How many times have you watched Shark Tank, or gone to the store and seen a product on the shelf that made you scratch your head and say, “DAMMIT! WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?!”
Or worse yet — you go to the store, and see something that you’d already thought of, in some form or fashion, but never executed on.
Hey! That’s my idea!!!!
It’s literally like someone is STEALING money from you. It sucks.
Of course, the barriers to getting our ideas out of our heads and onto store shelves is usually a combination of factors:
- We don’t know if our idea is any good
- We think we need a lot of money to get it made
- We’re scared to share it with people or companies because they might “steal” it
- We get overwhelmed by things we don’t know (“Do I need a patent, business plan, investors, etc?!”)
The reality is that oftentimes, these barriers are very easy to overcome with just a little guidance from the right person.
That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce you to my friend, Stephen Key.
Stephen Key
Stephen is the New York Times Bestselling author of One Simple Idea: Turn Your Idea into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do The Work.
What is licensing, you ask? Licensing is the process by which you (the inventor) come up with an idea or concept for a product, then simply sell that idea to a company and collect the royalties every single time they sell one.
HOLY CRAP. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE.
Whenever I think about inventors, I always picture Edison toiling in his lab for 25 years trying to create a lightbulb.
You’re telling me there’s a way to invent something by simply selling an idea without doing any of the other hard stuff….and make money?
Ok, you have my attention.
Now, let’s back it up…
When I first heard about Stephen’s concepts — and the ideas behind licensing ideas, even I was skeptical. Could it really be that easy? (I address that concern within the first 30 seconds!) The truth is, Stephen has spent nearly 30 years creating a step-by-step system for coming up with great product ideas and selling them to companies that’s easy to understand, repeatable, and (when you get it right) insanely profitable.
Along the way, he’s invented and licensed a ton of cool ideas. Oh, you know, little things like Lazer Tag and Teddy Ruxbin. Basically, my entire childhood.
Watch today’s interview courtesy of my partnership with The Lip TV, where Stephen and I dig deep into how he’s made MILLIONS over the years by coming up with simple ideas, selling them and collecting huge royalties.
Specifically, you’ll learn:
- 1:46 — Why you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to come up with a profitable idea
- 3:20 — The biggest mistakes that beginning entrepreneurs make (which ones are you making?)
- 6:39 — How to find “sleeping dinosaur” ideas for new products by simply going to the store
- 9:30 — How Stephen made one simple “tweak” to an existing idea and earned millions
- 14:01 — How to determine which companies to call, and who to talk to
- 14:44 — The real reason why companies don’t want to steal your ideas
- 18:43 — The exact cost you’ll incur to create a new idea, from beginning to end (it’s way lower than you think)
- Much, much more on how to invent something that makes you money
I’m really excited for you to see this interview. It was one of my favorites I’ve ever done.
Leave a comment and pass this around!
Naturally, I don’t expect you to put any of your top secret product ideas below — but I am curious — have you ever seen a product in the store that you’d previously invented “in your head” and thought “Hey, that’s my idea!!”
If so, what was it?
Let me know below!
PS — Know somebody who’s completely lost working on a project or developing an idea? If you think this might help them, share it with them. Thanks 🙂
PPS — Special shout out to my friend Viktor for helping to set this interview up! Thanks, man!
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