, the advice might not be something that you want to hear.  Regardless, take time to really take a step back and evaluate invention help or suggestions that you have been given.  If the advice seems sound then implement it.  On the other hand, if it does not, then you can either choose to disregard it or follow up on the advice by asking additional questions.


Do your Homework

Your mentor might give you some homework to do prior to your next meeting.  If you are given homework, make sure that you really understand what it is that your expert would you like you to do.  Next, follow through and actually do the homework.  If for some reason you cannot complete your assignment, be prepared to provide a reason to your advisor.

Meeting Frequency
We’ve already recognized that an expert’s time is valuable. Not every expert out there wants to sit through a two hour dinner with you where you ramble about your invention idea or plead for help with an invention.  Instead, find ways to talk with your expert during shorter periods of time.  Examples include: getting a quick cup of coffee or tea together, offering to drive them to the airport, tagging along as they walk to a meeting, etc.

Potential Costs Involved
There may be potential costs associated when it comes to meeting with your expert that you might not be aware of.  Some of these costs that you may incur could include travel expenses to get to your mentor, picking up the check after a lunch meeting, attending a training session that your expert recommended, etc.


Build your Network of Experts

Chances are that any expert you work with will have a list of other expert contacts within their network of friends and associates.  Try and tap into this new network of experts as soon as possible.  Besides, being able to toss out a few high profile names within an industry may help open up doors to you that might otherwise have been blocked.


The Power of Thank You
Gratitude goes a long way with people, especially with experts.  Periodically express your thanks that you can work with them along with the invention help they are providing you.

Now that you have a firm idea of what it takes to be successful with an invention help expert, in our next post, we will be looking into where we can look to find these illusive invention idea experts.

Choosing the Right Invention Idea Expert

If you want to turn your invention idea into a reality, chances are that you’ll need some sort of expert help along the way. The problem is trying figuring out:

• Do you really need an expert
• How do you choose the right expert?

Why do you need a expert?

• You don’t have the time to go out and learn new skills or make a ton of mistakes along the way.
• You don’t have the money. Let’s face it, most inventors don’t have the money to spend on mistakes or errors during the invention process that are caused by gaps in their knowledge or skills. Therefore, wouldn’t you rather have an advisor point out potential problems and issues with your invention idea before you are forced to spend a lot of money?
• You need a kick in the pants to get you moving in the right direction. All of us run into obstacles along the way during the invention process. Sometimes these obstacles appear so immense that there is no way we could possibly overcome them. When this happens, the process of getting our invention idea from concept to the store shelf stalls out. Finding an advisor to help simplify some of these hurdles may be all the motivation that you need to get off your butt.
• You need someone to give you an honest evaluation of your invention idea. Let’s face it, friends and relatives aren’t usually the best choices out there for evaluating your invention idea or it’s potential market. However, if you are asking for expert advice then you’ll also need to develop some tough skin too. It takes a lot of effort and courage to open up your invention idea to criticism by an expert.

What do you need expert help with?

• Write down a list of all the areas that you think you will need expert advice on. Once your list is complete, you’ll need to go back through your list and prioritize which area or areas are most important to you at that specific moment.
• As you travel through the invention process from generating idea to getting your product on store shelves, reevaluate what areas you need help with and then reprioritize this list as needed.

Choose your advisors well

• Are you looking for someone to bounce ideas off of or are you looking to create a long term relationship?Will it be an advisor with very specific knowledge or are you looking for someone with a set of general set of skills?
• It is typically easier to work with an expert that complements your area of expertise and skill set. If you are not yet ready to work with an expert on a completely unknown subject to you, work with an expert that has skills or knowledge that you are already familiar with.
• Find an advisor that you trust. Brutal honesty when it comes to inventing can be a lifesaver. However, getting incorrect advice from an expert can be even worse.
• Look for an advisor that shows passion and wants you and your idea to succeed as much as possible.

What’s in it for the expert?

• Chances are that if you are like most inventors you’re going to be strapped for cash. If you can’t pay an expert for help then what other forms of compensation can you provide? Here are a few ideas:
• Maybe you can help the advisor build their resume by putting down that they worked with you.
• Sometimes, all it takes is your passion for your invention idea to rub off onto the expert. What expert wouldn’t want to be on the cutting edge of developing the next ‘must have’ gadget?
• The best way to find gaps in your knowledge is to start teaching. Simply being a mentor is a way for not only you to grow as an inventor but also for your mentor to expand their repertoire of skills.
• If you have a website, come to an agreement that you’ll put a link to their business or personal website.
• Sometimes your advisor may also need encouragement with the projects that they are working on. Being willing and able to provide this encouragement when needed may be payment enough.
• Become the spokesperson for your advisor. If you stumble across people that are in need of a particular service that your advisor could provide, pass along your advisor’s name. Your client referrals can be extremely valuable to your advisor.

