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Going to Las Vegas!
by rather-be-golfing » Sat May 01, 2010 1:38 pm
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rather-be-golfing - Green Belt
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:25 pm
Several things happened in the last week that just srcreamed "Go to Vegas!". Signs from above perhaps or just coincidences but I am doing it. There are certainly worse places to go but we just had a snowstorm here 2 days ago so it is pretty easy to want sun and heat!
So maybe I will find the manufacturer that I need for my paint tool or maybe I will hit a lucky slot machine with my last dollar but I am diving in!
I've never been to Vegas and I've never been to a big trade show so this should be interesting.
Anyone else going?
RBG
So maybe I will find the manufacturer that I need for my paint tool or maybe I will hit a lucky slot machine with my last dollar but I am diving in!
I've never been to Vegas and I've never been to a big trade show so this should be interesting.
Anyone else going?
RBG
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by Michelle » Sat May 01, 2010 11:44 pm
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Michelle - Black Belt
- Posts: 1529
- Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:27 am
Ron Docie will definitely be there.
Where are you staying?
The three things I would make sure not to miss are:
1. Bellagio fountains and gardens - at night
2. The whole Venetian and Palazzo complex
3. Walking across one the the glass sidewalks across the Strip at night
These are my favorites.
Have a ton of fun!
Michelle
Where are you staying?
The three things I would make sure not to miss are:
1. Bellagio fountains and gardens - at night
2. The whole Venetian and Palazzo complex
3. Walking across one the the glass sidewalks across the Strip at night
These are my favorites.
Have a ton of fun!
Michelle
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by JoeWaisman » Sun May 02, 2010 12:38 am
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JoeWaisman - Green Belt
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:10 pm
If you rent a car be sure to spend 45 minutes and head out to the Boulder Dam.
There's a lot to see and Michelle's suggestions are excellent. I'd also head to downtown, and check out the casinos in the "freemont street experience." That feels a little more authentic to me. Above all, have fun.
There's a lot to see and Michelle's suggestions are excellent. I'd also head to downtown, and check out the casinos in the "freemont street experience." That feels a little more authentic to me. Above all, have fun.
___________________________________________
"The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty, a fad."
Fun links:
*http://www.scribd.com/doc/441708/Bad-Predictions-About-Great-Inventions
"The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty, a fad."
Fun links:
*http://www.scribd.com/doc/441708/Bad-Predictions-About-Great-Inventions
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by MOPAR78 » Sun May 02, 2010 10:17 am
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MOPAR78 - Blue Belt
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:57 am
Sounds like fun! Good luck!!
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by rather-be-golfing » Sun May 02, 2010 10:10 pm
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rather-be-golfing - Green Belt
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:25 pm
Thank you very much. Hopefully fun and rewarding!
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by rather-be-golfing » Fri May 07, 2010 10:49 am
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rather-be-golfing - Green Belt
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:25 pm
This is going to have to be done over multiple posts cause it would be way too long for anyone to read and most likely for me to type.
Obviously I don't know what the final result will be but at this point in time I would have to say that going to the National Hardware Show was the best thing that I could have done at this stage. I got more accomplished in 3 days than I could have gotten in 6 months by phone and email.
Fortunately I was able to bring someone along who has way more business experience than I do to act as support and he bailed me out of a few awkward moments!
I started by walking the entire area of the Paint and Accessories area (about 250 booths) to make sure that no one was selling anything that was competitive and make a list of the companies that I needed to talk to. Turns out that I had already had some contact with almost all of them so I just started going in and asking to speak with the person that I had originally approached. So I met with CEO's, VP's, Engineers, etc. and most of them remembered me and were willing to talk for a few minutes. I got way more information than I was given by email and even if they couldn't give me any time, I made sure to introduce myself and leave a card so that they would not forget that I actually made the trip. Only one person totally ignored me and the surprising part is that it was a Canadian company....aren't we all supposed to be nice? I believe that I will get the last laugh in this though.
I got some serious interest from several companies but their timelines and lack of willingness to step up with development costs was frustrating.
The best part is that I was able to talk to a US manufacturer/distributor and then in a matter of minutes....go to China for a quote! I tried different tactics and we totally changed directions a few times.
