Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m a lifelong computer geek.  All my education, all my career experience, all of it centers around playing with things, predicting trends, writing software, and basically anything and everything involving technology.  It`s kind of a pain, really, because "I build web sites" has really become a commodity, and having 10 years experience at it is no more valuable than having 2 years (although I`m sure people would debate that with me).  I have a full time job working in the web space, though I`m well aware that my current career path will never make me an entrepreneur.

So anyway, here`s my question.  Twice recently I`ve had ideas for products that are entirely out of my skillset.  Both are more in the category of materials manipulation  (one for a children`s craft, one for a type of functional jewelry).  Neither is technical at all, they both fall under the category of "I`ve never seen that before, and I think it would be useful to me/my family."

What I`m torn on is, now what?  Ideas are worth a dollar, implementations of ideas are worth a million dollars.  But I have nothing that will get me toward implementing either idea -- not the knowledge of what to do first, nor the resources to get it done, nor the connections to do something with it once they`re made.

Optimistically I know what to do -- by any means necessary get some sort of prototype created, preferably a bunch of them, and then get them used by people.  Preferably sell them at a local show or something to generate a few bucks to offset the costs of building them in the first place.  Test them out, see if the design works or it has to be tweaked.  Repeat.  Put up web site.  Market heavily.  Make million dollars.  :)  One of them I`m pretty sure I could mock up in my kitchen, but the other might just be a pipe dream.

But pessimistically I tell myself that will take time and money, neither of which I have much of, for potentially no gain.  I have no expertise in the area at all, so there might be something glaringly obvious that will cause the whole idea to fail that I`m simply not seeing.  Or, worse, that the idea already exists and I just haven`t seen it yet.

So maybe I`m just rambling because I`m bored here at work, but I figured I`d throw my situation out there and see what sort of advice people might have? 




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Personal: http://www.morinfamily.com/blog
Geeky: http://duanesbrain.blogspot.com
Shakespeare: http://suchshakespearestuff.blogspot.com

"Surround yourself with successful people and you too will be successful."

Can`t recall who said that but it`s true here and in many cases. I`ve been in your boat before and i found that working with someone with experience in the industry you are trying to break into helps a lot. If you can`t find anyone to work with then it`s up to you to learn about the industry, educate yourself on the ins and outs and become someone who can talk the talk, then find people to help you walk the walk.

You won`t be able to do it alone, you will need others to help you. This forum is a great way to find those people but the other way is to start talking to people about your idea. Get their interest and who knows someone might say "you know BardStuff, you really need to talk to my friend SomeDude, i think he/she can really help you out!".

It`s all about the networking!

Just because your professional/educational experience does not match your current idea of yourself and your goals, does not mean that these new concepts are not your skill set...I believe we have skills in many, many areas.

Think about Steve jobs...he too was a geek, but when conceptualizing the MAC, he wanted a machine that could emulate typography and design disciplines.  He certainly wasn`t a graphic designer....and look!


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Kim
the-petset.com
blogfabulous.com

I`m often in the same situation as you are, BardStuff.
My recommendation is try to put together a team with members that are strong where you are weak.
If that seems impossible, keep plugging away at it. I feel, like Kim, that there`s probably nothing you can`t do, if you`re open to learning and... making lots of mistakes.

Matt

And asking for help when you don`t know how to do something...that is my biggest flaw.  I`m so protective of my concept that sometimes I keep others at a distance...not good...you need the expertise and energy of others.


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Kim
the-petset.com
blogfabulous.com

Mistakes cost time and money, though.  It`s quite possible that I just don`t have the stuff to be an entrepreneur.  I could go google right now for half a dozen "entrepreneurial IQ" quizzes out there and probably fail all of them on that point.  "Is your passion for your idea enough to fuel you through the tough times?" 

Not when it involves feeding my children, or failing to do so.  Nope, nosirree bob.  Give me a fulltime salary and health insurance any day.

Then again, maybe this just isn`t the idea for me, and the right idea, the one that will keep me up at night toiling away until it`s done, just hasn`t crossed my brain yet.



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Personal: http://www.morinfamily.com/blog
Geeky: http://duanesbrain.blogspot.com
Shakespeare: http://suchshakespearestuff.blogspot.com

Here`s the biggest question...is there a market for it?  There are millions of ideas out there but only so many of them are marketable.  Do some research.  Talk to people who aren`t in your family or circle of friends and ask them what they think of the idea. 

(You`re probably concerned with `non-disclosure` but it`s extremely...highly unlikely that someone else will take your idea and run with it.  One marketing professor I had said, "I don`t care how novel an idea is...someone has already had it!  It`s just not that unique!) 

If you get a good response from people, find out how much they`d be willing to pay for it?  Does the profit margin fit your needs?  What % of the people you talked with say they would definitely buy it? 

You might dream up a product that would return 1000% profit but if you don`t sell any, it`s just not worth the effort.  If the numbers still look good to you, grab a pencil and a napkin and start writing a plan.  Nothing complicated, just a basic strategy for how you can make this work.

I think I`ve given you enough to do for now.  When you get all that done, come back to the forums and we`ll have some more advice for ya!

- Ryan J
Marketing Consultant: StarPointe Marketing



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Ryan J StarPointe Marketing Website Development, Hosting & Marketing Consulting

I have this problem constantly. I even create mock-ups of my
ideas, when I can. Like you said, sometimes I don`t have the
skill set required… as simple as it may be. When I talk to
friends, (I haven`t many) they generally agree about my
concepts. OK, there were a few that bombed. But, no one is
handing out money to hire the appropriate candiate. And even
if they did, I don`t think I could pay a corporate rate for the
missing skill set. I REALLY know nothing is free in life. I am
willing to pay for there time, but I would be happy to find
someone with the skills that are not earning $75K a year.
There`s a reason he earns that amount. He`s too good for me.
::::::: I remember when I was an aspiring musician… (I did well
for a while by the way) I would have done anything to play in
front of an audience. I knew people who just loved to mix the
sound. I know there must be unused talent from people who
are as I was. Although, now it might be a producer of music or
artist I am looking for. It is frustrating.

What I do is take all my good ideas and file them with any
samples I may have created. Every six months of so, I look into
the files and remember the ideas. I then asses my current
friends and decide if there is someone new I could talk to. Of
course, my small friend circle is not enough resource.
Sometimes I talk to strangers about what they enjoy doing. If
our conversation leads to a new contact for me… then GREAT.

The bottom line, don`t forget the ideas and continue to
investigate new methods of accomplishing them.

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

I`m gonna throw you a curve that doesn`t fit Marketing 101, Ryan -- the target audience would be about 3 years old.  Hard to poll them.  You have to make one, put it in their hands, and see if they play with it.  And as the parent of one, trust me, you can`t simply ask mom and dad if their child will like it.  More often than not toy buying is hit or miss, you buy what you think is nice and then stand over the child saying, "Do you like it?  Oh look, she likes it."

But I`ll make you a deal.  I`ll see if I can mockup one of them, and see if my daughter likes it.  If it`s not a nightmare to create, and she does like it, I`ll make up a dozen and donate them to her preschool class and see what kind of response I get.  (The good thing about the toy is that it`s non-durable.  Is that the word I`m looking for?  You play with it long enough, it runs out, you have to buy more.)  Best result is that the teacher says "Wow they loved that" and the kids all tell their parents "Look at this cool new thing" and then the parents hunt me down looking to buy them :).  Worst case I just can`t make them en masse and that`s the end of that.

d




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Personal: http://www.morinfamily.com/blog
Geeky: http://duanesbrain.blogspot.com
Shakespeare: http://suchshakespearestuff.blogspot.com