Ask any experienced inventor and they’ll tell you that the process of inventing a new product is difficult. Even if your product idea is thoroughly researched, well-planned out, and satisfies a demonstrated consumer demand, there many obstacles that can trip you up and slow you down at any given time. There are dozens of mistakes and pitfalls to avoid and to help you out we have collected the most common inventing mistakes that we’ve seen over and over again. Better yet, we’ve included advice for how to avoid these errors.
Before production begins you should know who, how and why you are selling to. Knowing who you are selling to seems like an obvious step in the planning process before production, but the way in which many new businesses define their target market is often completely misguided.
Without the assistance and know how of professional engineers, your final product may not be up to Australian (or whatever country you intend to target) safety requirements. There is a complex set of regulations surrounding almost any product you could make and being up to date on these rules is an absolute must.
Financial hurdles stop hordes of potentially profitable ideas before they even get off the ground. Ensuring you have an extensive budget, inclusive of a timeline is vital. You need to be in touch with the economics of your idea or else they could potentially derail the whole operation.
Make sure you know who you are getting into business with. The sole purpose of most businesses is to generate a profit. If you intend on working with another organisation (manufacturer, designer, marketer... etc), understand that you are exposed to be exploited or over charged. Keep yourself informed and always compare the market.
Obtaining the exclusive rights to your idea, to the exclusion of all others, is not a simple process. These rights are known as a patent and the process of ensuring you receive one should be taken seriously. Without a patent, your competitors are free to steal, reuse or ruin your product through misrepresentation.
One of the most common mistakes made is being overly ambitious in your goals. Keep your head grounded and set realistic and obtainable milestones. Take the time to properly calculate if your goals can actually be achieved in the given time frame. The goals you set early can determine if your idea even gets off the ground.