Conclusion

Trying to go it alone throughout the entire invention process can often seem like a monumental task. Therefore, finding an expert to help you along the way should be a crucial part of your invention development strategy. However, picking the right expert who is a great match for you will often be more of a challenge. Always keep in mind that great experts should be ones that are not only invaluable to you but will also be with you for years to come.

You Might Also Like the Following Related Posts:

• Have What it Takes to be a Successful Inventor?
• Evaluating your Invention Idea - Post #2
• Invent with Simplicity in Mind

The Fine Points of Pitching Your Idea

While attending an industry trade show you just happened to bump into a CEO on an elevator. The CEO’s company would be the perfect fit for your new invention idea. Even better, he turns to you, gives you a quick glance, and says, “You look like an inventor, pitch me your idea”. You have 20 to 30 seconds tops to pitch your invention idea to him before the doors open.  Quick!  What would you say?

For most inventors, this is a pretty scary yet enviable place to be in.  Below, we’ll talk about some of the important things to keep in mind as you perfect the fine points of how to pitch your idea to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.

Keep your Message Short, Sweet, and to the Point
Remember the KISS principle:  Keep it Short and Sweet (you thought we were gonna say “Keep it Simple Stupid”, right?).  If your invention idea is so complex that only Steven Hawking or Michio Kaku can understand it, then chances are the other 99.9% of the people on this planet won’t either which is bad for you.  What you should be focusing on are:

• Why your invention idea is not only unique but also interesting.
• Why people would want to buy it.
• Why would the person you are pitching your idea to really care about your invention idea?

Practice Makes Perfect
Like anything in life, you need to practice your elevator pitch to make it perfect.  Practice in front of a mirror at first.  When you feel comfortable that you have your pitch down, start practicing on family and friends because you’ll be more relaxed.  In addition, getting critiqued by friends and family won’t hurt so bad either. Remember, if you are nervous just giving your elevator pitch to friends and family then chances are you will be a complete wreck when you are pitching your idea to a potential CEO.  Therefore, practice to the point that you are confident with your pitch and it’s delivery.

Be Passionate
You’ll need to present your elevator pitch in a manner that shows true passion for your invention idea.  If you don’t believe that your invention is something that is worth pursuing, funding, or simply just finding more information about then no one else will either.

Be Adaptable
When you start your elevator pitch, really observe the eyes, facial features, and body language of the person you are talking with.  If it looks like you are quickly losing their attention, you’ll need to pull out some other high impact points about your invention.

I Was Asked a Question!
Oh no, right in the middle of your elevator pitch the person asks you a question.  What should you do?  First, don’t freak out, this is a good thing.  If they ask you a question your elevator pitch has turned into something better, a dialogue.  Clearly, you have piqued their interest.  But what if the question they asked wasn’t related to your invention idea at all?  That’s okay too because you are trying to build some sort of relationship with this individual.  However, and this is a big however, you need to make sure that the other person you were talking with doesn’t take over the conversation by only talking about themselves.  If this happens, try and slowly steer the conversation back to your invention idea as politely as possible.

I’m in an Elevator Surrounded by CEOs
Being in a group of individuals all of whom you would like to talk with could be a truly daunting position for some of us.  On the other hand, it can be an excellent opportunity.  You can still do your elevator pitch.  Follow the same delivery principles as you would with a single individual.  Only this time, make sure you look at everyone within the group to gauge their reactions to your invention idea.  Remember, you’re trying to not only get interest in your invention but you also want to try and build a relationship with these people, if possible.

Get their Contact Information
By the end of your elevator pitch, your next goal is to exchange contact information or, better yet, set up a followup meeting.  Hopefully, you’ll have made up some simple business cards ahead of time with all your contact details on them that you can hand over.  If you can’t get a business card, ask for a phone number.  If you can’t get a phone number, you should always ask if you can stop by their office to further discuss your invention.

You have the basic tools now on how to pitch an invention to anyone anywhere. Now, all you have to do is get out there and do it.

You Might Also Like the Following Related Posts:

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Keep Your Trade Secret for Your Invention Idea Confidential

As an inventor, if you decide NOT to patent an invention idea then you can take steps in order to keep your idea secret. One of these steps is through the use of trade secret protection.

When Should you Consider Trade Secret Protection?

• You don’t want to invest in a patent for your invention idea.
• You have a unique competitive advantage over your competition in terms of a design, manufacturing, production capability and/or business process.
• You have filed for a patent but are still waiting for your patent to be granted.
• You know that you can take precautions to keep your invention idea a secret. This also includes disclosing your trade secret only to those that agree that they will keep this information secret.

If you are still confused as to whether you need to be concerned with trade secret protection ask yourself, “If my competition were to get ahold of this information would my business be financially impacted?” If your answer is, “yes” then you should be thinking about implementing trade secret protection(s).

