 "Educate - Innovate - Motivate" |
INVENTOR'S UPDATE
NOVEMBER 2011
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| Greetings! | 
We certainly had another record turn-out again this year at our annual Inventors Conference this past month. People traveled from all over the US to be with us here in Lexington KY in order to exhibit, participate and attend!
I can't put into words how proud I am of all the people who sacrificed their time and lent their talents, volunteering to be a part of what has now become one of the biggest inventor events in the midwest. We couldn't have accomplished all this without you.
Now that our big, exciting annual event is over, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty of what we do best here at the CKIC: educate, help innovate and motivate inventors to move forward. This isn't done at microwave-speed at one event, but rather with focused intensity over time.
One way we do this is with our monthly meetings and workshops, as you'll see below in this newsletter. At this month's open meeting on Tuesday we'll hear from Candace Klein with Bad Girl Ventures and the new ground-breaking SoMoLend.
Are you an under or over-protective inventor? Find out in this month's blog at http://www.ckic.org/inventorblog.html.
Have a great weekend, a happy Halloween and I hope to see you at our Free Open Meeting on Tuesday November 1st!
Best Regards,
Don Skaggs
President
Central Kentucky Inventors Council |
Inventors Blog:
Are You an Under or Over-Protective Inventor?
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November 1st: Candace Klein with Bad Girl Ventures and SoMoLend
| Don't miss our next CKIC Meeting on Tuesday November 1st as we hear from:
Candace Klein with Bad Girl Ventures and SoMoLend Candace launched Bad Girl Ventures in March 2010, a micro-finance organization focusing on educating and financing woman-owned startup companies. 
Candace's experience includes practicing corporate law, raising venture capital, micro-finance and peer-to-peer lending. 
Since BGV, Candace has launched SoMoLend,
a highly localized web and mobile-based peer-to-peer lending technology, allowing individuals to borrow from, and lend to, other individuals.
SML has filed their provisional patent application and raised $350,000 in equity to launch their beta site. Peer-to-peer lending is projected to become a $100 billion industry by the end of 2012. 
You don't want to miss this opportunity to hear from one of the up and coming people in the areas of micro-finance, peer-to-peer lending and raising capital for startups.
When: Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Where: Bluegrass Area Development Center
699 Perimeter Drive Lexington KY
Time: Doors open for networking at 6:30pm,
Meeting begins at 7:00pm
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November 8th: Inventor's Workshop (for CKIC Members Only)
|  Join Us For Our Monthly, Members-Only Inventors Workshop
Hosted by CKIC Founder Don West - This workshop is designed to help the inventor move from the idea stage through the invention process, by allowing for inventors to discuss and learn from constructive information concerning their ideas in a free and unencumbered, legally binding format.
This Meeting is for CKIC Members Only Not a member? Come and join us: Membership is only $40/yr
Where: Bluegrass Development Center
699 Perimeter Dr, Lexington KY
Date: Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 Time: Doors open at 6:30,
Workshop begins at 7:00pm Do you have a great idea for an invention?
Find out what you can do!
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Opportunity for Inventors: Special Booth Space at SPREE
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Another Opportunity Courtesy of the United Inventors Association -
Sell Retail-Ready Products
to the Distributors that Service Over 500,000
Mall Kiosks Around the Country at
SPREE
The Specialty Retail Entrepreneur
Expo & Conference
April 3-5, 2012
Some call it the Mall Cart Show, others the Kiosk Show, but whatever you call it, this is your opportunity to get exposure for a retail ready product. This is the first year the UIA will be bringing inventors the opportunity to show the Kiosk and specialty buyers, manufacturers, and distributors your retail ready products.
Retail Ready doesn't mean you have to have a warehouse full of stock, or a truck ready to back up to the dock. It means your product is ready to manufacture and the buyer can write you an order on the spot.
Each Inventor Zone exhibitor will receive the following for the discounted price of $1000 for the 3 day show:
- A real Kiosk Display Space
- Full color custom printed graphics with YOUR Artwork
- 4 staff Badges to the Show
- 1 Year Subscription to Inventors Digest
- UIA Premium Membership worth $100
- 1 Year Subscription to The Retail Report
- ...and a GREAT chance to be seen by buyers!
Find out more about how you can register for the 2012 SPREE Show by contacting Jen Lawlor at Jenlawlor@uiausa.org
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Want to Grow a Business Around Your Invention? Here's 5 Tips
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In a recent article in
Inventors Digest, Nell Merlino, CEO of the non profit business mentoring organization "Count Me In", offers 5 tips to help anyone, including the Entre-Inventor, grow a startup business:
1. Start with the End Game in Mind - Write down or cut out pictures of what you ultimately see for your invention's business. The more specific, the better you will be able to communicate your vision to the people who need to understand it. 2. Clarity - Set specific, time-sensitive goals. Write them down and post them where you can see them. Use numbers, dates, dollar amounts and other markers that make reaching your milestones quantifiable. 3. Thick Skin - Expect and listen to resistance. Criticism from other people should be anticipated. Listen to the concerns and develop a strategy to incorporate the valid ones into your plans. 4. Feedback - Get more than just your own opinion. Confidence is a huge asset, but it can't replace the need to test your ideas with other people.
5. Network - See it all as part of a bigger picture: Access the wider world of people and use this network for support, encouragement and an occasional kick in the pants. |
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Experience the Valuable Instruction, Motivation and Power of Connections at the CKIC!
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CKIC Officers:
President - Don Skaggs
Vice-President - Mark Miller
Treasurer - Jim Hill
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