At some stage you will probably wish to discuss your idea with a third party. This could be informally, such as seeking advice or encouragement from friends or family, or formally, by hiring a professional consultant, or forming a partnership or joint venture with another company.
Remember, once you put an idea into the public domain it can no longer be considered confidential or a trade secret. You should therefore take steps to protect your intellectual property.
Intellectual property
Your intellectual property is what sets you apart from competitors. It could be your company brand, invention, design or creative work. Protecting your intellectual property makes strong business sense.
There are several legal ways to do this:
- trademarks restrict others from using your brand or logo
copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works - patents protect inventions
- design rights and registration protect a product’s appearance
If you form a partnership or joint venture, draw up a contract defining who owns the idea and what the share of future profits will be.
You must seek professional legal advice before taking any final decisions. A good place to start is by contacting your local Business Link.
Test the market
Product testing is important throughout the design process. While you are developing your product or service it’s a good idea to keep testing the market to make sure you are still on the right track. You can do this by using:
- Focus groups – ask small groups of your target customers what they want from your product or service.
- Questionnaires – try to get as wide a sample as possible.
- Prototypes – show an early version of your product to customers. You may find that your prototype will go through several stages of development as you refine your idea.
- You may need to respond to suggestions from users by modifying the design. Don’t be discouraged, as most successful entrepreneurs do not view this as a failure, but as a learning curve.
It’s a good idea to send your product to a large or very reputable organisation. A positive testimonial will prove invaluable as you approach other customers.
You may want to consider testing even after your product goes on sale. Ongoing contact with customers can uncover both the shortcomings of your product and possible opportunities that you may have missed.
Once you have a final product, you can then set about building a brand. A brand includes everything that is visible to the customer, such as the product name, its packaging and its delivery.
You also need to consider your pricing policy. You need to price all the materials, other inputs, machinery, processes and administrative time realistically. You will need to research different suppliers and the cost of marketing and distribution. Then check on the price at which your competitors are selling to customers. You can determine the price of your product or service so that it is attractive to customers and you make a profit.
Provided by Business Link