Can I Register a Trade Secret?
No, you cannot ‘register’ a trade secret. Why? Because there is an understanding that once the trade secret is ‘registered’ that it would no longer be ‘secret’.

Functional Versus Non Functional Trade Secrets
Suppose you have created a great new life raft for ocean going ships to use in case of emergencies. In addition, one of the great features about your life raft is a new highly reflective florescent orange coloring that you created for use in its construction. Since your new reflective orange coloring is 1000 times brighter than anything on the market today it makes your life raft a highly visible object out on the ocean which is very desirable feature to have in emergencies. In this case, the formula for the highly reflective florescent orange coloring could be considered a functional trade secret.

As for a nonfunctional trade secret, imagine that you have come up with a really great name and logo for your new invention idea. However, you haven’t filed for a trademark yet on your product name and logo. In this case, keeping your new logo and invention idea name a secret is key. Although, once you acquire your trademark or use your new logo and invention idea name in public, you will no longer fall under trade secret protection but, instead, will fall under trademark protection.

Precautions against Disclosing a Trade Secret
Inventors that fail to implement protections to keep their trade secret from being disclosed have very little legal recourse, if any when it comes to trade secret law. Therefore, the more valuable your trade secret (i.e., the greater the financial impact should your trade secret be revealed) the greater the protections that you need to implement. What kind of precautions should you implement? Well, that depends. If your trade secret isn’t all that valuable then placing your trade secret in a folder marked, ‘confidential’ and locking it in a filing cabinet may be sufficient. On the other hand, if you are the CEO of Coca Cola, you’d probably implement multiple layers of protection in order to keep your secret formula protected.

Another way to protect your trade secret from disclosure is to implement a form of legal compulsion. This means that before you reveal your trade secret to anyone else that this individual would sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement. Should the individual later reveal your trade secret then you have a means of legally seeking damages from this individual. As a side note, individuals that have a fiduciary (legally binding) duty such as lawyers to keep your idea secret if it was revealed to them will NOT be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

What if I Decide to Disclose my Trade Secret to the Public?
If you decide to disclose your trade secret about an invention idea to the public, your trade secret protection will typically be terminated at that point. In addition, you will not be able to seek any monetary damages once you have disclosed your trade secret. Therefore, you should heavily consider the costs of filing a patent on your invention idea versus any potential financial loses that you may incur once you decide to disclose your trade secret.

What Do I Do if my Trade Secret was Violated?
Sometimes, your trade secret may be misappropriated through illegal means (theft, bribery, industrial espionage, etc.) or by individuals that promised not to disclose your trade secret but did so anyway despite a written agreement. If you can show that:

1. You took precautions to protect your trade secret AND
2. Your trade secret was acquired through improper means

Then you may be able to seek legal recourse to prevent people from using your trade secret for financial gain

When you CANNOT seek legal recourse for a trade secret violation

• If another company manages to reverse engineer your trade secret. Suppose another company legally purchases your life raft with the super bright orange florescent coating. This company then takes your raft apart and chemically analyzes the make up of your orange coating. After several months, the company finally manages to reverse engineer the formula that you are using. In this case, your competitor will be free to legally manufacture a similar super bright orange florescent coating for their products.
• Another inventor just happens to independently invent your trade secret. Suppose that Jim was experimenting with creating a super bright orange florescent pen to highlight text in a textbook. Jim, completely independently from you, legally managed to create the exact same super bright orange florescent coating that you are using for your life raft. In this case, you would not be able to seek legal recourse against Jim for the violation of your trade secret.
• It’s proven that you disclosed your trade secret to someone without following the proper steps to keep your trade secret confidential. Suppose that you told Jane about your trade secret without having Jane sign a non-disclosure agreement. Jane then told a friend who posted the trade secret to a social media site. In this case, your trade secret has gone public and you will NOT have any legal recourse against Jane because you failed to keep your trade secret confidential.

How long does trade secret protection last?
Forever, so long as you manage to keep the information about the trade secret confidential. Note: Both the secret formula for Coca Cola and the Kentucky Fried Chicken secret recipe have been kept for a very long time.

You filed a Patent, Will your Trade Secret Protection be Lost?
No, not initially. You still have the right to trade secrecy protection up to 18 months from the date your patent was filed. If, after this time, your patent is granted and published, then you will lose your trade secret protection. On the other hand, if your patent was both rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) AND it was not published, then trade secret protection will still apply

As you can see, protecting your invention idea through trade secret law is a valid option. Remember, the key to trade secret protection is keeping your invention idea secret. Therefore, (1) limit the number of people that know about your invention idea, (2) get those non-disclosure agreements signed, and (3) implement physical means of control to protect your ideas.

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Inventors, Keep it Simple Stupid

“Keep it simple stupid (KISS)”, should be the mantra that goes through the head’s of all inventors.  Now, if you feel insulted by that mantra, you can always use, “less is more” or “keep it simple sweetheart”, your choice. Regardless, below are a few great ways for inventors to keep their invention ideas simple.

