People who are new to inventing often ask “How do I invent something?” Another common statement is “I have an idea, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
Here’s a Simple System to create inventions. I use this system myself and I know other inventors that use similar systems to develop great ideas.
1. Identify a Problem, Inefficiency or Shortcoming -Think about problems you see every day - problems discussed in the news, in your daily life, in your areas of expertise, or anywhere. When you or someone else says, “I sure wish there was a better way to ____” take note of that problem. Think about improvements that would make your daily life easier or would allow you to enjoy your hobbies more.
2. Develop a Solution or Improvement -Look at any existing solutions to the problem or inefficiency. Can you improve on these solutions. Look at how similar problems are solved in different industries or different environments. You may not see a solution initially - be patient - let your subconscious mind work on the problem. There are several brainstorming, masterminding, and mind mapping techniques that are useful in visualizing and developing solutions.
3. Expand Your Initial Solution - Now that you have identified one possible solution, expand that solution into other industries or markets with similar problems. Also, look for ways to further improve on your initial solution and think about other benefits provided by your solution.
4. Analyze Your Next Step - Once you have created your first invention, you should consider your next step. Here are a few of your options:
- Think about protecting your invention. Depending on many factors, you may have certain types of protection available for your invention.
- Build a new business (or expand an existing business) based on your invention.
- Joint-Venture business opportunities. If you don’t want to build a new business around your invention, consider a joint venture with another company that is a good “fit” for your invention. For example, businesses that sell similar products or services.
- Sell or license your invention.
- Simply enjoy the status and benefits of being an inventor.
This is a very brief summary of a system for creating inventions. In future posts, I will discuss each of the four steps in greater detail.
Here’s an interesting invention I learned about recently. I don’t own one yet, but it’s an interesting idea. If you’ve used this invention, please post a comment and let everyone know how it works.
As I have mentioned before, ANYONE can become an inventor. Here’s proof! This is one of those ideas that makes you say “Why didn’t I think of that?” You don’t need any special training or advanced degrees to create this type of invention. There are many other examples of simple, yet creative, inventions. I’ll cover more of them in future posts.
This invention is a great example of solving a “problem”. A traditional pan for baking brownies does not produce enough “edge” and “corner” brownies. This invention solves that problem.
Advertising information for this Edge Brownie Pan indicates that it’s for brownie lovers who want an “edge piece” or a “corner piece”. As you can see from the picture, every piece is an edge piece and there are many corner pieces (lots more than just 4 that you get from a traditional pan). One problem: if you like “center pieces”, this is not the right product for you!
The sales page also indicates that the pan can be used for lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and other foods where an “edge” is desirable.
Keep thinking about your ideas and inventions while you’re munching on your brownies 
Does your business have a system for identifying ALL available innovations?
I have worked with many companies that did not have a well-defined approach to identifying innovations within their business. When I am consulting for those companies, a first priority is to create a system to identify all innovations developed within the company.
To ensure that your business is identifying all innovations, consider the following:
- Every person in your business is a Potential Innovator. Many companies assume that only the “scientists” or people in the Research and Development group can be innovators. If you follow this approach, you will likely miss out on many valuable innovations. I have lost count of the number of times that a valuable innovation was developed by an employee who was not involved with product design or product development. I have worked with inventors who are shipping clerks, sales representatives, administrative assistants, and marketing managers. Every person in your business should be treated as a potential innovator.
- Implement a system to discover ALL Innovations. Create a system that encourages all employees to submit their innovation ideas for company review. Offer a reward or other incentive to those innovators. Your system should accurately track all innovations submitted and utilize a periodic review process to evaluate those innovations.
- Teach ALL people in your business to Identify Innovations. For example, provide a training seminar for all employees to describe a process for identifying innovations. Explain the system each employee can use to submit innovations for company review. Most importantly, describe the rewards that each employee submitting an innovation receives.
These techniques are useful to businesses of all sizes. If your company does not have a system for discovering all of the innovations developed throughout the business, now might be a good time to start implementing a new Innovation Discovery Program.
You can develop valuable inventions by looking at current trends and projecting those trends into the future.
My recent posts have discussed how to identify inventions in one of your niches or in an area that is unrelated to your niches. Both of these approaches can result in identifying many problems and developing solutions to those problems.
Another area to look for inventions involves studying current trends and brainstorming on where those trends are headed in the future. A similar approach is useful in identifying new trends that may develop in the future. Identify the products or services that will be changed or created by these trends and invent solutions to implement those changes.
For this example, we will turn back time and put ourselves in the late 1980s. Note: if you develop an invention for time-travel, please contact me immediately - I’ve got some great ideas for commercializing that system! In the late 1980s two popular consumer devices were:
- Personal Computers - Although not nearly as powerful as today, many people were using personal computers.
- Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs) were popular consumer devices for recording television programs and for playing pre-recorded content, such as movies
Suppose you were an inventor in the late 1980s and started thinking about future trends. You predict that personal computers will continue to increase in computing power, storage capacity, etc. You also take a broad view of a VCR as a “video storage device”. Realizing that the hard disk drives in personal computers can store any type of data (text data, audio data, video data, and more), you think about the possibility of storing video data (television broadcasts) on a hard disk drive.
In the late 1980s, the cost of a hard disk drive that could store several hours of video data would likely be far too expensive for a consumer device. However, if you saw the trend that computing power and storage capacity would increase quickly while the price of the computing systems decreased, a future opportunity was possible. Combining this trend with the development of new video compression algorithms that reduced the size of video data to be stored, an entire new product category was created.
A recent report indicates that Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) are now used in 22% of U.S. households. Take a look at current products and services, as well as current trends, and try inventing some future products and services.
Yes, I realize that a previous post discussed Inventing IN Your Niche. No, I’m not losing my marbles!
