Do you have an IDEA and don’t know what to do NEXT?
Remember! An IDEA is not a product.
Nobody will invest in an IDEA only.
Nobody will produce your IDEA for you.
Nobody will buy your IDEA from you.
Nobody will do the work entailed in producing
your IDEA – YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK YOURSELF.
If you want to become an inventor or develop products and bring ideas to market then follow these 5 steps.
Start Out Right and the Job’s Half Done – Zulu proverb.
Step 1
Buy yourself a journal, a notebook with pages that you cannot tear out. Number the pages and keep your notebook close to you as you start your INVENTION JOURNEY. It is likely to become one of many journals and you will build on and refer to your notes often.
Don’t say later. Get one now.
Step 2
Write down around 500 words about your invention idea in your journal. Yes. Write the story of your invention idea. One at a time. Only you will see it. This is a very important step and one that you should not miss doing. If you must write more, then do so because you can cut back later, but do not write less. To help you do this, click the button below for a Word template to fill out online
and print. Add your own notes.
Step 3
Click the button below and carefully read through the tip sheet
“So You Want to become an Inventor”
Check out what it suggests and see how you can close any gaps. Come back to it often. Taking stock of your resources regularly is essential (money, time, place, facilities and so on.)
Step 4
Decide how you are going to get your product to your customer?
Are you 1. going to open a business yourself, aka venturing or
2. do you plan to License your idea? A bit of both?
Are you going to manufacture it yourself? Are you going to start your own business? Are you going to venture it? Are you an entrepreneur? If this is your choice then visit our Site seeing page (button below) and visit these two sites just to start, NSBC Africa and SME South Africa. There is a great deal of information about opening your own small business there; plus you can go here to read three articles, Confidentiality Agreements; Wantrepreneur or Entrepreneur and Bootstrapping,
you will find helpful too.
If you choose to License, keep reading to find out more.
OPEN INNOVATION means companies work with independent Inventors and they accept ideas from outside the company. Not all companies are open innovation companies.
LICENSING is a way of getting your product to market using the experience and facilities of a company who will rent your idea from you and pay you a royalty. You are the Licensor and the company is your Licensee.
You need to educate yourself on both venturing or entrepreneurship AND Licensing so that
you can choose the best route to market for yourself.
Step 5
If you have competed the steps above and your idea is ready to go and if you’ve chosen to LICENSE it,
then follow the link below.
It is an excellent summary of the 10 Steps to Licensing
as identified by Stephen Key, Co-Founder of inventRight.
The 2022 inventRight monthly webinar series –
https://inventright.com/webinar-series-recordings/
All of this information is available under free resources for
anyone who signs up to www.inventRight.com
We suggest you do so without hesitation!
You need to keep learning, keep on reading, keep on working on your idea consistently and you must make sure you keep current. The Invention landscape is dynamic and changes constantly. You must remain updated. You can do this by staying in touch and informed. Good luck!