Feature Paralysis
Feature paralysis can cost you money. What’s feature paralysis? Well, back in 1995, Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia University conducted a classic study showing the problems associated when customers are faced with too many choices. Two different displays of tasty jams were set up in a store — One with 24 different types of jams and the other with only 6 different types of jams. Sixty percent of customers went towards the display with 24 jams while 40% of customers went to the display with only 6 jams. Clearly, having more choices is a good thing, right? Think again, only 3% of customers faced with 24 possible choices of jams actually made a purchase. On the other hand 30% of customers made a purchase when faced with only 6 possible choices of jams. Inventors, realize that by offering more choices, selections, or features, to your potential customers that you may actually be limiting your potential income by a whopping 10 fold!

Your Invention Idea’s Elevator Pitch
Can you successfully describe to your potential customers a summary of exactly what your invention does along with it’s projected benefits within a single elevator ride (anywhere between thirty seconds to two minutes)? Practicing the art of the Elevator Pitch is a great way for inventors to remain focused around what their product does and the value that it will provide. Having a really classy and to the point elevator pitch may also come in handy when you are trying to seek funding for your invention idea or you are trying to license out your idea.

Invent with Simplicity in Mind
Simplicity is difficult and takes time.  Remember that English teacher back in your early years of schooling that would make you write a four page paper?  You moaned and you groaned but you managed to get it done, right?  Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that your teacher would then turn around and say, “The next lesson is to take this 4 page paper and condense it into a single paragraph that can be no more than 5 lines”.  Remember how much longer it took you to do this lesson?   Well, the same thing can be said of inventing with simplicity in mind. Perhaps, Leonardo Da Vinci said it best, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.

Return to Sender
So you think that complexity still isn’t an issue?  Ask yourself, “How many times have I been baffled by an overly complex product”?  What happens in these cases?  For most of us, we simply become overwhelmed with trying to figure out how to use the device.  Not only that, but we often become annoyed and overwhelmed with the number of features. Then anger sets in and we typically return the product where we purchased it from.  But most of us don’t stop there, we often tell others NOT to use the product that we had so much trouble with.  As a side note: Studies have shown that, on average, consumers will spend about 20 minutes trying to get your invention to work as intended.  After that, it will likely end up on a returned rack in the store that it was purchased from.

Feature Roll-Outs
Want another excuse not to pack tons of features into your one invention idea? Get in the mindset of implementing feature rollouts. Slowly rolling out additional features or add-ons to your product slowly not only reduces the complexity of your invention but it is also a great way to extend your invention’s product lifecycle. In addition, a longer product lifecycle typically means more money in your pocket.

Know When to Ask for Help
Never be afraid to seek outside help when designing your invention to be as simplistic and useful as possible.  As inventors, we often need to take a step back and get a fresh perspective as to where our invention designs need to go.

The Dreaded Feature Creep
Sometimes as inventors we try to make an invention that does twenty different things merely satisfactory rather concentrated on doing one thing superbly. How many times have you seen products on television that say something to the effect of, “It’s a blender, a mixer, a juicer, a slicer, and a soup maker all in one”? Feature creep can cause all sorts of headaches for inventors with a brilliant invention idea including:

• Increasing project risks.
• Increasing project costs.
• Increasing the length of time to design, build, and/or market your invention.

When you find yourself falling into the dreaded realms of feature creep, simply stop and go back to a few fundamentals. These fundamentals can include:

• Understanding the skill level of your potential customers when it comes to operating your invention idea.
• Providing instructions that are clear and concise.
• Asking potential customers which feature is most important to them and then designing around this feature.
• Treat people like individuals rather than machines.
• Realize that you can’t please everyone.
• Practice the old Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand”.

So what are you waiting for?  Get out there and start inventing with simplicity in mind.  Your customers will definitely thank you for it.

You Might Also Like the Following Related Posts:

• Have What it Takes to be a Successful Inventor?
• Evaluating your Invention Idea - Post #2
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Tips for finding that Perfect Product Name for Your Invention Ideas

Think that naming your brand new product will be easy?  Think again.  One the hardest hurdles that any inventor may face is coming up with an original, appealing, and descriptive product name.  Consider that company branding has gone from the creative to the bizarre over the last two decades, finding a product name that hasn’t already been taken or somehow doesn’t violate someone’s trademark may also prove to be quite challenging. Below, we’ll talk about a few things to avoid and a few thing to incorporate when trying to find that perfect product name.

Numbers and Versions
You just happen to name your newest product the X7 or Mark III.  Immediately, questions might pop into the minds of your potential customers, “What happened to the other X1′s through X6’s”?  Then again, your customers may be left wondering what the difference is between your Mark I and Mark II compared to your new Mark III. As if that isn’t confusing enough for your customers, maybe you decided that your newer products will have lower number ranges than your older products. Play it safe, avoid numbers and versions of your products unless you happen to be a well established company like Nikon or Nokia.

