But Where Do I Go?

People want to know where to go if they have an idea. Or people want to know where to go when they already have an idea but need materials, manufacturing, business resources, funding, networking...you name it, people are asking for help.

What is interesting is the number of people simply perplexed about where to start, where to begin, how to start talking with people about their idea, invention, business concept.

People are simply stuck and are really looking for some kind of direction; where should they go if they have an idea? Well, for starters if it's an idea/invention a great place to begin is with your state's inventors group or inventors network. In Minnesota, Deb Hess is the Director of the MN Inventors Congress (http://www.minnesotainventorscongress.org/). Located in Redwood Falls, MN, the MIC is a national resource. The MIC's Annual Conference is June 11-12 and is a great place to see cool ideas AND to be seen. While I won't be attending (my doc classes are the same weekend and I cringe at the thought of missing this event), product scouts, industry professionals, inventor exhibits, and a youth inventors exhibit are all part of the conference. There are some great industry guest speakers and super networking opportunities...again, I'm cringing that I won't be there.

My first "stop" would be the MIC. Then I'd suggest connecting with a local group or sign up to belong to one of the idea/inventor groups on social networking sites such as LinkedIn. If your state does not have one, how about considering creating one? If that's not an option, then connect with a neighboring state's inventors group.

When looking for resources I suggest taking a look at Thomas.net. Thomas is a great database for vendor suppliers. Another suggestion is to do word searches or phrase searches in on the web and remember to keep a database or piece of paper with search terms! Keeping a record of searched terms will help you by working efficiently, but then you'll also be able to track your progress.

Alright, for those folks out there that have been asking me these questions - thank you for stimulating the idea for today's blog.