In recent years, the ailing economy has forced a number of people to reconsider what their careers should be. Many people have been laid off or have been part of a family where one of their incomes doesn’t exist anymore. Despite the fact that there may be no work, there must be a way for a household to make ends meet. Today’s ease of communication has made home-based businesses a wonderful way to get an income.
When people consider starting a home-based business, their mind often travels to those who tutor, who are medical transcriptionists, or are web designers, all of which can use the web to advertise. What they don’t know is that there are many home-based businesses centered around one concept: invention. Inventors are critically important in today’s world, with society on a constant road to improvement. In fact, many people have probably conjured up an idea for an invention but have never followed through with constructing it. There are countless numbers of patents that are obtained every year, and many come from companies that already exist. That means if you have to stay at home and are ready to spend time on a very good idea, you may want to focus your time and energy on an invention.
An invention business may be perfect for the mom who just retired from an engineering position to raise her children. She has experience in the raw creation of things, and like all other engineers, probably has a drive to produce. Some women in this position find the fact that children are around can actually help them with the creative process. One famous inventor, Stacy Dahlman, developed a toy called Paci-Plushies. This popular toy came about when she noticed that her baby was often enamoured by its pacifier. Thinking that the baby would love their pacifier even more if a stuffed animal was attached to it, she made a small stuffed animal and tied it to the pacifier. Her baby loved it and it inspired her to consider marketing her idea. After filing her patent, she went ahead and started producing the Paci-Plushies, which has grown into a successful business.
Dahlman did not develop this toy overnight. Nevertheless, she showed confidence and had a passion about getting her product into households. It only took twelve months for Dahlman’s invention to go from idea to marketable product. What she wasn’t sure about was the budget: the cost of bringing the Paci-Plushies to market cost a whole lot more money than she initially respected. Nevertheless, returns on her product were monumental.
Dahlman’s success isn’t rare. Many people who become home-based inventors fall upon a product idea that they know hasn’t been developed. If you want to become a home-based inventor, you should should consider following these steps:
1. Brainstorm. Get a pen and paper and look at your surroundings. Think of the things that you like to do and the reasons why you don’t like it better. List what you think you could feasibly develop.
2. Get on the web or go to the library to see if your idea has been thought of, and a related product has been produced.
3. Consider following the patent process so that the idea will be yours and only yours for a long time.
4. Develop a business plan. Be sure to be clear how long it will take to make this invention, how long it will take to get a patent and how you plan to spend your money and time.
5. Consider how you’re going to market your invention. Answer questions like ‘Who would be interested in this?’ and ‘How can these people be reached?’
6. Think about whether you want to sell the invention or develop a business out of it. Some inventors fall in love with the process of inventing, and do not want to focus their time selling their first invention. If this is the case, they often sell the patent for their invention to someone who has the resources to market it.
Most importantly, keep your family and home life in mind. If you work at home, you’ll have distractions and commitments you might not usually have. Find ways to work them into your inventing schedule. And don’t forget to have fun!
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