An idea is not an invention. An invention is not a business. However, you can turn an idea into an invention, which could possibly become a business. It takes planning, work and money.
How much money you will need will depend upon your circumstances. You should try to assemble a team of people who can offer assistance in getting your product or invention to the marketplace.
If the people on your assembled team also are putting up money to help you with start-up and development costs, there are other considerations. They become partners in your venture and partners usually want something for their money. You must be prepared to offer equity in your product without giving up too much control of the process.
Without a clear product or service, it is extremely difficult to raise money, so spending the time to develop a working prototype and knowing how much the product will cost you to produce will be beneficial as you start to look for money.
In these poor economic conditions make sure your product fills a real market need. Necessities are easier to finance than niceties. For instance, if you had a solution to a medical or everyday problem the idea would sell faster than if the product merely enhances a consumer’s everyday life. If money were an issue, you would probably want to fix the brakes on your car before you touched up the paint job.
Again I must mention the business plan. You have to have one to raise money. The plan will show how your business will make money, what you will sell, who will buy your product or service and how much they will pay you. It’s all about money.
You could be offering a service or a product at a monthly, weekly or daily fee, plus selling other related products to enhance your service. The one that comes to mind are diet plans that charge a monthly fee to members and also sell them the food they need to keep on the eating plan.
You could plan to make money all at once, by selling a product with a big up-front cost like a television set; or, like printer manufacturers, reduce the price of the original product but sell necessary replacement parts (like those print cartridges) to sustain your business and development costs.
Mapping out these ideas in your business plan will help you either get financing or help you put together the team you need.
Choosing people with the specific skills you need to get started is best. Find a marketing person, a number cruncher and a good person to manage the project. If you are going to oversee manufacturing of the product you will also need a person with manufacturing and logistics expertise.
You need to define the role of each team member and be able to redefine these roles as the company grows. Having an experienced team, a well-thought-out product or service and a good business plan will make it easier to raise the funds you will need.
Article © Copyright 2002 Stanley I. Mason. Syndicated by Paradigm News, Inc.
