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What will the customer do with my invention/new product?

January 27th, 2010 by Paul

When an inventor invents a product or service, he/she assume the customer and/or the market will use the invention in the way the inventor intended. But, sometimes, it’s the market that should make that decision.

In the case study I write about in my book, Invent-onomics 101: A Guide to Getting Your Invention to Market Without Losing Your Shirt, I describe how I effectively “pigeon-holed” my product into one market category… Totally missing a much larger potential market.

The invention in Invent-onomics 101 was designed to attract deer and other wildlife during the day using different animal and food scents. What I didn’t realize when developing the tooling, patent and marketing plan was there was an infinitely bigger market (about 100 times the size) for Gardeners who wanted to keep the deer and other animals away from their plants.

Filling my “animal attracting invention” with predator scents (coyote scent) versus scent that attracts, a gardener in Harrisburg, PA discovered that my invention kept the deer away from her vegetables and flower. The total potential market size for the product went from 1 million scent dispensers to 100 million that day. The problem was I had already filed the patent based upon the intended use (attracting animals) and tooled the product with “THE BUCK MAGNET” molded into every assembly.

This “short sited” mistake cost me a deal with a major lawn and garden company and forced me to issue a second patent (more money to the patent attorney) to cover “repelling” animals.

The lesson: Keep your invention/new product flexible. Try not to permanently mark anything on the product. This will keep the product flexible in the market (private labeling) and give potential customers/distributors more options to expand into other markets you never imagined.

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Posted in Branding, Inventing | Comments Off

Niched… Turning a Solo Invention into a Success. (Part 1 of 2)

January 20th, 2010 by Jeff Gawronski

You have fought several months, maybe years, but you finally did it! Your invention is available to the public!!

…fast forward several months or years later. Your product is selling, but not at a pace you expected. You had big plans to already have sold 20 times the amount you are at. Days seem long and as time passes it is easy to feel discouraged. Doubt can creep in as the money invested seems almost unattainable to get back. The dreams of a new car and nice vacation disappeared a long time ago. Even friends slowly stop asking how the product is selling because they know it hasn’t caught on like you expected. Overall you may start resenting your product invention. STOP!

STOP. Negativity kills entrepreneurs faster than lack of money. What you need is a plan. A plan to succeed. The truth is you most likely never had a plan. Like most inventors you envisioned your product succeeding so well that you just thought the story would right itself. Although this happens to some inventors, you now have to realize that you are not part of that limited group. This is actually a good thing because you have the chance to plan and run your business before it runs you. Don’t get me wrong, selling millions of dollars worth of your invention would have been great, but the odds of that success were stacked against you from the start. It’s like that family member who wants to be a movie star, sure its possible, but without a back-up plan they’ll be a professional waiter/waitress forever.

The PLAN

Create the Yak’s Tail. Feathered out, bushy and full you need to create a product line that is much like the Yak’s Tail. You already have the root of the tail which is your invention, but its currently bare with no surroundings. It is exposed and has to survive on it’s own with no protection. Creating the Yak’s Tail is to create a full product line of retail ready products within your specific niche. By retailing your invention with other same category products you’ll have a full and complete product line.

How?

It’s easier than you think. It is most likely not possible to add a second, third and fourth invention and the truth is you probably don’t have another idea in the same product category or your budget is too tight. This is fine because turning a solo invention into success has nothing to do with adding new inventions and everything to do with building a retail website. That’s right a Niche Retail Site! With your invention as the foundation, add as many products as possible within your newly found niche.

You see the fact is big retailers can’t be niched. They don’t want to be niched. They are big retailers because they go for mass appeal products only!! If your invention was overlooked in your niche, you can guarantee that there are other great products within your niche that retailers/buyers have overlooked too. If you can’t find success getting into the retail stores you think your invention belongs, then BECOME the RETAILER! Remember you invented your product because no one first addressed the need and brought it to market. Now do the same thing by creating the online retail store. Eventually by going niche you’ll either get the big box retailers to want to stock your invention or they may be interested in owning your niche and purchasing your retail site! …Or you may actually own and operate a successful business that provides for you and your family!

