Idea of the Day: Butter-on-a-stick...

Sometimes lazy kids make for the best ideas… A few mornings ago one of my children took the easy way out. Instead of cutting pads of butter and spreading each one on her pancakes, she simply picked up the whole stick (fortunately the wrapper was still on) and rubbed it all over the hot, fluffy flapjacks. Sigh. That action simultaneously horrified me (manners cop, you know) and appealed to my curiosity. After all,...

Idea of the Day: Patent software for Mac...

I am in the process of learning how to file patents, and plan on beginning with some Provisional Patent Applications (PPA). Fortunately there is some great software out there to automate the process and make it pretty simple for me. Patent Wizard is a good example of this. Unfortunately, this software doesn’t  run on a mac. I looked around online for 10 minutes searching google, images, products, etc. and found...

Idea of the Day: the anti-car phone (keeping teens...

Our son will soon be old enough to take drivers’ education classes and start bugging us about getting a car (good luck with that one!). That’s an exciting right of passage that I remember from my own experience as if it were only yesterday. The reality though is that I am a concerned parent now, and young drivers are arguably less safe than ever before because of their inclinations to use their cell phones...

Idea of the Day: Build a platform...

“All the world’s a stage…” I’m hearing a lot about platform development this week. “What’s that?” you might ask. Let’s call it the built-out of a framework that will allow you to spread your message to a wide audience. Here are some examples: You’ve heard of the iPhone, of course. Well the genius there isn’t just the phone itself by any means. The...

Idea of the Day: International Business Insurance ...

Sam Goodman scared me. He’s the author of Where East Eats West – the Street-Smarts Guide to Business in China. His book is probably great. I’m not sure yet, because I just picked it up yesterday after listening to him speak. Sam really knows how to line you up. Take for example, this excerpt from his website: Judging by the fact that you are here, you are probably either salivating at the size and...

Idea of the Day: 1-800-We-Fix-It...

You’ve heard of 1-800-Got-Junk, right? There’s a brilliant story to that company that goes something like this: Guy is broke. Needs a job. Sees some other guys doing junk removal, realizes all he needs to do that is a truck (which he already owns) and a bit of advertising. Starts up. Succeeds. Realizes that he can’t scale the business very well (it’s impractical to try to reach every market)...

Idea of the Day: Build a product portfolio in 10 s...

I recently bought the deluxe inventRight course, and I’m glad to report that is has already proven to be worth every penny. But I wasn’t so sure at first. I was hesitant in fact, unsure whether I wanted to invest so much money. What sold me? Their free radio shows on blogtalkradio.com. I listened to all of them, got great information and wanted more. Finally I called their office and got one of the partners...

Idea of the Day: Auto-lacrosse...

Not too long ago I wrote about Bungy Bat, a retractable tether system that would connect bat and ball for solo hitters to practice without the disadvantage of having to chase after their own balls. Today I was thinking of one of my sons, who is a natural athlete but joined the lacrosse team after his peers had been playing for years. He could use some extra practice time, which presents another application for a similar...

Idea of the Day: Heated Snow Shovels...

Oh-oh, it’s coming. Fall is in the air. I’ve already pulled out my sweatshirts and the down comforter. Even the leaves are starting to change. Soon we’ll be in the midst of another long, cold New England winter. That means shoveling, fighting with ice and trying to get the typical sticky slush off of the shovel each time I take another scoop from the driveway. Sigh. But wait! What if I create a heated...

Idea of the Day: An aggregator to measure demand...

There’s one common mistake that almost every entrepreneur and inventor makes their first time around: we build products or create services then try to generate demand, instead of studying the market and delivering solutions into markets where there is already demand. Google has introduced some tools that can allow us to study market potential before spending a dime. These include: Standard search Keyword search...

Idea of the Day: Zorbing for dogs...

I was browsing around at Petsmart today, looking for new designs and clever inventions. One of my favorites is the oldy-but-goody hamster habitrail. My daughter has been pestering us for that kind of set up, but it just seems like it would be a tease for our four cats. Especially if we put the little critter into one of those clear plastic balls to roll around on the floor. But this got me to thinking…it would...

Idea of the Day: Pedi-shoes...