Going Descriptive
Descriptive names are great for new products.  A perfect example is the GoPro Hero wearable camera for sports enthusiasts and your aspiring film directors. First the company name, “GoPro” makes you feel like their products will put you into a more professional realm and it sounds just plain cool.  Second, the model “Hero” makes it sound that if you wear this portable camera that you might potentially be the hero of any video you happen to record. Go descriptive and chances are you’ll improve the odds of your invention idea selling.

Getting Expensive
If you are looking for a high end product name that conveys a sort of luxurious lifestyle associated with using your invention idea, then consider using a person’s full name.  Furniture designers tend to name classic furniture pieces after their clients.  On the other hand, should your inventions be popular enough, you might be able to start branding everything with Your Name. You might just be the next Louis Vuitton of inventing.

Creating a Piece of Identity
Wouldn’t it be great if you could make your invention a part of your customer’s identity?  Don’t know what I mean? Some perfect examples are the differences between Mac and Windows users or between iPhone or Android users. Clearly, each product is seen as a prestige piece within a customer’s identity. Ask yourself how you can potentially leverage your invention idea product name to become the next great prestige piece.

Product Acronyms
Acronyms are great for well established companies with well established brands.  Take for example VW.  Most of us know that VW actually stands for Volkswagen.  How about BMW, another famous car company?  Well, BMW stands for, uh…?  Bayerische Motoren Werke AG or English, Bavarian Motor Works.  Okay, so that one was harder and most of us probably didn’t have a clue as to what BMW stands for which leads us to a problem.  Using acronyms for your inventions when you have just started out with an unknown product might not be the way to go.  Imagine if you came up with a product that you sold as RCA which stands for Really Clever Actuator in your case.  Little did you know that there are 54 difference abbreviations out there for RCA.  Check out www.abbreviations.com where you can search for a variety of acronyms and their meanings to help avoid potential customer confusion when it comes to your product.

Welcome to the ‘i’ World
It seems like everyone with a new application or Apple related product are attaching an ‘i’ to the front of their product’s name.  Some perfect examples of products that we use on a daily basis here are iProcrastinate and iAnnotate.  If your product is software related or techie related, then you might want to think about whether attaching the ‘i’ to the front of your product name will help it get better visibility on the market.

International Cautions
Want to go international with your product?  You might want to start thinking about how your product name translates into the the language of your target international market.  A classic example was Kentucky Fried Chicken’s famous slogan, “Finger licking good”.  The phrase sounds great in English but when they tried to use the slogan in China, customers avoided KFC like the plague.  The reason?  “Finger licking good” had been translated into “eat your fingers off”.  Clearly, not an appetizing slogan for a food related product.  A common solution to avoid any sort of translational suicide may be to come up with words that are common yet slightly modified such as Flickr.  Then again, you could dust off your Latin or archaic language dictionary for a name that might sound appealing yet lessens the chances of losing something in the translation.

Pronounceable Product Names
Is your brand name easy to pronounce?  If you have a brand name that can only be said if you have marbles in your mouth, then chances are, it’s probably not the world’s greatest name. A really interesting site where you can generate random possible product names based upon a few keywords that describe your product is www.netsubstance.com. Sure, 95% of the product names that NetSubstance pulls up might not be relevant but you never know – there might just be a gem in there too.

Going Professional
Then again, if you have the capital, you can always hire a branding company out there to give you a list of a few dozen potential product names. Just be cautioned, it will set you back quite a sum of money but the end results will likely be worth it.

Product Name Obsolescence
Even with the best product name that you could come up with and trademark may not necessarily mean that your product will be recognized as unique forever.  Classic examples of this scenario include both Band-Aids and Kleenex tissues.  Both of product names are used as generic terms to mean an adhesive bandage and a tissue, respectively. Then again, both of these products proved extremely successful when they first started out, as well.

Trademarking the Impossible
Some product names simply can’t be trademarked because they are far too common.  If you want to check to see if your product name is available you’ll want to look at trade journals, product directories, take a trip to your local business school’s library, do an internet search, or break down and hire an attorney to do a trademark search for you. Either way, doing a search of your potential product name first will save you major headaches in the future particularly in terms of avoiding potential trademark infringement legal woes.

Now get out there and come up with the perfect product name for your newest invention ideas.

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Is my Invention Idea any Good?

Welcome to part two of our two part post on how to evaluate if your potential invention idea is any good or not.  If you missed part one, you can read it here.