….. Now let’s start planning a niche site! Look for more on creating your Yak’s Tail in 2 of 2.

online_store

Posted in Entrepreneurial, Inventing | 1 Comment »

Mastering The Media

January 13th, 2010 by Todd Brabender

How to make the most of your publicity (media) exposure opportunities

As a former TV news reporter/producer and a current PR professional, I have been on both sides of the media interview game. I like to think I have a good eye for what makes a good interview source, how to conduct an interesting interview, and how to give a compelling interview. There are a few tricks of the trade that can make you come off like a pro — which will make the reporter’s job easier and most likely translate into a better PR placement for you.

Here are a few basic tips to follow:

* When a publicity campaign generates a media response, respond as promptly as possible. The media is on constant deadline. If they don’t get what they want from you quickly — they WON’T wait — they WILL move on to another source.

* State facts, not fireworks, keeping superlatives to a minimum. Proving your product is indeed the “BEST” is impossible. So don’t. Simply state the specific benefits of your product matter of factly. As long as you have a quality product, something that should be evident by the time you implement a publicity campaign, your product won’t need “BEST EVER” or “#1” claims to come out in a positive light.

* Speak in sentences, not phrases.
Articulate your answers in the following manner: Subject — Verb — Object — Reason

Ex: “We (subject) are launching (verb) our new product (object)
to give consumers a healthy new option in beverages (reason).”

This will help you give answers that are straightforward and easily understood. Beginning sentences with phrases, tends to make your answers seem drawn out, disjointed and most times unresponsive. This is not to say you should never begin a sentence with a phrase. Granted, some media savvy interviewees can pull it off with articulation. But until you get to that level — stick to the fundamentals.

* “Echo-answer” the main questions.
If a reporter asks: “What’s so great about your new product?” — try to paraphrase and answer: “The great thing about our product is…” That quote/soundbite is much more likely to be used because that answer can stand on its own without needing a “set-up” sentence in the article/story. A reporter can throw that quote in anywhere and it is a logical, understandable statement about the product.

* Keep quotes and sound bites concise and articulate.
If you must have a “canned response” to a question speak conversationally, not like a robot. A good rule of thumb for answer lengths: Effective TV/radio news broadcast soundbites should be around 4-10 seconds — something you can speak comfortably in about 3 or 4 normal breaths. Anything longer and it may seem to drone on. That’s why they are called sound bites. Regardless, stick to the S-V-O formula and there’s no real way you can get off track and therefore open you up to awkward follow-up questions.

* Be a well, not a fountain.
By that I mean allow the interviewer to dip in and draw out your responses instead of spewing forth a tirade of unsolicited information. (Don’t worry – most interviewers will “lead” you into discussing the most relevant aspects of your product) You will seem more genuine and less self-serving if you answer the interviewer’s questions succinctly and professionally. This is especially true in “firefighting” publicity — when your product/business/company is being interviewed in the wake of a problem.

* Speak to the interviewer, not the medium.
Don’t get blinded by the “stage lights”. Whether you are speaking to the editor of a small town weekly newspaper or Oprah, consider the reporter just a single person in your extensive targeted audience. Treat the interview as a one on one conversation with the reporter. That will make you more at ease, allow you to think more clearly and let you be more genuine in your responses.

About Todd Brabender (by Jeff Gawronski): Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for innovative products & services. Spread the News has been a new a part of the Yak About It team for 2 months and the results have been impressive. Entrepreneurs beware there are PR agencies that will spend all their time telling you they are ‘close’ to a big PR hit only to gain you nothing and take your money. It is hard to really know the work level put in. Yak About It is pleased to be able to endorse Spread the News for being a firm that works hard to get you noticed! If your business is ready for affordable PR services contact Todd directly at: (785) 842-8909

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Making an Entrepreneur’s Business & Life Succeed

January 8th, 2010 by Julie Wilson

As the founder of an online company, I was recently asked what advice I would offer other entrepreneurs about my journey as an entrepreneur/inventor. I write this from the perspective of a wife and mom of two kids – 11 and 14 – re-entering the workforce after 10 years of being a stay-at-home mom.

