Wouldn’t life be easier if we all had a money tree growing just outside our window? Well sadly, money trees, like unicorns and dragons, are just things in stories. So being smart with your money is important! Inventors don’t have a money tree, or unlimited funds! Make your money count.

Avoid Unnecessary Spending

I hate it when inventors come to me after they have just been throwing money down a black hole. It happens all the time. While you can correct most mistakes in the inventing realm with more money, most inventors don’t have unlimited resources or limitless family backing. So you need to be smart and use funds wisely.

The best way to avoid the black money hole is to start using quality advice from the very beginning. Go to our resource guide, The Inventors Galaxy Guide, and download it.  It is filled with conservative and straight forward advice on determining the costs associated with the process. And it will help you decide what you are willing to spend on those steps before you have wasted money and made costly mistakes. 

Minimizing the Risk

1. When you do your own searching, be honest with yourself.  Really look for competitive products.  Most inventors have blinders on when they search for other products in the marketplace.  Don’t do that.  Be tough on yourself.  It could save you a TON of money. 
2. Don’t search just the USPTO patent database and assume you have it all.  This is a mistake.  There is a 2 and a half year blind spot. 
3. Don’t use just the Google patents search engine.  While it is a good tool, the actual searching mechanism is weak and you will only find about a third of what is there.
4. Remember that there has to be an international component to your searching.  If your product has been done anywhere in the world, you will not be granted a US patent.  This has nothing to do with where you plan to sell and everything to do with prior art. 

When you are done with the searching you are willing to do, get an independent comprehensive search done.  It might very well be the best money you spend in this process for a variety of reasons.  The most important component of searching is to give you a sense of what has been done before and what you might be able to do next.

Success Even Without A Money Tree

Ok, so we have established that inventors don’t have a money tree, or unlimited funding to get their idea from mind to market. But that doesn’t mean success is futile. There are ways to find success. If funding is a problem for you, like it is for most, be sure to check out our sister company, Archimedes’ Offspring. The website is http://www.archimedesoffspring.com.