December 2004 Newsletter - The Tampa Bay Inventors Council

"Inventors Helping Inventors"
THE
Tampa Bay
INVENTOR
NEWSLETTER
SM
The Official Publication of the Tampa Bay Inventor's Council
10750-A Endeavour Way, Largo FL 33777
DECEMBER 2004
The Tampa Bay Inventor's Council is here to help you succeed, forge ahead, maintain your
purpose, and achieve what you intend to. Everyone in this group is behind you.
This Month's Events
Happy Holidays everyone! We hope that
you are having the best Holidays ever!
We have a short month since we have
only one meeting, but we have lots to talk
about and lots to prepare for in
anticipation of the New Year.
TBIC is evolving, changing and growing
in so many ways. We aren’t talking just
about our membership growth. We are
referring to the members themselves, as
well as what has happened for them. The
events that have taken place since they
have joined TBIC. Some have said that
their lives have changed due to becoming
a member and finding out that there is
help for them to finally do something
with their inventions without spending
thousands of dollars or being lied to. I
can’t count how many times I have been
told that we saved a member from
making the very costly mistake by a
matter of days. Our members say they
like being a part of a group that helps each
other network toward success. They like
associating with people who have the
same dreams or the same goals. It is nice
to hear things like this coming from our
members. This is what we’re all about
and we can proudly say we hope to
continue into the next year, changing
lives and helping to make dreams come
true. Just remember that we can do
much more when we travel in the
numbers that we have reached and as
long as we stick to our morals and try to
have a good attitude about our futures, I
think we can accomplish some world
changing goals!Just remember that we
can do much more when we travel in the
numbers that we have reached and as
long as we stick to our morals and try to
have a good attitude about our futures, I
think we can accomplish some world
changing goals!
December 8th Speaker
DON’T MISS THIS !
Tonight we will have the pleasure of
hearing Pamela Bird speak to our group.
Her bio is inside this newsletter on page
3. She has had some very impressive
experiences and I know she will be very
entertaining as well as informative to
our group. Lets welcome her with a
giant turnout this evening.
All Meetings Held At:
10750-A Endeavour Way
Largo FL 33777
on the
Second & Fourth
Wednesdays
each month
For More Information:
Call 727-548-5083
Toll-Free: 866-787-8242
8:30 am -- 5:00 pm
Monday -- Friday
A Message from
Our President
DECEMBER 2004
I’m looking forward to our Council’s activities for
December and January. We have Pam Bird on December
8th (she will have copies of her book Inventing For
Dummies on sale) discussing a subject dear to all our
hearts “Commercializing Your Invention”. A full
discussion of her appearance is found elsewhere in the Newsletter. In January, we have Mike
Seimer of MYDEA to discuss serious prototyping. Rob Aiken is hard at work developing
some bootstrap in house curriculum programs to help us determine the marketability of our
ideas. If Rob’s work here is of the same caliber as his contributions to our newsletters, its
something we can look forward to.
We had one bump in November which should have had a better outcome. Shark Marketing
was scheduled for a Saturday to take member presentations. At the last minute, something
came up and I got a call that we needed someone to open the door and conduct the
coordination with Shark. Unfortunately I was to be out of town and it turned out we had no
list of either how many were presenting or who was presenting. When I didn’t hear from
anyone on my broadcast email for help that Thursday, I called Tracy at Shark and asked her
to reschedule. She was grateful that I called if we weren’t sure of attendance and
immediately asked to reschedule in January. I then broadcast another email asking those I
got hold of to act like a phone tree to get the word out about the cancellation. I’m sure some
got missed and that’s not good. I am aware that some members put a lot of time into
preparation and apologize for how this came down. Believe it or not, for a volunteer
organization, we don’t have things like this happen often. The point is to learn from these
experiences so we don’t repeat them. The lesson here is to have a sign up sheet with contact
information. If you are scheduled to present in the future, insist on getting on a sign up
sheet.
Paula Davis has resigned as Treasurer and a Board member. She wishes me to thank all
those who voted for her at the August elections. She intends to continue her Junior Einstein
project. We thank Paula for all she has done, which is a lot.
Any one who wouldn’t mind having another checkbook to balance with about 10 checks a
month, we’d love hearing from you. Kirk Collins has volunteered to temporarily fill the
breach, but he will be traveling heavily early in the coming year.
