The National Hardware Show, and Lawn & Garden Expo will be held May 4-6, 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is an international trade show, and the major US show for consumer, do-it-yourself (DIY) products sold in Lowe’s, Home Depot, Menard’s, Ace, True Value, and hardware stores throughout the USA and even internationally.

If you are an inventor of new products relating to: Hardware & Tools; Lawn, Garden & Outdoor Living; Paint & Accessories; Homewares; Plumbing & Electrical; Storage & Organization; or need help with International Sourcing, this National Hardware Show is place to be.

Most inventors think that they need a patent and a prototype before attending such a trade show. NOT TRUE. The fact is, I’ve attended these shows, while representing inventions, for over three decades – so I’ll let you in on the secrets.

First, you attend the show, you do not pay the big bucks to have an exhibit booth. This allows you time to walk the entire show, which will take a day or two, and see every exhibitor, talking to those with promise.

Second, the attendance price is normally free, or under $100, airfare and hotels are cheap, so for a budget of $300 to $1,000 you can attend an entire three day show, all expenses paid. Why pay $5,000 for a patent, or for expensive prototyping, when you may find a manufacturer who can potentially help you fund your invention project, and save you the risk and investment?

Third, at the show, you are there to listen, not pitch your invention. Therefore, you never have to show anyone any trade secrets or patentable subject matter relating to your invention. All you need to do is be able to talk briefly about the potential benefits and advantages of your invention, just to get in the ballpark of conversation.

Forth, follow the teachings on Docie.com, Trade Shows webpage, and you will learn how to find the markets for your invention, the distribution channels, who the potential manufacturers are, the right contact people, the companies idea submission procedure, their track record of working with other inventors, pricing for your product, potential sales revenue, competitive information, risks and obstacles you may face, and much more important information that you would otherwise never be able to obtain at one location, and in such a short period of time.

If you are working with a marketing company, and they are not attending this trade show, get someone else, because they are not seriously in the game.

Fifth, the United Inventors Association is hosting a one-day seminar for inventors on May 3, the price of which includes admission to the show.

If you can not attend this show, contact some of these reputable companies who plan to be in attendance: America Invents, Docie Marketing, and Lambert and Lambert, all of whom have experience in hardware, with working this show, and are seasoned marketers. Some charge a fee, and others charge commission only.

Good Luck!

This past summer I was invited to attend the Hawaiian Inventors Conference in Honolulu September 19. I was hosted by the conference organizer and speaker, Daynin Dashefsky. Daynin is a real go-getter and loves to share her experiences of how she was successful commercializing her own invention. She holds conferences like this and has a series of CD’s sharing the process she went through, and the process any budding entrepreneur may need to go through to commercialize their invention, especially if they want to do so on their own, i.e., be an entrepreneur and have their own company for manufacturing, distribution and marketing.

What was somewhat unique about Daynin’s conference, despite the location, which was much more wonderful then most of the inventor conferences that I attend, was the format for the conference. Daynin was the principal conference speaker on Saturday.  Then, on the second day of the conference, all attendees were invited to spend 30-60 minutes interviewing any member of the half-dozen industry experts on various topics pertaining to the commercialization of inventions.

In attendance were: Brian Kunzler, a patent attorney from Utah who helped inventors understand U.S. patents and trademarks, the process of patenting, how to get a patent, how to apply for a patent, and so forth. Michelle Price consulted on social media and marketing. Michael Drew, an expert on market positioning, book publicist, and SEO specialist; Ron Wilder, electrical engineer and prototyper, Connie Chow, asian manufacturer sourcing specialist, and yours truly, Ron Docie, invention marketing and licensing specialist.

Other Inventors’ Events

The Minnesota Inventors Congress (MIC) held in June each year, in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, offers a similar format. However, their conference has many more speakers, a broader range of advisers, and a tradeshow for inventors to display their inventions.  Sometimes new product scouts from major manufacturing companies go to the Minnesota show to seek inventions.  Unfortunately, the Minnesota Congress, which is the oldest conference of its kind in the United States, and possibly the world, is the only substantive conference held without interruption over the years. Check out this blog in a couple months to get updates about these upcoming trade shows, or the news reports covering them.

