For An Invention Product Idea by Carrie Jeske

I’m amazed how many email offers I get to borrow money.   It seems like the good and the bad are in favor of it.  TV personalities, consultant, scammers, ripoff artists and sound financial institutions all love the debt game.     To the independent inventor, I say BEWARE.    Don’t borrow money for an invention product idea.

Borrowing money too soon makes you and your idea a slave to debt.  It puts unnecessary pressure on the invention sequence process and puts you and your family at financial risk.

Instead, guard your money like a junk yard dog.    Every dollar you spend should be strategically understood and calculated for maximum return.   Don’t fall victim to the “We love your idea, pay us money” strategy.    It’s not service providers you need to convince.  It’s real consumers who buy products with real money.  Test, test, test.    There will be more blogs and videos on the best testing methods for new products, by Carrie Jeske.  Leveraging testing will make a world of difference in deciding to fish or cut bait on a new product idea.   With the internet and great direct sales strategies so accessible, it makes sense to use them.

This article is about debt.   Here’s the latest advertisement to grace my network.  Steer clear of:

“How To Finance Your Invention Idea”

“Whether you need $10,000 or $500,000, these companies offer innovative loan solutions

that go beyond the typical secured equity loan.”

Beyond the typical secured equity huh?  This scares me.   It sounds like some high interest, easy to qualify for, ruin my finances option to me.    Maybe I’m too cynical.    I’ve taken too many calls from nice independent inventors who’ve spent $50,000 to $150,000 on products someone should have told them to drop from the start.   Some product ideas are not viable.    If a product is viable, there are low cost, high return strategies to leverage.

Back to debt.

FORBES

Forbes offers 4 better alternatives that I agree with.

1. Get help from your niche
2. Find a grant. Try GRANTS.gov or just search Google using keywords “ xyz subject, grants”
3. Enter a contest
4. Crowdfunding

INC MAGAZINE

I’m disappointed that Inc encourages debt in their article.    Instead they offer, “10 Ways to Finance Your Business” that I will comment on.

1. Factoring 

MAYBE. This is a better move for a product with existing sales and account receivable then for a new start up. What I like about it, is it keeps the focus on sales.  If you can’t sell, then there’s a problem.   If you do sell, factoring can be a way to leverage your cash to buy more inventory.

2. Get A Bank Loan

NO. Unless your business is established and we’re talking a credit line.  It’s too high risk for the early stage companies.   Why strap yourself to debt when there are so many low cost or free ways to test the viability of your product before investing so much capital. Carrie Jeske recommends you avoid this option.

3. Use A Credit Card

To quote a song, “NO to the NO, to the NO! NO! NO!” Credit card debt is the highest interest rate.   Many people end up spending more time floating balances from one zero interest card to another, all the while increasing liabilities and not selling the actual product.  Sales is hard for everyone, but if consumers won’t buy it on a small scale, why do you think they will on a large scale?   The small start is actually the best.  It gives you a chance to test consumer response to your product, graphics, name, features, benefits and value proposition.   Don’t despise small beginnings.   Leverage them!

4. Tap Into Your 401(k)

HELL NO.    Listen to me now and hear me later. DO NOT DO THIS.   Doing so is a very foolish decision, indeed.You’ll pay a big penalty and risk your financial stability, which forces bad decision making.  Trust me, I know.   If there’s a mistake made, I’ve experienced it.   The school of Hard Knocks has very good teachers.   It took me 10 years to recover.

5. Try Crowdfunding

MAYBE.  As long as you realize that you still have to market your campaign and as long as your realize your are risking competition by putting your product on the public domain, then go for it.   My only other concern is that once your product funds, don’t get the “big head” syndrome.  Your goal is to license.  When the billion dollar company comes knocking, answer the door, take the deal and say thank you.      Enjoy the extra money and spend your time inventing something else.    Oh, and don’t spend it all in one place. The more money you have, the more important sound financial practices are.

Too many people and businesses make money on a product idea, then spend it all thinking it’s easy to do again.  It’s not.  When you do strike it rich, save your next egg and keep working low cost, high return strategies.  It’s not smart to build up a hefty operational infrastructures based more on past success then future potential.

6. Pledge Some of Your Future Earnings

MAYBE. If you can.  You still need a good partner.

7.  Attract An Angel Investor

YES. Getting a shark or an angel is often a good idea. Make sure you get a long and make sure you agree on people and process.

8. Secure An SBA Loan

NO. Not a good choice. SBA loans stay with you for life.  The last thing you need when launching a product, is the government coming after you.

9. Raise Money From Your Family & Friends

YES. Always a good plan.  Your friends and family are usually banking on you, more then the product.  They love you.  If they don’t, it may raise concerns from people who don’t know you.