Money, Money, Money…

• Earlier we mentioned that you need to make sure that your invention idea doesn’t infringe upon the rights of other products already out there on the market.  Clearly, the most thorough way of doing this is by conducting an intellectual property search.  If you know that you have the skills to do this on your own, then great.  If not, then you’ll need to think about hiring a patent attorney along with the costs associated for doing so.  Regardless of whether you do your own patent search or whether you’re hiring a patent attorney to do it for you, keep your eyes opened for any potential untapped niches that might be out there for your invention.  Most patent attorneys or patent search firms will be able to identify some of these areas.  Listen to their advice.
• Will pursuing a patent on your invention idea be worth the initial expense?  In other words, will the potential long term compensation in terms of profits on your products cover your patent related expenses?  There may be no point in patenting an invention idea if there really isn’t a potential market for your product.
• Sometimes, we also need to identify how much the raw materials will cost in order to mass produce our inventions.  In addition, you need to figure out if these raw materials need to be processed in any fashion in order to construction your product.
• If you don’t have all the required skills to design, patent, build, and market your idea then how much will it cost to pay others?  Sometimes we take for granted how much we think we really know.  Take time to recognize when you need to reach out for professional help.
• How much time and manpower will be required to construct your invention?  If your invention has 2000 small plastic parts that are relatively inexpensive but it takes several hundred labor hours to construct each piece then your costs to expenses ratio for labor alone will be a problem.
• You may be thinking to yourself, “Production costs don’t really mean anything to me because I plan on licensing my idea”.  Sorry to burst your bubble but think again.  Companies that may potential license your idea will likely be more concerned about the costs associated with your product than you.  Identifying all up front and long term costs associated with your product will not only help you out but may put you on better terms with potential companies willing to license your idea.
•  So you find that the costs of your producing your invention are much higher than you had originally anticipated, now what?  If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll really need to spend the time figuring out ways to cut costs without impacting quality.

Appearances are Everything

Does your invention idea have a novelty factor associated with it?  Are there ways to make your product stand out from the competition by changing the appearance or tailoring your product for a specific consumer market?  It didn’t take Gucci to jump on the iPhone/iPod touch case bandwagon.  What better way to show off your elate style than by purchasing a $185 Gucci case?  In all seriousness, take some time to really think about how your invention idea can take full advantage of current trends.

Conclusion

Now that you are consciously aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your invention idea you have a couple of options available.  You can:

• Put your head down and proceed with getting your invention idea out there to the masses.
• Alter the design, form, or function of your invention to make it more appealing to potential customers.  NOTE:  Once you make these modifications, you’ll want to reevaluate your invention idea again to see where it stands.  That way, you know if the modifications have hurt your invention idea or helped it.
• Figure out what things you can really do yourself rather than relying on the expertise of others at a cost.  If you don’t know something ask yourself if it would be cheaper to take a class, read a book, or attend a seminar?
• Scrap your invention idea altogether.  Pulling the plug early may save you considerable time, effort, and money on an invention idea that really might not go anywhere.
• Do nothing.  Sometimes you just get a sense that your idea would be a success if you sat back and waited for things to change.  Maybe you are waiting on the economy to improve or you have a feeling that the next big consumer craze around the corner just happens to be in the niche that your invention will fill.

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Is my Invention Idea any Good?

Let’s face it, your time is valuable but your invention ideas may or may not be.  It’s time to set your passions aside for a second and really evaluate whether your invention idea is any good or not.  Below is the beginning of a two part post on questions that you should ask yourself when evaluating your invention ideas.

Compare and Contrast

• Are there other products out there on the market that are similar to your invention?  If so, how does your invention set itself apart compared to these competing products?  Remember, you’ll also need to make sure that your invention ideas do not infringe upon the rights of other products that are already out there on the market.  Your patent attorney can point out any potential problems for you if you decide to go ahead with a patent search.
• Does your invention have built in obsolescence?  In other words, if your invention idea takes advantage of the latest in technological wizardry then will people still be interested in it 18 months from now?  If not, then your invention idea may have built in obsolescence which may or may not be a good thing (By the way, MBA’s like to call this a product’s lifecycle).

Can you Relate?

• How many possible benefits can you identify by using your invention?  Does your invention save the customer time when used properly?  Does your invention possess that “wow” factor to improve the lives of your potential consumer?  If you find that your invention ideas are lacking in benefits, figure out how you can modify your product to make it more appealing.
• There are so many new innovations out there that require a degree in rocket science to not only understand but also to use.  Is your invention one of them?  Consumers are often drawn to products that are easier to use than other available choice.  Having a product that does not require complicated instructions can help set you apparent from your competition.  Sometimes, the ultimate goal is for consumers to not only love your invention but to also become dependent upon it.
• Will your consumers even accept your product once it goes to market?  Perhaps, you can gather a small survey sample of potential customers to tell you what they think of your product before you get too far with mass producing your invention idea?  Surveys are a great way to find out what your target market wants and needs.  If you are looking for a profitable invention then sitting down with your potential customers should definitely put you on the right path.
• Sometimes if you are truly innovative with your new invention idea, you might not be able to make any comparisons between your product and other products out there are on the market.  That’s okay too.  Do the best you can in terms of putting yourself in your potential customer’s shoes.  The more you think like an end consumer, the more profitable your invention idea will likely become.

