- Business, General

Why It’s Important To Prototype Your Ideas

Too many entrepreneurs, if they have a good idea, try and make it happen by going”ready, aim, aim, aim” and never get around to firing.  Or if they do, it’s too late and no one is interested.

When you have an idea that you want to make actual, there are several ways to go about it which can be summed up in just two alternatives: you can study it to death, or try something out and see whether it works.  The one drains your time, money and energy, the second momentum that leads to more time, money and energy.  Ideas have quite brief half-lives if you do not do anything together.  Get out of “analysis paralysis” by adopting a mindset of quick prototyping, as the initial step to getting the idea from their mind to the real world.

How to simulate your thoughts quickly and efficiently

1.  Get your hands right away!

When you get an idea, make a means to make it happen, as soon as possible.  If you sit on the ideas are of no worth!  It, tape it together, slap a web site up, telephone a pizza and beer party to test out the ideas.  There are several methods to gather a design a mockup, a picture, a drawing, or a different kind of prototype which spark their interest and you can reveal to people to get their opinions.  Get your hands filthy, brainstorm and make it happen now, in whatever form!  If you do not move in a notion right away ideas have half-lives that are measured in minutes, it loses momentum and fades away, replaced with the day’s tedious distractions.  Your ideas are important! 

2.  Get comments and take notes 

Get a lot of people involved with providing you feedback about your idea.  Remember: the purpose of prototyping is to assemble information.  This isn’t a permanent, continuing project which you’re building to earn money.  Should you earn money off the model, great!  But that should not be your objective, because in that case, individuals are less interested in participating.  Feedback – notes – opinions – conversation – discussion – debate: find out exactly what folks are thinking!  Get into their heads!  Ask questions.  Invite feedback.  Invite everyone (including your opponents!  – and do not make them sign confidentiality agreements!).

3.  Make it Fun!  Create a buzz

Turn the prototyping experience into an adventure, a special occasion!  This is an ideal time to create momentum around your idea in a manner that doesn’t have the responsibility of commercial transactions.  Clients need to go through it is not worth doing!  Ideas are about passion. If you aren’t passionate about your idea, it expires.  It expires if your customers aren’t passionate about your idea.  Make it fun!  Set a fire in it!

4.  Let people know that this is a work-in-progress, plus they have the chance to shape it.

Ensure it is somewhat rough, but create the center content of high quality and very appealing.  Don’t be polished.  Individuals will believe that the choices are made and there is no room for their input if it is polished.  If you present too slick of a model, folks will think it is a final item, and any aspects they don’t enjoy will flip them off, rather than encouraging them to step forward and suggest ideas – generating a greater sense of attachment out of them to your idea.  The greater a sense of ownership they have on your idea, the more they are going to want to encourage its success.

5.  Respond to notions 

There ought to be a quick feedback loop between thought and actualization.  Responding to ideas fast communicates to your clients that you hear them and appreciate them.  The response ensures that the idea stall does not lose momentum and die.  “Fail Forward Fast” – The quicker you can work out the bugs of your idea in the real world, the faster your idea will succeed.

6.  Do not have an attachment to effects 

Prototyping is similar to an experiment.  You can expect certain effects, but if you were convinced that the outcomes would happen for sure are you currently prototyping anyways?  You will discover that what you propose generates no interest.  You may be late, or too early, or maybe not focusing on the folks.  Then that is okay if your investment is low.  Learn from failure and success, and use the lessons to make your next idea.  Don’t be attached to outcomes – let yourself be surprised.

Why Prototypes Are Important

Don’t underestimate the power of prototyping.  Too often the benefits of prototyping an invention are played down or entirely disregarded when “experts” take into the matter.  But turning your idea is probably the most significant part of inventing.  And if you’re unsure here are five reasons 

1.  It makes patenting easier 

For almost 100 decades, our culture has seemingly indoctrinated us in TV, novels, and films to think that we must patent our ideas instantly, lest they fall to the wayside or be stolen.  It’s a costly and complex process turn into a patent and to have a rough idea, so you wouldn’t want to enter that $10,000-plus stadium without being prepared?

Before 1880 you needed to have a prototype constructed before it could be patented.  While it’s not required a prototype is a good way to prove that it was constructed by you first.  Additionally, building your idea flushes out the benefits and attributes which might not have been evident from the rough idea stage.  You can patent that which may give the best protection in the long run.

The entire process of building a prototype will greatly help you in writing, drawing and preparing your patent documents, which may save a great deal of cash.

2.  Smooth out your invention’s design

Once you construct your idea into a prototype, now you can test it in real-life scenarios and keep an eye outside for design or concept flaws.  Some might want to go down the route of building a “virtual prototype”  Now there are a whole lot of benefits to having an artist produce a 3D rendition of your product — you can easily present it to potential buyers, you can find a low-cost notion of how it will look when it is built and you can decide on visual attributes of this product — however, a “virtual model” can not be analyzed in actual life.  Remember, the real world and the digital world are different and 3D drawings don’t account for everything.

Also, this is a great time to work the aesthetics of a product, creating it for the ideal user.  By way of instance, you wish to make sure its size is not threatening or too large if the consumer is going to be a child.  Alternately you want it to be durable when the user is a mechanic.

Again, each of these tweaks and these can help you out when patenting, since you understand exactly what to draw up and what the benefits are of these features, which did not exist as it was in its conceptual phase.

3.  Prototypes determine the process that is production 

Eventually, whether it’s the individual who you manage to sell the idea to, somebody is going to have to manufacture your invention.  Prototyping helps you determine what processes will be required.  Can it be injection molded, ultrasonically welded or die-cut?

Perhaps you have to ascertain a new production technique to build your creation, but you would need to know all of this before a manufacturer or a company will probably get on board with your project.

4.  Determine the right price

The only way to truly get an understanding of what the item will cost to manufacture is by design it with Precise Design.  As with understanding how it will be manufactured, you’ll know what types of materials you’ll use or what the materials to construct it will cost.

When prototyping, take into consideration the price point that you want to meet.  Of course, this will have begun in design, but after you will realize you want to construct it.  It is a fantastic time to analyze the design and find ways it could be altered to meet the price of manufacturing.  And, until you patent as you’d be doing this, you are going to save yourself by not needing to file an amendment or a second patent.

5.  It makes it easier to sell or license 

With a prototype prepared, you will not only be able to clarify what the qualities and benefits of your invention are but also can enter the numbers to explain the costs of fabricating, how it will be built, etc..  This demonstrates professionalism and businesses respect it.  A lot of well-meaning individuals have filed thoughts as just paper drawings or even hard-to-interpret patents, but using the prototype prepared to proceed — a bonus when you have sample packaging — means that a lot.

There is also the fun factor when introducing a real, working prototype.  They have something.  This gets marketing people when considering how to market and exhibit it going.  It lets everyone decide for themselves the legitimacy of your undertaking and manage it.  Demonstrations sell.