April 2017
For creative individuals who hope to profit from their ideas, invention is only a small part of the story. Consumers buy products (material realities), not inventions (ideas). John Ritchison (intellectual property attorney from Anderson, IN) offered us advice on how to best market our products: be patient, stay focused, and don’t get frustrated. Bottom line—be bold. Go big or go home. An inventor typically has 3 marketing options: make and sell a product or method, sell the invention to others who will use it to make and sell a product or method, or license (rent) the invention to others who will use it to make and sell a product or method. For all 3 options, learn all you can about your product’s market, study your business opportunities, and draft a basic business plan that can take you from point A to point B. Here are some useful steps for learning how to take your product to market. Find out how others have marketed a product similar to yours. For exa