A majority of the Board has decided to take some steps to increase membership. The details
are outlined elsewhere in the unapproved Board minutes. Let’s wish this project to be a
resounding success.
Between our recent Provisional Patent Application classes, Pam Bird’s commercialization
lectures, and Mike Seimer’s prototyping class, we should have all the inventing tools we
need to get some inventions going just in time to pay off those after those Holiday credit card
bills.
May your holidays be safe and wonderful !
Keep thinking outside the circle.
Page 2
Speaker for December 8th
Plan to attend !
This qualifies as a “Don’t Miss” !
Pamela Riddle Bird, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Innovative Product Technologies, Inc., Founder,
Inventors Educational Foundation Gainesville,
Florida and Sandpoint, Idaho
Dr. Pamela Bird is a nationally recognized
commercialization expert who directed one of the
largest publicly funded innovation centers in the U. S.
and has counseled thousands of inventors and
entrepreneurs for over two decades. She is the author
of Inventing For Dummies published by Wiley
Publishing Company. Dr. Bird is the national
President for the United Inventors Association. This
organization is comprised of inventor organizations
throughout the country, as well as independent
inventors and service providers to the inventor
community. She is the Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Innovative Product Technologies, Inc.
(IPT, Inc.). IPT, Inc. is a product and technology
based market commercialization corporation located
in Gainesville, FL with a branch office in Sandpoint,
Idaho.
She is currently the President of the United Inventors
Association. This organization is comprised of
inventor organizations throughout the United States,
independent inventors, as well as others who are
service providers and facilitators to inventors.
Dr. Bird is a liaison between inventor organizations,
venture capital organizations, entrepreneurial
networks and research park facilities. In fact, she
was interviewed and has served as a consultant to
ABC television network 20/20 as a national new
product development and commercialization expert.
Dr. Bird is the author of over 70 publications and has
been quoted and featured in numerous newspapers
throughout the country including the Wall Street
Journal, New York Times, Barron’s - The Dow Jones
Business and Financial Weekly, Forbes Magazine
and the Miami Herald.
Dr. Bird has taught classes on product
commercialization and technology transfer at various
universities throughout the nation. These classes
include: Intellectual Property Law; Marketing New
Products; and Financing New Products and
Technologies--Private Investors, Government
Grants and Venture Capital. She, as the CEO and
President of Innovative Product Technologies, Inc.,
developed a strategic relationship with the Wal-Mart
Inventors Network (WIN) to be the lead entity for the
southeastern part of the United States to review new
products and inventions. Wal-Mart is the world’s
largest retailer.
At the invitation of the U.S. Consulate, Dr. Bird
served as the “keynote” via satellite conference
with China officials regarding new product
commercialization and evaluation in the United
States.
Dr. Bird is the Founder of the Inventors Educational
Foundation. This is a non-profit public charity to
assist in the educational, as well as
commercialization needs of innovators and
entrepreneurs with new ideas, products and
technologies from all ages and walks of life. She cobranded the first credit card in the nation with
MBNA (one of the largest credit card companies in
the world) to be disseminated to innovators, patent
attorneys and patent agents. All proceeds received
from this card are donated to the Inventors
Educational Foundation.
Dr. Bird received a bachelor’s degree in Finance and
Banking, an MBA specializing in Economics, and
has a Ph.D. in Business Administration.
Her
Doctorate dissertation topic was the
“Commercialization Success Ratios of Independent
Inventors by Gender”. She is featured as a key
speaker in a video titled Inventing, Patenting and
Profiting: How to Make a Fortune on a Small
Budget by Inventing.
Upcoming Speakers
Jan. 12, 2005
Obviously, TV marketing can't help the
people who don't have a finished product
and the ones with product usually can't
afford it. That leaves the internet as an
alternative to promote one’s invention.
During our January 12th meeting, Ray
Dion (our October Speaker) and Carl
Lucchi will explain how easy and
affordable it is to use the internet as a
marketplace to promote your ideas. They
will discuss ‘affiliate marketing’ and
using search engines to drive traffic,
along with some things to avoid that
might alienate potential customers.
Please make sure that you attend this
meeting if you are interested in learning
more about internet marketing and how it
could help you promote your sales.
Jan. 26, 2005
Mr. Mike Siemer, President of MYDEA
in Orlando is going to host a serious class
on prototyping methods.