Get Physical

• Are you even sure that your invention is going to work?  Sometimes, the smartest thing to do is to invest in a prototype of your invention idea first.  That way, you can see exactly how your invention idea fuctions.  In addition, having an actual prototype is a great way of finding out ways to improve your invention idea to make it more useful and marketable to the masses.
• The size of your invention could be important, as well.  Is your invention bigger or smaller than other products out there on the market?  Next, evaluate if the size of your invention is an asset or a detriment.
• How much does your invention idea weigh?  Is it lighter or heavier compared to other products out there on the market?  Again, evaluate whether the weight of your invention is an asset or a detriment.
• Is your invention idea more precise or accurate than the competition?  Remember, having a high quality product could potentially set you apart from your competition.  Ask yourself how you can take advantage of this asset.

Safety First and Going Green

• Will your invention idea be safe to use?  Is there a way for your product to become the niche leader in terms of safety?  Take for example Dyson’s Air Multiplier fan.  One of their major selling points is that their fan does not having any rotating blades that could potentially cause injury to children.
• Another great trend to be a part of nowadays is having an invention idea that is environmentally friendly.  Not only is this a great selling point but there is also a lot of opportunity for environmentally friendly niche products out there on the market.  How can your invention idea take advantage of this?

Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll talk about some more questions that you need to ask when evaluating your invention idea.  In the meantime, go get started answering some of the questions we outlined above right now!

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Tap Your Creativity for an Inspiring Invention Idea

Coming up with creative invention ideas requires that you investigate a variety of different ways to do something regardless of how unlikely they may seem. Below are a few ways that we recommend to help push your inventor mind beyond the conventional and the comfortable.

Don’t Just Think, DO!
Simply reading about ways to develop great creative invention ideas won’t help you come up with the next great multimillion dollar invention. Rather, you MUST:

• Thoroughly understand how to apply creative invention idea techniques.
• Put these creativity techniques into actual use.

Only then, will the depth of your creativity expand.

Look to Other Great Thinkers for Inspiration
There is nothing wrong with mimicking people that are already highly creative in the specific field you are looking to invent in. Keep a list of all the people that truly inspire you. Write down what their creative traits are and exactly why the inspire you. Questions to ask yourself are:

• How do they solve problems?
• What secret methods do they use?
• Who are their heroes or sources of inspiration?
• What makes them stand out compared to other people?

Take on a Different Role
Ask yourself how different customers would use or experience a specific invention idea.  The more creative you are in putting yourself in the role of different customers the better.  In the end, maybe your end customer may not be the one that you had originally intended for an invention idea.

Don’t Be Such a Logical Inventor
Those individuals that find themselves the most creative and the most successful use both the right sides and left sides of their brains equally. Unfortunately, most inventors seem to be just left brained. In other words, they love working in the realms of logic and language. On the other hand, right brain people are the ones that love to focus on nonverbal tasks such as painting and drawing.  If you can combine your logical side of your brain with your artistic side you’ll find yourself becoming a creative powerhouse of ideas.

Quantity, Quantity, and MORE Quantity
Focus on quantity NOT quality. The wider the net you cast in terms of possible creative invention ideas, the better your chances will be that you will come up with a great new invention idea.

Challenge the Norm
So you want to be creative? Challenge the norm. Focus on ways of completing a task that are totally opposite from how everyone else performs them. If the solution is obvious, then you aren’t thinking creatively enough. Remember, your creative solution doesn’t have to be right or perfect, but it does have to be different. Be provocative!

Get with a Group
Get with a group composed of other inventive people like you. Each person in the group then throws out a single word (it can be an adjective or a noun). Then in a round robin fashion, each member of the group has a set time limit to define as many creative invention ideas based upon the original set of words, as possible. Set a time limit and make it a competition. The person that comes up with the most creative ideas for the original concept out of the group wins a prize. If you don’t have a lot of inventive friends you can also make use of “random phrase generators” out on the internet. One that we like to use is watchout4snakes.com.

Look to Quotes for Inspiration
So you feel like your creative juices have all dried up. If you want some inspiration and motivation do a search for creative quotes on the internet. We like brainyquote.com.  While writing this article we found a great one by Albert Einstein:

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

Creative Accidents
We all know of the 3M inventor that tried to create a stronger glue but managed to come up with an extremely weak version instead. At first, he thought that he was a failure but the glue was perfect for one of 3M’s best selling products, Post-It notes. The left brain thinkers out there term these kinds of invention ideas as “creative accidents”. Next time you come up with a creative invention idea that you think is a failure stop and ask yourself, “Have I really failed”?

