Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I took the steps to get a design patent on my product.  I was really excited because the design is very marketable and very inexpensive to produce.  My patent search produced nothing that even came close to my idea.  My patent attorney is a friend and wrote the patent for me for a very reasonable fee.  So far so good, right?  Here I am 5 months later asking myself "now where do I go and what do I do?"  I don`t have the $$ to produce the item and even if I did, I have no idea where to go to have it developed and produced.  I would be interested in licensing the idea/product if I knew where to find bona fide interest in that as well.  I`m stuck!

 

Can anyone point me in the direction I need to go?

 

THANKS A MILLION!!

Toni

Toni,

There are a several possible directions for getting your product out there. Each one has it`s pluses and minuses.

 

The first step is to be clear on what you want. If you send me a PM we can have a dialog on that point.

Toni,

 

You will need to take a step back and plan on putting just as much effort into preparing not only your product but also yourself as if you were going to launch this product on your own.  Just as you would prepare a product for a product launch into retail, you have to put just as much effort into your licensing strategy for your product.  Do you have samples?  Prototypes?  Have you developed any packaging concepts?  Logo?  Trademark? Business Cards? Sales Sheet?  What will the product cost be to manufacture?  Is it a plastic product, textile, etc.?  If its a plastic product you will want to find out how much tooling would cost?  What margins would the licensee work off of potentially for a retail launch?  So on, and so on.  Just by figuring out the cost of the product and working in the margins as to what a company would sell this for into retail will automatically allow you to forecast your royatly rates.  If I have a landed cost of $10.00 per piece and I forecast a markup of say 75 up then I know I will be looking at a $17.50 wholesale selling price.  Usually a reasonable royalty rate will be around 6% based on the net selling price.  So all in all you would be looking at recieving around $1.05 per piece in royalties.  Before you start contacting these companies you have to look like you did your homework.  The product has to look like its ready to rock and roll.  There is so much more to this but hopefully this will help.

 

Best wishes,

 

Michael

Wow!  Seems a bit overwhelming when you put it that way!  If a person hasn`t done this before, where on earth do you start?  I have the patent, the prototype, the "name", and a ppt of the functionality of the item and the target audience.  Looks like I need to do a bit more prep.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Toni

It can seem a bit overwhelming but dont let that deter you from moving forward.  You just need to take things one step at a time and have clear cut attainable tasks.  Licensing is not easy and takes a lot of patience and a great product but it can be successful and I would encourage you to just make sure you are prepared before picking up the phone and getting a decision maker on the line.  I have been inolved in the sales and marketing of products for a long time and have launched many successful products.  I have also licensed many products as well, and how I have always been successful is not letting my mind drift into the "licensing" mentaility but rather preparing the product in the same fashion as if I were preparing for a meeting with a major buyer.  If you need any help I would be more than happy to walk you through the steps.  So, you have the patent (check).  So do you have a "working" prototype and is it presentable? 

 

Michael

Hi Toni. Not sure what market your idea is in, but I am always looking for ideas to license in certain markets.  Specifically ideas that are; around the house - problem solver type or those that help people, especially out aging population.  If your idea fits either of these criteria, I would be interested in speaking with you.

 

Thanks  Doug