Browse Category: Product Development

Steps to Getting a Patent – What You Need to Know!

One of the most vital parts of the inventing process is getting a patent. We have compiled a list of things to do to get your patent going! All of this information comes directly from the USPTO website:

What is Sourcing? Do I need it?

What is sourcing? Is it something you need to get your product onto the store shelves? The answer is simple: YES! 

Sourcing is one of the most important foundations your product is built around. It’s necessary to get your invention from the design phase or prototyping into mass production.

The purpose of Sourcing is to secure quality manufacturing and obtain deliverable cost information.

To gather this information, it’s not as easy as a Google search or a phone call. You must work with a reputable company to get the sourcing done. The information gathered while sourcing will help better the financial position of the inventor when it comes to mass production and keeping the costs down. The sourcing process is vital to the entire inventing process – lackadaisical sourcing can be the demise of your product and goals.

Once you have sourced your product successfully, you will know what your margins are and what your profit of sale could be! Need help with sourcing? Click here!

Getting a Product on the Store Shelves: HOW TO!

Typically, the final goal for an inventor is to get their product on the store shelves. But….how? There are many things to keep in mind, but we’ve cut to the chase and listed a few of the most important factors:

  • Presentation is everything! If you are going to be pitching your product to a big box retailer, or even a small company, your product presentation must be pristine!
  • A video demonstration. Tons of products are submitted on a daily basis to the big box stores. Yours will stand out if you have a high quality video that shows every function of your product, as the consumer would use it.
  • A realistic price point. You need to understand the market value for your product. Large retailers may not take on your item if the price point is drastically different than products in the same categorization.
  • Persistence! These large companies may receive hundreds of product submissions every year! It’s up to you be as persistent as possible – you know what they say, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease!”
  • Is my product ready? This is a very common mistake. Do not send your product for store evaluation until it’s ready. If you don’t have a warehouse with product ready to go, you may set yourself up for failure if a large retailer wants to put in an order for more than you can handle. Know what your capabilities are – work with your manufacturer to come up with a plan.

It’s very difficult to get a product to take off, initially – but never fear! With persistence, presentation, realism, and goals, this process will be way easier. Planning is the most important thing you’ll ever do as an inventor.

What Does your Product DO?

As an inventor, the very first thing you should do in the process is make sure your product purpose is concise. Especially when you are working with patents, your mind must be made up when it comes to the specific function of your idea.

Here are a couple of things to do:

  • Write down the function of the product. For example, “My product will pick up animal waste with built in plastic bags, so the owner doesn’t get any of it on their hands.” This is a clear and concise purpose, of which can be expanded upon in the product development phase.
  • Get a professional drawing of your product. Make sure the engineer working on the idea has clarification on the product’s purpose.
  • Don’t change your mind often! The more you change things, the more likely you are to completely distract from the original idea. Stay firm – unless your product needs engineering changes to improve functionality.

Sometimes, in the production development process, friends and family may get involved to suggest changes and fixes to make your idea “better”. Be very cautious. Unless your family member is an engineer, you should consult your production company before implementing changes!