ConduitToCanDoIt

In this Podcast episode, I chat with Omer Qadri, a Mindset & Success coach who has worked with many entrepreneurs to execute & launch their businesses successfully.

According to Omer, the biggest mistake he has seen entrepreneurs make is: focusing on the solution rather than the problem. 

Example… For many first time entrepreneurs who are new at developing products, many jump to solutioning by filing expensive patents and producing products before they even get to a market viable product that is well positioned to their target market. And, after spending thousands of dollars and many months and years, if the product gets launched they find out that their so-called “cool” product does not fit the product-market. 

Example: In 1993, Apple launched a thick and ugly looking Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device. Apple spent millions of dollars and 2 - 3 years in developing the product without ever testing it with the customer. And this was a big mistake. 

In this podcast you’ll learn how to position yourself and...a new market product solution to fit the right product-market, address the market problem, then vet your idea directly with the consumer early-on in the product journey.

Well, if you are asking yourself the same question, you're not alone!

Having a creative idea ah-ha moment or a sketch on a napkin idea is one thing but... 

Turning your great ideas into a market viable product that has licensing potential, is a whole new ballgame altogether. 

After all, a lot goes into making your invention idea into a market viable product and then hoping to get it successfully licensed. 

Getting from simple sketches on a napkin to something tangible that many people would actually want to invest in can get quite tricky, frustrating and exhausting. Especially if you don’t know how to navigate getting that great invention idea from your mind to the market, licensed and...then profit!

So, you may be wondering, how does licensing your invention idea really work?

Let’s start with...What is licensing? 

To put it simply...Licensing is the best kept secret for 1st time inventors. A majority of the risk you can use to your advantage by leveraging the success history of already established licensing companies.  

Essentially the licensing option can provide you the inventor the opportunity to create balance between risk and reward. Basically, the company obtains the licensing permission from you, ‘the inventor’, to manufacture and sell your products to a predetermined target market or industry. They will also pay a royalty fee to you, the original owner for a specific period of time. 

The details are all formalized in what we call a Licensing Agreement between you and the licensing company. 

A licensing company should at least possess all the right resources, a history of success, relationships with distributors, buyers, and a viable marketing budget. 

To make your new product invention attractive to a potential licensor, you’ll likely need to consider investing in your invention strategy to properly position it to...make it license worthy. 

But what makes an invention worthy of licensing? 

Well, first of all, you will have to ensure that what you have is novel and unique! Your new invention should have the potential to solve the pain points and challenges of a large target market audience in the form of benefits and value. In other words, you need to clarify if you have a market viable product.

There are also advantages and disadvantages to licensing. However, it’s No doubt that licensing can be easier than doing it on your own. When you do it on your own..we call this venturing. 

It’s key to understand how to navigate the licensing process and determine if it is a viable decision.

This is where I can help you help yourself. This week I’ve got a few openings in my schedule so reach out for a Complimentary Inventor Strategy call today! Here’s the call scheduling link for your convenience.

Are you getting the most benefit and protection possible for your goods or services? Have you considered using a trademark? 

To help step up your game to get the most benefit and protection possible, read on!

First of all, What is a Trademark?

In simple terms, a trademark is a symbol, slogan, design, color, word or combination of elements that should identify goods or services. 

The trademark helps distinguish your goods or services from someone else's. 

Examples of trademarks: Nike “swoosh” symbol, the McDonald’s “golden arches”, and T-Mobile’s vibrant pink color. 

So how do you choose a trademark that provides you the protection you need, is memorable, strengthens your marketing strategy, and helps reduce the potential from legal disputes? 

Here are a few of many trademark tips:

Conduct a Thorough Trademark Search

Before you apply for a trademark, search the USPTO's trademark database (Trademark Electronic Search System, or TESS) to see if any trademark has already been registered by someone else or applied for that is similar to your trademark or used on related products or for related services.

Once you’ve identified a few names that sound interesting and memorable to you, go through the online registration records to ensure that those terms haven’t been trademarked already. This can get a bit tricky because someone with a similar sounding trade name might not be in the exact same industry as you. 

Go for marks that are either fanciful or arbitrary 

A trademark that actually describes the product that you’re selling can be extremely difficult to enforce so choosing arbitrary or fanciful marks should be the way to go. The former essentially has meaningless words that are in no way related to the goods that are being sold under the name. Xerox and Teflon would be a good example. 

Another alternative would be to opt for arbitrary marks, which are mainly terms that have no relation to the goods they intend to describe. An example of this would be the word Apple for phones. Remember that the best brands out there have distinct names that have been well-thought-out and trademarked. 

Finalize a domain name 

A domain name can help you expand your reach to people around the world and expand your presence by registering your domain name with a .com extension so that people can actually find your brand online. Don’t overcomplicate or misspell it either! 

And another pro tip: snatch the .org, .world extensions. 

