Chapter 2. Put your idea down on paper

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.

- Francis Bacon

It doesn’t cost anything to sketch your product idea on a piece of paper. Or sketch out twenty variations of it. Can’t draw? It does not matter. Just scribble your design as best you can. This will progress your thinking beyond your first mental plans. Getting your eyes and hands involved in your idea and looking at your own expressions on paper will help you solve some early design issues.

For about two years before I spent a single penny on first my Aqualocks product idea, I had a notepad full of drawings of it. The notepad stayed in my car for about six months and any time I was stuck in traffic, I would reach over and doodle in it. The sketches were primitive, certainly compared with the final product, but they served a useful purpose: they removed many of the variations I had in my head, allowing me to narrow the focus to one or two general approaches.

Use color pencils to spice up your sketches by adding some rough shadows or crosshatches to them. You might not think much of the result, but it will add some depth to your idea and, most importantly, it will encourage your subconscious to get involved in evolving the product design.

Cost of this stage: $0. Costs so far: $0

End of chapter exercise:

Write down the answers to the following questions:

· How much do you think someone would pay for one unit your product? _____________________________ (for example $30)

· Name a specific person who said they would buy your product at that price: _____________________________ (for example “Joe Schmidt, my next door neighbor”)

· Write down the name of a product like yours: _____________________________ (for example “a gardening fork made by Troybilt”)

· Name a place where a person can buy that product today: _____________________________ (for example, hardware store, gas station, bazaar, only online).

· How much does that product cost today? _____________________________

· Set aside and label a binder. This is your Product Scrapbook. Add the answers from the end of the last chapter and this chapter to your scrapbook.