How to monetize and protect my solution to a common household problem

July 23, 2023 4:24 AM

I had a common problem in my household. I googled for solutions for years and there isn't much on the internet about how to solve this problem in the average household (but you could if you had tons of money). I figured out a way to fix this problem for far less money using basic construction supplies and skills. I would like to monetize this situation. I could build a website showing and explaining the solution, but I believe my concept will be instantly stolen and copied by content stealers because the problem I solved is very common and something that people google a lot. The only solution I can think of is to put up a website that describes the problem and offers to sell my solution to people for a reasonable fee, like self-publishing a small book. But that would probably not do terribly well, and could easily be paid for and stolen. I could copyright the material but that wouldn't stop hard-to-identify people on the internet. Any ideas?
posted by wurly to Work & Money (15 answers total)

can you make a kit with the tools & materials needed a to fix the problem along with a link (qr code) to a demonstration on how to use it.
posted by askmehow at 4:40 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

or start a service business
posted by askmehow at 4:42 AM on July 23, 2023

Yep, I think the answer here is looking beyond DIY. As a homeowner, I'm vastly more likely to pay you to fix the problem for me than to get a solution from you that will take an unknown amount of skill, time, and effort.
posted by humbug at 5:15 AM on July 23, 2023 [10 favorites]

As a homeowner, I'm vastly more likely to pay you to fix the problem for me than to get a solution from you that will take an unknown amount of skill, time, and effort.

Reinforcing the "Unknown amount of skill, time, and effort". The thing may be easy for YOU to do because you have a background in [insert skill here], but someone else without that skill may not have as easy a time of it, so you selling them a "How-to guide" is just going to frustrate them. I'd offer it as a service - "I will come and [do whatever] for you."

Or make it both - for price X, they can get a kit and a guide to do it themselves, and for price X + Y, you will go do it for them.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:21 AM on July 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

If your solution is genuinely new and inventive you can possibly patent it, though that is not an inexpensive undertaking. In theory you could file your own patent, but in practice that would be ill-advised.

Copyright protection won't really help, because it only protects the words and diagrams you use to explain the thing - anyone could explain it in their own words and still use your idea.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:49 AM on July 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

In theory you could file your own patent, but in practice that would be ill-advised.
Seconding jacquilynne, if the OP already knew about inventions and patent applications, they wouldn't be asking this question. I do recommend a consultation with a patent attorney, particularly if a new apparatus is required to carry out their method.
Avoid commercial "inventor help as seen on TV" operations. Their MO seems to be selling inventors services that they don't need and that don't help.
posted by JimN2TAW at 6:13 AM on July 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

I think the answer is all of the above. In a novel industry, your goal should be to occupy as much space as possible. Write a how-to book. Make videos. Sell a kit. Start a service business. Franchise that business. And whatever else there is that I’m not thinking of. The more ways you can establish your brand in customers’ minds, the less likely potential competitors will want to go up against you.

That being said, one of the most common pieces of business advice I’ve seen is that ideas are overrated. A good idea is worthless with bad execution. And a good idea with good execution can withstand competition. Would McDonalds like to have Burger King’s market share in addition to their own? Of course, but McDonalds is doing OK for themselves. In fact, that’s kind of a measure of how good your idea actually is: if nobody tries to copy you, there’s probably a reason why.

Peter Thiel (I know) wrote a book about “natural monopolies” called Zero to One that may be of interest.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:23 AM on July 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

Your opportunities will depend on how common this common household problem actually is. Does it happen in every single household (the occasional leaky faucet), or is it common but not pervasive (mildew on a wall because of poor insulation or air circulation). Some analysis of the frequency of occurrence will tell you the size of your potential market.