!-- WR
Page 3
Pat on the back
This month’s Pat is so very deserved by
Kirk Collins. I am typing this very
newsletter article on the computer that he
donated to TBIC! Kirk heard that we were
in need of a computer that could be mobile
and function for TBIC in various ways and
he offered to give us a Dell Laptop
Computer. It looks brand new and works
very well. I hope that he hears a big thank
you from us all at the next meeting. Thank
you Kirk for making TBIC’s life much
easier!
What’s Jennifer doing?
I’m not sure that a lot of you know what I do
now for TBIC or have been doing for the last
few weeks, so I thought I would give you the
low-down. I’m basically doing what I’ve
always been paid to do, work for you!
Most of you know that I am the Membership
Director for TBIC as well as the Secretary.
Since I’m no longer sitting behind a desk all
day, I’m able to go out into the world and let
people know that TBIC exists and we’re here
to help them with their ideas. I am making
speaking appearances at places like the Small
Business Development Center where we
have accumulated two new members so far.
I am also making appearances in other
venues on behalf of TBIC. Wayne Rasanen
and I did an interview for ABC Channel 28
on their show called Bay View. This taping
will air on December the 12th at midnight,
here in the Tampa Bay area. Wayne and I
were asked quite a few questions about the
inventing process and we informed the
viewers about how the members in our group
try to help one another to get our products to
the market and how we have the Direct TV
Industry coming in to see our Presentations.
In the last newsletter, I wrote about another
appearance that Richard Tellone and I made
on behalf of TBIC. We were asked to do a
testimonial for a product that Billy Mays is
to be representing in the near future. I am
BUSY!
I have lots more on my agenda and if there’s
a place you think I would do some good or
there’s someone you think I need to speak to
on behalf of TBIC, don’t hesitate to call me
and we will work out the details!
Now…off to the Chamber of Commerce!
!-- jk
Please Respect the Other Members
st
I have joined a group (at my expense) on
behalf of TBIC that networks between
members much like we do here at TBIC.
Members meet every Wednesday at 7:30 in
the morning before starting their workday.
They are called a Leads Group and, as I saw
when I attended my first meeting with them,
they go around the group and each person has
thirty seconds to tell what they do or what
they have to offer. Each member offers their
service or product to the membership at the
best rate they can offer. If this sounds like
something you would be interested in or you
would like to attend a meeting to see what it
is all about, you are more than welcome to
come to the Perkins restaurant on the
corner of Park & Starkey in at 7:30 any
Wednesday mornings.
Page 4
At the December 1 Board meeting,
several members said they have
received complaints about talking in the
back of the meeting room while the
meeting is going on. Some are hard of
hearing, some are distracted. While we
acknowledge that networking is vital for
all of us, we ask in the future that you try
and do before or after the meetings. Paul
Simmons has also offered the use of the
employee snack room in the garage area
if you need to talk during the meeting.
Availability is on a first come, first serve
basis. Similar courtesy would be
appreciated by turning off your cell
phone or putting it on silent answer
during the meeting.
!-- gm
Membership Report
NOV. – DEC. 2004
These are members who have joined,
renewed or upgraded since 10-06-04.
Membership as of 12-01-04
149 Members
New - Active
David Gibson
New - Sustaining
Scott Murphy
Diane Gillespie
Patty Strickland
Samantha Cheeker
Ambrose Jones
Sustaining - Renewed
Robert Geotze
Peter Lefferson
We would like to say a fond farewell to those
who didn’t renew their membership for
whatever reason. We hope you enjoyed your
time with TBIC. Remember us if that next
million dollar idea pops into your head!
Did you join or renew during this time period
and your name isn't listed? Notify us by
sending an email to George Mouzakis at
[email protected] or call him at
727-251-4056.
Membership fees will soon change
At one of the Board meetings in October,
it was decided by the Board of directors
that we needed to change our
membership structure and fees.
Starting on January 1, 2005 the
Memberships will be as follows:
Student/Jr. Einstein----------------$ 25.00
Sustaining Members (6 mos.)----$ 65.00
Sustaining Members (annual)---$125.00
Corporate Members --------------$250.00
Peter Lefferson is signed !
Peter has sent word that he is signed with
Global TV Concepts. He says Global is
taking his Halo Nightlight over to QVC and
then to Reliant to have it put in catalogs. This
is one of our most dedicated and most
deserving inventors. Let’s all wish Peter the
best of luck and hope that his mailbox holds a
royalty check real soon!
Plan On Doing Your Holiday
Shopping From The Sofa?
