By Stephen Key, inventright, Co-Founder
Over the course of my 30 year career I have made every mistake imaginable. I have seen other inventors make the same mistakes and more. Truth be told these are actually mistakes that could have been avoided with just a little common sense.

Below I have listed the top ten mistakes inventors make when trying to get their ideas to market. Count how many you have made.

10 – “The company rejected my idea. I guess I should just give up.”

Just because you got a “No” does not mean that your idea is not a good idea. Ask for feedback. Why didn’t they like your idea? What would they like to see made different with your idea? Maybe you can redesign your idea and submit it to them again. Get the feedback, it is very important.

9 – “I have been working on my idea for ten years. I think now I will show it to a company.”

Inventing is a numbers game. The more ideas you come up with and the more companies that you submit to will increase your chances of success.

8 – “Wow, I just signed my first licensing deal, but I am not getting a royalty check.”

Learn about contracts and term sheets. Find out what standard royalty rates are. How to use minimum guarantees to ensure that your licensee lives up to their potential. Never sign a contract without reading it first. Find a licensing attorney and get their advice.

7 – “If I just had the right contact, that’s all I need to get my idea to a company to review.”

Never rely on a referral to a company to review your idea. Ask for sales or marketing. Maybe the company has a process for submitting new ideas. Make your own relationship with someone in the company. You want them to feel empowered and to champion your idea.

6 – “I decided to order my product from China. Now I have a garage full of product and can’t seem to sell it.”

Determine if your idea is marketable first before you decide to have it manufactured yourself. Manufacturing a product your self can be very costly. Licensing may be a better avenue for your idea. It’s very inexpensive, very little risk to you and your licensee will do all the work.

5 – “I paid $10,000 for a prototype of my idea only to learn that it does not work.”

The best and most inexpensive way to show your idea is through a sell sheet. A sell sheet can show an image of your product (a photo or drawing) and the benefits of your product. Find a local college student to draw your idea. Make the sell sheet and send it out to companies for review. It’s very cost effective and you don’t have to mortgage your house to pay for it.

4 – “I have a great idea but no money for a patent. I’m not going to show it to anyone. I don’t want to get ripped off.”

In the United States the rule of law about inventions is “First to invent” not “First to file.” It’s very easy to protect your ideas. First, and the most economical way is with your inventors journal. Go down to the local supermarket and pick up a composition book. A book that you can not remove the pages from without ripping them out. Describe your invention. Do not skip lines. Write on both sides of the paper. Once you are done have someone read what you have written and sign it that they understand what you have invented. Make sure to date the page as well. This will serve as your proof that you invented this idea.

Next you can file a PPA (Provisional Patent Application) for $110 with the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office). There are many different software packages on the market that help you write your own PPA. We sell Patent Wizard on our site and it is what I use to write my own PPA’s. The software show you how to write and file your PPA. The PPA gives you a year to shop your idea around to manufacturers. If you get one interested in your idea you can negotiate with them to pay for your full patents.

3 – “I have an idea that will make millions. All I need is someone to get it out there for me.”

Just because you have an idea does not mean that it is marketable. You need to determine if you idea has any market potential before you move forward. Determine if you idea can be manufactured and if so can it be made economically. No one is going to do a better job of marketing your idea than you. There is no magic pill. No one is going to look at your idea and write you a check for a million dollars. Inventors that are successful go through the process themselves. Remember it’s a lot of hard work and determination.

2 – “I want to come up with an idea but I am not a creative person.”

Everyone is creative. It does not matter if you are an artist or an attorney everyone has an imagination. There are several games that you can play to come up with ideas. Look at the world in a different way. Imagine what if one product was used in a different way. Solve a problem that you see in your everyday life. Mix and match ideas to create new ones.

The number 1 stupid way inventors fail…
“I just paid $20,000 for my patent and all I have is a stupid plaque on the wall.”

Study the marketplace. Determine if there is a need for your idea. Don’t rush out and pay for a patent. Do a Google search first. Figure out if your idea is already out on the marketplace. Search through prior patents at the USPTO. Maybe someone else has already invented your idea. Go down to the local store and see if your idea is already on the shelf.

The main thing I want you to remember when creating ideas is to slow down. Don’t rush out and file a patent. Get some good advice. Ask someone that has been through the process to help you. My father always to told me to get close to someone that was doing what I wanted to do and learn from them. I think this is sound advice and it’s the advice that I have used my entire career.

Tags: fail, inventors, Stupid, Top 10

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Licensing, Manufacturing, Marketing, Motivational, P.R., Patents, Prototypes, Selling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.