Get it registered 

Once you’ve done all the preliminary work, consider contacting the USPTO or legal representation to  protect your trademark as well as your brand through registration of all the marks that fit your specific needs. This will ensure that others can’t use the same marks that will become your identifiers!

Have you ever wondered how to thrive with your new product Invention idea...even when the economy is challenged?

Even during a challenged economy, what products are needed and why? What new products will stand out? What entrepreneurial mentality and strategy is necessary to thrive in the current economy?

In this Podcast, you’ll learn several important lessons we’ve observed working with successful inventors over the past 2 decades and lessons learned by watching the Shark Tank TV series like... 

Solving big problems with simple Invention Ideas

Differentiate yourself from your competitors

How NOT to be afraid of failure

Understanding the math and...much more!

In this Episode, we’ll help you better understand how to navigate your new product idea even in a challenged economy.

Outsourcing may seem like a tedious task but knowing the requirements and costs of every stage of your product, along with the most effective resources of outsourcing is supremely beneficial. Here are just a few of the many benefits of outsourcing...done right:

-Access to skilled expertise
-Increase in-house efficiencies
-Run beyond in-house capacity, 24/7
-Staff and Resource flexibilities
-Improve customer service
-Better risk management
-Cut costs, improve margins!

In this Episode, I will help you better understand how to get a head start on navigating your outsourcing options.

Is your new product Invention Idea worthy of a SharkTank TV success?

If so, here are just a few of the many lessons to help you pave the path. 

FACT: If you have ever heard of new product pitches on Shark Tank over the years, I’m guessing you’ve noticed that most are rejected because they lack what the "Sharks" consider to be viable products for the market. 

Shark Tank venture capitalists Mark Cuban, Kevin Harrington, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Kevin O' Leary, and Barbara Corcoran fund new product ideas based mainly on commercial product viability. 

Of course, there are those pitches (like Jamie Siminoff’s Wi-Fi doorbell) that have failed to immediately secure deals on Shark Tank. The good news is they didn’t stop with their new product when they heard…we’re not interested. In fact, several of those who did their pitch on SharkTank have learned how to fail forward, refine their strategy to determine commercial market viability and have moved on and become 7 figure and even 8 figure companies. 

To help you better understand how to prepare your new product for commercial market viability, here are some 4 key lessons learned about getting products to market from Inventors who have succeeded in getting funding from the “Sharks”.

Lesson 1: Have a unique and competitive advantage

In other words, this is your opportunity to create an amazing product with significant VALUE and BENEFITS to surpass your competition and fulfill your target market needs. 

Sharks aren't interested in great ideas. You must think "outside the box" and come up with a product that has a significant advantage over existing competition in the market. 

Your new product idea needs to be unique, novel and provide significant value and benefits to your target market. 

In regards to Goldenseed's example, they displayed product differentiation, a unique and competitive advantage to grow the brand incredibly fast with a solid business infrastructure and a large target market. 

You need something unique about your product to create significant interest and repeat business. Here are a few examples: 

Product Differentiation: Provide something different to the consumer besides just a low price. The key is to provide VALUE and unique BENEFITS to your target market. 

Competitive Advantage: Provide unique benefits and value of your new product so it is perceived by the target market as significant and superior to the competition. It’s the WHY of your brand loyalty and WHY we prefer one product over another.

Lesson 2: Have a talented and knowledgeable resource support team

Your team is critical when you are starting out with a new product concept. For your idea to be transformed to a success story, you must identify and align with the most effective resources including. These resources can be in the form of your own internal team and external resources such as 1099 contractors, vendors, coaches and mentors. 

Shark Tank’s venture Capitalist Kevin Harrington is on record, stating that strong management and a knowledgeable resource team were some of the main reasons he invested in Goldenseed – a cannabis and hemp company. Despite having received many pitches from other Hemp and CBD companies in the past, he never invested in any of these companies because... they lacked strong teams. 

Lesson 3: Have a solid business strategy and infrastructure

Kevin Harrington also invested in Goldenseed because the company had a legendary network, business strategy and a solid infrastructure of California growers in place. Besides having facilities and permits needed to be among the largest growers in CA, Goldenseed also had the best hemp and CBD processing facility in America. The company was well prepared with the capacity to grow and evolve. 

Even if you don't have an established company in place yet, you need to at least think about how you'll do business even before you start.

Lesson 4: Don’t give up when rejected

You should also be ready to learn from rejection. New Product Pitches have a low success rate if you don't know how to effectively position your idea in a way that causes them to say, “Oh, Tell me More!”. 

We've seen classic cases of pitches that were rejected by sharks like Jamie Siminoff's Wi-Fi doorbell but became huge successes because the ideas were refined and realigned to fit the target market needs.  These scenarios and other similar ones highlight the fact that a great product idea can be rejected by venture capitalists and buyers simply because of not being prepared and lack of product viability.

If you can’t prove market viability, get back to work and do more research. Remember, how you determine product viability could be the difference between the success or failure of your new product journey. Preparation and understanding how to navigate the process of acquiring this information is key and critical to your potential for success.

