Within the last couple of weeks, I heard basically the same comment from the CEO of a major consumer products corporation and the owner of a small specialty toy store. To paraphrase: "We have to continue innovating--doing things faster, better and cheaper--or the competition will eat us up."
As inventors, you'll likely greet that statement with approval--and skepticism. Sometimes it's tough to believe that innovation is so critical to business success when it's hard to get anyone to even look at your ideas, let alone license them. But innovation is critical--and you are needed.
What can make your inventing more productive is to stay in touch with trends and look for the open doors. It's always easier to invent into a growth category or market. Take the recent explosion of dollar stores as one such market. With over 16,000 stores across the country and $16 billion in annual sales, dollar stores are the most rapidly growing segment of retail. And they're now attracting the dollars of not just lower-income shoppers but middle-class Americans. In fact, the highest rate of growth was among shoppers with household incomes of $70,000 and above.
The trend is so noticeable that mass market giants like Wal-Mart and Target have introduced dollar sections in their stores. Product companies are responding in kind. Major consumer goods companies such as Procter and Gamble are developing products specifically for this channel. An opportunity for innovation?
The true genius of inventing is not just coming up with an innovative idea, but coming up with that idea at the right time and for the right market. Our hope with Big Idea's Scoop is to help make you aware of trends, opportunities and resources to focus your inventing. The savvier you are, the easier our job is in licensing your inventions and the more sales your product will realize. That's the kind of win-win situation that everyone--including a corporate CEO and a small specialty retailer--would like.
Think innovation. Think BIG.
Mike Collins |
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Big Idea Group was created by Michael Collins. Mr. Collins is an inventor and serial entrepreneur. Mr. Collins has an undergraduate degree in engineering from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He founded Kid Galaxy, a specialty toy company and producer of the award-winning Bendos line. Mr. Collins is a frequent speaker on the business of innovation, appearing at industry conventions, university forums, and inventor groups. He can be contacted at