MORE RESULTS… AND THOUGHTS
Last month we shared highlights from our national Inventors Survey. Many asked that we share more of the findings of what hundreds had to say. So we’re including them here. How do you compare? Any big surprises?
The vast majority pursue their invention ideas with business in mind:
All business: 33%
More business than hobby: 26%
Equal: 24%
More hobby than business: 16%
All hobby: 2%
Inventors say effort plays a bigger role than the idea when it comes to driving product success.
All idea: 8%
More idea than effort: 14%
Equal: 41%
More effort than idea: 28%
All effort: 9%
Most work on their inventions at least once a week:
Daily: 30%
Weekly: 25%
Monthly: 18%
Quarterly: 9%
Annually: 9%
Never: 9%
A lot of folks must be lying in bed thinking about their inventions, as home inventors told us the bedroom is the place they most often do their best inventing thinking. The room-by-room:
Bedroom: 26%
Living room: 18%
Garage: 12%
Kitchen: 6%
Bathroom: 6%
Family room: 6%
Basement: 3%
Other: 23%
Airlines are clearly not conducive to inventive thinking. Amongst people who do their best invention thinking outside the home, here’s where they say they do it:
Work: 24%
Outside: 23%
Automobile: 10%
Planes & Trains:0%
Other: 42%
Editor’s Note: We reported last month that 54% believe their invention idea could generate more than $5 million and another 24% believe their idea could generate more than $1 million. In hindsight, we wish we’d stated that these figures indicate expectations well above what history suggests is realistic. Invention optimism is good… and we want you to achieve seven-figure success… but it’s crucial to temper optimism with realism informed by data. We’d give this advice to anyone who calls us or works with us, and should have done likewise from the start in last month’s newsletter.
A LEADER’S PERSPECTIVE:
PATRICK RAYMOND
This month we launch a new Q&A series with leading voices in
innovation. To kick it off, we interviewed Patrick Raymond, an
independent inventor and the executive director of the not-for-profit
United Inventors Association (UIA). Full disclosure: Patrick is on
AbsolutelyNew’s advisory board, and the UIA awarded us its Professional
Member certification… although Patrick recused himself from the review
committee voting. Here’s invention perspective from Patrick:
Q: We hear a lot of talk about America needing to innovate its way out
of recession. How do you see individual inventors playing a role here?
Patrick: America is uniquely positioned, because of its culture and
history, to tap into the natural inventiveness of its population.
Individual inventors are at the heart of this. It’s very exciting.
Q: You’ve instituted a rigorous new UIA Professional Member certification program. What’s your aim here?
Patrick: For inventors, this program delivers peace of mind because it
establishes a central place where they can look for professionals who
have been thoroughly checked. You still need to be diligent to make
sure a company is right for you, but you’ll know that a Certified
Professional member has been committee-reviewed and met specific,
objective qualifications and standards of professionalism. For the
service providing companies, this program provides credibility and an
opportunity to potentially reach more inventors seeking help with one
service or another.
Q: What other key changes are you driving at the UIA?
Patrick: We’re revamping our education materials, including filming a
10-episode video series to help inventors through the invention
process. We’re opening a digital library full of non-commercial,
informative articles for inventors. We’re sending more support to local
inventor groups, including guidelines and tips to help the local groups
operate more effectively. And we’ve set up a toll-free number
(800-701-8595) and Member Care agents to better serve our membership.
Q: You’re also an individual inventor who has faced your own successes
and challenges bringing an inventive product to market. What’s been
your single greatest learning from the experience?
Patrick: The importance of good packaging cannot be overstated. Two bad
packages in a row nearly sank my business, twice. Make sure your
package effectively protects the product, so it arrives undamaged. Make
sure your package effectively promotes and explains it too, so people
will know what it is and why they should buy it.
Q: Any other advice you’d give to any inventor, based on your personal invention experience?
Patrick: You really can’t know it all—you will need to hire or partner
with specialists at some point, because every phase of the invention
process requires specialty. Also, running the business yourself, as an
entrepreneur, is not a part-time job—you’re all in. So unless you’re
prepared to commit yourself full-time, I would strongly recommend if
you can license that you do license your invention. Lastly, you have a
vision for how your product should look and how it should work, but
your product isn’t king – the customer is king. You’ll want to
vigorously test and retest with actual customers (your end users) at
the concept phase, prototype phase, etc.
Q: What’s your favorite invention of all time, and why?
Patrick: The paperclip. It is simple, universal, practical, low-tech,
reusable, enduring long after its patent expired. It’s the greatest
example of design simplicity and brilliance that I can think of.
For more information about the UIA, visit www.uiausa.org
Recording is posted
If you’re looking for a little guidance on development, look no further
than our website for a new resource—we just posted the recording from
our February 25th Product Development seminar.
You can click here to give it a listen. PLUS: Our previous seminar on Licensing is still available online. Get the insight and practical information you need!
BTW, we appreciate the many high quality questions you submitted to us.
our veteran team is at your service.
Call 1-888-9-INVENT today.
GIVING:
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
(Just thinking about it gives us a warm & fuzzy feeling… especially after we just got an envelope full of Thank You notes from a 1st grade class—written in pencil on wide-ruled paper, of course—telling us things like “I like practicing making words with the colored markers” and “we use it every day.”)
Spark anything in you? You can make a difference too. It can be a little scary at first if you’ve never volunteered or don’t know anyone at an organization… but we can assure you, based on first-hand experience, you’ll find it just as rewarding as the people you help.
SPEEDINESS, FACTORYLAND & MORE
Our blog is the place to find the latest industry news, frontline reports from tradeshows, marketplace trends, neat ideas and products... and, yes, a bit of the weird too.
Our latest posts cover:
- New in robotics
- Notes from The Toy Show
- Speed and your invention
- Dispatches from Factoryland… Number 2
- What do you think about these?
So please do share your thoughts on how we can better serve you!
AbsolutelyNew
is the consumer goods company that partners with inventors to
launch innovative products. We offer a broad range of affordable
services to give inventors the help they need to find success in the
marketplace -- and we'd be happy to help you, too. Get in touch!
Contact us
Phone: 1-888-9-INVENT
Web: www.absolutelynew.com
AbsolutelyNew is a Certified Professional Member of the United Inventors Association.