I have not ordered much other than
books from the internet. This year our
Affiliate web site found at the TBIC web
site ( www.tbic.us ) has a Barnes&
Noble link. With all the traffic and
parking lots forcing you to bring your
lunch and a canteen to avoid perishing
while en route from your car parked on
the periphery of the lot, I’m going to
vastly increase the proportion of my
shopping done by keyboard.
But first I wanted to make sure that
using our affiliate site didn’t cost more
than keyboarding direct-after all,
someone has to pay for TBIC to get a
cut. So being a good inventor, I first
went to the Barnes and Noble site and
ordered the desired items and
continued till I got my final checkout
total after readers advantage, coupons,
etc. I then went to our TBIC website
(www.tbic.us ) and hooked up with the
ICTT affiliate website which throws a
couple bucks TBIC’s way at no cost to
we inventors.....Sure enough, I got the
same checkout total!
So if any of you are planning on buying
items by keyboard from any of the large
number of vendors we are provided ,
can I ask you to consider doing it via our
website? It costs you nothing and is a
win win situation for TBIC.
(Plus, it makes our Treasurer sleep
easier at night.)
Thanks.
Page 5
National / International Upcoming Events
( Submitted by Robert Aiken, Board Member )
Conferences
December 6, 2004
May 5, 2005
Patent & Trademark Office Day, D.C.
8th Annual Success by Design Conference
Events
Trade Shows
Jan. 27-30, 2005
March 18-20, 2005
Toy Fair - London
Travel Goods Show, Florida
A Very Amusing Show
There was a show recently held in Orlando that one of our dedicated members, David
Norton, brought to our attention. This show was put on for the Amusement Park industry.
Anything you can imagine having to do with the industry was shown here, including the
turnstiles that you go through to enter a theme park!
As you can see from some of these pictures, Irene, David and myself filled our day with
looking around and trying to introduce ourselves to some of the creative people that were
showing there. David has a connection with the show. He is shown below with a Game
Machine that he created and is still profiting from today. There seemed to be no solid
leads to benefit our members, but I did grab some brochures from some of the booths that I
thought might be good manufacturing leads for some of our inventors. I will have these
brochures at the December meeting.
Big Inflatables.
It’s a good thing the place is
so big, there were at least 20
of these!
Me and Abominable
I just love this Big Guy!
Creatures . . .
Taking a break from Halloween Horror
Nights. You should have seen what
these things were doing! Scary!
We walked and walked and still
didn’t get to see it all!
Ahhh Dino, you’re so cute.
Page 6
David’s game machine
WEBSITES (Links) & PHONE NUMBERS
Brief descriptions in parentheses
U.S. Government
U.S. Govt. General Information Site
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (800) 786-9199
U.S.P.T.O. Kids' Page
FL Patent Depository Library; Tampa (813) 974-2726
SATOP-Space Alliance Tech (NASA helps inventors; free)
SBIR/STTR (government wants inventions)
Small Business Administration (800) 827-5722
www.FirstGov.gov
www.uspto.gov
www.uspto.gov/go/kids
www.lib.usf.edu/virtual/gov/patent
www.spacetechsoluttons.com
www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir
www.sba.gov
State Government
Florida Department of Revenue
New Business Start Up
USF Technology Incubator (free help to inventors; Tampa)
www.state.fl.us/dor
www.sunbiz.org
www.incubator.usf.edu
For Inventors
Edison Inventors Assn. (inventors club, Ft. Myers)
Edison Inventors Youth Programs
World Intellectual Property Organization
National Inventor Fraud Center
United Inventors Assn. (large national. org.)
