The Inventor's Mind

I recently took a trip to visit some factories in China. I’ll be telling you about some of these places in a series of posts. First, I’ll talk a little about the PowerSquid factory. The PowerSquid is made in the Guangzhou Province, which is the region of southern China next to Hong Kong. This area is home to countless factories making many of the world’s products. The factories range from very ‘rustic’, to absolutely modern.

The factory where the ‘Squid is made is a model of efficiency. They make their own wire, starting with thick copper strands, coat the wire, mold the plugs, stamp the brass, mold the plastic parts, make the PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), assemble and package everything. Watching the assembly lines at work is a sight to behold, with each worker doing one small task and passing the product to the next in line. It was an eye-opening experience to witness their skill.

It’s easy to take all this stuff for granted. Practically everything we buy starts its life in the hands of a hard-working person in China. If you ever get the chance to tour a manufacturing facility of any kind, in China or nearer to your home, I recommend it. It will help you understand how much effort goes into providing you each and every item that’s in your life.

For my first post, I’d like to answer the first question that people always ask me when they come to me with an idea: what should I do first? The answer is: Google it! And then Google it some more! Most people come to me with an idea they say is unique, and they are positive that “there’s nothing out there like it.” When I ask if they’ve searched, they always say they have. I say “OK”,”let me do a quick search.” Often, in 2-3 minutes I find their exact idea out there. Why? Because they have searched only very superficially, not actually wanting to find their idea already on the market. They think they have a “million dollar idea” and don’t want to find out that their one idea is really an also-ran. Of course, this doesn’t matter if all they want is to think that they are a genius, without actually planning on taking any action. But if you want to start actually pursuing your idea, and start spending money, then you better make sure you know what’s already out there.

When doing your search on Google, you should do MANY searches, not just a couple. And you should go through at least 5 pages of results for each search. You need to try every word combination that might lead to a similar product, and you need to try and think and search like someone who would be shopping for a product similar to your invention. This process may, in fact, reveal your idea already on the market, or it may confirm that it isn’t. Regardless, it will help you know what else exists in that product category space, and may help you refine your idea and perfect your innovative angle. If you do find your idea out there, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are out of luck. Execution is the key to success, and maybe you can out-compete the incumbent with a better product, marketing plan, distribution system, or other competitive edge.

The bottom line is that you need to know what’s out there if you are going to start investing real time and money, and you don’t want to put your head in the sand and hope you’re right.

After you complete your Google search on the web, your work isn’t done. Next you need to search the patent database to make sure your idea isn’t someone else’s patent, even if there isn’t a product out there. This can be done at the Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) or several other places on the web. I usually use Google’s patent search (www.google.com/patents). I’ll cover this topic in greater detail in a later post. Good hunting!

Hello world. This is my new blog, where I’ll be sharing my thoughts on inventing, product development, and the monetization of ideas. If you have any questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks for stopping by!