Key Idea #1: Make a Quantum Leap.
Starting a business by launching a new product is nearly impossible. You have to love the idea and enjoy the pain of doing something no one has ever done before. You can look for paths to follow or mentors to guide you but so often you will find yourself very alone.

Topic for discussion: What did Jack and Ruth Ellen have to do to achieve their breakthrough?

Answer: They shut down a profitable consulting business and worked for three years before they had something to show a museum director. Jack said, "it really is a quantum jump to go from lightblubs to fiber optics."

You think about it: What is your next quantum leap? Or, could you re-invent yourself with incremental steps?

Key Idea #2: Position for Profitability.
In the case of Jack and Ruth Ellen, their years in California taught them that is it not a friendly place for a company that wants to manufacture a product.

Topic for discussion: Why make a drastic change in life-style by moving from California to Delaware even before you have a product perfected?

Possible answer: These two could picture their success and they didn't like what they saw when it came to the operations side of NoUVIR if they stayed in the Los Angeles area.

By selling land and homes in California and buying in Delaware, they freed up cash they could use during the three years in which they had no income. Their research told them that taxes in Delaware are low on businesses and the workforce would be plentiful. Their research paid off. They have been profitable ever since they started selling the cold-nose projector.

Key Idea #3: Prepare for a Long-term Ramp Up.
There are thousands of inventors but very few new projects that actually make it to the marketplace.

Topic for discussion: Why do so few products succeed?

Possible answer: First, some inventors actually think a big company will give them millions for an idea they sketch on a tablet. Many big companies buy-out small companies but only after the product is made and proven by happy customers. Second, it takes time and most people aren't as patient Jack and Ruth Ellen. Third, many projects don't have a good idea behind them. In the case of the cold-nosed projector, the idea is fantastic. Using fiber optics lighting, museum directors can stop the ruin of great paintings and treasured arifacts.

Key Idea #4: Secure Multiple Patents.

In the case of the cold-nosed projector, Jack and Ruth Ellen have 16 patents in this one product.

Topic for discussion: Why bother doing so much paperwork?

Possible answer: Multiple patents make it nearly impossible for someone to steal your idea. While a big company, such as Microsoft, which is known for stealing ideas, won't think twice about incorporating your idea into one of their products without paying you, they probably would not attempt to copy a product that has multiple patents registered in the United States Patent office.

One reason it is so hard for small companies to make it big with new products is that big companies are preditors. They can't help themselves. Their marketshare gives them huge advantage so they have cash for research and development and actually think they are smarter than you. I can hear it now in the labs of GE, "We saw a new idea but we had actually done that type of work a few years back and so it is really our idea."

Taking time to do the paperwork can actually save your life's work.

Key Idea #5: Learn the Difference Between Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights.
Ruth Ellen said, "Patents protect your product. They keep competitors from copying you and from making exactly what you're making. The copyright protect your literature. This includes your catalogs, instruciton manuals, ads and photographs. Your trademark is your name. It is the thing that identifies you.

You think back: What is important about a trademark?

Possible answers: Create something unique. NoUVIR made up a word which is easy to protect. If they had named their company "New Light," it would be hard to protect because both words are so common. If they had chosen "New Light" then had a special logo designed, that design which include the words can be protected.

Also, use your trademark by putting it on everything. Usage is part of what a court would look at if you were forced to defend your trademark.

Protecting your ideas requires paperwork and patience. It takes up to seven years to become fully registered.

LightbulbKey Idea #6: Take Time To Protect Your Ideas. Before patent, trademark and copyright laws were put in place, the primary source of wealth was land. More than 5 million patents have been issued in the United Sates since the first patent law of 1790. The system is working.

Topic for discussion: How is wealth created by a protected idea?

Possible answer: A protected idea has more value than does an unprotected one. However, the MP3 technology turned millions of mostly young people into thieves. The thief is the one who takes something that doesn't belong to him. The creator of a song spends years, or months or days thinking about melody and lyrics. He spends money recording the song and puts it into album form with a copyright mark. The creator sacrificed time and money to bring the product to market and legally is protected.

If the thieves win and then the song has no value. If the creator wins, he will be compensated and have the funds to create again. Paying for one song funds the creation of the next and everybody then wins.

Key Idea #7: Date Before You Marry.
Very few people get married without going through a dating phase. It sounds weird to most of us when hear about mail-order brides and arranged marriages. But, in businesses everyday, people are hired without any trial period.

Topic for discussion: What is the hiring process at NoUVIR?

Possible Answers: People are hired as temporary workers until Ruth Ellen can see clearly if she will make the person permanent or ask the staffing service to send her another person to try out.

With less than one dozen employees, every single person who is added to the mix is so powerful, Ruth believes she should date before she marries.

You think about it: How could you/should you fine tuen your hiring process to improve the productivity of your team?

Key Idea #8: Teach to Sell. A new product usually doesn't sell itself. A new product needs to be sold by educating the prospects so inventors must be teachers.

You think back: How does NoUVIR win new customers?

Answer: They do seminars that are hosted by museums where they can demonstrate the value of their lighting. The seminars last an entire day! The big vision for NoUVIR is to change the way we see and to protect the art and treasures of the world. With a big vision like this, they need a whole day to explain. Really, NoUVIR is all about changing what has been institutionalized and this makes the sale even harder.

It's customers are typcially non-profit institutions with slow decision-making processes who have to please a board of directors. NoUVIR must give the people who attend their seminars detailed information that the attendees in turn can use to pursuade the powers that be back at their own museums.

Key Idea #9: Smile At Your Problems.
Jack's background in research and teaching trained him to see a problem as an opportunity to learn something new. He knows: If there's a problem, what is being done now isn't working so someone has to come up with a solution which implies a new product or service needs to be invented.

Topic for discussion:Since life really is about decision-making and problem solving, why do so many run from the difficult problems?

Possible answers: We're spoiled! Perhaps, we've come to this point in our lives by letting others solve the hard problems and make the decisions that require complex work. Or, we have posistioned ourselves in such a way that we can do quite well without taking on difficult problems.

That's fine for some but not for entrepreneurs and small business owners. In fact, the bigger problem an entrepreneur can solve, the bigger business she will build. Or, if a entrepreneur finds a little problem that lots of people have, delivering the solution can mean a big business.

You think about it: What problem needs to be solved for your current customers? What solutions do you have now for potential customers you are not now serving?