TEEN WEEK Day 5: Girls-how to invent & get your product to market

 

Hello Gorgeous!
It is Day 5 of TEEN WEEK and today we are going to talk about how to build a business at home, from scratch with the very bright ideas and witty inventions that are in you! Please welcome and enjoy the expert advice and teaching from Marcy McKenna-Inventor-Entrepreneur and Designer!

If you have ever thought that you had an idea that would be a help or good for life-read and get in action below! Of course there is a free giveaway today-and also, a tune to rock out with!

 Everyone has a great idea for a product, but very few people feel they have the financial means to bring it to life. I’m here to challenge that myth. With the incredible resources available today, in my opinion, there’s never been a better time to try your hand at inventing! As an inventor who has brought several products to market and has many more in active development, I’m often asked how to get a product idea off the ground without spending a fortune. I’m happy to share my tried and true tips that will allow you to explore the worl of inventing without breaking the bank.

• Patent Search – One of the most important first steps you should take when considering bringing an invention to market is to do a preliminary patent search to ensure the invention does not already exist and/or that your idea does not infringe on an existing patent. One way to do this is to hire a Patent Attorney—they will typically charge between $500 and $3000 to do the search for you. With the resources available today, you can do this preliminary patent search yourself at no cost.I find “Google Patent” (www.google.com/patents) and “PatentStorm” (www.patentstorm.us) to be the most simple platforms to navigate. You can also go directly to the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office — www.uspto.gov ). Down the road, you may want to have an attorney do a more thorough search, but in the initial stages, doing your own search can save you a lot of money.

 • Provisional Patent – To patent or not to patent is an ongoing debate in the world of inventing. Sadly, the thought of spending $5,000 to $10,000 to secure a patent scares most would-be inventors away. Did you know that only about 5% of the products in the market place are patented?

When deciding whether to file a patent, it’s important to determine what your goal is. If you’re goal is to commercialize the product yourself, you may not need a patent at all. And in fact, it can often be a waste of money for small business owners as they are usually not financially equipped to defend it if their product should get knocked off. In most cases that money would be better spent building market share. However, if your goal is instead to license your idea to a company, then a patent is likely very important. The good news is that you don’t have to decide that now.

You can file a “Provisional Patent” for $125 (In California. Other states may vary.) that will give you a “Patent Pending” status for 12 months while you explore the commercial viability of the product. Filing a full utility or design patent too early in the process can be a waste of money as the product will likely evolve over time. It’s usually best to wait until the product is manufacture ready before taking that step. As always, consult a patent attorney before making your final decision.

 • Trademarks– I happen to be a big believer in trademarks. When it comes to consumer products the name is usually one of the most important things. For example, when you go out to buy dark brown cookies with cream filling, what name comes to mind? I’m willing to bet it’s Oreos® over Hydrox®. It’s all about the name and brand loyalty. If you can create that loyalty with your product name then many times that can be much more valuable than a patent. And the good news is that trademark protection is relatively inexpensive and fast when compared to patent protection. Legal Zoom has trademark packages that start at $169 plus the government filing fee.

 • Developing a Prototype – A prototype is a working example of your idea. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

 

There is so much more to learn-please visit this link and print it out-then get into massive action now!

http://marcymckenna.com/inventing-on-a-budget-6-tips-for-getting-your-idea-off-the-ground-without-breaking-the-bank/

TEEN WEEK FREE GIVEAWAY: MAKEUP MATTE!

Talk about a great invention! If you use makeup-you need a makeup matte! Open to ages 13 and over with permission to enter-please have a continental United States mailing address. Winner will be contacted by email. Good luck!

Remember to follow @MakeUpMatte on Twitter!

Now-let's rock out with Plumb! Stay tuned because the new album drops Feb 26th!!! Remember: you are beautiful! Thank you for visiting the blog and check back for promotions and beauty giveaways!