Inventors Digest (magazine)
Patent Café (inventor's issues)
The Basics of Patenting & Innovating
Ask The Inventors
That's An Idea (inventors directory)
Inventions.com (inventors directory)
Invention University
InventNet - Inventor's Network
MIT-Lemelson Inventors Site
Invention Development
Innovation TRIZ (problem solving method)
KeyWord Patent Search (workbook)
Intergraph (“SmartSketch Invent” CAD software)
Attorney Referral Service
Contigency Lawyer Listing
Ed Dutkiewicz (reg. patent attorney; Dunedin)
David Ellis (patent attorney; Largo)
Dave Kiewit (reg. patent agent; St. Pete)
Smith & Hopen (reg. patent attorney; Clearwater)
FL Inventors Network - John Blue (Tampa)
www.edisoninventors.org
www.edison-science-inventors-fairs.org
www.wipo.org
www.inventorfraud.com
www.uiausa.com
www.inventorsdigest.com
www.patentcate.com
www.inventors.about.com/od/firststeps/
www.asktheinventors.com
www.ThatsAnldea.com
www.inventions.com
www.inventionuniversity.com
www.inventnet.com
www.mit.edu/invent
www.inventorehelper.com
www.innovation-triz.com
www.keypatent.net
www.intergraph.com/smartsketch/invent
www.AttorneyReferralOnLine.com
www.patent-dispute.com
www.colitz.com
http://publish.pdesigner.com/davidrellis/index.jsp
www.patent-faq.com
www.baypatents.com
www.finjb.com
Product Design, Prototyping, Manufacturing
Manufacturers Information Network
Machine Design (rapid design & prototyping info.)
Inventioneering (product design, prototyping; Clearwater)
eMachineShop (product design, prototyping, free CAD)
QTM Prototypers (product design, prototyping; Oldsmar)
Mydea Technologies (product design, prototyping; Orlando)
www.mfginfo.com
www.machinedesign.com
www.inventioneering.org
www.emachineshop.com
www.qtminc.com
www.mydeatechnologies.com
Trade Show Hosts
Invention Connection
Trade Show Nat'l. Network
Invent Now America (USPTO contests; nonprofit org.)
ERA Invention Showcase (Electronic Retailers Ass'n.)
www.inventionconnection.com
www.tsnn.com
www.inventnowamerica.com
www.americaninventiveness.org
Business Data & Info.
SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives)
Small Business Development Center (USA)
Entrepreneurial Education
FL Women's Entrepreneurs
FL Trade Data Center (305) 876 - 9747
S.W. FL Int'l. Trade Assn. (239) 466 -0785
Information Tabulations
World's Market Research
Thomas Registry
Industry Analysis
Toy Industry Ass'n. (212) 675-1141
www.census.com
www.worldopinion.com
www.thomasregister.com
http://research.thomsonib.com/
www.toy-tia.org
Marketing Services
Innovative Product Technologies
The Better Mouse Trap
Big Idea Group
Market Launchers
Inventor's Mall 123
Idea Village
SmartInventions.com
Ideas Happen (contests; age 18 - 29)
www.inventone.com
www.thetrap.com
www.BigldeaGroup.net
www.marketlaunchers.com
www.InventorsMall123.com
www.ideavillage.com
www.smart-inventions.com
www.ideashappen.msn.com/Pitch/
Parts, Supplies, Materials
Don's Salvage Yard (used stuff; Clearwater)
Skycraft Electronic Parts (new parts, Orlando)
American Science & Surplus (mechanical. & electrical)
W. M. Berg, Inc. (small parts supplier)
Plastics America (supplier & mfr., Clearwater)
www.donssalvage.com
www.skycraftsurplus.com
www.sciplus.com
www.wmberg.com
www.plasticsamerica.com
www.score.org
www.asbdc-us.org
www.entre-ed.org
www.nawboswfl.org
Page 7
Information contained herein was written by
Mary Bellis at http://inventors.about.com
Page 8
How To Name Your Company or Product in 5 Easy Steps
By Lauren Teton
Before she opened Heffalumps and Woozles children’s clothing store, Tracey Baines stopped
walkers on the street near her new store site to ask which name from a short list they preferred.
She might have chosen the name she did even if it did not win in her survey, because it pleased
her, and sent the message she wanted to send. Do you have to name something -- your
company, your new product, your newsletter, your goldfish?
Here is a process in 5 easy steps that can help you come up with a great name.
1. Describe: Sit down, and explain it simply to someone who has no idea what it is. The process
of talking about it is invaluable at distilling out the most important aspects of your product. Jot
down a concise description, and use it as a framework.
2. Expand: Look at your description, and jot other words that come to mind and describe your
product.
Let’s say you are naming a disposable wash cloth. You might note these words: soft, hygienic,
inexpensive, practical, convenient. The longer the list, the more creative ammunition you will
have. Now we start putting your right brain to work.
3. Create: Looking at your notes, play with the words. Combine words into created compound
words or combine features of your product to create new (coined) words. These are extremely
popular these days since most "natural" words are already taken. Use alliteration, rhyme,
vowel harmony. Use the thesaurus to find under-utilised words equivalent to the ones you’ve
written.
