Do you have an idea you want to bring to market? Were you confronted with a problem and did you devise a solution that would solve this problem for thousands of other people? It’s very tempting to want to bring a product to market, but the path is long and arduous, so we wanted to share some tough love considerations to think about before embarking on a costly and time-consuming process. But don’t worry - we’ll follow up with some resources that can help you in the decision making as well!

Why is Creative Mechanisms uniquely suited to have this discussion with inventors and entrepreneurs? Because we have helped countless innovators over more than 30 years in the design and engineering industry. We have shepherded many products successfully to market, and have advised others against moving forward in the process based on a range of considerations. Below are some of the trend items we’ve identified over the years - do any of these sound familiar to you?

• How well do you know the business or industry that your product is intended for? A fresh set of eyes can help someone identify and solve problems when they’re new to an industry, but it might also mean that certain assumptions are off, or that “you just don’t know what you don’t know.” Having a comprehensive understanding of the business or industry you’re trying to solve a problem for is absolutely critical. Read more about why this is important here. 

• How well do you know the competition, or whether your idea has already been licensed or patented? Expertise with web searches is crucial when considering breaking into the consumer product development process. Has the idea already been created? What if another product looks different, but achieves the same function as your concept? Did you know that some attorneys actually specialize in searching for patents for similar products? Thoroughly understanding the competition will provide key information to guide decisions about moving forward. Learn more about the patenting process in this blog.

What resources can Creative Mechanisms offer inventors and entrepreneurs who are considering jumping into the consumer product development process?

So, we apologize if the information thus far seems overly negative or pessimistic - but we promise, we’re actually trying to help! To that end, we have created resources specifically to educate and assist inventors and entrepreneurs in their decision making process. Here are the top three ways our design and engineering firm can provide valuable information to you:

• Take our INVENTORS course online. Taught by our CEO Tony Rogers, this course will introduce you to the risks and costs associated with bringing a product to market. You’ll learn about conducting a patent search, licensing versus manufacturing and how to proceed down either path, calculating a Return on Investment, and more. Click here to access the course.

• Schedule a consultation with our CEO. Tony combines integrity, experience, and honesty to provide a valuable consultation for inventors and entrepreneurs curious about the consumer product development process. In his own words, “This [meeting] is the exploration of whether or not it makes sense to invest in [your] idea. This is intended to be challenging; it is a gut check that no one else will give you. Please do not be offended by it. This conversation is more about determining the odds of seeing a return on your investment than exploring technical issues.” If this sounds like a helpful resource to you, then email us or call 215-788-4566 to book a meeting.

• Try out our ROI calculator. If you’re looking for some ballpark numbers, or you’re very early in the process, take a few minutes to play around with the Return on Investment calculator on our website. It’s free of charge and can help you narrow down specifics like quantity needed to recover investment, and investment required to break even.

We hope you found this information helpful, and we are eager to answer any further questions you may have. Please contact Creative Mechanisms today if you have questions about the consumer product development process, and how our design and engineering team can assist you along the way. Thank you for reading!