Create for Cash Blog - Creative Marketing

Product Entrepreneur – Inventor’s Notebook

An inventor’s notebook, or also called a logbook, is a special notebook designed for inventors to keep track of all of the details of their invention. This has always been important in the U.S. because we’ve always been a first to invent country. But that will all change on March 16, 2013 when the America Invents Act kicks in.

The first to invent means that the inventor has conceived and “reduced to practice” their idea. So, until March 16, 2012 the inventor’s notebook will be critical. Even after that date, keeping an inventor’s notebook will still add value to your invention. Why wouldn’t you do it anyway? It’s free. And just added proof that the idea is yours and you have been actively working to get it on the market.

You can technically use any kind of bound notebook that can’t be changed or altered, but I like to use ones like The Inventor’s Logbook: An Essential Record Keeping System It includes everything you need to know to document your idea and shows you how to do it step by step.
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Product Entrepreneurs

I just got back last week from speaking at the ASD international retail conference in Vegas. The speech was on using innovation for competitive advantage. I was happy to see such a good turn out, not just for my speech, but for the whole conference.

ASD is a consumer goods trade show, which is actually 6 shows in 1. Gift, fashion, jewelry, health, beauty, and toys/novelty. It was a huge gathering of manufacturers from around the world and was hard to take in the whole show in one day.

What surprised me as I walked the show was the number of products that have been on the market for years that I’ve never heard of. Like the all natural, non toxic insect repelling Bug Button and Super Band. Or the Chillit Bags beverage coolers.

Then there were the new products like Kisstixx. Dallas Robinson and Mike Buonomo were big winners on Shark Tank when one of the sharks, Mark Cuban, took a liking to their products and made them partners. Kisstixx is a great example of putting a new twist on an old idea, chap stick. The idea is that a chemical reaction is created from two different flavors when 2 people kiss. Their new product is just as cool…breath spray that does the same thing. Even without the kissing partner, their chap stick is the best I’ve ever tried. I met them at their booth at the show and they are genuinely nice, down to earth guys. I wish them the best. [Read more…] about Product Entrepreneurs

How to Market Like a Jack Russell

For anyone that’s ever had a Jack Russell and given them a task to do, you know that they absolutely won’t quit until they figure it out. I had a Jack Russell named Chloe, that I nicknamed Houdini. She could figure out how to get into or out of anything. I still don’t know how she managed to get out of her locked crate.

I once put a treat just out of reach of her on top of a pile of boxes, and watched to see if she could get it. She tried jumping at it, but that didn’t work. She tried climbing on a table and leaping in the air to get it, but that didn’t work. For at least a couple of hours, she tried every clever way she could think of to get that treat. There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ to Chloe. She was going to get that treat. She eventually used a nearby broom and pushed the top box off.

If you want to market your product, service, or business, you have to think like Chloe. You have to market like a Jack Russell. Most things you do probably won’t work on the first try. You might get lucky once, but marketing is an ongoing process. You can’t just set it and forget it. [Read more…] about How to Market Like a Jack Russell

Online and Offline Business Synergy

According to Wikipedia, synergy is defined as “two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable alone”. It comes from the Greek word synergia, which means “working together”.

There are only so many hours in a day, and only so far you can take your business before you start to burn out. That’s when you might want to think about partnering up for some added business synergy. If you’re a new company, with new products, you need to pay your dues a little and earn some ‘street cred’ before you start approaching others for a joint venture. Everyone will want to know that you’re trustworthy, and that your products do what they say they will first.

They’ll want to make sure you’re not a scammer, flake, or con artist. They’ll want to make sure you have more Facebook friends than just your mom and your best friend, and that you have a good understanding of how business works. In other words, their reputation is at stake. After all, they’ll be introducing you to their inner circle of a few hundred or a few hundred thousand buddies, and they don’t want to be embarrassed. So, make sure you’re ready.

I’ve spent the past year and a half putting together several great products. Everything I do is geared towards the entrepreneur in some way, even if it’s how to get a job the entrepreneurial way. [Read more…] about Online and Offline Business Synergy

The Art of Starting Over

How many times have you started over? It could be a business that went south or a health issue that resurfaced, or a relationship/marriage that ended. Everyone’s been through something. You go through a loss. You feel like a failure. Basically, it sucks!

I’ve never seen so much starting over as I have the past few years. I’ve never started over so much myself as I have the past few years. As an entrepreneur you are always starting over. It’s just part of the process. But it’s never been so deep and so difficult for so long before. Dusting yourself off and getting back into the game is what an entrepreneur does. In fact, I would say this is the most important quality you need if you’re going to be an an entrepreneur. Tenacity. [Read more…] about The Art of Starting Over

Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?

It’s 9:30 at night and here I am still working. I was invited to go to a party, but had to turn it down because I still have orders to box up and writing that needs to be finished. That’s been happening a lot lately. Glad that there is work, but when you run a business there is always work to be done. It never ends. It made me wonder “Are entrepreneurs happier than employees?”