First, and foremost, PLANNING for your dream to become a reality is vital. Bringing an idea to life can be a daunting task. Don’t be surprised if others aren’t as positive as you’d like – convincing them that your ideas will work can be a challenge. Be sure you write a business plan to define your business, your competition, and your strategic approach, establish your alliances, and lay out your marketing/advertising schemes. It may change as your business takes flight, but this plan will help guide you in the beginning stages of development.

Lay out your financial strategy. Try to anticipate expenditures in advance, and attempt to stick to your budget. Understand where the money is coming from and who else might have to sacrifice their lifestyles along with you. If family funds are being tapped into first, engage your spouse (if you have one) in the process and explain your strategy. If kids are part of your life, you’ll be amazed at the creativity they can offer. A family team approach makes for a much happier process if money and your time have to be sacrificed to realize your dream. Set your dollar limits and re-evaluate every six months to stay in check.

Be honest and realistic about your timing. The “Five Year Plan” may be in your cards – not a bad thing since many other experienced inventors have followed this path. Some are fortunate to have their products catch on quickly, while others find that they have a work in progress. Remember that being over anxious and rushing may present an “incomplete product or concept” to the public, causing them not to return for a second look. Planning with patience is truly a virtue.

Don’t lose yourself to the extent that you jeopardize long-term relationships with family and friends. Having them understand your dream will result in a smoother journey. Those closest to you can be helpful when you’re seeking ideas and support. As creators, we are often too close to our products to recognize the pitfalls. Outsider input can be the key to new creative approaches.

Lastly, stay HEALTHY and love what you do! Keeping to a routine of good health and fitness – which includes SLEEP – will keep you mentally sharp and help you endure those long days of work. If you are passionate about what you do, it will be evident to all your customers.

About Julie Wilson: The motivation for creating my online study site, Qwizzy’s World, was the need to have my children learn the art of studying. Differing from other sites, it was intentionally designed WITHOUT a data bank of pre-made quizzes – working with a student’s critical thinking skills – teaching students not just what to study, but more importantly, HOW to study. QW stores quizzes so they can be taken as practice as often as needed. This exercise helps to not only reduce test taking anxiety, but to promote learning vs. mere memorization. The site scores the quizzes for immediate feedback and also offers a cool way for students to study together through Buddysharing. With the touch of a button, quizzes can be combined into an Ultimate Quiz to study for cumulative tests – like midterms or finals. With a simple click, quizzes are also turned into flash cards – for students who prefer that style of studying.

I was fortunate to not only have family support through the design of QW, but to watch my own children benefit from all my hard work! Good luck to all of you starting out on your journey. We welcome you to visit us at www.QwizzysWorld.com for more information.

Posted in Entrepreneurial | 1 Comment »

Tips for Entrepreneurial Success

January 4th, 2010 by Richard Jackson

I am an attorney, practicing 30 plus years in Dallas, Texas, until I brought my concept of a wholly outsourced word processing staff for attorneys and law firms to market in 1997. Today we serve over 35,000 clients nationwide. That venture is absolutely the crowning achievement of my career, far outdistancing anything I ever did or learned in my very successful law practice. There are so many things involved in such an adventure that it would be very hard to chronicle them all, but two items specifically come to mind as to what might be helpful for entrepreneurs starting out.

Entrepreneurial Tip 1: First and foremost, always be mindful of the money. Whether you’re starting out with venture capitalists, trying to put together a pay-as-you-go, self funded plan, or anywhere in between, money and your management of it is all-important. Even if you have venture capitalists screaming at your door, that is not always the right way to go. There are many very important decisions you’ll have to make as you move through your business that have to be made without clear cut right or wrong answers, and if you can avoid the entanglement of money and the strings attached with it, you are dramatically more likely to be successful in the long run in making those right decisions based on what’s good for the business, rather than what is good for (or dictated by) those money interests. Try to line up what money you can as you begin and as you go forward, do not take on something, or try to move at a speed that this money will not support, and treat every dollar you get like it’s the last one you’ll ever see. If you have a good idea, money will come in boatloads at the end, but the way you treat this early money is determinative to a very large extent of your likelihood to be successful.

