Inventing a new product must be one of the toughest businesses to run as a parent of young children. Running a business and bringing up babies at the same time is never going to be easy, but keeping your confidence and patience during the long research, design, production and marketing process takes a special kind of determination.
PR Genius
Which is why I take my hat off to Keira of Mamascarf. Rather than be dismayed by the postal strike this week, she turned it to her advantage and invited the BBC, Sky News and Central News round to her place to talk about it! You can read about it on her blog.
Free Training
Getting the right support and information is vital if you’re developing your own product. Did you know that Business Link offers a huge range of free courses for anyone starting a business? Check out what’s going on in your area here.
Support for Inventive Women – for just £1!
This week I discovered a great resource for women developing or inventing products – She’s Ingenious!. She’s Ingenuous has practical advice, inspiration, mentoring and the opportunity to meet like minded people. All with a trial membership for only £1.
Mum Product Designers Have The Edge
Have you been watching Design For Life on BBC2? French product designer Philipe Starck was looking for the next great British designer by inviting twelve young product designers to his HQ in Paris. The best designer of the group would win a six month placement with Starck.
Now I know designing isn’t as easy as it looks and that these guys were right at the start of their careers. But I’m convinced that the inventor mums I know could do a much better job, even though they don’t have a degree in product design.
What’s the difference between a 21 year old product design graduate and an inventor mum? The mums have creativity, determination and know how to squeeze the maximum out of every spare minute of their time. And unlike the young designers, they start with a problem that needs a solution, usually a problem that they have lived with and understand inside and out. That has to be the best starting point for designing a new product.
The ability to turn your challenges into great PR could come in handy too!