While coming up with a great product idea may seem like the hardest part, oftentimes it’s getting that invention to the shelves that require the most work.

Tamara Monosoff, author of Your Million Dollar Dream: Regain Control & Be Your Own Boss, has made a career out of offering advice to individuals striving to launch a successful business. While she emphasizes there’s no one process that ultimately results in success, she believes understanding how to sell the product is critical to the overall process. After all, people don’t buy inventions, they buy products. She has several tips for inventors who need guidance on how to get their creation to market.

1. Buy one or two well-regarded books on inventing. Look for those that focus on making money, not just patents, and read them. After this step, you may adapt the next five steps to incorporate what you have learned in your research.
2. Conduct market research. Identify products on the market, both online and in stores that are similar to your product idea, and note which companies make them and where they are sold.
3. Spend time on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website to identify and read any patents similar to your concept www.uspto.gov.
4. Develop as good a prototype as possible with your available resources. This can be as basic as a drawing or as evolved as a professionally made product.
5. Connect with other entrepreneurs in your local area or online to share information, resources & offer support.
6. Draft a simple business plan; starting with the fundamentals.

Once you complete these 6 steps, you’ll be on your way!

Thriving global design firm, IDEO, insists that analyzing human behavior is a crucial component to the success of inventions. They created a highly collaborative environment in the workspace and hired diverse candidates from a wide range of backgrounds in order to stimulate original thinking.

David Kelley, the founder of the company, believes that ideas build from ideas. Forming a cooperative space allows individuals to expand their range by exposing them to other rationales. They proved the notion that a preliminary plan can be tested and reformed until it becomes a breakthrough innovation.

This concept has made IDEO one of the premier design firms in the world. They developed products such as the first computer mouse for Apple and the first upright toothpaste container for Procter & Gamble.

60 Minutes’ Charlie Rose sat down with David Kelley for an insightful look into IDEO.

The National Association of Manufacturers developed a 4 point plan designed to spur economic development in the manufacturing industry within the United States. The ultimate objectives are to increase production and add more jobs to the sector in the coming years. NAM hopes to gain support for its policy recommendations which they believe will be a catalyst for additional growth. If the United States hopes to remain the world’s manufacturing leader, it needs to be competitive in the global market. NAM has outlined four goals to fulfill these ambitions.

Goal 1: The United States will be the best place in the world to manufacture and attract direct foreign investment.

Goal 2: The United States will expand access to global markets to enable manufacturers to reach 95% of consumers who live outside our borders.

Goal 3: Manufacturers in the US will have the workforce the 21st-century economy requires.

Goal 4: Manufacturers in the US will be the world’s leading innovators.

NAM believes expanding global reach, increasing the skill set of the workforce, and awarding innovation will organically stimulate economic growth.

What policy recommendations do you have for expanding manufacturing in the United States?

From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, inventors have enhanced and improved our lives immeasurably. The inspiring book The Art of Invention by Steven J. Paley explores the psyche of these innovative individuals and summarizes what sets them apart from the rest of us.

Paley also outlines the three characteristics that define a great invention- simplicity, elegance, and robustness. Great creations typically have a simplistic way of solving a real-world problem. Often these solutions are right in front of us, but it takes an imaginative individual to bring the answer to light. The lowly paperclip comes to Paley’s mind as a case in point.

The process of the invention includes devising an idea for the “next big thing,” designing the product, conceptualizing a marketing plan, and selecting a production mechanism. Many times creative individuals have a great idea but aren’t sure how to proceed.

Paley offers guidance and shares examples on how to take your idea and turn it into a reality.