Invention Idea Self-Evaluation

Inventing is not a get rich quick scheme. Very few people get rich shortly after inventing a product. Most rich inventors became rich after lots of hard work, late nights and money spent. Before you get into inventing, ask yourself, is this going to be enjoyable? If you don’t think it will be enjoyable, maybe this isn’t the direction for you.

Have you searched Google for your product idea? These days, an AI search may even be better. Even if you have not seen it on the market, it doesn’t mean it has not already been invented. In fact, the majority of new product ideas have already been invented. Make sure you know what you are up against. You may also want to check the patent database for similar inventions. Remember to try different word variations to get the best search. (For example: a car can be a vehicle, automobile, you could even search truck, van, etc.) Please remember that just because there is a similar product on the market does not necessarily mean you should not pursue yours, in fact, in some cases, existing products actually provide valuable market validation.

It is always good to get feedback, but only if the feedback is good. Most people, especially friends, will give you encouragement. Encouragement is great, but not at this stage of the process. You want honest brutal feedback. Too many inventors find after building their product that they are the only people on the planet who are interested in it. When you show most people your idea, they will encourage you and tell you what a great idea it is, even if they don’t believe it. One of the best workarounds for this is to share the idea as if it were from someone else. Present the idea as one that you heard about and didn’t think was very good. (For example, “I just learned about this silly idea that…”) Asking it this way will encourage them to be more open. Now if they say it is a good idea, you can be pretty confident that feedback is genuine.

Keep in mind that just because someone likes a product does not mean they are willing to purchase it, especially if the retail price is too high. When evaluating a product idea, it is important to understand the costs of manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Even the best products can fail if those costs are too high.

Ask yourself whether you have the time to put into a new invention. Getting an invention to market is going to take a lot of time and money. You may be spending hours a day for months on end, with no revenue, to get the product off the ground. And there is no guarantee. You will also be spending a large amount of money for design, manufacturing and marketing. This can be many thousands of dollars. So, before you start, make sure you have the bandwidth and the finances to pursue this, even if it fails and you lose all of that time and money. Think of it as an investment in your education. And remember, the more passionate you are about the idea, the more drive you will have to see it to completion.

Many people are worried about talking about their ideas with anyone because they are so worried that someone will steal the idea from them. While this does happen, it is not as risky as you may think. First, ideas are not worth as much as you think. The value in a product idea is usually from the implementation, not from the idea itself. Second, very few people are in a position to be able to or even want to steal an idea. You are usually safe talking to friends and family. You can and usually should have a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) signed when you are sharing important details with an established company. Make sure to discuss your patent options with a registered patent attorney before public disclosure, which typically includes selling the product, exhibiting at trade shows, or sharing it on the internet, as this can affect future patentability.

There are many places where you can go to attempt to license a product idea. Companies are happy to charge you $10,000 to try and get your idea licensed by a large company. But that is how they make money, charging high prices to clients who they know will likely never see a licensing deal. Very, very few of these clients will be successful, far less than 1%. Most successful licensing deals are made on products that have already been produced and have seen good sales already.

If you have gotten this far and want to pursue your idea, that is great. Despite what we said before, inventing can be exciting and very fulfilling. There is nothing like seeing your hard work turn into an actual product. At this stage, you are ready to contact an expert. This is one of the most important steps in the process. You want an engineer who understands your product, your vision, and will give you honest straightforward feedback. Be sure you know what you are signing up for before handing over thousands and thousands of dollars.

Actually, now that you are here, why not give us a call at Invention Space to set up a meeting today? If we are the right fit, we can help you determine whether your idea is worth pursuing and guide you through the product development process.