Free-Enterprise Friday

(Continuing the sharing of my failed and successful experiences at getting a new product created.)

You know when you are at a restaurant and can't decide between the steak or the pasta, so you ask the person you are with, "Which one should I have?" They suggest one, and suddenly, the other one looks irresistible. Well, that is exactly how I felt when those I trusted told me that my Pick Up Palz idea was the idea I had to explore further. There were so many rejected ideas I had that I thought were so much more relevant and just plain cooler than this one! But this was the idea that had other people excited, so I knew I was on to something special.

The funny thing is you can immediately tell when a new product idea generates excitement in others versus apathy. But, it can be a subtle difference. Sure, you could have an idea that other people hear and say, "That's a terrible idea." But, that's not the most likely scenario. Here are a couple of conversations I had that illustrate the difference really well.

Apathetic audience:

Me - "So, I have this idea for a [insert new idea here]. I wanted to know your honest opinion of that."

Trusted Person - "Wow, that sounds like an interesting idea." After some thought, "How would you manufacture that?"

Excited audience:

Me - "So, I have this idea for a [insert new idea here]. I wanted to know your honest opinion of that."

Trusted Person - "Wow, that sounds like an interesting idea. You could do this with it or that. And, you could try this! OR better yet, you could do something like this!! How would you manufacture that?"

You can see the difference in the way they talk about the product. Do they try to change it to make it suit their needs? If so, pay attention. This is where you are hearing the possible flaws and uses of your product.

But, I knew I had a great idea when the majority of people I talked to could see themselves using it. Once I realized I had my idea, I had to look into the practicality of getting it created. In other words, how much would it cost to make. ooo. fun.