The Yankee Invention Exposition in Waterbury, Connecticut, offers the format very similar to that of the MIC however; it is unclear if they will receive the funding necessary to hold a conference in 2010? Because of funding they had to cancel the conference in 2009.

In my next blog, I’ll talk about the Wisconsin innovation workshop for inventors and share information about that conference format and features as I learn more.

RON DOCIE’s career in the world of inventions spans more than three decades. His own inventions are found in Wal-Mart, Kmart, and thousands of other outlets. As an agent for inventors, Docie has negotiated over fifty licenses with such companies as General Motors. He is an expert consultant on idea submission to Johnson & Johnson and other prominent companies. Docie is the president of Docie Development, LLC, an international company that provides services for inventors and corporations, and he is author of The Inventor’s Bible: How to Market and License Your Brilliant Ideas, Third Edition, 2010, Ten Speed Press, a Crown Publishing imprint of Random House.

This Wisconsin inventors conference, sponsored by The University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, was held Oct. 1-2, 2009 in Dells, Wisconsin.  The conference was well attended by what seemed like 100-200 inventors as well as plenty of consultants and experts who facilitated workshops on various subjects relating to patenting, marketing, prototyping, manufacturing, raising venture capital, seeking government assistance, forming a company, commercialization, and licensing, and consulted with inventors at no charge.  If the inventor were to pay the regular hourly rate for these experts to consult with them on their invention project the cost could be $500 – $1,000 to get this level of advice.

It’s a great deal to attend a conference like this for under $200, or even under $100, depending on the conference, since you’re able to take advantage of these experts at no additional charge. And this is in addition to the valuable information that you learn from the speakers and workshop leaders.

In addition to the workshop, this conference hosted exhibit booth space for inventors to display their inventions and be judged in an inventor’s contest.  I was one of four outside judges for this inventor’s contest and, as usual, when it came down to the last half-dozen candidates it was very hard to choose which invention may be more deserving of a certain prize than another. We had about 50 or 60 inventions to choose from with the inventors coming from several different states.

Prizes awarded to inventors included free market research and patent services. During our judging process, we attempted to determine what the needs of the inventor were and what stage in the commercialization process they were in so that we could award prizes that would fit their needs.

By coincidence, one of these winners of this contest also had an exhibit booth at the annual automotive aftermarket parts and accessories association tradeshow in Las Vegas where I attended. They had robust activity in their booth and I was able to talk to a couple of manufacturers in the trailer towing and hitch industry that expressed a somewhat favorable response to the notion of including such a product in their product line.

It looks like our judging at least hit the mark on our impression of that invention. And hopefully, in some of the next blogs to come, we can follow that inventor to see what they end up doing after the response they got from the automotive tradeshow.

During the two days of the Wisconsin conference, three simultaneous workshops, each about an hour and a half in length, took place throughout the day. During breakfast, lunch and dinner on the first day, the keynote speakers shared their insights regarding inventors or the invention process. My workshop was a panel of experts, which included Warren Tuttle, former product scout for Lifetime brands, the largest manufacturer of housewares products in the world, who is now an independent product scout in the housewares industry through his company Monashee Marketing. Other panel members included: Doug Reigle, Senior Vice President, Regal Ware, Aina Vilumsons, Director, WI Procurement Institute, and Thomas Motosko, Versatile Housewares and Gardening Systems.

We had a robust question and answer session answering inventors’ questions regarding how to license your invention to a company, how to find a manufacturer, how to get royalties or sell your new product idea, and inside information about the process from those who have been there and done that.

All in all, I had a wonderful time in Wisconsin, mostly owing to the wonderful people and nice hospitality, and I am hoping to attend this conference again next year.

I’ll also be attending the 2009 Automotive Aftermarket Parts and Accessories trade show in Las Vegas the week of November 2, 2009. If you have automotive aftermarket related inventions or ideas, you should definitely come along.

Even if you’re an inventor still at the idea stage, with no patent application, you can still get many benefits from attending such a show, and you never have to reveal your invention in the process if you’re not ready. (Check out my article about attending trade shows)

Docie Marketing will be representing a couple of independent inventors at the show, and we have room to accept a couple more, so if you’re interested, send us an email or give us a call.

Photo courtesy of Roadsidepictures’ Flickr stream / CC BY-NC 2.0