How Do Entrepreneurs Think

INC. Magazine has an interesting article this about the difference in how entrepreneurs think versus CEOs. Entrepreneurs do not feel they need to be as structured when analyzing a  product they have brought to market. Large companies do market research and research and development before testing a product. Entrepreneurs feel they have a sense of what needs to be done without spending large amounts of money on this research. They usually do not have the funds to spend either, so they use their friends and family to do the research for them. Entrepreneurs and bigger risk takers. It is their nature. It is easier for them to do this because they are not responsible for as many individuals as a larger corporation.  They enjoy taking the risks because they think of the ultimate rewards.

How To Invent Your Product

So when you have an idea you want to try out, don’t feel that you need to spend a lot of money as big companies on market research.  Be sure to do your own research and you will get many answers. Don’t just ask friends and family, because they may give you the answer you want. Ask strangers too!

Here are a few things to ask yourself prior to launching your invention:

(Write you answers down and be as detailed as possible with your answers.)

• Who can afford your product?
• Who needs your product?
• Does your product satisfy a need?
• Will your product be easily accessible?
• Can your target market afford to invent your product?
• Are you targeting to a particular age group or culture?

Be realistic in your evaluation. Get on the computer to see what is out there. What is your competition?

Go to the United State Patent and Trademark site to look up inventions with key words.

http://www.USPTO.gov

Your time is worth the effort to be as complete as you can.

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

PR, public relations. Definition: Using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives

           For the longest time, I did not realize exactly what PR was or the value of it. Then my youngest daughter, Mary Jane, started in the field after college. In laymen’s terms, she explained to me that PR creates a buzz about your product by exposing your idea to the public. It can take many forms, depending on the product or idea you are trying to promote: product placement and feature stories in a variety of media outlets (print, such as magazines, newspapers and trade publications, as well as broadcast and online outlets), social media, celebrity seeding, event promotion, etc.

       Let’s focus on print media for now: As apposed to a paid advertisement in a magazine, consumers are more often more interested in products that are written about the product in a magazine by an actual editor, rather looking at an expensive ad page (think of how many times you skim through thousands of ad pages in a magazine to get to the editorial pages you actually want to read.

      Both PR and advertising have their benefits, and can often make a huge statement when presented as a double-whammy, but what will make a consumer actually buy the product? In my opinion, the editorial influence has a greater benefit than a paid ad. Along with the credibility of an editor actually writing about the validity of your product, promoting it on a more “personal” level, publicity is also more cost effective than advertising. That is a very significant reason to use PR. Keep in mind that a one page ad in Vogue can cost you up to $120,000. That’s a big investment! Getting the same product in an editorial spread in the “fashion bible”, as it is dubbed, will get you the same exposure, without the gigantic price tag.  

       When it comes to print media, one thing that is important to mention is that publishers survive on advertising. More often than not, they are prone to promote products, editorially, for those who advertise with them because they rely on those company’s to keep their publications thriving. Therefore, when it comes to getting editorial coverage in print media, it is VERY important to have a catchy, NEW product that is “worthy” of being written about. If you have a product that is brand new, newsworthy, and interesting, all the better. If you are trying to promote a product that is a little tired, has already been written about and has been around for a while, the harder it will be to get press on that product.

      Enter crafty pitches and press releases: Mary Jane would help me write clever press releases and would comment on my own writing attempts as I ventured to be as clever as she. A good writer, who is able to pitch your story in a new way, with a different angle, is key!

      PR agencies: After a while, I realized that a major reason you use a PR agency is for their contacts. They can make a few calls, send out an email blast and follow up with the message. Voila! You have some news coming out about you in the press. PR is all about contacts. People in the industry spend their entire careers building their network of contacts and relationships with the media, therefore, you are basically paying them for their network.

      PR firms can range in price, and finding a good fit can take time. I was in the infancy stages of my company when I realized I could use some help. Most of the companies I spoke with wanted anywhere from $2,500 or more for a monthly retainer. The larger companies required a substantially larger investment. This all depends on what you want them to do for you (product placement, celebrity endorsement, events, etc.) There is a wide range of PR efforts that can benefit your company, but it all comes at a price.