10. Get A Microloan

MAYBE. If it’s a grant or donation, that would be good, but I’m told many micro loans have high interest rates.   If that’s the case, it’s really just bad debt by a different name.

Test Product Viability. Start Small.

Will people actually buy it?   Here’s my idea for how to launch your invention idea with our borrowing money.   Every inventor today needs a free YouTube channel.

1. License it. Use a hand made prototype and home made demo video to get people interested.    Post it on Youtube in an “unlisted” setting and send Carrie Jeske a link to your demo video.
2. Go On A TV Show. There are many inventor tv shows now days that can offer you visibility for your idea and/or a path to riches.  Just remember, most of these shows have an entertainment goal, not a make money on products goal.   Be wise.  Be cautiously optimistic.   Enjoy the process and learn what you can.   Enhance your contact database.
3. Make a 3D Printed Prototype – use the public library, a VoTech school or a product designer to make a high quality, visually appealing prototype.
4. Make a Facebook Product page – then invest $50 to market your page to different niche groups. Ask for feedback and see what people say.
5. PayPal – sign up for PayPal for free and start testing pre-sales. If no one buys your product, maybe you should re-think your pitch.  If people do buy it, contact me and let’s see if we can leverage it into something more.

There are many other ways to test your product and gain interest from experts and consumers.

Don’t go into debt.    Focus on sales and marketing, making sure you are explaining the problem your product solves, as well as the benefits and value of the item.   Sell, sell, sell.    If people are not willing to give you a pre-order, is there “I love your product” comment really valid?     Similarly, if you can’t sell your product on a small, debt free scale, is it plausible to believe that going into debt is your answer?

Guard your money like a junk yard dog.  When you do spend it, make sure you’re getting the highest possible return for your time, effort and money.   That’s not always an easy thing to access, but I guarantee that asking yourself the question, will spare you mistakes along the way. Onward & Upward,

Carrie Jeske

The post Don’t Borrow Money For Your Invention by Carrie Jeske appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Congratulations.  Your crowd funding campaign succeeded.   Take a few minutes to enjoy your success, then WATCH OUT and BE SMART.    You’re on the public domain with a product people seem to like so remember competitors, as well as consumers have taken notice.

Take a few minutes to enjoy this step toward financial success.  High five with your family and team, but remember, this is just one step toward your goal of earning cash, it’s not the end of the game.   You’re just ahead at half time.

Here are the most common challenges of crowd funding success that I’ve noticed.

The Big Head

Successful crowd funding campaigns have a tendency to increase the circumference of the cranium for some inventors.   Often the value of campaign success is delusion-ally inflated, forgetting there is a long road ahead with many additional “small wins” required for serious financial gain.   Bottom line is; you’re going to need a lot more help to leverage the win from this one successful endeavor.  Choose your next step and your partners wisely.

Confusion

Inventors get bombarded with offers from service providers, serious licensees, strategic alliances and potential partners.  Sorting out who’s who is a chore.  Everyone seems to have the answer so deciding the best, least expensive / highest potential, next step can be a daunting task.   In truth, none of us has a working crystal or Magic 8 Ball.   Write out your options and consider risk vs reward soberly.  Go with your gut, but don’t let emotions mistake dreams for best practice product launch sequences.   There are no pie in the sky, get rich quick schemes in inventing.  Whatever you do next takes time and money.  It’s just a matter of who’s going to spend it.

Manufacturing

Inventors often think it’s smart to say they found overseas manufacturing and have traveled internationally to visit.  It sounds cool over drinks and makes you feel like a good business person.   The reality is that manufactures need volume so when you are a small, short run client your not really going to get the quality and time you think you are, in the early stage, no matter how much salesmanship makes you believe you will.   Even so, starting with a small run will fulfill your obligations and give you some market test data.  Don’t make too many units, even if the unit price is higher per piece.  I promise you, you’ll want to make design changes once your customers start giving real feedback.   Guard your cash like a junk yard dog.  You’re going to need it.

Before you take this step, be sure to count the cost, then double it.  There’s a training video on these challenges available on my YouTube channel in the Manufacturing playlist.

Capital Needs

The crowd funding money was a great start.  You’ve got a few seeds, but you’re going to need more cash to end well.  The more you sell, the more cash for operations & inventory you’ll need.   Be sure to save profits now and consider ways to maximize your finances.   You won’t get to pocket any money for a while.   It’s time to press in and lay a good foundation.

Competition & Knock-Offs

Since you did well, you can bet your competitors are alerted. I have 62 product scouts scanning the public domain looking for products that meet a narrow criteria of As Seen On TV. You can bet your competitor pays attention too.   They may contact you and want to license your product. If so, my advise if they are a large, dominate company, is to take the deal and say “Thank you”.