Entrepreneurial Tip 2: Second, trust your own judgment in most all of the decisions that you have to make. There are experts now on every conceivable subject and many, many people who will try to persuade you to substitute their judgment and decisions for your own. Don’t be overly awed by credentialed or “expert” sources for advice. I have always found that it is a good practice to get as much advice on as many subjects as you possibly can do, but in the end, go with your own instincts and life experiences and do so with the comfort of knowing that you’ve sought all of the input that you can get before you make that final decision. The final product and result is going to be yours, after all, so it should reflect you, your wisdom, your character and personality, so don’t let yourself get snowed by someone who claims to be smarter than you.

About Richard Jackson: My company, SpeakWrite, is an outsourced method of accomplishing something that is absolutely essential to anyone involved in the business world, from beginning entrepreneurs to major law firms. It puts the ultimate control of your costs of providing one of the most essential parts of any business – documenting thoughts, communications, ideas and data – totally under your control and on a pay-as-you-go basis. For details you can visit our web site at www.speakwrite.com.

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Provisional Patent Applications – - Avoiding the Tripping Points – Part I

December 28th, 2009 by Don Kelly

At my patent and commercialization workshops across the country, I’m always asked about provisional patents, and more specifically if another provisional patent can be filed once the original has expired. I’m quick to explain there’s no such thing as a “provisional patent.” What they intended to ask about is a provisional “patent application,” or PPA. My answer to that question is “yes,” a new PPA may be filed under certain circumstances. But, it’s important to have a sound appreciation for the PPA and its purpose. There are tripping points to avoid.

PPA’s are filed for (at least) two key reasons: (1) to establish an early filing date recognized throughout the world as an invention priority date; (2) to acquire patent pending status for applicant’s invention (clearly and fully described in the PPA*) for up to 12 months following the priority date. *Note: Without this, it’s worthless.

The PPA itself is never examined by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). If the inventor wishes to file an application that will be examined and hopefully mature to a patent grant, a “non-provisional patent application,” or NPA, must be filed. Further, if the inventor wishes to enjoy the benefit of the earlier PPA priority date, the NPA must be filed within the PPA 12 month period and include a specific claim to that benefit. As a caution, I always point out the potential stumbling blocks when it comes to filing a PPA and/or NPA.

First of all, inventors can lose patent rights if they make a public disclosure of their inventions more than a year before establishing an application filing date. Putting this another way: Under US Patent Law, once an invention is disclosed to the public, a patent application (PPA or NPA) must be filed within a one year “grace period,” if a patent grant is to be pursued. Otherwise, the inventor is “barred” from obtaining the patent. Notably, patent laws of other nations do not (yet) include a grace period. If the inventor’s objectives include retaining rights to foreign patents, the PPA or NPA must be on file before any public disclosure takes place.

So, here are the most common tripping points. When an inventor files a US PPA, the subsequent NPA and any foreign filing must be executed within the PPA 12 month timeframe. When an inventor publicly discloses an invention and later files a PPA or NPA under the US grace period invoked by the disclosure, essentially all foreign filing rights are lost.

This leads us back to the initial question: Can one file another PPA when the first PPA expires? The answer is yes, assuming the inventor remains diligent, and that such filing is not barred by expiration of a grace period invoked by public disclosure. Of course, the previously established PPA goes to Provisional Heaven at the end of its 1-year lifespan, and takes its filing date with it.

PPA’s do provide advantages but, as pointed out, they do have an ugly underside. If there seems to be interest in this subject, Part II will reveal still more tripping points…along with some underappreciated advantages of the PPA.

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About Don Kelly (in his words): Hi…I’m Don Kelly, patent agent, certified licensing professional…and an ardent fan of Yakaboutit. I live at I live at www.patentagentplus.com …and can always be tapped for some free advice…for what it’s worth ) Above are some tips for inventors with great ideas. Please let me know what you think…especially if you have informative comments or additions. I’d like to make this a highly interactive, informative blog…but not so complex that it defies understanding. Feedback on this sample would be most enlightening. And don’t pull any punches. I’ve been around so long those punches simply add to my addled nature.

