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You are visiting the Idea Composer FAQ Page
How long will it take to get my idea into the program? It depends on how familiar you are with your concept. If you have knowledge of the material costs of the proposed product idea and a reasonable idea of how you plan to get the product to market, the time should be within a couple of hours. If you are starting from scratch and want to utilize all the resources of the program it will take longer, but you will gain familiarity of what you know and what you need to find out. A properly laid out plan could take a couple of days and is usually visited and modified continuously while the product and business is in development. Will the Non-Disclosure agreement be enough protection? Good Question. Disclosure laws about Intellectual Property vary from State to State. In addition there are many changes under consideration in Congress regarding our Patent laws. Although the Idea Composer provides proper markings for the idea documentation, discretion is required by the inventor to properly protect the idea. It is best to council with an Intellectual Property expert prior to any kind of disclosure to outsiders. Which sheets do I do first in the Idea Composer? Start with the Product Costs sheet and continue through each applicable sheet until through, then evaluate what you have on the summary sheet and make adjustments on each of the individual sheets as your composition takes form. What do you mean by doing “What If” analysis? Making changes to parameters and evaluating the results. An example would be to see what the effect would be of the bottom line by increasing the price of the product by 10% and reducing the volume of sales by 25% and reducing staff by a certain amount. How can I have more than one price for the same product? In the event the proposed product has more than one method to market, the net price to you would more than likely be different for the same product. An example could be: sales direct and sales through distribution with a discount. Another example is where a provider of a product sells under one brand name and private labels the same product to another company for resale. The prices to you would be different depending on the method to market. Some products have an initial sale value and then recurring revenue (monthly or annual fees for usage). The Idea Composer allows up to four different product pricing/scenarios at the same time. Is it necessary to save the project often, in case of a power failure? Yes, save the project whenever you make a significant change. You can also make several versions of the project by changing the name of the Project on the Start Sheet and saving with the new name. This is particularly useful when you are making comparisons of a project where one version might be very conservative and another might be optimistic. Isn’t the Idea Composer really the same as a business plan? No, the Idea Composer is the first step and centers on the conception of a product or service idea and not just the idea of going into business. The Idea Composer will help the inventor or creator of the idea, usually oriented around a product or service, to determine if there are good business basics associated with the idea. The Idea Composer will give the author a simple plan that usually leads to a full fledged business plan. The Idea Composer will help you, the author and creator, understand the business aspects of your product or service concept. A good business plan, created properly, will help outside business and financial parties understand your business concept, especially from an investment point of view. Another difference is a business plan, done properly, will take 30 to 40 days to meet the criteria established by the investment community – the Idea Composer should take a couple of hours to create a fair understanding of the basic financial aspects of a product or service concept. Use the Idea Composer to shake out your plans and concepts then move the data to a well designed business plan for purposes of formalized investment. Once the company is up and on the move, create an operating plan for day to day operations of your company. Will the Idea Composer help me to patent my idea? The Idea Composer, when used properly, will help in the communication of your invention to Patent attorneys, however the requirements for writing descriptions and claims for Patents are different than the format for the Idea Composer, Patent applications are best left in the hands of experts that do business with the U.S. Patent Office for a living. Many Congressional changes are proposed for the Patent office and Patent reform is in the wind. Patent attorneys are aware of the changes and how they may affect your idea as it relates to the U.S. Patent Office. Will the Idea Composer work on my Mac? The Idea Composer will operate on an Intel based Mac, with software designed to emulate a Microsoft Windows Environment such as Apple’s Boot Camp. You will still need a Windows operating system, either XP or Vista to run on top of the emulation software. The Idea Composer will not work on non-Intel based older Macs.
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