How Hard are You Willing to Work?

If I haven't learned anything else in my life, I've learned that if it's worth having, it's worth working for. In the game of licensing, I'm finding that the work comes in organization and being willing to reach out in unconventional ways.

I've had to get organized in not only creating our idea, but hiring an attorney to file for our patents, research the facts and figures, investigate the competition, and figure out how we can pay for all of the steps. Those are the obvious things, but then I have to put my salesmen hat on and start researching and cold calling. You can't be afraid to pick up the phone and call the places you think will have an interest and the wherewithal to pay you for your idea.

When you look at each little piece it seems like "one little thing." In reality, when you keep your log and you go back and see all those little things, you can see how they add up in hours in your days. I've met people who say they aren't sales people. To that, all I can say is you better find that sales guy in you or hire someone who gets your idea. Nobody will sell your idea like you will, so if I can offer some advice, find your inner sales professional and pick up your phone.

One More Day

I think I can get back to business as usual on Monday. I want to see if I can get through today without taking the prescription pain medication.

Dave has gone to Anaheim this morning so that leaves me alone with Mason attempting to not use my left hand. Wish me luck and I'll be back with bells on come Monday morning!

I'm Back...Sort of.

Well, I wanted to stay right in step and not let this broken finger hinder my blogging process. No such luck. Surgery is what it is, and certainly it's painful. I had my finger fixed on Tuesday. Wednesday was not so bad, but by the end of the day, I was miserable. This morning is okay, but I'm extremely aware of where my finger has been cut, messed with, and sewn back up. To say it's uncomfortable is an understatement.

So to try to stay on track, I want to mention a really good book about licensing your IP, How To License Your Million Dollar Idea by Harvey Reese. Harvey does a great job explaining what it means to license your idea and he shares some really clever ways to go about doing it. I will say from my personal experience, he makes it sound easier than it really is. With that said, I will talk more about what Harvey advises and what I've come to know as my experience trying to license our gloves.

You can buy the book on line from http://www.amazon.com/, and I think you can also buy the current edition on Harvey's website at http://www.harveyreese.com/. See you tomorrow!

A Note From My Doctor

I'll pick back up where I left off on licensing hopefully on Wednesday, depending on what I learn after seeing the doctor today.

Yesterday while meeting a lady about our horse, I took a spill. I'm okay but got a pretty good goose egg on my head, some really sore muscles in my low back and hips, and I broke my finger. Dave took me to the ER and the CT scan showed my brain looks like "it's never been used" (how exactly is one suppose to take a statement like that?), and my spine is in tact just fine. My finger however is not. I have to see a hand guy first thing tomorrow morning and will likely be having surgery on Tuesday. You can see the actual x-ray at www.themondaymotivator.blogspot.com on or around 9/8/08.

With that said, I'm still a little woozy and it's likely that I'll be pretty sore after a nights sleep. More importantly, I may not be so good with my keyboard after the doc gets done messing with my hand. I'll keep you posted but in the meantime, I'm extremely grateful that I'm only sore, with a bump on my head, and a broken finger (my first broken bone ever).

Other Options

There is more than one way to create an income from your invention or intellectual property (IP). Most people invent a product and it becomes like a new baby in the household, a real member of the family. They bring it to life, create a business, sell it and work really, really hard keeping it alive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one who believes in free or easy money, but I do believe you can work smarter, not harder.

One of the ways other than producing and selling your product yourself is to license it to a company that already does something similar. With our gloves, we are in negotiations with several glove companies who already have established relationships with off shore manufacturers and distribution channels for retail sales. Next week I will talk about what I know of the licensing process and how you can determine if could consider this a viable option as well.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Finishing Up With Patents

This first thing people think when they come up with their big idea is that they need a patent. Maybe yes, maybe no, but you won't know if you don't do your homework. The very first thing you need to do is google your idea. If the search brings up pages and pages of similar products, you may not be the first to discover the need for this great thing. Do the on line searches several times with many different key words, you will be surprised what doesn't come up in the first search will come up in search number 25. Next, go to www.uspto.gov to do a patent search. This step can be daunting but you have to do it. Go to the patents section, then search both sections, patents pending, and patents issued. This again is one of those steps that will take some time. Use as many words as you can think of that may be part of whatever your idea is. If you can't find your idea in a web search or a preliminary patent search, then you're probably good to go to the next step.

I've made mention already that you need to create some kind of prototype to see your idea in real life. You need to know if it really will work. After you do that, you need to decide if you will pay an attorney to do a professional patent search or move ahead with just your research. Some attorneys will not file your application unless they do the search for you (you'll pay of course), as they have to represent you to the examiner at the patent office. They want to be as sure as they can be that they are going to get the patent issued.

You can do this yourself and for many things you don't need a patent. If you feel like you have a great idea that's not already on the market, get to manufacturing, producing, and selling your great product! You can do it. Remember, whatever you think, you're right!

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Since we all work so hard, take today off and do something fun!