Much Much Better than New

One of my favorite TV commercials of all time was an Aamco ad that ran back in the '70s. It featured a shady clerk from the "other" repair shop that said, as he handed the keys to the owner, "better than new". Then, as the owner drove away, parts could be seen falling out of the bottom of the car. Next we see the same clerk handing the owner the keys again: "much better than new"...again the car drives away with parts falling off. Again, we see the clerk handing over the keys, he says "much much better than new". And then they make the pitch that Aamco gets it right the first time. That ad just stuck with me. I still say that line to this day "much much better than new"...always tongue in cheek to denote getting it right on about the third try. And so goes my valve: "much much better than new". What started out as a few minor tweaks from the manufacturer consumed my entire weekend (yes, we're talking about 20+ hours of redesign) and ultimately required a change to EVERY PART! So it's 11 PM on Sunday night and besides a few errands and the required eating and sleeping, I have been pretty much chained to my computer. The good news is, its already Monday in China and we're rolling again.

Oh, I almost forgot. On Friday I spent ~2 hours with an old neighbor of mine. He is retired. He spent many years working in sales...medical...big money. I knew this from casual neighborly meetings. I called him to ask if he knew anyone who could help me sell my valve. I found out that not only was he in sales, he spent over a decade as a headhunter for high end sales reps. Jackpot! He has tons of contacts and is going to try to hook me up with the right guy. Oh, and he said he would consult on sales and marketing (his degree was actually marketing) for free. Luck is definitely smiling upon me :-)

small changes...big effort

I thought today would bring confirmation that the molds were moving ahead in China. Instead I got last minute change requests. The changes seemed reasonable enough...all In the name of mold success. I agreed to the changes and set about modeling them. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. I spent most of the day (my day off) making the changes as they rippled through many parts. As hard as I tried, I couldn't finish and my friend left China without the molds being settled. Arrggg! I really have no idea when I will actually have finished parts at this point. Very frustrating.

It's 10 am in China

Now I know that China is 12 hours ahead. I know because I received an email from my manufacturer friend who is over there talking to his China partner about manufacturing my product. He sent me an email at 11 am (China) yesterday...after I had gone to bed. When I got up this morning I was scrambling to answer all the issues he had raised knowing that today (now) was his last day in China. No worry, he slept while I was at work. I came home and prepared my answers just as he was getting up. Now I have exchanged a couple more emails tonight and told him I could/would stay up all night if necessary to address any issues that came up. He hasn't replied yet...I'm waiting...

After anxiously checking my mail every day for nearly 2 weeks since MWD said they were ready to mail out the grant notification letters, I finally had gotten totally frustrated. I had emailed the MWD rep yesterday and he didn't even answer. So today I called him. He said, "lets see now...Aeromaster Innovations...oh you have the funny looking valve that you want to install under sprinkler heads." "Millions of them" I replied. "Well good, I was just getting ready to call you...your grant request was approved". "So I'm mailing out the letter (I'll believe it when I see it) and then we have to get to the negotiation phase...I see that you have requested $$$$...well we'll need to go through this line by line and see what we can fund and what we can't". I was still stuck on "approved". Only later did it sink in that approved for what has not yet been established. So, I'm cautiously optimistic and not at all deterred. After all, whatever funding I get will be that much more than I have today. Stay tuned.

package details and a dilemma

I designed my packaging. I pretty much copied the toro idea of a small folded insert in the blister pack. I sent all the info to the marketing company and also all the dimensional and production details to the manufacturer. I also did some more damping tests with good results and got a mailbox so I wouldn't have my home address on my website and biz cards. I'm hoping for a lot of things to come together. I'm thinking I might finally hear from MWD about the grant, my website should go up, and I should get some info from my manufacturer. So here is the dilemma: I want to use the press to promote my product. I think I can work the water rationing/saving angle to get a lot of coverage. Coverage means sales. But I'm afraid if my boss sees me in the news..especially if I miss work...then it could jeapordize my steady income. So I've thought about hiring a spokesperson, but that would mean that I couldn't use the personal "local inventor" angle. Plus, it would be hard to find someone I trust for such important work. I mean, it could be done...but cannot be taken lightly. Ok...there is also the small element of wanting my 15 minutes and not giving it to someone else. So, like many other elements of this project I have a major decision to make that is emotionally charged and involves potential risk. Time for more thought...

Packaging and an animation

Today I met both my goals. I found a blister pack for a toro spray head that I had laying around and decided I wanted to use the exact same package for my valve. I also sized it so that while the original valve will be swimming a bit, it can accommodate the 3/4" model and also longer versions. The overall package is still relatively small to minimize shipping costs...cause you pay by both weight and volume...so I'll be paying to ship air from China. (Dirty air to be sure). I also relented that my CAD program would not make the animation by itself, so I did it the old fashion way by linking together a bunch of snapshots. Oh, and I started the marketing company on designing the package and some business cards. After this post, I'm going to buy my UPC code off the internet. :-)

Temporary Climax

Today I finished the second provisional patent. That at least makes it seem like I'm a little closer to caught up. On the other hand, while I was reviewing the claims from the original patent to update them for the new design, I decided that they were not that great. Hopefully, I'll have made enough money by the time I get my first office action to pay for better legal assistance in this world of "you get what you pay for". Other news of note, I emailed my manufacturer friend because I still haven't actually gotten a contract with his firm. He said that the molds were all designed and things were moving on schedule. (Yes, I believe him.) He is going to China next week and will come back with all the details and a review of my molds :-) I also got an email from the marketing company. They wanted me to review the updates to my webpage design. The page looked better. They had also added a banner across the top: "Call now 555-1212". I about crapped my pants. No! I can't possibly have every yahoo who is too lazy to read calling to ask "whatsit?" I told him we'd have to make some other action link up there. Then I thought, no, I need to be able to answer calls with legit questions that aren't on my FAQ. I'll probably have to hire an answering service so that customers don't always get a machine. I can't possibly answer phones while I'm working a full time job. Then if they get new questions I'll have to call the customer back myself. Oh crap, I sound like the companies I always complain about where the person answering the phone is clueless. This one needs more thought. For now, the banner will direct them to a pre-order page. I'm going to see if I can get customers to make a deposit in advance to get valves at wholesale price before they go in the stores. Of course the deposit would be refundable and there would be a clear indication that they are pre-buying, etc. We'll see. It would be fun to have orders before I even had parts :-) My blackberry just lit up so I could watch it crash for no reason while sitting on the desk...nice. Maybe its time to update the operating system.

Are you through yet?

Done is such a great word...where I'd like to be...on the second patent. The drawings were done, until I found a few errors in the references. Now I'll have to make a few minor fixes and print all 16 pages again. The specification is nearly done. I'm just putting the final touches on the description of the upgrade model. But then I realized tonight that I haven't even started on the new claims. Yeah, I know you don't have to have claims on a provisional filing, but it is a good idea...so I will. So the spec is close...22 pages and about 7000 words. One more paragraph and some proofreading and it will be done. Then the claims should only take a few days (adapted from the last patent). I need to move on, I promised the web designer that I would generate a animation of my valve in action...and the design program I use doesn't exactly support animation when things change shape. Arrgg. More time to figure a work-around. I want the animation. It will be really cool.