Idea to Invention

What You Need to Know to Cash In on Your Inspiration

Patricia Nolan-Brown

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9780814432952
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Discover the tricks of the trade that helps ordinary people learn how to look at their world through the eyes of an inventor.

You don’t have to be a mechanical genius to be an inventor. Chances are, you’re already at the all-important starting ground every inventor begins at--wishing you could find a clever solution to an everyday challenge. The far-too-complicated baby swing. Slick-soled running shoes. Computer cords constantly tangled up...there can’t be a solution unless there’s a problem.

Author and inventor Patricia Nolan-Brown has turned many common annoyances into ingenious and money-making products, and she believes you can do the same. In Idea to Invention, you will learn the six simple steps it takes to go from idea to invention, and discover:

• Creativity habits that spark invention
• The power of tape-and-paper prototypes to refine their vision
• How to navigate the ins and outs of licensing and patenting their product
• The pros and cons of finding a licensed manufacturer vs. running a home-based assembly line
• How to promote their invention
• Product enhancements that add years to shelf life

From the everyday challenge and your initial concept to resolve it, all the way to the explosion of your thriving business, Idea to Invention simplifies the invention process and gives creative thinkers the competitive edge they need to achieve the success their amazing ideas deserve.

My Success Story

If I Can Do It, So Can You

I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.

—ESTEE LAUDER

The first thing you need to know about me is that I'm an ordinary person. I have three kids, I didn't go to Harvard, I don't have a trust fund, and some days I look in the mirror and think I could use a makeover. But I've turned my ideas into products that have sold in the tens of millions and made me a success. I'm living proof that you can create your own American dream. And I figured if I can do that, so can you.

You wouldn't believe how many people want to be inventors! I've been giving inspirational talks about the power of invention to packed houses for years, to everyone from CEOs of big corporations to grade-school kids, and every time I do, people come up to me afterward with questions. Lots of them. Now, I love answering questions, but it hit me that I could put all my answers into a book. That way I could help even more people turn their dreams into products and profits. I like people and I like helping them to attain their goals, so that sounded good to me. And many of the folks I met told me, “You should write a book!” Which explains why you are holding this one in your hands.

Maybe a lot of people want to be inventors simply because inventing is something almost every human can do. We're hardwired to come up with creative solutions to practical problems. But I think inventing also is a hot topic now because we're beginning to see that the big corporations care very little about us as employees. Being your own boss and freeing yourself from dependence on greedy institutions that don't give a damn is starting to sound more and more attractive. The thing is, this world is pretty challenging, and the economy isn't in the greatest shape, so most of us could use some advice on how to make our own way.

That's where this book comes in. I wrote it for everyone. The techniques I share are easy to follow and easy to understand. And they work. How do I know? Because they worked for me, and they've worked for the many people I've spoken to who've tried them.

I'm here to tell you this: You can create the success you want. And you don't have to be rich to do it; you can make a fortune without spending one. I want to motivate you. To inspire you. And to show you step-by-step how it's done.

For me, it all started with a car seat.

Picture this: I'm a new mom. I'm driving in heavy downtown Boston traffic with my precious infant tucked into her gotta-have-one-it's-the-law rear-facing car seat. I don't hear her. Is she breathing? Is she okay? Then she starts whimpering. Is she sick? Has she gotten her head caught in a strap or something? Who can tell? The damned car seat is facing away from me so no matter how much I look in my rearview mirror, I can't see her. One thing you need to know is that I have just a little bit of Irish temper in me. When I finally got my baby and myself safely home, I called my mom to vent. “It's ridiculous!” I fumed. “Somebody should invent some kind of special mirror so you could see your kid in the stupid rear-facing car seat.” And, in a moment that has since become family legend, my mom, the prophet from the couch, said, “Uh-hunh. Why don't you invent one?”

Wow. And you know what? I did. And the rest, as they say, is history. Millions of sales later, you can look in one of my multi-patented rear-facing car seat mirrors and see little Taylor, or Molly, or Meghan and know that your baby is okay. Or not. And if not, you can pull over and do something about it.

The whole point of this story is that it all started with a need. And that's what gets the ball rolling with most inventions: necessity, the mother of them all. If you need something and it doesn't exist, rather than seeing a problem, see an opportunity. All it takes is one good idea and you can make a difference, fill the need, solve the problem. How exciting and empowering is that?