Posted in Patents & Trademarks | Comments Off

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

December 25th, 2009 by Jeff Gawronski

Just thought I’d share this insightful and inspiring message once spoken by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Enjoy your Christmas day with your family and friends as well as the upcoming new year. Hoping 2010 will be your most gratifying year yet!!

THE FINAL ANALYSIS

People are often unreasonable, illogical

and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway,

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,

ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends

and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,

someone may destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, People will forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,

and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,

it is all between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta-

Posted in Inspirational | 1 Comment »

How much do I charge for my new product/service?

December 20th, 2009 by Paul

The first rule of pricing is: “Price the product based upon what the customer is willing to pay… Not what it cost to produce it.” The consumer is buying what the product will do for him/her. The (retail) price is how much the consumer values that item. What the supplier (inventor/entrepreneur) essentially is doing is extracting the difference between the cost to produce and that “consumer product value”… This is also known as profit!

But how do you figure out a price “starting point” on a new product? What I’ve done successfully in the past is: 1) Find where the competition is for a similar product. If the next closest similar product is (ex.) $20, then figure your new and better “mouse trap” can fetch $25 (20% to 25% higher). 2) Then, work your production cost backwards from the $25 retail price to figure out your maximum cost to produce the product.

Generally speaking, the maximum net production cost (labor, raw materials, packaging, shipping boxes, etc.) should be about 20% of the retail price (assuming you’re selling through a retailer). This should generate enough revenue to cover you, your overheads (Advertising, G&A, etc.) and the Reps and Distributors…While, at the same time, giving the retailer enough margin to put the product on the shelf. Therefore, going back to our $25 retail price example, the maximum net cost to produce this product should be about $5.

When introducing a new product, always start with a higher retail price than you think the consumer will pay. You can always lower the price later if it’s too high, but it’s nearly impossible to raise the price once the product is on the retailer’s shelves.

Note from Jeff Gawronski: Paul hits the nail on the head! Those who have a new product invention could have a cost as high as 25% of retail, but any more puts the new entrepreneur in a risky situation. What I have also seen and will touch on in a future post is the greed that takes hold of some inventors. Just because your new product could sell for more and your profit can be larger this is something that should be cautioned. ’Why?’ you ask. The reason is that if your pricing is set high you open the door for a smart business person realizing that there is room to sell a cheap knock off. Make a great product, price it right, gain marketshare and you’ll also make the copy cat products less likely to succeed.

Paul Tuttobene is also an inventor that took an idea (Buck Magnet) and made it a reality. He shares all the highs and lows in a must read book titled ‘INVENT-ONOMICS’ If you have an idea for a product invention before you go any further you have to read this book.

Posted in Inventing | 1 Comment »

Don’t be a Hostage – to your TECH company!

December 13th, 2009 by Jeff Gawronski

Have you ever visited a website only to find that the links don’t work, the pages load too slow or not at all and the ‘contact us’ form doesn’t work? If you have then you know how annoying it is. Even when sites like Twitter put up ‘cute graphics’ saying they are broken it is still annoying. But behind the technical issues there is actually someone more annoyed than you are and that’s the entrepreneur whose website is ‘acting up’. You see the vast majority of thinkers, inventors and idea people aren’t actually the ones who do the computer programming, rather the inventors dreams the idea and those tech savvy enough to implement are hired or outsourced for work. So when the site has ‘broken features’ the entrepreneur can only hope that he/she hired intelligent people for the job. If they did, a fix is often easy…. if they didn’t the hours turn to days and the site errors can become agonizing.

It happens to the best entrepreneurs… and my message to those inventors and entrepreneurs anxious that their website is not functioning as it should … DON’T BE A HOSTAGE!!

Thankfully for those entrepreneurs just getting into needing a website and working with computer programmers I, myself have dealt with internal IT employees, several outsourced companies and in general more IT people than I can count. Does the talented IT person exist? I am sure they do, the problem is that the profession is a bit of a cloak and dagger. What I mean is that with technical issues it is very easy to pass the buck. I have yet to meet an IT professional that came out and said something didn’t work because of their poor coding or lack of attention to detail. Often they will blame the end users or the hosting company or connection speeds. For those entrepreneurs that aren’t technical, what should you believe? Since your computer programming skills are limited you are at the mercy of the IT person. Do you believe them and save the relationship? Or do you question them and create a rift?