They are far better positioned to move your product quickly to market. If you decline or give them the impression you’re “difficult”, you should expect competition. Large companies can and will employ aggressive techniques when they find winning products in their sector. Everyone wants a piece of the pie. A tiny sliver is often better then missing out completely. Like in poker, the one with the most chips is at an advantage so don’t be foolish by finding yourself in legal battles you really can’t win.

As Seen On TV Products

If your product is a physically small product that solves and everyday problem in a visually demonstrable way, I hope you’ll give me “First Look” BEFORE your crowd funding campaign begins or as soon as possible whether funded or not.   We license products with no patent, on a simple mock-up prototype and home made demo video, in under 30 days.  Checkout Will It Launch?

My suggestion is enjoy your crowdfunding success and leverage it for a licensing agreement.    If you need help and want to hire a licensing agent, checkout Inventive Ideas.

Simultaneously, start building your business by fulfilling your crowd funding obligations with good communication and excellence.   It’s time to prove there is market demand, leveraging your crowd funders networks, and generate more cash.  Don’t believe you have to go big.  Sometimes it’s better to start small and build a profitable business organically, then take on a bunch of debt or investors and risk the family farm.

Whatever you decide, send me a link to your campaign with the product name in the subject line and I’ll do my best to chime in with some free advice and promote it if you’re active on my social networks.

Congratulations on your crowd funding success.  See you on the shelves!

crowd funding success!

Carrie Jeske

Contact Inventive Ideas

The post Crowd Funding Success? Be Smart. appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Market Viability Testing Saves Money.

Of course you trust the potential success of your product.   It’s your idea!  

For an investor, that trust must be earned before they believe the same potential is true.  

Testing a product for market viability BEFORE you spend money producing it increases the inventor’s ability to gain support from investors.  Testing reduces the financial risks and increases the investors comfort that the product will actually provide a return on investment.   Consumer buying habits are complex with many options for spending and demands on every dollar earned.   Tiny tests in low cost ways provides quantifiable data, imparting trust to investors that your product meets a market need significant enough that people are willing to pay for it.

As an inventor looking for funding, you have two main goals to attract investors:   Reduce risk and provide an exit plan.   Tiny tests transfer trust that your product or market ready product will provide a return on investment in a reasonable time frame and demonstrates your own financial savvy.

For more about test marketing items for TV to mass market retail see Our Approach.

I look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.     Read other blogs at the W.I.L. Inventors Corner.  

Finding and developing strong relationships, built on trust and shared profits is very important to me.   I see many inventors spend too much money on patents and manufacturing of products that really were not good bets.    Inventing is like gambling.  No one can predict what consumers will choose to buy or reject.    Make sure you never bet more then you can afford to lose and place your money into the highest potential payoffs. 

Onward & Upward,

Carrie Jeske

Learn about market viability testing

   (c) 2013 Jeske.   For reprint rights please contact Carrie Jeske for written approval.

The post Tiny Tests Transfer Trust appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Raise Money Online & Set Up Your Business are two important pieces of information.

There are many sources of legal expertise and online resources.   Here’s an interesting talk given at the Inventors Center of KC, during Carrie Jeske board of directors tenure.

Lea Bailes, attorney.

Inventors Center of KC members meeting, webcast LIVE from the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, August 2012. Special guest –

Low Cost / High Return Inventing Steps

1)  Watch this video to learn how to earn up to $100,000 per product, as a product scout, while you sharpen your skills in our category. 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/how-to-make-330000-inventing-for-tv/

2)  For even more help read blogs and watch links: 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/inventors-corner/

3)  Also here’s some NEXT Steps if you want to work on licensing outside ASOTV.

http://inventiveideas.com/when-as-seen-on-tv-wont-fly/

4)  Here’s some of my agents available for hire, to make connections for you.

http://inventiveideas.com/licensing/

5) Also join me on social networks and keep learning and helping others.

FACEBOOK      LINKEDIN        YOUTUBE       TWITTER

Just takes 1 winner to earn millions.

See you on the shelves,

Carrie Jeske

The post Set Up Your Business & Raise Money Online – Attorney Lea Bailes appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Rate of Return Investors Want on New Products.

The earlier an investor gets into a product launch, the more risky the venture.    We’ve all heard the stats that make raising money a tough game to win.

1. Only 1% of US Patents issued to independent inventors ever make it to a retail store shelf.
2. 80% of businesses fail in the first 3 years.
3. Investors bet on the jockey, as much as the horse.   (It’s not just your product that matters, it’s the management team behind it)

So plan your business accordingly and make sure your product has the profit margins, strategic direction, cash flow plan and exit strategy to earn investors the returns they expect.

