Staying motivated when starting a business

Hello Everyone,

I'd like to help inspire others who are looking to invent, produce, market an idea. I'll tell you right now, it's not going to be easy. There are a bunch of obstacles in your way, and everyone has a different set of challenges so theres no real way to give advice to any particular individual. I will tell you this much, find out what motivates you. There are a few different things that motivate me personally and i'll list them out for you.

1. The invention.
Of course the first and foremost thing in my mind that motivates me is the invention I just came up with. Its the first burst of energy that not only gets your mind excited but also immediately sets a goal and somewhat of a personal finish line. When i came up with my invention of customizable rings it sparked something inside me i can't explain.

2. Your Family.
Those you hold dear and would love to provide for and be with more are an inspiration to do something you love.The ability to free yourself from a 9 to 5 and become your own boss to make your own hours is huge to helping your family dynamic. My wife Tiffany and three daughters are my whole life and giving them everything i can is my soul purpose.

3. Friends.
You'll find that from the moment you were 10 to right now there have been people in your life that help you along the way. I had a childhood friend Reggie Taylor who inspired me to leave my home town in Canada, Nova Scotia and be more and years later have ran into a new friend John Saunders (owner of 5four digital - www.5fourdigital.com) who keeps me motivated towards my current goal to be my own boss.

4. Entrepreneurs.
These may be someone you've seen ton tv or even someone your currently working for. In my case i work for a few entrepreneurs - Lee Sustiel and Stac Yagu who created a luxury transportation business in Miami from scratch and I helped them from the very beginning. www.mphclub.com
You can find these people everywhere and you can pick and choose who you feel motivates you the most and is most like your personality when it comes to business.

Ultimately its up to you to stay motivated but there are tons of avenues to pick from. Find out what makes you take that next step. As far ass my advice to you goes, just keep moving, if its risky, if its costly, if it takes time, just keep moving. Over time you'll find yourself on the other end of something great. It may not seem like it now but you can make something great from the smallest of ideas as long as you keep going.

http://www.ringzie.com

http://www.facebook.com/ringzie

http://www.twitter.com/ringzie

http://www.instagram.com/ringzie





Thanks Everyone 

Justin Greenough

The fears of a Chinese Manufacturer

Hello Everyone,

I am not at the point of looking for a manufacturer. Now originally my plan was to have my idea manufactured in america. Because i have the same fear a lot of people have - having your idea stolen and made somewhere else. It seemed like a legitimate fear for a long time until i really started researching it.
My first problem is i had particularly small pieces and all the local places around only dealt with larger injection molds and were unable to figure out how to make my product possible, even with the cad cam files. Then when i called places in other states the majority of them sounded very shady, telling me they couldn't give me a price until they saw what i had, even if i gave them a slight description. It started becoming very hard to find a manufacturer.
Luckily I had a friend who could recommend a chinese manufacturer he had used and others he knew had used and haven't had any "theft" issues. He also told me " you run that risk no matter who you go with". No manufacturer no matter where they are can guarantee it won't happen, they can sign an NDA but its still possible elements out of their control my happen i.e. angry employee takes it.

And that is kinda silly, since I read to successfully fund a kickstarter campaign I have to throw it out everywhere on social media and get people interested. And if its on social media, anyone can see it. So there goes my invention secrecy anyways!

So now i'm about to find out if this is really worth it. Since my idea is a bunch of painted plastic pieces i'm imagining that it will be able to be made quite cheap. I sent off images of the ring idea i had as well as a working prototype. And with US trying to get back into the manufacturing game, China needs its clients more than ever (or so i think) .My fingers are crossed and all i can do now is wait for the result.
It is scary but its worth it to pursue your dream!

http://www.ringzie.com

http://www.facebook.com/ringzie

http://www.twitter.com/ringzie

http://www.instagram.com/ringzie

Thanks Everyone 

Justin Greenough

You're never to busy to start your own business!