The other day I was invited to lunch. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to take a real lunch in the middle of the day that wasn’t eaten at my desk. I’m kind of hoping for a little stability right now, so I can take even an hour off and do something, like watch a movie. It’s times like this that I envy my friends that have real jobs. Okay, I don’t envy them too much because they’re sitting in cubicles all day being told what to do. Just a little stability would be nice.

A recent Gallup poll reveals how Americans feel about their jobs and how happy they are with them. 71% of Americans are not engaged in their work. In other words, they are emotionally disconnected from their jobs. This means they’re also more likely to be more unproductive when they are at work. [Read more…] about Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?

Are You Brave Enough to be an Entrepreneur?

I just found out that I was quoted in a Romanian textbook on entrepreneurship. Hhmm… Romania of all places. The quote had something to do with entrepreneurs being risk takers, a trait that all of us in that club share.

Create Your Own Job

I used to think that anyone could be an entrepreneur. Now I’m not so sure. I do a live and online webinar/seminar called “Create Your Own Job” and it’s all about creating jobs the entrepreneurial way. Not about how to start a business, but how to create unique jobs.

As I talk to people to get their input, I’m struck by how many people are afraid of taking even the tiniest risk. Terrified of picking up the phone to call a stranger or doing anything beyond their comfort zone. Many would rather wait until they get a job where someone else tells them what to do and how to do it. Even if it takes months of looking. Even if they have to take a job they hate for low wages. [Read more…] about Are You Brave Enough to be an Entrepreneur?

Are Your Customers Getting the Red Carpet Treatment?

Have you ever called someone, and as soon as you say who you are you hear a letdown in their voice, like they were expecting the lottery committee, but instead they got a telemarketer? What if it had been Brad Pitt or… fill in the blank with your favorite celebrity. Which way do you treat your customers? Are your customers getting the red carpet treatment?

After working in the entertainment industry for many years I’ve seen the lowliest nobody suddenly being hounded by everybody once they make it to a certain level. And the same people turn on a dime when they are no longer in that position. And it’s happened to me twice. The first time I was hosting a TV show and working behind the scenes in the role of producer. Saturday Night Live was at its peak and we had some of their writers writing the show. Broadway dancers doing the introduction. And Billy Joel’s arranger writing the music for my segment.

It was great. I was fielding calls from people I never imagined I would even be able to get on the phone. And they wanted to be in our TV pilot. I also got tickets to just about anything I wanted to see on Broadway. Shows I could never afford on an actor/waiter’s salary. Tickets to the hottest parties in town and dinners in the nicest restaurants. People were thrilled when I called, or at least they acted like they were. [Read more…] about Are Your Customers Getting the Red Carpet Treatment?

Is the Entrepreneurial Spirit Dead?

I’ve agonized about putting up this post because the last think I want to do is kill the entrepreneurial spirit. Life is hard enough for the entrepreneur, but with 80,000 pages of new regulations coming out every year in America it’s getting harder to keep that spirit alive.

You know the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, it appears the only people who can do that are the ones that teams of lawyers and employees ready to deal with the mountain of paperwork and regulations they will have to abide by.

When I read this article, it really made me sad:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/08/03/the-inexplicable-war-on-lemonade-stands/

A lemonade stand was really the very first business I ever had. In fact, this is the first introduction many kids have to running a business. [Read more…] about Is the Entrepreneurial Spirit Dead?

What I Would Tell a Young Up and Coming Entrepreneur

Lately I’ve been giving some advice to a young up and coming entrepreneur. She doesn’t yet know that she’s an entrepreneur. But I know the traits when I see them. Fearless, determined, not afraid of hard work, not afraid of doing any kind of work, and focused.

Young up and coming entrepreneur

If you’re still a kid I’m assuming you live at home with parents or someone that pays all of your bills. Except for school you’ll have plenty of time on your hands. And plenty of energy. Take advantage of it now. You’re going to need it. Entrepreneurs work very long hours. Unless you’re lucky enough to stumble on a great idea that makes you a fortune quickly, (don’t count on it) you’re going to have to work for years before your business takes off in a big way. Ask any successful business owner how long it took before they got their first vacation or day off.

When I was 16 I opted for a half day of school and then went straight to work in the afternoon. When that shift was finished I went to the mall and worked another job. I worked another part-time job selling Avon on the weekends. And I still made pretty decent grades.

I never cared that much about school at the time because I think deep down I always knew what I wanted to do. And there wasn’t anything I could learn in school that would prepare me to be an entrepreneur. Before you think I’m trashing education, I’m not. I believe you should learn every day of your life. I just don’t think college is for everyone. Especially an entrepreneur. If your career path is doctor, lawyer, scientist or engineer that’s a different story.

Remember the up and coming entrepreneur I was telling you about? She has over $100,000 in student loans to pay off and she’s working a minimum wage job that isn’t even close to what she got a degree in. I live next to a large college and I hear that same story all the time. If she had put $100,000 into a business she would be making a lot more than minimum wage by now. And wouldn’t be paying off debt. [Read more…] about What I Would Tell a Young Up and Coming Entrepreneur