Most everyone who comes up with a new idea wants to make money from their idea. There are several ways to make money from an invention. Here are three ways to profit from your invention.
1. Sell your invention direct to the customer. This is perhaps the most obvious way to make money from your invention. You come up with a new invention. You make the invention. You market the invention. Customers buy the invention. You make a profit.
Okay, this is an overly simplistic explanation. In reality, coming up with a new invention is the easy part. Making the invention can be expensive, especially if you are not a manufacturer yourself, and if you don’t have connections with manufacturers in China. Marketing the invention can be hard if you don’t have a background in marketing. And hiring a marketing professional can be expensive, with no guarantee of results.
Even if you clear these hurdles, customers may not buy your invention.
2. Sell your invention to a company. Selling your invention outright is the easiest way to make a guaranteed profit. Some companies do buy inventions from individual inventors. A company may buy your invention to keep their competitors from getting the invention. Other companies may have an interest in making, using, or selling your invention.
Of course, first you have to find a company that is interested in buying your invention. Finding a company to buy your invention will take some effort. Typically it helps if you know someone that works at a company in the same industry as your invention. For example, if you have an invention for a new tool, it would help to know someone that works at a tool manufacturing company.
3. License your invention to a company. Some companies may not be willing to outright buy your invention, but instead offer to license your invention. A license for your invention may include an upfront fee that covers your initial investment, along with a promise to pay you royalties (i.e., a percentage of the profit from selling your invention).
If your invention is a flop in the marketplace, the company may discontinue your product and then you do not make any money. On the other hand, if your invention is wildly successful, you may receive a royalty check for many years to come.
You can make money from your invention, if your invention is something people really want, and if you put in the effort.