These are just a few of the many lessons, tips and strategies to help you navigate a new product idea to get it from Mind to Market.

We look for these attributes in our new product development clients and mentor them to help effectively narrow the gap from mind to market, and then pave the path to profit. 

Learn how to evaluate your new product viability for the market. Click HERE to schedule a complimentary inventor strategy call.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression! In the world of business and marketing, there is no more profound way to make a first impression than with a short sales pitch commonly referred to as the elevator pitch. The elevator pitch is an introduction or offer that is accurately and compellingly given within roughly the same amount of time as an elevator ride. The principles of making a powerful first impression rest on three fundamental pillars:

•    Being clear
•    Being concise
•    Being confident

How do these principles shine a light on how to make a pitch?

Be clear: Within roughly the amount of time it would take someone to ride an elevator to their floor, your elevator pitch should be designed to effectively communicate your identity, what you do. who your work helps and how it does so.

Be concise: Time is money. If you're talking to a CEO or someone in a position of authority, chances are you have a matter of seconds to convince them to listen to anything more you have to say. as well as to decide if they'll remember you when they go about their business later on. To this end. the content of your pitch should be well selected. Like a party dress, it should be long enough to modestly present you. yet short enough to be attractive.

In practice, write down the 10 attributes that you believe best define you. These may include your job. your accomplishments and your ambitions for the future. Short soundbites that colorfully present you and your way of thinking are easy to remember and make you stand out in the vast pool of people pitching their ideas. Afterward, narrow down this list to only the most telling information about you. Putting off any redundant or unnecessary information will make room for your strongest traits shine even brighter. With a short compelling list of attributes, you can. afterward, draw up a sample script you can use each time an opportunity presents itself.

Be confident: In this super-compressed window you have to make an impression, mannerisms matter! Stand tall, have a firm grip when you shake their hand and smile! Remember to speak slowly, fully enunciating your words and pausing between each group of ideas. Should you hand out a card at the end of the conversation, remember to earnestly look them in the eye. encouraging them to reach out to you should they have any questions.

The efficiency of your sales pitch will ultimately depend on how often you practice and refine it The main objective is to come off as a professional while providing enough information to encourage the person to whom you are speaking to ask further questions if they are interested. Consciously adding attention getters and religiously adhering to principles of scripting and rehearsing can make the difference between someone throwing your card in the trash as soon as they leave the elevator and them calling you back in the not so distant future.

Learn from a middle-aged woman used her sales pitch to earn a $250,000 reward.

Can Copyrights, Trade Names and Trade Secrets really protect your idea?

The key is to know what is the most effective option to protect yourself and your idea.

In this Episode, Michael Comeau, Licensed IP/Intellectual Property Attorney will help us better understand how to navigate protecting your ideas

Via Copyrights, Trademarks and Trade Secrets.

Here is a sneak preview on what you’ll hear on this podcast.

Copyright. Protects original creative works such as paintings, writing, architecture, movies, software, photos, dance, and music.

Trademark/Trade names. Protects brand names, logos, slogans, and other devices that identify and distinguish products and services of a company from others, are protected under federal and state trademark laws.

Trade Secrets. Good protection for sensitive business information. An example of a trade secret would be a confidential program for the introduction of a new software product or a secret recipe for a bestseller dish..

Michael helps simplify the process to help us better understand each IP option even if you have no experience at this point. Be sure to listen in for this one!

Does inspiration seem just beyond your grasp especially when leading teams of people?

Your not alone because the unfortunate thing for most of us is.., inspiration often feels like it's lurking just around the corner yet it seems you simply can’t reach it.

However, Entrepreneurs are a rare breed on the topic of Inspiration. Growing up on our large family dairy farm, we learned a lot at a very young age about a team effectively running a business. We also learned the importance of allowing inspiration and creativity to show up first within yourself. Later on in my career, this helped pave the path to leading teams in business startups and in large corporations.

In this Podcast, you’ll learn the key is to be the inspiration, lead by example, choose to be the positive change, then cause change in others by effectively leading others to effectively lead themselves. Empower others to want to be innovative and creative to solve problems and pave the path to reaching their full potential.

Inspiration is an inside Job...it can be as simple as breathing in through your nose and out your mouth. It’s really a form of allowing. If it is to be...Inspiration starts with you.

Selling a Patent can be a viable option if you don't have the time or capability to get the concept into a commercially viable product for the market. The good news is one of the simplest ways of turning your intellectual property into potential revenue is to sell the patent. You may be wondering, what are my options?

To solve this problem, our guest in this podcast is a Licensed Patent Attorney, Craig Mueller. He will help you better understand options for selling the intellectual property protected by a patent. Craig provides a wealth of great information and shares ways to prepare yourself and the patent before you get too far on your invention journey.

We’ll get some great ideas from Craig that help you navigate selling your patent even if you no experience at this point! Oh, Craig is also giving away a free gift in the form of a complimentary discovery call...be sure to listen in for this one!