Of course, brilliant ideas aren't enough. I always think of Edison's famous quote about success being 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration, and it's true. I got my work ethic from my dad, one of the hardest-working guys I've ever known.

Dad worked full time for a commercial flooring company and then moonlighted after hours doing his own flooring and tile business on the side, but he always had time to play with me and my sisters. Looking back, I'm not sure when the man had time to sleep. But he was the poster child for the notion that loving what you do makes you a better person; he was one of the kindest people I've ever known and we all loved him. And he was always in my corner. When it came time to start manufacturing my car seat mirrors, he and my mom helped me assemble them.

That leads me to another important point: while you can do it all on your own, it sure helps to have support when you're bringing up a product so it can walk on its own. Besides encouraging me to go to college and make something of myself, my mom helped me with my first graphic design business, answering the phones—and calling herself by another name so nobody would know we were related! She also helped me with my first Boston trade show and was my PR person at local stores, raving about my product to the owners.

I married my childhood sweetheart, and I'm blessed that he's a tremendously supportive husband. He encouraged my ambitions from day one, buying me my very first business suit and a helpful book on self-promotion that I still use today. He escorts me to TV appearances and trade shows, and is generally a fan. Plus my sisters and friends have been hugely helpful.

But remember—even if you don't have the kind of motivational fire in the belly that I learned from my dad, this book will help you fire yourself up, believe in yourself and your ideas, and start changing things one step at a time. And if you don't have family or friends to cheer you on and provide the crucial support I received, you can start by being a one-person cheerleader for yourself.

There's really no excuse for not following your dreams. I started on my own road to success in the days before the Internet, cell phones, or personal computers. Imagine the time and effort you can save with these genies in your corner! Besides, as my mom always says, “Do it now—you could get hit by a bus!”

It all starts with a quiz, so sharpen your pencil. You're about to find out how you rate in the success department—and then I'll show you how to make it to the top of the class.

Take the Success Quiz You Can't Fail—

and Learn How to I.N.V.E.N.T.

Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN

If you ask someone the question “Do you have what it takes to succeed?” the answer will probably be a muttered, “I dunno—maybe.” Most people don't answer with an emphatic “Yes!” I think that's because of our own beliefs. We really think that successful people are born under some lucky star. Or that they come from wealthy families, with trust funds or probably a rich relative or two waiting in the wings, eager to give them a boost. Or maybe they have some mysterious “success gene”—and, whatever that is, we're pretty sure that the Gene Fairy passed us by when she was giving it out.

Well, think again. Ordinary people create their own success all the time, just the way I did, and believe me, I didn't have a trust fund, a wealthy uncle, or some success thing encoded in my DNA. I did it all myself, and so can you.

But first, I think we all need to define success for ourselves. So here's a good question to ask yourself: Who are my role models? Because even though we've been taught to think that it's all about millions of dollars and megadoses of power, that isn't always true; there ar...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: My Success Story: If I can do It, So can You
• Chapter 2: Take the Success Quiz you can't Fail—and Learn how to I.N.V.E.N.T.
• Chapter 3: Are you Inquisitive? Cultivate Curiosity!
• Chapter 4: Do you have Nerve? Grow a Thicker Skin!
• Chapter 5: How Strong is your Voice? Passion Speaks!
• Chapter 6: How's your Energy Level? Fire it Up!
• Chapter 7: Do you Nourish your Dreams? Feed ’Em!
• Chapter 8: Got Tenacity? Hang in and Hang On!
• Chapter 9: The Six Simple Steps to Invention: What they are and how to Use Them
• Chapter 10: Think it (Step One): It All Starts in your Head
• Chapter 11: Cook it (Step Two): Now Get Real
• Chapter 12: Protect it (Step Three): Keep Thieves Away
• Chapter 13: Pitch it (Step Four): Make ’Em want it Bad
• Chapter 14: Make it (Step Five): Factory in the Kitchen (Or Not)
• Chapter 15: Bedazzle it (Step Six): Add Bells and Whistles
• Chapter 16: Building the Right Online Platform: Social Media Tricks and Tools to Make your Product Flourish
• Chapter 17: Living the Inventor's Life: Helpful Hints for a Healthy, Happy Inventing Experience
• Chapter 18: The Final Word: You can Make it Happen
• Index
• About the Author
• Free Sample Chapter from Make your Contacts Count, Second Edition