The Answer: Do what will make your business succeed. Most IT people will try to scare you into thinking that no one is as good as them…. and each time I’ve heard it I laugh a little louder. The truth is if you are having tech issues then there are a lot of IT people that are better, so don’t believe the scare tactics. Often what appears at first to be solid functioning programming is often nothing more than a mask. Like a home if the foundation of your website is strong it will not break or have issues later (or at least limited issues), but if the overall architecture of your site is off or is not created optimally your site will run into problems.

The obvious goal is to avoid these issues, but if that is not possible and your website still has errors/issues here is what you can do:

Find a third party you can trust. Call a friend, hire a company or just someone with technical knowledge. It will cost you in the short run, but have them review your site’s errors and openly discuss the reasons for the errors.
Bring the errors up to your current company armed with the facts you learned from your consulting hire. Give your current tech company a chance to solve the issues. After all they should be fixing all the problems because you paid for a working website. If they try to charge you for fixing errors their poor programming created you shouldn’t pay a nickel and in fact that’s a sign of them trying to take advantage (greed) of your lack of technical knowledge and you need to move on to #3.
GET OUT! If your tech company/person doesn’t fix the problems, can’t fix the problems or more issues keep happening that is when you have to pull out. Get all you ducks in a row, have a back-up copy of your website, locate a more qualified source and FIRE your IT person or firm. Your business is at stake!

Remember with websites and technical stuff it is not if you will have tech issues, but more often when. Determine what’s normal and what’s not (consult w/ an expert or friend), fix the problems and if you need a new tech team to do it then GET OUT fast and HIRE SMART. And if you don’t hire smart, remember that you can always try again. Whatever you do don’t allow yourself to be a Tech Hostage!!

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Posted in Web Related | 3 Comments »

Say NO to your Dreams!?

December 9th, 2009 by Julia Scott

I launched my first business in January and the most important thing I have learned is that sometimes you have to say no to your dreams.

I never realized this before because I have never had a job that allowed me complete control over my workday. Before becoming an entrepreneur, I had a handful of salaried jobs that I excelled at, for the most part. (Who hasn’t been fired at least once?)

Most of my salaried jobs were as a reporter for daily newspapers. I was especially good at making deadlines, pursuing opportunities and leaving good impressions. My tasks were well defined and I was good at completing them.

But putting my future in my own hands seemed more promising than following directions in a tied-down corporate structure that moved like molasses. I craved the ability to try things, fail, learn, adjust, and try again. With my work ethic I knew I had a good shot at entrepreneurial success. Plus, you’ve heard newspapers aren’t doing so well, no?

What I quickly learned after launch is that more than working hard and putting in long hours, I had to prioritize my goals or BargainBabe.com would never work.

Everyday there were hundreds of things I needed to do but I could only accomplish about seven of them. I hesitated to prioritize because that meant putting a book, podcasts, regular videos, and a lot more on the back burner. Instead of prioritizing my goals, which meant saying no to a lot of dreams, I tried to work on all of them.

Guess what? I accomplished none of them!

I finally sat down with an advisor who specializes in marketing and business planning (read: my sister) and chose one goal – to make $50,000 off my blog – and put in writing the steps to reach the goal. Then we turned those steps into daily tasks that I created time for in my online planner.

Over a two hour lunch we came up with a six-month plan. The questions she asked me were simple. What is your top goal for your business? What are the main things you can do to accomplish that one goal? How many hours do you need to spend on each contributing task every day or every week to make progress?

Before I had a daily plan, I was working on a lot of goals and achieving none of them. Now I am focused on one goal – making $50,000 off my blog in six months – and making significant progress towards my one dream. When I get there, I’ll be ready to bite off one more dream.

About Julia Scott: Julia writes the savvy-spending blog BargainBabe.com, which helps folks save money on groceries, gasoline, and household bills.