Write the names you create (neatly, no use if you can’t read them later). Go for volume. Try to
come up with 20, or 50 if you can. As Linus Pauling said, "The best way to have a good idea is
to have lots of ideas." If one of the names you have just created causes a little shiver down your
spine, your instinct might be telling you it’s a winner.At least that has happened to me.
4. Pick and Test: Find the 10 best names from your list. Then the top 5 from there. Make sure
the "finalists" you choose please you. Don’t "fall in love" with any one of them until you do a
bit more work. Test each one. Is it easy to pronounce? How will it sound on the phone or radio?
Will people be able to spell it after hearing it? Not considering these questions carefully can be
costly or devastating.
5. Trademark: Now comes the really hard part. That is ensuring that you can trademark the
name.
Read the full article in the ‘Naming your business’ section of HowToAdvertise.co.nz at
www.howtoadvertise.co.nz/lauren.shtml
.........................................................................................................
Lauren Teton is a partner at Name One! of Pound Ridge, New York where they name products and companies.
Wow! Potato Chips for Frito-Lay and SpringHill Suites for Marriott are two of the many names the company has
created.
Lauren Teton Name One!
Pound Ridge, NY
Phone: 914 764-0115
Better Names for Business
http://nameone.net (our business site)
http://talkingnames.com (my site)
! – Paul Niemann, President of MarketLaunchers.com, http://www.marketlaunchers.com
Page 9
Opening a new market?
TBIC has some very inventive inventors and
at two of our recent presentations, there have
been some unusual products shown to the
industry. These products have to do with the
Adult Industry. They were very tasteful and
for some I think they could be very useful.
I’m sure that there might be other people out
there that have at least wondered where an
adult product might be sold. As one of the
Representatives pointed out, this is a growing
industry and there should be more contacts.
She left us with the only one she knew of. It is
called the Inpex Convention and it is held in
th
th
Pittsburgh PA, June 8 -11 . There is a
contact name, Lydia at 412-288-2136.
If we are opening the door for more ideas to
come through then so be it. We would like to
enable our inventors to bring all their ideas to
our club for the industries to see. So if you
know of someone with a connection that we
may use or if you have an idea that you need
to bring out of the closet then it looks like
TBIC is a great place to do it.
Book Review Department
Baywater Publishing has a new book
out :
PATENT PRO SE by John Ferrell, Esq.
$79.99 plus $6.50 S&H
It is a guidebook for doing your own
Provisional PatentApplication.
The book addresses technique as well as
form and is available to TBIC members
at a discount.
If you are new to the Provisional Patent
process, you will find this book to be a
very helpful guide.
If you are interested in looking a copy
over, contact George Mouzakis at
[email protected] and put
“Patent Pro SE” in the subject line.
Page 10
Here’s some motivation !
First of all, if you have an invention that you
believe is market-worthy and you’re
procrastinating for some reason, WHAT ARE
YOU WAITING FOR? That idea that’s in your
head is going to stay right there unless you do
something to make it a reality. It’s time to get
busy. Don’t you realize that you’re part of a
group of people who are determined to see
success? And if you are a member, you need to
be doing something in the way of getting your
product to the market.
Each week I see a number of members, as well
as the Board, putting their heads together, and
trying to devise new, improved ways to get the
members motivated to work on their inventions
and get them in the seats on meeting nights. (I
also see those people who only come in to
present their products.)
It’s obvious that some of the members
understand that this has to be a group effort.
That’s why we’re putting together classes, such
as the one on Provisional Patent Pointers that
George Mouzakis held at the last general
meeting.
We’re trying to set up actual studios for our
members to come in and use to prepare for
presentations or prepare themselves to present
their own product in a commercial or TV spot.
The select few are trying to help TBIC live up to
the motto that we have actually had
trademarked, ‘Inventors Helping Inventors’.
TBIC now owns the rights to that motto. With
the efforts that these people are putting forth, we
still are falling short of the progress we need to
be making. We need more than the select few
helping out and trying to make TBIC a better
club.
One of the draws that gets companies to come
see our products is that we are quite a large group
and they see that there is potential for many
products to be seen at one time. We need to be
even bigger !
In an effort to boost our membership, the Board
decided that if you bring a new member into the
group you will receive 20% of their membership
fee! That’s right, you will receive 20% of every
membership fee you bring to the club. This
program is in effect until further notice.
We need to grow and get the word out to the
inventor population that we exist, and we all
know there’s no better way than word of mouth.
