Making is a fantastic business. From the old, glorious streets in Memphis, Egypt, to the freshly tarred streets in Accra, Ghana, great inventors have all done one thing very well: start the movement.
Much like the Corona in the hands of the likes of Hemingway, The majority of movements perform just like magic. But there are some issues. The clogged databases of national databases and the bureaucratic red tape at the patent office could thwart the dreams of any inventor. To stay afloat, you’ll need to develop more efficient ways to solve the problem “mid-air” in what America calls the maker-movement. These three tips for entrepreneurship can help you get there:
1. Take a leap from the burning train.
Within the U.S., most infrastructures in the last 50 years could benefit from a significant overhaul. Although inventors like you don’t have the time to reinvent the wheel, they do have the time to reinvent the wheel. Nobody has more insight into this than the 29-year-old designer of African descent, Matthew Burnett, creator, and owner of the top-of-the-line wristwatch brand Steel Cake.
After losing his personal money of $40,000 due to manufacturing errors by workers in China, Burnett got hip quickly. He created a platform that would create manufacturing in America, something that it’s ever had: simple to access. The result? A state-of-the-art, user-friendly, error-free ‘subscriber-based’ database is promoting the specialties of U.S. manufacturers–designed from scratch!
Today, Burnett’s concept, Makers Row, is currently leading manufacturers are following… is not even creaming the flames. Genius.
2. Create the launchpad of your dreams.
Did you come up with the next best thing? Great. Now invent the next-best way to sell that thing. Pour libations. Call your goddess. Make a prayer to the gods. Do whatever it takes to build the platform for your worth. One that doesn’t throw you off with false starts, burning flames, and falling bits by the skies.
Also, do precisely what 26-year-old Rachel Brooks did. Her slingshot, Citizen Made (designed as an embedded software that can be integrated into websites for retailers), was developed to aid small businesses to do exactly what they need to do selling custom-made wares on the internet without hassle.
Because of her customers, they can now put in “customized” orders on everyday purchases, such as a pair of jeans or luggage–all by pressing one button. (Fantastique! ).
Brooks, a creative black female designer, is making waves. If you follow her lead, you too will be a winner.
3. Squeeze into the gem tumbler.
Iron sharpens iron. But gems are also in the same field of business. Place them in a tumbler, and they’ll tear all the sharp edges of one other.
For inventors like you, it is essential to join forces with like-minded people and arrange a time to meet regularly on regularly. Find an inspiration (someone amazing, but preferably in an unrelated business) and begin to polish. Ask questions, issues or critiques, feedback or suggestions, edits, and what do you think. Chris Anderson did precisely that.
He discovered a treasure in Mexican businessman Jordi Munoz-a inventor in his early 20s who developed miniature drones (pilotless aircraft) for use by civilians. They have a great relationship, and they polished each other so well that they went into business jointly and launched 3D Robotics. They’re not alone. Gem tumblers are appearing all over the place.
Citizen Space, a black-owned and operated facility located in California, provides offices, Internet access, and computers to the most innovative entrepreneurs in San Francisco and San Jose. Maker Faire is doing the same thing: bringing together entrepreneurs and tech evangelists to participate in contests and promotions of a variety of innovative ideas. Make sure you are steady: and get involved.
Bottom line: Follow the arrows: leap… create… take a plunge. Take the back roads to get better re-imagining — they’re less stuffy and less complicated, as well as less biased. When the world and its colleagues tell you that it can’t be done, smoke a cigarette of your Cuban and say:
“Stand a little less between me and the sun.”
(Solid guidance (Silent advice Diogenes of Sinop, the ancient black actor, and poet of Anatolia 412-323 BC)
Linette Marie Allen is the co-founder Director and founder of DreamZu Personal Development consultancy with its headquarters in Washington, DC. Linette often gives lectures across the world on the business of imagination. She is also frequently a contributor to EzineArticles and other print publications. She holds a Master’s degree in social and organizational psychology from the London School of Economics.