You've no doubt heard the statistic: less than 5% of inventors ever make a profit from their invention.

Discouraging, huh?

I don't have to tell you that inventing is risky – you already know that. There are countless articles written about how to “‘increase your chances for success.”

What about ways to decrease your chances of failing?

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Decrease Your Chances of Losing

I know what you are thinking – this is just semantics – decreasing your chances of losing is the same as increasing your chances of winning.

But, it's not. Really. Let me illustrate with a gambling example.

Let's say you're in Las Vegas for a business convention. You've got the evening off, so what do you do? You decide to try your luck in a casino, right? Who knows, you might just win…

Almost every non-professional gambler focuses on increasing their chances of winning. (A “professional” gambler is the rare person who actually makes more money than they lose at gambling.)

Perhaps your game of choice is slot machines. You just love the thrill of hearing the bells ringing and seeing lights flash when you hit the “jackpot” – even thought the jackpot may be only $5 – right after you've already spent $15.

But, if your focus is on increasing your chances of winning, you'll be doing all sorts of observations and calculations in your mind.

You'll note machines that just paid off and avoid them – surely it will be a long time before they pay off again you reason. Maybe you'll select a machine near the entrance or exit of the casino – since those machines are often the first or last ones people play. If they have more money in them, maybe you'll hit a big jackpot. Right?

Here is the flaw in your logic – you're attempting to optimize your chances for winning – while playing the lowest paying game in the casino!

If your focus was, instead, upon decreasing your chances of losing, you'd ask yourself a different question – which game gives the house the lowest chances to win?

The answer is clearly the table games of either black jack or craps.

No matter how much you like the thrill of the slot machines, you'd never play them again. Then, a second question might be, “which game is the easiest to play?”. Answer: black jack. It is you against the dealer trying to draw 21 points without going over or “busting.” 

How does this apply for an inventor?

Enough gambling analogies. How do you use this thought process – reducing your chances for losing – to your benefit as an inventor?

Here are three ways.

Way 1: Avoid High-Risk Inventions

What do I mean by high-risk inventions? Simply put, some categories of products are higher risk than others. Inventing is already a risky game, so why place your bets (oops more Las Vegas punditry) on especially risky products?

Here are some high risk inventions:

  • Seasonal products – retailers prefer products that can be sold year round
  • Niche products – golf and tennis are great games, but not everyone plays
  • Board games and games in general – demand is very fickle, remember the fidget spinner?
  • Business to business and industrial products – higher price tag, hard sell

What are some great product categories – Pet toys, kitchen items of all types, home improvement and auto items. When in doubt, follow the advice of the funny AT&T commercialstay in your lane, bro!

Way 2: Try to ‘disqualify' your product – before you spend money on it

Do your due diligence.

Before you spend any money on your invention idea, actively try to disqualify it by doing your due diligence. Look everywhere for similar products: Amazon, HSN, QVC, Alibaba, retail stores, and other online retailers.

There are good chances you just might find something already out there just like your invention idea. While this may be your greatest fear as an inventor – it shouldn't be. You could save yourself thousands of dollars by not pursuing an invention that you cannot patent or license. Then, just go onto your next idea.

Way 3: Avoid high-tech products

What? Consumers love high-tech products. High-tech products can sell millions of units and be very profitable, right? Why would I recommend against inventing high-tech products?

Here's why.

The life span of many new high-tech products is incredibly short – maybe 1 to 2 years or less! Your invention could rise and fall in the market long before your patent issues.

I learned this 3 years ago when I last attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

At that time 3-D printers of all types were the rage. The first company I visited was selling a 3-D printer for $500 that would take 24-hours to produce a single small plastic item. Just around the corner was another printer in the same price range, but it could print a similar item in only 3 to 5 hours. Wow! that's so much better. But wait, there's more. I walked down to the next aisle and found a 3-D printer that could not only print plastic items, but also metal and composite items as well. 

Given such intense competition for the high-tech crown, woe be it to the inventor who may have sunk $100,000 into developing that first printer. His product was already obsolete in the market before it even got started.

If you enjoyed today's blog, please drop me a note at alan-beckley@msn.com and let me know.

Stay tuned! 

_____________________________________________________________________

Would you like information on how to turn problems into solutions?

Just click on the blue button below to grab your FREE copy of – Turning Problems Into Solutions – cheat sheet now.

Would you like to learn how to make money from your invention? Tired of just spending money?

Attend the next FREE live webinar – License Your Invention for Royalties.

All you need is your cell phone, laptop or desktop computer to attend this LIVE webinar. Get all your questions answered.

Just click on the orange button below to sign up for the next FREE live webinar – License Your Invention for Royalties.