      I started with a small public relations company, Bella PR, in New York City. I had only one product and they worked hard to get me product placement in the media. They were successful with several publications, but the most wonderful thing they did was to get me on the Rachel Ray Show. It was quite something as I showed Rachel my SnoreEzzz pillow. At the time, you could only find it on www.SnoreEzzz.com. The station did give out the information and we sold a lot of pillows.

     So can you use a small company for a small fee? Yes, you can. Sometimes they use up their contacts and you need to move to another company, or you need to develop new products they can position for you with interesting angles.

     Getting GOOD publicity usually requires careful planning, persistent effort, and, often, spending money for press release mailings, copywriters and PR consultants. It takes a lot of time to develop your plan. It is really only YOU that can mold the story you would like to tell. PR firms can guide you, but you know your strengths and what you have to offer in your products or service. You must be clear about what your product or idea has to offer that is different and desirable.

     There are also firms that will charge for a placement. Right now we are using a company, The PR Group in Florida. They recommended a contest to find a “World Class Snorer” to represent out company. We are looking for a Snoreperson to represent SnoreEzzz. We have set up a website for this contest, www.SnoreFreePillows.com. People can submit their snores for the contest and the winner will get a cash award and SnoreEzzz pillows. I thought it was a fun idea! Presently I have radio interviews lined up for a few weeks. We do the interviews on the telephone and it makes it very easy. I pay The PR Group for each radio interview. The good news is that we are getting a lot of interviews. Hopefully I get the results I want – garnering publicity on my product, but more importantly, selling more pillows! That’s the whole point, right.

     I am convinced that using public relations is the most effective way to get people to know about your product. I like to think of myself as a problem-solver, and my company, First Impressions Productions, LLC is all about solving problems and having effective solutions.  Contact us if we can help you with any ideas for your company. Our email is: pr@firstimpressionsproductions.com.

 

 

Drawing of an invention

Should You Apply for a Patent?

If you are wondering if getting a patent is the best decision you for, it is important to ask yourself a few questions. Is patent protection right for your product? What are you planning on doing with your idea? Will you be able to make money from the concept that you patented? Do you have the financing to accomplish this goal?

Owning a patent on an idea is one of the great American dreams. In effect it is like owning a piece of real estate.  It is like real estate because you own the rights to your unique conceptual idea or design. Unfortunately you may feel like you are paying for a house in the meantime.

This article is to help you understand how to patent your idea. It is not something that just anyone can do. It is harder than you might imagine. Having the right patent lawyer is important because it must be written carefully.  Many people want to know how to patent their idea. It is essential that you have a lawyer who is competent and honest and knows how to patent an invention. Patent lawyers charge an hourly fee and it can become very expensive. If you do not know a patent lawyer you can go to the patent office site on line at www.USPTO.gov to get a list of potential lawyers, or contact one of the larger patent offices in the country.

 How To Apply

A patent application is started with a form from the United States Patent Office. It includes your information, name, date and title of the invention. It will include an overall concept on your invention so that the reviewer at the United States Patent Office understands the concept. It will also include a list of claims that make your invention idea unique from other patents. The lawyer will include in your application is a list of patents that have been awarded to other patent holders in order to compare your idea with other patented concepts. One of the most important things on a patent application is the date. There are many applications sent to the patent office and the date yours is received prioritizes it in the patent system for your particular idea. This will prevent someone else from copying your idea.

Once the application is received you will get a notification from the patent office. You will know who the reviewer is for your application. It will also have the date they received you application so that date established your date of concept into the system. There are several submissions and rejections of claims with a process that requires months of correspondence during the patent application process. Most patents are rejected a couple of times before the patent is awarded. This is normal and does not mean you will not get the patent. It is important to remember that it is part of the process of getting a patent. If there is a final rejection notice then you must worry that you may not be able to patent your idea.

The Time and Cost of a Patent

The average time to get a patent depends upon the type of patent you want. There are design patents and utility patents. The design patents are easier to obtain and therefore are shorter in time and less expensive. The utility patents need to have the claims that you are asking for to be explained in order to distinguish your idea from others. These are what enable in the patent office say that the concept is unique and worthy of a patent. They take about two years to finalize. Part of the reason for the lengthily process is the overload of applications the patent office receives. The cost to have a layer apply and finalize a patent varies depending upon whether it is a design patent or utility patent. A design patent can range from $500 to $800 and a utility patent can range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending upon the complexity of the concept.