Next, instead of launching directly into some avenue for monetization, you need to find and talk to actual potential customers to understand their needs. Start with friends and family. You don't have to give away your solution. You just need to understand whether people think the problem is actually a problem, how they deal with it, how they have tried to find a solution, what they think the solution actually might be, how much time, trouble and money they are willing to expend on a solution, whom they might trust to solve the problem for them, etc. Beyond friends and family, you can use a survey system and social media ads (cheap) to target people who have this problem and as for their responses to those questions. At no time in this research do you need to reveal your solution! But you need to do a deep dive to fully understand how the problem is perceived out there.

All of that is critical. It will give you a much better idea of the scope of the opportunity and the potential ways to monetize it. Use the suggestions made in this thread as possibilities among a range of options. Also, study how others have monetized similar common household problems. It is essential to hone in on the smartest possible way to monetize. Because (assuming you actually have a terrific solution) if you pick the wrong one, the cat is out of the bag, and you don't get another chance.

All of this is really just basic methodology for exploring any idea for a business opportunity. Good luck!
posted by beagle at 6:57 AM on July 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

You can also set up focus groups and have people sign NDAs. Granted, they might not do much good, but you really should do some research before you go to the next steps (which will require you to spend more money). But if you can find someone adept at market research, they're generally good at crafting questions in a way that don't reveal the solution.

Aside from determining how common this household problem actually is, you also need to determine how much people care about fixing it, and to what trouble or expense they'll go to to do so. For you, it might be intolerable, but for many people, it might not be anything they care much about.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:16 AM on July 23, 2023

Nearly everything about your description makes me think of something someone would write up in Home Handyman or a similar magazine. I can't think of a single example where a technique or process using common materials was successfully monetized in the home improvement arena. People literally write in to newsletters and website comments sections to willingly give this type of thing to the world.

Products, sure, but just a "take a 2 x 4 and do this" type thing? I don't know. You can make a circular saw push stick yourself, and you can buy one, and both happen, so there's clearly room for both.

So maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're offering up, but if I'm not, why not see if documenting it clearly is something you could sell to a magazine or home improvement website?

BUT if I did misunderstand, I think the advice above is quality.
posted by AbelMelveny at 9:43 AM on July 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

I agree with everyone above: ideas are cheap and if you wanted to monetise this then you should sell a product or a service. But to directly answer the question, if you wanted to make money out of the idea alone, you might be best off making a YouTube video. Clearly explain the technique from start to finish with video of you performing each step. Share it with... Whatever places DIY folk hang out online? And hope they boost it themselves. You could get a few hundred dollars from advertising fees if it really catches on, but in reality it's more likely to be beer money.
posted by dudekiller at 9:57 AM on July 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Convince a bigger company to buy the idea from you. It's the best way with least risk to you. You can protect yourself from companies with NDAs and lawyers. You can't protect yourself from bajillion copycats, but companies can as they have the resources.
posted by kschang at 12:50 PM on July 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

- Read up about utility patents and design patents

- See if there is a small business center nearby who can help you (I got accepted to a program, now I have access to experts that the program pays for)

- If you _apply_ for a design patent, and if it sounds reasonable that you might be awarded the patent (i.e. you looked for prior art; the patent application is well done; the actual solution is worthwhile), you could potentially license your idea, or sell the patent, to a big company that _can_ defend the patent

- study up about "customer development" to help you learn if/how your idea actually appeals to people, what would stop them from using it, how much they would pay, what additional services you'd need to offer, then

- consider how long you could profit from your own idea, on your own, before it gets copied. Is there a way you could be ready to do a ton of order fulfillment the moment it becomes widely known? Maybe you could still benefit from it.

- consider profiting from not so much implementing the idea, but sharing it. You could teach, write a book, train carpenters, etc.
posted by amtho at 1:45 PM on July 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

As we benefit from the inventions of others, we should be glad to share our own…freely and gladly - Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography.
posted by gible at 11:25 PM on July 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

- Read up about utility patents and design patents * * *

- If you _apply_ for a design patent, and * * *.

I hope the previous poster meant to say "utility" patent, not "design" patent. Except in very unusual situations, a design patent application is unlikely to help you much. Talk to an attorney.
posted by JimN2TAW at 10:01 PM on July 24, 2023