Source:markdohnalek.com

Useful Tips for First-Time Inventors 

Inventing new and useful things that better mankind can potentially give you the life you never had. Everyone wants the latest and newest toys that make a certain job that much easier. And people will pay whichever buck you ask for it.

But for first-time inventors, well the process isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Apart from the obvious thing that you actually have to come up with a brilliant idea, there’s a whole host of paperwork involved.

So, to make it easier for you, we’re here to give you our useful tips for first-time inventors.

1. Put It In Writing

Source:pmp-practitioners.com

Brainstorming ideas isn’t always fun. We don’t really get a flash of brilliance until we do. And sometimes, it can hit us in the most unfortunate of times.

This is why the first tip we could give you is to simply put the idea in writing. This makes sure that you don’t lose track of your new invention and that you can explore it later on.

But the bottom line is that you should at least put your name and signature on the paper as well as the date.

2. Don’t Brag About It

Bragging about being an inventor and telling everybody your idea isn’t a good thing. Sure you might tell your friends and they might be trustworthy, but you never know if your idea gets into the wrong hands. You’re never sure who’s listening.

This is why you should keep a low profile when inventing new things. Everyone wants to take a shortcut in life. And stealing someone else’s idea is a very easy way to do that.

So, a huge mistake for first-time inventors is telling everybody about it. Keep it to yourself and play it smart.

Source:entrepreneur.com

3. Understand Whether Or Not People Need Your Invention

When it comes to actually getting into it, it’s important to remember one key thing. No one will buy your product if there is no need for it.

Remember this as this is the starting point when determining the quality of the idea. Sure you might have this brilliant idea that you think people will use, but what if people don’t actually need it?

It can be hard to determine whether or not your idea is in demand. However, you can ask yourself a few questions to understand where you stand.

  • What problem does my idea solve and who will benefit from it?
  • Is this is the first idea to try and solve this problem?
  • Will people be interested in buying it?
  • What are the potential challenges that I may face along the way?

Answering some of these questions will make you better understand your situation. As always, you can always get external support when inventing new things.

For more information read at azbigmedia.com/business/why-new-inventors-turn-to-inventhelp-for-support.

4. Keep Track Of Everything

It’s not unheard of for people to steal your idea. Let’s remember a previous point where we said that it’s actually quite smart to keep things to yourself.

But there is a slight chance of you getting your idea stolen. Because of that, a smart thing to do is to keep track of everything in an invention journal.

In this journal, you will write everything that is related to the invention. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve changed the initial idea or if you’ve made any new changes to the existing idea; keep track of everything in your journal.

This document will be your bread and butter. It will be your evidence against idea theft and it will vouch for the validity of your idea.

And don’t think for a second that we don’t mean everything. In the journal, you’ll want to put every detail that you can possibly think of when coming up with the idea. Put every case study, every sketch, every question and answer, everything!

There are quite a few reasons why you should keep an invention journal.

5. Hire A Designer

Source:themoment.is

We hire designers because they’re good at giving something a look. When the time comes for patenting the idea and getting investors on board, you will need to show a prototype. A prototype will help you achieve all that. But you still need to make one.

And the person that might be there to help you with it is a designer. With the help of this person, you can determine whether or not the prototype needs changing or re-designing.

Once you’ve settled on the looks, well it’s time to make a physical copy out of it. There are a couple of ways to do that but we suggest going with CAD drawings. You can even go as far as 3D printing it, but that can be quite expensive.

When it comes to taking it to the next level, other methods you can use to create the prototype include 3D metal or plastic printing, vacuum casting, CNC, etc.

Do understand that all of these methods vary in cost, time to create, as well as other things. But it’s safe to say that you will need a prototype to show the bank or investors if your idea is a physical product.

6. Find a Manufacturing Partner

Source:manufacturing.net

If you ever make it to this part, then do know your idea is 99% ready to hit the market. And that means that you have a good idea that might do something even better for humanity.

When the time comes for manufacturing, you will need to find a partner. Beware as your job is still not over and there are a couple of other things to consider.

For starters, you shouldn’t really talk to the manufacturing partner until you’ve both signed an NDA. This is done to protect you in the case of the manufacturing partner going rogue and stealing your idea.

Secondly, you should always discuss with more than one manufacturing partner to get the best deal possible.

And thirdly, you should meet in person and visit their facilities to make sure that they can meet your manufacturing needs.

Peter is a freelance writer with more than eight years of experience covering topics in politics. He was one of the guys that were here when the foreignspolicyi.org started.