Patented Product Marketing

It is interesting that most patents that have been awarded have not been marketed and do not bring the owner any financial success. Therefore, it is important to decide if it is the right path for you. You should carefully decide if your idea can make money or is of significant value to society before you spend thousands of dollars and years of waiting before you apply for a patent. Once you have the patent you can either market it yourself or let someone else market it for you and you get a licensing fee which may be anywhere from 5%-15%.  

How to Protect Your Idea

There are many companies that will help you with your idea. Some are reliable and some are not. There is one company that advertises that they will help you. They can charge thousands of dollars and only do a press release and a small ad for you. You should go to a reliable lawyer and do research on any company you may work with. Be sure they are part of the Better Business Bureau and perhaps a local Chamber of Commerce. You can also go to the inventor’s website locally or nationally at www.UIAUSA.ORG.

Being an entrepreneur can be daunting, but also a lot of fun. Most of the fun is coming up with the idea. Getting your idea come alive can be the more difficult part. You can get help without spending a lot of money with creative websites.

When we started with our first product, the SnoreEzzz snore pillow, http://www.snoreezzz.com/, I did not know where to have the components made. I went to a local sewing shop in New York City and bought components that I would cut up and then sew together to try to figure out the actual invention. The woman who ran the shop would always ask me what I was doing with the foam and the cotton parts. I would only say that I had an invention I was developing. It made her so curious and we had fun with it.

Over the years I came to found many resources to bring my inventions to market. This article will mention a few that can help any inventor. While every contact has its own advantages, your determination to investigate these resources bring you closer to getting your product to market.

A great  public relations tool is HARO or http://www.helpareporter.com/.  It is written by Peter Shankman, who is a PR guru and an entrepreneur. He sends out emails three times a day with a list of requests from reporters for many different stories they are working on. You can find many different requests that may be a good match for your story and invention. Peter’s team sends out a list of requests for stories three times a day. With each you are given a contact name and email so you can respond. You may have your product mentioned in a newspaper, blog or even on a television show!

Want to show you are different right down to your handwriting? A website http://www.fontcapture.com/ will enable you to create your own font that you can use on your documents. It does not transfer with email because the recipient must have that font on their computer. It is great fun to try.

There are many companies that will do a website for you. Sometimes it is just as easy to start with WordPress, http://www.wordpress.com/.You an also get templates that are well done and then find someone to fill it in for you. Sign up for http://guru.com/and www.elance.com to post your project for free and you will find many people who will create the site and content for you. There is also another good site for writing your content or articles http://www.freelancecontact.com/. It was created by another helpful company, http://www.mediabisto.com/. This can help you find expert writers who can bring your content to life and help others understand your product.

After investigating these sites you will feel that you can do almost anything. They will capture your creativity and bring you many hours of fun. Enjoy!

Is The Food We Eat Hurting Us?

Thoughts from Clover Naturals
          

Acai B - Omega 3

          The supplement world is increasing in size and in its offerings, and we think that is important, especially because the food we eat may be hurting us as much as helping us.
           As we move forward into the 21st Century we worry about our health knowing that the food we eat is not the same quality food as our parents ate. We discuss it and worry about it. We eat high fat foods and hope that our craving for them will dissipate over time. The FACT is that it is very difficult to get quality food at reasonable cost in the United States. Today we live in a new, different, but not better world of food, mostly brought on by the changing farming community and the manufacturing industry that pushes to bring us more meat and vegetables from less land at a lower cost. Practical as it may be, this is not healthy.
         Organic food is much better for us. Although harder to find, organic food provides us with the vitamins we require to stay healthy while keeping us away from chemicals that can harm us and give us diseases. They build up our immune system and help us stay healthy with antioxidants that ward off illness. However, there are certain things we need to remember. One is that it does not stay fresh as long. We need to buy in smaller quantities to maintain freshness and refrigerate to maintain the freshness. If we do not maintain freshness we can get a battery of illnesses from the food we bought to keep us healthy.
Most of the fresh vegetables and fruits we buy at our local grocery stores have sprayed chemicals on them. The fruits have wax on them to make them shiny. After we purchase them we often cover them with plastic and throw them in the micro wave to quickly cook them. This causes chemicals from the plastic to go into the vegetables. Our chickens are raised in crowded cages, even what we call free range hens are kept in crowded places. The eggs we eat are not fertilized eggs. Our cattle are given antibiotics their entire lives. This prevents us, too, from having a healthy response to antibiotics when we really need them to cure bacterial illnesses.
         We have become addicted to how fast we want to prepare our food. We are working longer days and we do not want to stand in the kitchen for hours like our parents did. So we get prepared foods, frozen foods and we zap too much in the microwave.
         Our children seem healthy, but we do not know how the overly processed food and the vegetables with chemicals will affect them over the long term. What is the level of toxic chemicals we are adding to our systems every day? We may not know for years. In the meantime we need to educate ourselves to maintain our optimum health. Sometimes it just takes a little time every day to make changes.
        Therefore supplements can be a very good thing. More national brands are surfacing to meet the demand for good quality vitamins. There are also people chasing the dollar to use generic names to sell products that have little value.