My default was always to go to the Chinese company that I had spoken to last week. After my first run through North America I just walked over to China and sat down with him. I had him sign an NDA (just for show of course) and I had him explain his business, checked out the quality of his products, and made sure that my design worked with his accessory.
My goal was to get him to take it from my handmade prototype to a production model that I could take to retailers to get some sales numbers.
In exchange, he would be allowed to sell under his brand in the countries that he is set up.
It started well....he liked the idea and agreed with my marketing concepts and said that he could build it. We talked about where he would be able to sell and then we started to talk about the most important market. Turns out that he does OEM manufacturing for some of the US companies that I was trying to get in front of!
All of this is of course 'tentative' but instead of getting 1 US distributor, I will potentially get several of them and they might not even know that it is me. (that's the last laugh part!)
Next week, my prototype will be shown to his biggest customer as a newly-developed product that is available for ordering immediately. So I just got my idea past all of the obstacles they put up and right in front of the buyers in the hands of someone who they have a 10-year relationship with! If they order, my product will be fast-tracked through their factory could be in stores within a couple of months and I would start generating royalties right away. According to Roger Brown, who was kind enough to provide some advice and much-needed encouragement, the initial offer that I received was excellent and quite high for this type of product.
I will be given the opportunity to say 'yes' or 'no' to my product being shown to any of their other customers as well.
I had to take a big risk and put a lot of trust in this company. I made very sure to let him know that. My partner has just finished negotiating an unrelated contract with a Chinese company so he gave me a lot of advice on how to establish a bond when dealing with China. Honestly, I would have had a very difficult time doing this by phone and email but in person it felt natural.
I will post some more info later but if anything here doesn't make sense please feel free to ask for clarification. I will not include any names at this time but if this company honors our agreement, I will have no problem recommending them to others here. That is one of the pieces that I used as well...if you treat me well, I can introduce you to other inventors with great ideas!
RBG
Obviously I don't know what the final result will be but at this point in time I would have to say that going to the National Hardware Show was the best thing that I could have done at this stage. I got more accomplished in 3 days than I could have gotten in 6 months by phone and email.
Fortunately I was able to bring someone along who has way more business experience than I do to act as support and he bailed me out of a few awkward moments!
I started by walking the entire area of the Paint and Accessories area (about 250 booths) to make sure that no one was selling anything that was competitive and make a list of the companies that I needed to talk to. Turns out that I had already had some contact with almost all of them so I just started going in and asking to speak with the person that I had originally approached. So I met with CEO's, VP's, Engineers, etc. and most of them remembered me and were willing to talk for a few minutes. I got way more information than I was given by email and even if they couldn't give me any time, I made sure to introduce myself and leave a card so that they would not forget that I actually made the trip. Only one person totally ignored me and the surprising part is that it was a Canadian company....aren't we all supposed to be nice? I believe that I will get the last laugh in this though.
I got some serious interest from several companies but their timelines and lack of willingness to step up with development costs was frustrating.
The best part is that I was able to talk to a US manufacturer/distributor and then in a matter of minutes....go to China for a quote! I tried different tactics and we totally changed directions a few times.
My default was always to go to the Chinese company that I had spoken to last week. After my first run through North America I just walked over to China and sat down with him. I had him sign an NDA (just for show of course) and I had him explain his business, checked out the quality of his products, and made sure that my design worked with his accessory.
My goal was to get him to take it from my handmade prototype to a production model that I could take to retailers to get some sales numbers.
In exchange, he would be allowed to sell under his brand in the countries that he is set up.
It started well....he liked the idea and agreed with my marketing concepts and said that he could build it. We talked about where he would be able to sell and then we started to talk about the most important market. Turns out that he does OEM manufacturing for some of the US companies that I was trying to get in front of!
All of this is of course 'tentative' but instead of getting 1 US distributor, I will potentially get several of them and they might not even know that it is me. (that's the last laugh part!)
