News: Gadget Review a blog that reviews and/or tests new innovative products on the market blogs our Led Night Light.

“If you need a night light to illuminate part of your house, such as the top of the stairs, you could get an ordinary night light that plugs into an electric wall outlet. However, this will only illuminate the area around the wall outlet. If you need to illuminate a larger area without turning on a brighter and more intrusive light you might be interested in the adjustable NiteTrip instead.

Unlike traditional night lights that plug into a wall outlet, the NiteTrip runs off three AAA batteries. This allows you to place the NiteTrip anywhere you need”

To read the full review at Gadget Review.com

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While watching “The American Inventor”, my son Davis looked up with those wide, curious, blue eyes and said “Dad, we can invent something WAY better.”  I have to admit, I was thinking the same thing.  Some of the inventions on the show seemed like a complete waste of time, money, and energy.  Disposable bed sheets?  A bicycle with a seat on the handle bars?  A bib to wear in the car when you are eating?  Come on!  “Okay son, let’s do it”, I said half heartedly.   Soon after that, ideas began to float around at the dinner table or in the car.  How about an electric matt to keep the dogs off of the furniture? Or a folding backpack equipped with everything you need for school, etc.  We quickly realized that coming up with a viable product was harder than it looked.  Either it was already in the marketplace or it was just a bad idea! 

Our invention ideas went into the back of my brain and laid there swirling around for awhile. Then, it was a late night trip to the bathroom that began to set the real wheels in motion.  As I pulled myself out of bed in a sleeping stupor and shuffled off to do my business, I had to flip on our Bright as the SUN, overhead bathroom light!  I was immediately shocked into a fully awake, and ticked-off, state.  I felt like I was in the psycho movie with the blaring screechy music ringing in my ears! I decided that I did not want to ever be awakened or shocked by blinding light again.  So the next night I did away with the lights altogether.   After going to the bathroom by brail for the next several weeks, my wife indicated that this was not going to be a good long term solution unless I would like to start cleaning the bathroom on a daily basis!   

I then started to look for nightlights of any kind to help solve my little problem.  Unsightly, socket sucking, and cheesy were the only things I could find.  So I went about building my own.  I went to Target and bought a $7 LED lamp and started to use it.  Because my toilet is in a room without any electrical outlets, I attached an extension cord to the light and ran it into the bathroom.  Functional, but not very nice to look at.  Lets just say, my wife was not pleased with this solution either.

It occurred to me that the light needed to be portable; battery operated and have some motion activation to make it right.  I researched on the web and found components that would allow me to modify the $7 Target light and make it what I envisioned as the perfect solution.  It was the first time since I left college in 1987 that I actually used my electrical engineering degree.  I found my old electronics tackle box with test equipment and went about designing the circuitry for my “smart” light.  It was about this time, I told the family.

After the laughter died down, they were enthusiastic and very supportive.  We started brainstorming on a name for the product – the “bowls-eye” and the “p-light” were the top contenders.  We unofficially started calling it the p-light because, yes, it helps you see when you go for a pee!  And thus began my obsession with building the best ”p-light” known to mankind!

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Technorati Tags: NiteTrip Light, Nursery, Promotion Video

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Shipping costs can make or break your business. Strong statement, I know, but its true. I worked very hard to minimize manufacturing costs – why give up margin on high shipping costs? There are many articles relating to how much you should charge customers for shipping. Should it be the true pass through expense, which is more for customers farther away OR should it be a flat rate that averages the shipping expense for everyone, OR should shipping be free to entice customers to buy? Obviously each option will affect your bottom line and your retail pricing. I’ll leave that for you to research, I chose the average shipping option.

However, there hasn’t been much discussion on which shipper is best – Fedex, UPS, United States Post Office OR some of the considerations on weight and sizing. It doesn’t take a degree in Newtonian physics to know that a lighter package results in less cost. But did you know that if you ship to certain zones (areas of the country), that package sizing trumps weight? So size does matter! Also, did you know that the shippers round the weight UP to the nearest pound? So if you have a package that is 1 lb and 1 oz, it is considered a 2 lb package! This rounding can easily double your costs!

I’ve found that retail pricing for Fedex and UPS to be significantly more than that of the United States post office. And that the price breaks I negotiated with postal annexes and these shippers are still more than post office priority mail. I’ve also examined my box type, sizing and packaging material to minimize size and weight. I’ve replaced my corrugated boxes with lighter types and am using paper or airbags instead of peanuts. I may pay a little more for the type of box or packaging material just to keep the weight down. So keep your packages light and as small as possible and use the post office to minimize your expense and maximize profits.

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Step 1. Build a prototype.

Step 2. Test it with family and friends – hopefully that like it.  Determine the target market, figure out the pricing and opportunity.

Step 3. Hire an Industrial Designer to produce realistic renderings.

Step 4. Develop the engineering and design specifications.

Step 5. Protect idea – Patent, Trademark, Non-disclosure agreements.

Step 6. Find a manufacturer, determine costs, see if you can make a profit.  Examine every aspect of costs – from COGS, duties, sales referrals, etc.

Step 7. Develop branding and company messaging.

Step 8. Hire webdesigner, graphics expert to build website and preliminary marketing material. 

Step 9. Find a buyer.  Order some products.  Plan the sales campaign.  Have your order forms, pricing and distribution plans nailed down.

Step 10. Hire expert in marketing.  Build video and other materials to support campaign.

Step 11. Sell and monitor. Assess success, quality, customer satisfaction. 

Those are the main steps, with a million tasks inbetween.

Technorati Tags: design, invention, night light, prototype

All the best,

Tom

From the little mind that help create it, Davis

dman