       At First Impressions Productions, LLC, we developed Clover Naturals to develop nutritional supplements that have combined vitamins and minerals that tackle particular symptoms that can affect our daily lives.
Check the level of vitamins on each product you purchase. They are based in international units (IU). Make sure they come from a nationally recognized company that uses Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). These are regulations promulgated by the US Food and Drug Administration. National retail stores will only sell products that come from these stores. CVS, Rite Aide, Brooks Pharmacies and Walgreen’s have strict standards and their products will be formulated to be of high standards. But still compare the level of each vitamin or ingredient on each label. They can vary greatly. There are on line sites that you can refer to for more information on the latest research on suppliments. One is www.npicenter.com.
      So take care of yourself and take your supplements to stay healthy, especially during these winter months. Carefully choose your vitamins and nutaceuticals to build your immune system.

Christine Frisbee
www.chrisfrisbee.com
www.firstimpressionsproductions.com

The Guggenheim Museum with early morning sunrise on its 50th Birthday

Today I looked out the window to see a group of people lined up to go into the Guggenheim Museum. The large, round, unusual and special architecture is right outside our apartment where we live, work and party with family and friends. Some mornings, as the sun comes up over The Central Park Reservoir, there is a reflection on the apartment buildings across the park. They shine with an orange color that quickly changes when the sun is up and the sky is blue. It is so beautiful. I know I am very lucky.

Being a creative person I appreciate the innovation that brings new ideas and creativity. To invent you must be aware that you are part of a larger creative community. This is the energy that enables us to think of new ideas.

I love that there are vendors outside of the museum. All day there is bustling as they sell their artwork, handcrafts and photos. It does not matter what the weather: frost, snow, sun and heat. Tourists come from all over the world to visit this masterpiece that I wake up to every day. They take photos from all angles to remember the moment and to bring home to show that they were part of the experience.

It feeds my need to be surrounded by interesting and beautiful things. When you are surrounded by beautiful things you are influenced by the affect they have on your natural creative self. Use it every day and spread your creativity with others.

Happy 50th Birthday to the Guggenheim Museum!

This article is about how to communicate with vendors when you have your own business and need to outsource to other companies.

So you have the idea; you make a sample; you find a manufacturer; you order more than you like and you find a vendor to help you send them out.  You find stores that will have your product. You hire a company to create a website.  Whew!

Things are going along fine. No, most of the time things are going along fine. Because the reality of it is that from time to time things will go wrong. They just do….it’s Murphy’s Law.  You can easily have communication problems.  How you communicate with the vendors can often determine if you will successfully resolve the problem.

I have found that these relationships are often like a marriage. It starts like a honeymoon, and then too often it ends in a divorce. I am wondering, as I write, if the statistics are the same as for actual marriages? If you are successful in your communication, choose your battles and forgive little mistakes, the relationship can gel into a strong, fruitful partnership. That is your goal. The long good relationships are very valuable.

My communication style is to be nice but official. As a woman, I deal with some biased men who treat me as if I don’t know what I am talking about.  They talk to me as if I am not up to the challenge. Little do they know that growing up in a family with twelve children you learn to meet a challenge head on.  It is important not to be intimidated by people, even when there is a problem. Often vendors will try to bully you and play dominant, even if they were in error.  There are times when they will turn the table to find you at fault.