Next week, my prototype will be shown to his biggest customer as a newly-developed product that is available for ordering immediately. So I just got my idea past all of the obstacles they put up and right in front of the buyers in the hands of someone who they have a 10-year relationship with! If they order, my product will be fast-tracked through their factory could be in stores within a couple of months and I would start generating royalties right away. According to Roger Brown, who was kind enough to provide some advice and much-needed encouragement, the initial offer that I received was excellent and quite high for this type of product.
I will be given the opportunity to say 'yes' or 'no' to my product being shown to any of their other customers as well.
I had to take a big risk and put a lot of trust in this company. I made very sure to let him know that. My partner has just finished negotiating an unrelated contract with a Chinese company so he gave me a lot of advice on how to establish a bond when dealing with China. Honestly, I would have had a very difficult time doing this by phone and email but in person it felt natural.
I will post some more info later but if anything here doesn't make sense please feel free to ask for clarification. I will not include any names at this time but if this company honors our agreement, I will have no problem recommending them to others here. That is one of the pieces that I used as well...if you treat me well, I can introduce you to other inventors with great ideas!
RBG
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by Ron Docie, Sr. » Fri May 07, 2010 9:29 pm
- Ron Docie, Sr.
- White Belt
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:13 pm
Sorry I missed you in LV. Besides striking it great at the show, did you win anything at the casinos? Also, was my article about how to work a trade show of assistance to you?
Re: Going to Las Vegas!
by rather-be-golfing » Sat May 08, 2010 1:14 pm
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rather-be-golfing - Green Belt
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:25 pm
Ron,
I was hoping to see you but you know how it is at those shows and now so do I! The info from your book definitely helped with a few things. As I had mentioned before, the best part of your writing is that you discuss the thinking and strategy involved in negotiations. My assisant turned out to be a very good substitute for you....he was the hard-nosed business guy and I was the mild-mannered inventor. We really clicked that way and is really natural for both of us which was a nice surprise. He has even offered me a job with his company which is an added bonus....he owns a brewery!!!!
Now I need to prepare the presentation for the manufacturer to show next week. I get the advantage of getting my invention presented by a long-time supplier which should mean that their guard is down a bit as compared to an 'inventor pitch'....hopefully! He made it clear that it was my responsibility to give him the tools to sell my product.
And for my first time in Vegas I did pretty well at the tables. I am hooked on 3-card poker with the 6-card bonus option! I managed to cover my airfare, hotel, a few presents and all my meals and have a little cash left over....and I had a ton of fun and saw almost everything in Vegas including 2 sunrises!
I also met a guy on the plane who is a successful local businessman who wants to be an inventor. He wants to get together and hear about my trade show adventure and show me some of his ideas to see if I can help him. The best part is that unlike most of us here, he has the resources to go ahead with his ideas. He just doesn't want to do it alone.
I will be in touch if I need any of your expertise that is not in your book and hopefully we can meet at another trade show or event.
Thanks,
RBG
I was hoping to see you but you know how it is at those shows and now so do I! The info from your book definitely helped with a few things. As I had mentioned before, the best part of your writing is that you discuss the thinking and strategy involved in negotiations. My assisant turned out to be a very good substitute for you....he was the hard-nosed business guy and I was the mild-mannered inventor. We really clicked that way and is really natural for both of us which was a nice surprise. He has even offered me a job with his company which is an added bonus....he owns a brewery!!!!
Now I need to prepare the presentation for the manufacturer to show next week. I get the advantage of getting my invention presented by a long-time supplier which should mean that their guard is down a bit as compared to an 'inventor pitch'....hopefully! He made it clear that it was my responsibility to give him the tools to sell my product.
And for my first time in Vegas I did pretty well at the tables. I am hooked on 3-card poker with the 6-card bonus option! I managed to cover my airfare, hotel, a few presents and all my meals and have a little cash left over....and I had a ton of fun and saw almost everything in Vegas including 2 sunrises!
I also met a guy on the plane who is a successful local businessman who wants to be an inventor. He wants to get together and hear about my trade show adventure and show me some of his ideas to see if I can help him. The best part is that unlike most of us here, he has the resources to go ahead with his ideas. He just doesn't want to do it alone.
I will be in touch if I need any of your expertise that is not in your book and hopefully we can meet at another trade show or event.
Thanks,
RBG
8 posts
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