Make the Familiar Strange
Remember McGyver? He’s the guy that could build all sorts of things out of paperclips, hair spray, duct tape, and a Swiss Army knife in order to get himself out of all sorts of trouble. Well, if you want to come up with more creative invention ideas then you need to start thinking like McGyver. Take a bunch of random objects that you have in your house and figure out ways to make something useful out of them. As inventors, we often think in a stereotypical fashion where there is only one possible use for a specific product or item. If you want to come up with truly creative invention ideas then you need to start thinking outside of the box.

Summary
So you have read all these suggestions on how to come up with creative invention ideas. That’s great but are you going to just sit there and keep moping that you’ll never come up with the next great invention idea? Our hopes are that you pick one of these techniques RIGHT NOW and immediately put it into practice. What are you waiting for? Get going!

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Look to Rituals if You are Lacking Invention Ideas

As inventor’s, not only do we fail to understand rituals but we also undervalue the significance of rituals. When we find ourselves stumped for invention ideas we should look at rituals as a means to enhance our creativity and our innovation capacity.

Set a Time Limit
Set a timer. When you set a time limit, your mind will understand that you have set a definitive start and stop time. Having a definitive stop time is crucial for maintaining motivation when your invention ideas decide to remain hidden. However, on those great days when invention ideas are flowing, you can simply disregard your timer and continue on with the process of inventing.

Set Aside a Specific Time of the Day to be Creative
If you are a busy mom, the only time during the day that you have a few minutes of peace and quiet are usually early in the morning before the kids get up and late at night when you put the kids to bed.  Use this time wisely to generate invention ideas.  Keep in mind that you will also need to be consistent as to when you will be inventive.  Otherwise, there will always be other less productive activities that will fill this time.  Remember, when your brain is unencumbered by anything else, you may find that your ability to generate brilliant invention ideas improves.

Get Calm
Take a few deep breaths before you start your invention idea generation session. Clear you mind of distracting thoughts to the best of your ability. If you are thinking about that driver that cut you off on your way to work rather than focusing on the process of being creative, it may lead to some less than ideal invention ideas.

Find a Quiet Area
Whether it is in your office, man cave, garden, or wherever, set aside an area that you can be free from distractions and dream. We often need to deprive ourselves from the distracting technology around us (cell phones, voice mail, emails, etc.) in order to create this quiet atmosphere. Remember, the purpose of the time that you have set aside is to develop invention ideas.

Don’t Get Discouraged
So you set aside some time in your busy day for your invention idea ritual but you still can’t seem to come up with any worthwhile ideas. Now what do you do? The great thing about rituals is that everyone does them. Innovation and invention ideas can come from reevaluating how people perform their daily established rituals.

Examine Tools Used in Rituals for Inspiration and Opportunities
Take for example the often daily ritual of shaving. For most of us, it is a pain and requires concentration in order to avoid getting any nasty nicks or cuts. Shaving also constantly takes time out of our busy days to perform. Savvy inventors have looked at the ritual of shaving for years and have come up with some pretty nifty inventions. Some of these inventions have included:

• Shaving foams rather than powders
• Multiple blades in a razor instead of a single blade
• Disposable razors
• Electric razors

The great thing about inventing for rituals is that no matter how the tools (think ‘inventions’) have changed, the process of performing the ritual (think ‘shaving’) has still remained.

Rituals are Hard to Change
Despite the fact that tools in a ritual have often changed, chances are, that the ritual may still remain. Take for example the Bayer corporation back in the 1980s. Bayer invented a brand new protective coating for their aspirin tablets. Prior to this invention, cotton balls were packed in aspirin bottles to keep the pills from breaking. However, with the invention of the new protective coating, cotton was no longer required. Unfortunately, it took nearly two decades, that’s right, TWO decades, before the cotton balls were removed from Bayer aspirin bottles. Why? Because customers erroneously believed that the cotton balls were keeping the aspirin potent while soaking up any moisture that might cause unnecessary damage to the pills. Both of these myths were false. The mere removal of the cotton balls from the aspirin container had become an unproductive ritual. What does this mean for inventors? Simple, that rituals typically don’t die but they do get reinvented.

Summary

• You don’t need hours set aside to come up with a great invention idea but mere minutes. However, you need to make these minutes count by setting aside a time slot every day (or week) to think creatively in order to maintain consistency.
• Find a calm and quiet place without distractions to focus on creating ideas.
• Don’t get discouraged. Coming up with great invention ideas requires a ritual use of dedication and consistency.
• Look at current products that are being used in rituals (such as shaving or brushing your teeth) for inspiring invention ideas.
• Rituals are hard to overcome. Once you get into the habit of setting aside time in your busy day to just think about invention ideas, the harder it will be to break away from this potentially rewarding ritual.

What are you waiting for?  Go out there and incorporate rituals to find that next money making invention idea!

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