I’ll bet you would never have guessed that the “As Seen On TV” brand’s best selling product is the PedEgg. I was shocked when I learned that, though I guess I shouldn’t have been considering how large the cosmetology market is. Today I was thinking of ways to make pedicures even more affordable and efficient. Viola! I give you the Pedi-shoe! This invention consists of a pair of shoes lined...

Idea of the Day: Finger mouse...

I am currently working with inventor Emil Jacob, who has created a new ergonomic product known as Pad ‘n Click. This solution consists of gel pads that stick to your mouse to correct the position of your hands and fingers. It is simple and ingenious. But it also makes me wonder, why do we use mice anyway? The straightforward answer would be “to control the computer” but there are alternative (and arguably...

Idea of the Day: the “Stupid Idea” sho...

I spent last night on a plane from Columbus to New York cracking on stupid ideas with inventor Emil Jacob (founder of Pad ‘n Click). Some of the ideas we harshed on were our own, of course (let’s face it, you’ve probably had that reaction to my posts, from time to time). And fortunately we were at no loss for raw material. You see, we were on US Air and had the Sky Mall catalog at our disposal. Many...

Idea of the Day: Trick-out your mouse...

The 2009-10 NFL season opens today! You know what that means? You’ll be getting lots of football-related ideas from me for the next few months. But don’t worry, I’ll play fair (leave SpyGate out of this…). The first idea of the season: NFL decals for your computer mouse. In fact I want more than just a Pats logo there, I want racing stripes, flames and maybe shooting stars. OK, I’m going...

Idea of the Day: This one’s for the dogsR...

Play-doh sure is an inspirational toy. My daughter Noah came up with this idea as she was sitting at my kitchen table playing with some: Her concept is a (very) dog friendly restaurant. It would be geared toward those of us who lavish praise and rewards on our furry best friends, and want to take them everywhere with us. This cafe would actually be for the dogs, with snacks and drinks available to their human counterparts. Sound...

Idea of the Day: Call-ahead returns...

I’m standing in the ‘Returns’ line at yesterday, listening to other customers talking on their phones and complaining about the long wait… Welcome to Walmart. You’ll find the lowest costs, but you still pay a price. So here’s an idea: how about call-ahead returns? I know that some retail outlets are finding success through their on-line ordering systems where you pick up the product...

Idea of the Day: Picture-finder...

Yesterday my cousin posted a picture of a ring on Facebook. She was hoping that someone in her network might recognize the style and be able to tell her where to find another one like it. This lead me to think, shouldn’t there be an application that would allow you to upload an image, then search the entire internet for similar images? Google Images would be the natural place for it. I bet the FBI has something...

Idea of the Day: Self-adhesive ice packs...

What do you do if you twist your ankle, strain your back or bruise your shoulder somehow? Ice it, of course. Why? Because chilling the affected area reduces swelling and discomfort. Ahh…that’s better. I’ve been thinking about this since yesterday. I went to my daughter’s barn with her, and took pictures of the horses so she could print them out and personalize her locker. As soon as we got there...

Idea of the Day: ‘Lego’ Tic Tac packag...

There’s something about the Tic Tac box that I’ve always liked. It feels right in my hand. It looks cool. It’s unique. Now it’s even recyclable (see their website for more info). And though the company has suggested some post-consumer uses for the container (travel-sized storage, etc), those applications are pretty limited. So what about adjusting the plastic box a bit, and making it ‘Lego-like?”...

Idea of the Day: Transformer sunglasses...

It’s about time for a new pair of shades. Too bad, because I really like mine. I got them in Kauai so I’m kind of sentimental about them. Alas, they are pretty scratched up now so it’s time for a replacement. But how can I keep this from happening again? The problem perhaps, is that I refuse to carry a ‘murse’ (man-purse). So I have nowhere to put my sunglasses to keep them safe when I’m...

Idea of the Day: Faster ice-cream (yum)...

It’s not that I’m in a hurry, but I can’t help but notice how long I have to wait in line each summer at the really good homemade ice cream places. Maybe that’s part of the experience I’ve come to love; standing there looking at the board for a while, wondering whether I want Peppermint Stick again (my favorite), or deciding if I’m in the mood to try something else like Coffee Oreo. Alas,...