When you put your own hard earned money into something you have a right to speak up for yourself. Everything is on the line when it comes to making the business successful. Always keep this in mind. My philosophy is to reason with the people who can make or break your business, the vendors.

If they are a good vendor they respond and compromise. If they do not meet you on some common ground, there is a problem with the company or the person you communicate with at the company.  But there may be a time when you need to move on to other vendors. Unfortunately that can cost you a lot of money. Make sure your contract is a good one. Most vendors will adjust them and meet you on a common ground to get your business. You will always refer to the contract if there is an issue.

I have found that it really takes work to maintain a good relationship with your vendors. Do not expect it to be perfect or easy. You do need them and they need you. Build your muscles, bring your armor and bring your smile. Have fun if you can…..This is your Creative Invention!

While weaving through the maize of processes to bring an invention to market, it is important to find the right partners. It can be a trying experience and often can be one of hit and miss before you come across people that you trust and enjoy working with.

I found in bringing my first product to market, the SnoreEzzz snore reduction pillow, that many people would compliment my product in order to do business with you. Then they have you sign a contract with them, but they do nothing to promote or sell your product. Selling is everything and all of the glitter in the world is not going to sell your product unless someone gets behind it.

With my SnoreEzzzz pillow we had major companies come to a trade show I participated  in at the New York Javits Center. They showed a lot of interest. Their buyers were excited and I could not believe that we were going to take off! We discussed numbers and the stores they would try them in (they had over 400 stores). They had me setting up with their EDI format.  It took hours to understand, cost money to sign up and I had to purchase a new printer to print the UPC labels.  It was worth it to me. I was going to the big leagues.

Then all of a sudden they stopped communicating with me. Nothing. They would not answer my calls or emails. The EDI company wanted their set up charge anyway. I was angry and upset.  Then another big company courted me.  I flew half across the country and met with them. We had new packaging designed and had a marketing plan with them.  Once again, everything stopped.

What I have found is that this is not that uncommon with buyers from large chains. They act like gods without respect for your efforts and entrepreneurial spirit. They can hurt your dreams and hopes. It is of little consequence to them if you don’t get an answer or don’t understand why they changed 180 degrees.

So I decided to try the Direct Marketing route. It is not for the weak of heart, but I am now working with some good vendors.  You really have to get good recommendations before you move ahead. Remember that most people have an agenda and you must be very careful to understand the relationship and if it is right for you.

I hope we can have a forum to discuss different vendors and plans together.

We are marketing our second product, a suppliment that will help you maintain your weight while giving you energy and lots of antioxidants. I am taking it and really believe in it. We named it The Power Formula. www.ThePowerFormula. It is a great combination of pure, natural ingredients. We have omega 3 oils from the chia plant and B Complex Vitamins to give you energy, along with the now famous Acai plant. 

I will let you know how it goes with our new vendors. I think they will do a wonderful job with our new product.

snoreezzz0326-c-h264_300kbps We all come up with new ideas and wish we could make a fortune off  of it, but it is not that easy. There are many steps to bringing your idea to market and we hope to share those ideas with you. We also hope that you will share your thoughts and ideas with us so that we can all grow together. The mission of the blog is to offer ideas and create new thoughts that will help you invent and create.  It is fun and not so easy. We want to make it easier for us all.

 I decided to start this because I like to think up ideas and solutions to problems. Why shouldn’t we come up with . creative solutions?  When I  was a young child I kept busy with creative projects and to this day I am addicted to thinking up new ideas. A few years ago I invented a snore reduction pillow, SnoreEzzz. We now sell it on our website, www.SnoreEzzz.com.

My husband became a bad snorer. We were moving to New York City and we were temporarily in a studio apartment. He snored so loudly and I could not escape from the noise. We had stayed at a friend’s house one night prior to the move, and he did not snore that night. I decided it would be my mission to figure out how that happened. A few years later I had the invention, a patent and we were selling it on QVC. It has been a journey, and now I have invented a few

Please join in our discussion. We will bring interesting topics for discussion and try to answer questions.  Creative Inventions is for us all.