Probably the biggest mistake of a new inventor, that I see all the time, is not following through on his or her idea.

He or she comes up with an innovative idea, many times related to his or her own industry or hobby. The person confidentially tells me about the invention. I encourage he or she to take the next step (such as documenting their concept). But, months or years later, when our paths cross again, the person has failed to act.

Time is one of your biggest enemies. Sometimes the invention is the solution to a current problem. Waiting too long can minimize (or, worse yet, obsolete) the value or saleability of your invention.

Example: I own a George Foreman Grill, and love cooking with it. However, I hate to clean it. Back in 2003, I did a little research — and found that over 40 million George Foreman Grills have been sold. I assumed many other people also hated cleaning this nifty device. And I wanted to invent something that would quickly capture this market (before someone else thought of how to do it). So I did.

My U.S patent, entitled “Grill Cleaner and Method”, takes care of the problem. The Abstract of my patent reads: “A method of cleaning electric grills including wetting a sheet of fluid-absorbent material constructed to conform to the wave-like contours of the upper and lower heating platters of a typical electric grill, and inserting the wetted material in between the electric grill’s heating platters.” In essence, it’s a near-automatic way to clean the grill. Neat, huh?

Moral of the story: If you’re pretty sure you have a great idea, don’t procrastinate. Go for it. Stay tuned for other posts where I’ll describe how to take action on your idea.

– Eric