As a design engineer with several patents pending, there are very few subjects that I am more qualified to speak on. The joy of creating something new is hard to match, and sharing those inventions with others can put an even bigger smile on your face. Just think of some of the amazing inventions that you use everyday such as the wine corkscrew, windshield wiper, telephone, or post-it note and realize that at some point, these were no more than an idea in someone's head. Fortunately, they had the vision, courage, and drive to bring these ideas to market and share them with all of us.
The first step to innovation is the development of the idea. There are many great books on this subject, such as
The Medici Effect, with a lot of very innovative methods. These are well worth the read if you need inspiration. Personally, my favorite method is much more simple. It starts with a pocket size notepad. Carry it around with you for a while and write down every nuisance in your life (Not including your spouse!). From my experience, the best inventions were typically a means of solving life's problems. For example, I really enjoy the open air feeling of a motorcycle, but I don't want to sacrifice the safety of a four wheel car, so I developed a new means of temporarily removing vehicle doors that provides the best of both worlds!
After you have a list of some irritations in your life, the next step is brainstorming some means of solving these problems. The key to successful brainstorming is to let the ideas flow FREELY. Don't shoot anything down at this point. You may develop an idea that sounds crazy, but it may lead you down some other paths. This brainstorming session should be held over several days. Keep your notepad on you, you may be surprised when the great idea pops into your head. In the shower, in bed, on the toilet, in a meeting, driving, home. You just never know.
Refining this list and hunting for that one marketable idea is the next, arguably most critical, step. You are looking for a couple of things here. First, SIMPLICITY IS KING. Because you don't have the money or technical support of a massive company, you want something that is relatively easy to develop and bring to market. The title of this posting really hits some home runs for simplicity. The sham wow is simply a tweak on a current car wash drying tool, the snuggie is a robe turned around backwards, and the perfect push-up is a couple of circular plastic discs with a rotating shaft connecting them. Not only were these inventions easy to develop, they are easy to make. This is a key. In addition to simplicity, you want to make sure that your idea is marketable. This can be a bit more difficult, but fortunately you have a large panel for polling in your friends and family. Sketch up your idea, write a brief description and share the idea with these people. See what they have to say. Would they buy it? How much would they pay? What would they improve about it?
If you have a simple concept that family and friends can approve of, the next step is protecting your idea. This is where the cost comes in, so you must make sure that you have faith in your idea. I would highly recommend patenting your idea. This can be costly, but it is essential. You will be amazed how quickly other companies will attempt to rip off your idea if it isn't protected. Not only will they steal it quickly, they will produce it for less than you thought possible and quickly push you out of the market. Patenting starts with a good patent attorney. They will typically ask for a detailed description of your idea, including sketches. They will confirm the patentability and then, if the idea is novel, useful, and unique, they will proceed with drafting the formal documents and getting professional sketches made. This process can take a while, but it is necessary
After patent protection, you have three different means of bringing your invention to market. Selling it to a major company, starting your own company to manufacture and sell it, or paying a manufacturing company to produce and ship the item, while you handle the sales and marketing. I will discuss the pros and cons of each briefly below.
1) Selling it to a major company. This is a great way to get your payoff early. The main problems with this route are that you limit your potential profits, and you may spend a lot of time finding a company interested in your product. If this route interests you, there are many sites online looking for inventions to purchase.
2) Starting your own company to manufacture and sell your product. For most inventors, this is cost prohibitive. Purchasing injection molding machines, stamping presses, etc. can be extremely cost prohibitive. Unless you have a big cash pile or are willing to look for venture capital, this path is out of reach to most people.
3) Paying someone to manufacture your product, while you sell and market it. This is my favorite path. Thanks to great improvements in low volume parts production technologies, there are many companies that can turn your concept into marketable product very quickly and cheaply.
Thomasnet is a great online directory of manufacturing companies. After your patent submission has been sent to the government, pick 10-15 companies online and send them your concept. Based on their responses, you should be able to narrow your list down to 2-3 companies that are worth sitting down 1 on 1 with to work through the details. Realize that cost, quality, and timeliness are all very important.
Finally, after bringing your invention to life, the final step is SALES! The internet is your starting point. There are so many different means you should take to sell your product online including, a personalized web site,
Ebay, and
Yahoo Stores. Advertising for your product has never been easier with
Google Adsense. And finally, after creating your online presence, if you have some success, you can begin pitching your products to the major stores, Walmart,
Amazon, and Target are the starting points, and from there you can pitch your idea to specialty stores within your nitch.
If you manage to create something new and exciting that customers appreciate, this whole process will lead to the greatest reward from inventing, SEEING SOMEONE USING YOUR PRODUCT! There is nothing greater!
Good luck and Happy Brainstorming!
Keys to Success:
Be Creative. This comes natural for some, while others may need to seek help to innovate.
Be Patient. Your great idea may take time!
Keep it Simple. The best products can be developed and manufactured easily.
Market Hard! There are a ton of books on the subject, and they MUST be read. A great invention is useless without a good marketing campaign.
So what exactly is this flying contraption? While they go by many names, the concept is the same. It all starts with the large parachute. Not only is this what makes the powered parachute lift off, it is also what makes this the safest form of flying in the world. Just think, if something goes wrong, the parachute is already deployed! In addition, the craft won't leave the ground if the parachute isn't deployed properly, so there is little to no risk.
propulsion once in the air. On most craft, this fan also has a large rudder which assists in turning. The true beauty of this craft is it's simplicity!
ck. If they approve, then move on to the next step.
