Not having and using a documented policy for the management of electronic records can bite, literally. Listen up to attorney Chuck Detling of Wagner, Johnston & Rosenthal, PC as he gives us the straight skinny on why this is important and the potential consequences.
Terry Whipple has a passion for creating a contagious environment for entrepreneurship! He is also adamant that the Midwest needs to foster a culture of entrepreneurism in order to compete economically in the 21st century. He speaks from his experience facilitating and nurturing the growth of a successful entrepreneurial program in west central Wisconsin called the Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club. Terry shares his perspective on the Midwest’s entrepreneurial environment and culture; the characteristics of inventors and the constraints they face; what it’s like to work with an inventor; how clubs provide a safe place to gather, explore ideas and gain education from peers; why a mix of inventors and entrepreneurs is important for critical networking to occur, what resources are available to assist inventors and entrepreneurs; and how to start a club in your region.
Ron and Lee talk through a large number of red flags, pitfalls, and problems inventors and small business owners may run into in trying to get their business off the ground. They talk about what to look for as far as red flags with service providers, laws governing the industry and other items that all people looking to break into the market should know.
Jim and Ron are back together again to kick off the new year with predictions as to what the year holds in 2010! Patent Reform is one of the topics, for obvious reasons, Ron is very interested in as it is always a tense topic for smaller businesses and inventors. Jim is paying more attention to women inventing and the potential increase in inventing over the coming year. They also touch on topics such as retail buying increases based on the economy, off price stores such as Marshalls & TJ Maxx and whether you should approach them as an small business, inventor diversity increases, and many more topics.
Today Ron speaks with Lee and return guest Duncan about holiday inventions and traditions. From the origins of Christmas tinsel and how it was made of actual silver all the way out to how Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey to be the national symbol of the US. A very fun an itneresting holiday show!
Jim and Ron talk about the lessons they’ve learned from starting up their respective companies, mistakes they’ve made, hurdles they’ve overcome, as well as problems they’ve solved. Jim talks about the beginning of his career when he was in the optics business. He breaks down how his time at Carson Optics went as far as spending money, buying ads, and who to target. Ron talks about how starting his patent business required him to change his thinking pertaining to even the simple things like office space, advertising, and other business venues.
The topic of this week’s show was ensuring your product passes safety product standards. With the way social awareness has progressed over the years the safety regulations have become far more strictly enforced. Unlike in years past when the laws were loosely enforced, today there are very tightly controlled rules you must follow to ensure your product is safe to sell in the US market.
With Jim out Ron and Lee cover some of the basics of Patenting a product and Ron talks about the system he has developed to help determine whether or not a product/invention is capable of getting a successful patent.
Jim and Ron talk about networking and the passing of Billy May, a big personality in the invention industry. Who you know can be far more important than what you know and both Jim and Ron talk about their experiences connecting with important people.