Hello Everyone,

I just want to spread a little motivation. One of the biggest challenges you will face when creating something you want to take to market will be time. I am a married man, 3 kids, house, car, 9-5 job an hour away and work part time for 2 other companies on my computer at home. I still found the time to get my idea 3d printed and social media and website set up, patent sent out and contact friends and family to help endorse my idea. Its not impossible but you just have to push yourself to do it!!

Find any space you can and wherever you can. The first and best place to find the time is at home.

Yes the wife and kids will be upset that you're coming home from work and working all over again once you get through the door but they will understand if you explain how passionate you are about your idea. Try and find reasonable hours to work on things that won't seriously interfere with your home life. Once everyone goes to bed, get working!

Try and make time during your work day, either at lunch or during a smoke or bathroom break. Take those small breaks to let people know on social media or make little alterations here and there to your site or your invention, make any calls you have during lunch hours. Send emails the night before to talk with your 3d printer or manufacturer during lunch.

The weekends are your time to shine!! You have two full days to take some time and work on what you want to, use this time to the fullest extent!

Again, you'll have to find a balance, your boss won't want you sneaking away to take time for your own endeavors and you family will want to spend time with you as well. I'm here to tell you that your dream is achievable, even if your days seem super jam packed and it will get stressful at times, you can do it!!

To see how far i am now ( a year later)  check it out here -

http://www.ringzie.com

http://www.facebook.com/ringzie

http://www.twitter.com/ringzie

http://www.instagram.com/ringzie

Thanks Everyone 

Justin Greenough

Patent you Invention and Trademark your logo

Hello Everyone,

This i would say is the most difficult part of the invention process. There is no way around paying for a lawyer to file your invention. At first I thought i would put it together myself. How hard could it be, look at another patent and switch the words around so that it fits your invention? Amazingly difficult, like another language, and I started thinking if i didn't do it right the first time then someone could steal my idea. So I had to bite the bullet and pay for someone to file my patent. I had to pick up extra website jobs on the side and I had to get money from any avenue I had. The patent was sent off and my invention is now "patent-pending". So now its a clock counting down the days, I need to get things up and running within a year so I can get the full patent. Its a bit scary but at the same time motivating because it pushes you to work at it.

The other thing I needed was a Trademarked name. The name of the product had to be simple. On of the most difficult things about coming up with a name for your invention is that you know it will be permanently attached to your invention forever! Since my invention was a ring I had a million ideas, maybe "T-Ring" cause there was a T that connected the two, maybe "Keely Ring" named after my daughter. And not only do you have to come up with a good name, you then have to check all areas of social media and websites to make sure the great name you came up with isn't already used.
Finally I came up with the name "Ringzie" , I got the .com , facebook, twitter, instagram , youtube, and google + . I got the lawyer to file the trademark and now i'm off and running!

To see how far i am now ( a year later)  check it out here -

http://www.ringzie.com

http://www.facebook.com/ringzie

http://www.twitter.com/ringzie

http://www.instagram.com/ringzie

Thanks Everyone 

Justin Greenough

3D Printing at a discount price or for free

Hello Everyone,

So my next big obstacle was 3d printing the design I had professionally made. I started making calls and seeing what kind of quotes i could get, my attorney ( Thats another blog entirely ) gave me a solid NDA to give manufacturers. The NDA "non-disclosure agreement" was so that not only could they not steal my idea but any idea they came up with based on my idea was also mine, pretty clever right? So the prices for 3d printing were a bit crazy going from $600 - $2,000 depending on the machine. So what could I do? Well I offered a trade, I was able to trade making a website for the company in exchange for a 3d print of my design. So many 3d printers out there with horrible or outdated websites. So I found a way in, something i could do for other companies in exchange for what I was looking for. It came out amazing!!

You would be surprised how often companies are willing to trade a service for a service. Make sure to check out everything about them and if you have something they want, trade it! It doesn't hurt to ask.

My next step after this was making sure to put a patent out on it and a trademark on the name i had, and I know thats going to be expensive with no possible chance of trading.

To see how far i am now ( a year later)  check it out here -

http://www.ringzie.com

http://www.facebook.com/ringzie

http://www.twitter.com/ringzie

http://www.instagram.com/ringzie

Thanks Everyone 

Justin Greenough