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During his career as an independent inventor/entrepreneur, Bob Merrick followed ten self-imposed rules that he details in this book. For him these rules paid off in a series of four winning inventions -- each posting sales in the millions. He characterizes these four innovations as "almost laughably simple," but because they proved useful, they produced serious sales and profits for long periods.

In this book Merrick shares powerful marketing secrets and insider know-how that will help you move ahead and succeed with your new product idea. Whether you plan to sell your idea, or venture it yourself, you can use this book!

"The motto of the Stand-Alone Inventor is:
If I keep my invention simple enough, I can finance and promote it myself, and I can get it produced and distributed at a profit--all by myself."

Merrick shares his time-tested tips for successful inventing, plus step-by-step lessons and real-life experiences. Readers learn how to take an idea from brainstorm to store-shelf without "betting the farm."

Stand Alone, Inventor! is a book that provides a fast-track agenda. Merrick starts off with needed basics: what to invent, how to test it cheaply to see if it will sell, and how to protect and distribute it, while avoiding partners, venture capital firms, and marketing scams. But it's his first-hand knowledge of manufacturing and merchandising products from the ground up that readers will find most valuable. In true marketing fashion, Merrick uses many photographs and illustrations to clarify his points.

You'll learn the inside information as to whom you must contact to gain store acceptance; what your press releases must say to get free ink in newspapers and trade magazines; what your sales materials must look like to be accepted by buyers; where you must go to get printing and other services for less than what the big guys pay; how to determine what price your product must sell for to make a profit; how to locate the right manufacturer in the USA and offshore; and, why you are the best person to oversee the marketing of your own invention!

This book includes a 43-page Resource Section that provides contact details on more than 800 hard-to-find sources and services for inventors. Here you will locate such things as low-cost manufacturers, color printers and package designers along with contact information on key retailers and trade publications in given industries. Also listed are data on free-assistance non-profit inventor support groups, and much more.

Unlike many authors of books on inventing, Merrick suggests that inventors wait before trying to license or sell their ideas to others. He advocates that inventors learn to use their ideas to begin to grow a successful company. This process results in a developed product that is more appealing if it is offered to licensees later on.

In addition to his own, he tells the stories of several other successful stand-alone inventors, who followed his formula. The reader gains not only the how-to of inventing and marketing new products, but also a feel for the excitement and personal rewards that being an inventor can bring.

Merrick knows, because besides his hands-on experience, his credentials include past president of the California Inventors Council and past delegate to The White House Conference on Small Business. 

A sampling of Robert's Rules for Successful Inventing:

1. Invent products that are physically small.
The primary advantage of physically small products is their ease of storage and handling, which makes them relatively inexpensive to keep in inventory. My first inventory of 5000 items was kept at home in our hall closet! Keep in mind, also, that it's much easier to carry a small product to a potential buyer for a demonstration. People always want to see the actual product; not just a catalog sheet or a video. I am never without a few samples of my inventions in my coat pocket or in my brief case. I recall making a substantial product sale at 30,000 feet to the guy sitting next to me on a business flight to the East Coast.

2. Develop Products That Offer Repeat Sales.
If your product won't wear out, go out of date, get used up, or spoil after your customer buys it, you may never hear from him again. This is why you should try to invent something that will need to be replaced. If possible, try to deal in consumable or disposable products. One of my million-dollar ideas was a transparent calendar for the crystal of a watch. I learned that nothing goes out of date with more reliability than a calendar! One corporate buyer set his computer so that every year it issued me a re-order for 100,000 sets these calendars for use in his Christmas mailings. His orders kept coming for more than a decade!

3. Keep Your Initial Cash Investment Small.
Invent products you can afford to develop by yourself. Stay away from partners and venture capital firms. Beware of those expensive marketing scams that advertise on the radio. Keep in mind that it's common for new products to fail. Unless you have a sizable cash surplus, it's prudent to start out playing with small chips. Don't mortgage the farm! Work off your kitchen table, and keep your costs down. By being conservative in this way, if your new product fails, the financial hit will not wipe you out. And, you will have left the way open to try another invention later.

4. Have others do your manufacturing.
Too many novice inventors rush out to purchase machinery so they can go into production. Usually the equipment they want is quite costly in terms of initial outlay, operation, overhead and maintenance. Avoid this approach in the beginning, because there is a much cheaper and less-risky way to go.

The best solution to getting your invention manufactured is to sub-contract (or outsource) the work to a qualified vendor. No matter what you invent there is a company somewhere that can produce it for you. You keep your risk low, by not putting cash into machinery that you may not need all the time. You can find dozens of companies that can make your product. Let one of them do your manufacturing, so you can concentrate on the more important job of marketing it.

Stand Alone, Inventor!: And Make Money With Your New Product Ideas!
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Catalog# 3209-2