Although there are many advantages to inventing within your niche, there are also advantages to looking at topics that are outside your existing niches. You don’t need any experience in a particular topic to become an inventor in that topic. If a particular problem is outside your area of expertise, this may work to your advantage in finding a solution.
You may approach the problem without the “baggage” of people that are actively working on the topic. Being an “outsider” allows you to develop a fresh approach to solving the problem because your thinking is not limited to conventional thoughts in that field. Think about your solution broadly - consider how similar problems were solved in other areas.
For example, if you are looking for a solution to a problem associated with manufacturing drinking cups, consider how similar problems have been handled with other types of food containers. Next, expand your thinking to other types of products in different industries. Don’t limit yourself to studying solutions related to food containers - consider any type of container or device that solved a similar problem. The best solution may be found in an unrelated industry that had to solve a related problem.
The important point is to pick a topic that interests you, regardless of whether the topic is Inside your niche or Outside your niche.
What topics should I consider for my inventing activities?
This is a common question I receive from new inventors as well as experienced inventors. Some inventors feel they must limit their invention activities to the area in which they work or the topic of their studies. However, I encourage all inventors (and soon-to-be-inventors) to look at all of their niches when it comes to creating inventions.
What is your niche? You probably have a variety of niches - consider the following:
- Your Hobbies
- Your Career or Area of Study
- Your Favorite Activities or Events
- Your Strengths - What are You Good At?
- Passions - What are You Passionate About?
- Emotional Issues - What Issues or Problems are Emotional to You?
Inventing in your niche is a logical place to focus your inventing activities because you are already familiar with that topic. You already know where to find information about that topic and you probably already know other people that are “experts” in that topic. You likely receive magazines, emails, podcasts, and other information about your niche on a regular basis.
Since you are already familiar with your niches, you may already have a few ideas for inventions. If not, you have probably noticed some problems or shortcomings with your niche. For example, if you love playing online computer games, you have likely complained about some aspect of online computer gaming (or heard others complain about online computer gaming). Listen to those complaints and think about solutions to those problems - those solutions can be inventions.
Creating inventions that are related to your favorite activity or hobby lets you enjoy that activity while becoming an inventor at the same time. I believe that it is easier to create inventions in areas you enjoy because you are more likely to think positively about those areas. What could be better than pursuing your passions and receiving the benefits of becoming an inventor at the same time?
Think about your niches and areas of expertise - look for problems you can solve (or inefficiencies you can improve upon) and you’re on your way to creating new inventions.
I’m excited to announce a new service I’m offering to teach people about inventions.
I will be sending weekly Invention TIPS via email - FREE to everyone!
My Tips will cover information related to:
- How to Become an Inventor
- Benefits of Being an Inventor
- Identifying Inventions
- Developing Inventions
- Protecting Inventions
- Marketing Inventions
- Inventions I have Personally Created
- Inventor Success Stories (Great Learning Tools)
- Accelerating Your Business or Career
- And Much More….
I will also be answering the top questions I’ve received from inventors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners over the past 15 years.
To start receiving your Invention TIPS Today, enter your first name and email address in the form at the top-right corner of this page.
Please note that I hate Spam as much as you do. I will NEVER sell or share your email address with anyone.
Go Invent Something…
Many inventions solve a problem or shortcoming with existing products or services. If you see a problem or a lack of efficiency in any area, think about solutions to that problem or ways to improve efficiency. You may not think of a solution immediately, but don’t give up - you may be surprised when an idea or solution “hits” you.
If you keep watch for problems or “areas that need improvement”, you will see plenty of opportunities to become an inventor. Here are a few ways to identify problems or issues that need solutions:
- Read the newspaper or watch the evening news to identify current problems. Today’s problems include environmental issues, energy conservation, vehicle safety, traffic congestion, child toy safety, declining health, and so forth.
- Problems caused by advances in technology, such as online identity theft.
- What are your friends, family, and co-workers complaining about?
- What causes you to say, “I wish there was a better _________”?
Unfortunately, there are plenty of problems in the world today. As a result, there are an unlimited number of opportunities to solve problems and become an inventor. Give the invention process some time - and give your mind a chance to generate solutions.
I have scheduled my first TeleSeminar to answer your questions about inventing and the invention process. This is a Free call that will also be broadcast simultaneously via the Internet (a webcast). If you cannot attend the call “live”, I will be recording the Teleseminar and making the call available to everyone that registers.
The first TeleSeminar is Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 5:00pm Pacific / 8:00pm Eastern. The call is scheduled for 45 minutes.
To register for the Free Teleseminar and submit your Question, please visit: http://www.InventorQuestions.com
You must submit your Questions prior to the call.
You will receive the call-in number and optional webcast details as soon as you submit your registration.
Questions can be related to any aspect of inventions:
- How to Become an Inventor
- How to Identify Inventions
- Developing Inventions
- Protecting Inventions
- What to Do with Inventions
- Differences Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents
Please submit your invention-related question at http://www.InventorQuestions.com
Over the past 15 years I have worked with hundreds of inventors - from individual entrepreneurs to groups of inventors working for large corporations. Some of these inventors had advanced scientific degrees, while others did not finish high school. No special training or background is required to be an inventor.
If you have an idea, don’t worry that you lack the “magic” training or background - there isn’t any!
If you want to become an inventor, you can learn to invent! Anyone can follow a simple process and become an inventor in a short period of time. The benefits of being an inventor are numerous - from improving your resume to providing a foundation for a new business.
Future posts will discuss these topics in greater detail.
If you have Invention Questions, please visit: http://www.InventorQuestions.com
and submit your question. I will be answering your questions on this Blog and during my series of Free TeleSeminar calls.