Funding Stage                       Rate of Return

Seed                                             50 – 70%

A                                       40 – 60%

B                                       35 – 50%

C                                       30 – 40%

D                                       25 – 35%

Recognize that launching a product successfully requires several rounds of funding as more inventory is needed to support growing sales, accounts receivable and operations.     Keep in mind investors want an Exit Strategy.   An exist strategy is an event that allows them to recoup their investment plus a rate of return.    There are only 3 realistic ways an investor can exit.

1. Company buys back stock from investor.   (Company Buy Back).   Common for products or services that ramp up revenue fast with lower cost of goods.
2. IPO (Initial Public Offering) occurs when the company goes public and private shares are converted and sold in the public arena.    Common for technology companies.
3. Acquisition.   The company assets are sold, an increased share price is determined and dispersed to investors.   Common exit for most product and service companies.

Carrie Jeske Free Resources, Reviews, Testimonials, Invention Help

1)  Watch this video to learn how to earn up to $100,000 per product, as a product scout, while you sharpen your skills in our category. 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/how-to-make-330000-inventing-for-tv/

2)  For even more help read blogs and watch links: 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/inventors-corner/

3)  Here’s some NEXT Steps if you want to work on licensing outside ASOTV.

http://inventiveideas.com/when-as-seen-on-tv-wont-fly/

4)  Here’s some of my agents available for hire, to make connections for you.

http://inventiveideas.com/licensing/

5) Join me on social networks and keep learning and helping others.

FACEBOOK      LINKEDIN        YOUTUBE       TWITTER

Just takes 1 winner to earn millions.

Stay close,

Carrie Jeske

The post Rate of Return Investors Want on New Products appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Crowdfunding Success – Bandit Guns $54,256

Congratulations to Bandit Guns: Rubber Band Shotgun by Bob Coulston , a friend whom I work with at the Inventors Center of KC.     So we had a small business attorney speak a few months ago and explain how inventors and entrepreneurs could use www.Kickstarter.com  to secure early stage funding.   Bob took the instruction to heart, connected with our videographer, Curt McMillian and loaded their information.

In under a month, the project raised $54,256 with 943 backers.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1845189113/bandit-guns-rubber-band-shotgun?ref=live

Carrie Jeske Free Inventor Education & Help

1)  Watch this video to learn how to earn up to $100,000 per product, as a product scout, while you sharpen your skills in our category. 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/how-to-make-330000-inventing-for-tv/

2)  For even more help read blogs and watch links: 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/inventors-corner/

3)  Also here’s some NEXT Steps if you want to work on licensing outside ASOTV.

http://inventiveideas.com/when-as-seen-on-tv-wont-fly/

4)  Also here’s some of my agents available for hire, to make connections for you.

http://inventiveideas.com/licensing/

5) So join me on social networks and keep learning and helping others.

FACEBOOK      LINKEDIN        YOUTUBE       TWITTER

Just takes 1 winner to earn millions.

Stay close,

Carrie Jeske

The post Crowdfunding Success – Bandit Guns $54,256 appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.

Investor Funded – SterileWrite $40,000

SterileWrite pen sanitation device received more than $40,000 from friends and family investors.   The product utility patent was granted in 2012. The patent is available for licensing and the product offers peace of mind and germ reduction in health care clinics where immune systems are reduced. 

   Find out more at http://www.SterileWrite.com

Inventive Ideas partnered with inventors, Keith and Rita Calvert along with R2FACT Product Development to develop the business plan, complete the patent process, present to investors, secure appropriate legal documents, and implement a strategy to license the patent.

SterileWrite improves the patient experience and offers investors an opportunity for growth by providing a clean pen at the registration desk.   The team is interested in speaking with anyone in the medical industry who could add value to this important project.

Please contact Inventive Ideas for more information.

Carrie Jeske Free Inventor Education & Help

1)  Watch this video to learn how to earn up to $100,000 per product, as a product scout, while you sharpen your skills in our category. 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/how-to-make-330000-inventing-for-tv/

2)  For even more help read blogs and watch links: 

http://www.willitlaunch.com/inventors-corner/

3)  Also here’s some NEXT Steps if you want to work on licensing outside ASOTV.

http://inventiveideas.com/when-as-seen-on-tv-wont-fly/

4)  Also here’s some of my agents available for hire, to make connections for you.

http://inventiveideas.com/licensing/

5) So join me on social networks and keep learning and helping others.

FACEBOOK      LINKEDIN        YOUTUBE       TWITTER

Just takes 1 winner to earn millions.

Stay close,

Carrie Jeske

The post Investor Funded – SterileWrite $40,000 appeared first on Inventive Ideas, LLC.