So get talking!
Minutes of Board Meeting
November 17, 2004 and Treasurer’s Report
Members present: George Mouzakis, Paul Simmons, Dan Meier, Wayne Rasanen, Robert Aiken,
Jennifer Knoepp, Irene Petree, Paula Davis, Greg Carbonaro
Call to Order - Paula Davis
Discussed review of previous meeting minutes and their inadequacy due to faulty voice recorder. It was decided to purchase an inexpensive mp3 player to
record future meetings - by unanimous vote George was charged with getting at Costco.
Board acknowledged the cancellation of the Nov 3 meeting due to lack of a quorum. As some members didn’t have access to their e mail before heading to
meeting, it was determined that future notice would be by phone.
The Treasurer’s report was given by Paula, a copy of which is below. In an attempt to reduce TBIC outlays, several items were discussed:
• Setting a budget for member meeting refreshments. Dan M. asked for detailed information regarding refreshment outlays be provided at the next meeting. It
was also determined that at the Dec 8th meeting, those attending would be queried regarding refreshment alternatives or possibly eliminating entirely and
replace with vending machines. Dan also suggested a “tip jar” as an alternative. Doris Gundrum said the expense included supplies for the bathroom and Paul S.
said there was no need for that as he was supplying these items.
• A suggestion was made to change the newsletter frequency to either bi-monthly or quarterly. The newsletter costs approximately $400.00/ month to publish.
Both Irene P.And Jen K. felt this would be a mistake and the matter was dropped without further discussion. Wayne R stated that one member had called stating
that he had not been receiving his newsletters and requested that either their dues be refunded or the back issues be provided. Both Jen K and George M recalled
this member had complained several years ago about the same issue. Both noted that newsletters were in fact mailed by first class mail to an address given them
and no newsletters had been returned. Wayne was asked to confirm his mailing address so we could match with the address on file. As of this writing, the
member has not yet responded to Wayne.
Paul Simmons asked to have the floor. Paul S. stated that the bicycle that was offered to TBIC at a bargain price should be auctioned off at the December 8th
meeting even though the funds were less than expected and that he would eat the shortfall. Paul made it clear that it was the responsibility of the winner to pick up
the bike and if there were to be shipping costs, they were the responsibility of the winner-the Board unanimously agreed.
Paul asked Jennifer K to read an e mail titled “re: Surprise??” to the Board. Irene P stated that she felt the e mail should not be read as it was new business. Jen K.
Read the e mail and a discussion ensued. Paul S. Excused himself from the meeting at this time. Jennifer K. then requested the floor. Jennifer stated to the
Board her requirements regarding compensation and her general duties as to her involvement with TBIC. Those requirements were as follows:
• A cell phone to be used for TBIC business. A message would be recorded on the TBIC land line directing calls to theTBIC cell phone number. Greg C. had
researched cell phone alternatives and stated it was important for callers to talk to a live voice. Although the TBIC land line is answered by a live voice they are
only able to take messages for TBIC. The cheapest alternative appeared to be a T mobile phone for approximately $62.00/month when tax was included. It
required the signing of a one year contract: budget impact is $744.00/year
• A laptop computer to store TBIC information. A member (see Pat on the Back) donated a laptop. Jen K. stated she needed internet access and Greg C. Said he
probably had items allowing her to network to her homes high speed cable access.
• Jennifer K. indicated that for all the things she does for TBIC she required a contract spanning 8-10 weeks in which to work on behalf of TBIC to secure
memberships. The cost of this contract was to be $1400.00 to be paid out at the rate of $175.00/week beginning that Friday. A majority of the Board stated that
they would consider the program a success if at least 12 memberships were secured during that time. It could be 12 of any level of membership, mix or match.
The question was raised that since there were going to be only one meeting a month in November and one in December and since the holidays didn’t seem
conducive to people spending money on memberships, that maybe the program should start in January after the holidays. Jen K, stated that the number of
meetings was not relevant and that none of the above would affect her membership sales and that she needed to get going. The overall scope of this campaign
besides securing 12 new memberships, was to solicit timely renewals of expiring memberships, public relations, business involvement and related matters in
which TBIC and its members are promoted. Other duties such as newsletter input are to be considered voluntary duties that will not suffer in the course of
securing new memberships and renewing old ones. It was agreed that this contract with Jen K. was not an employment contract but an outside contractor
relationship in which Jen K. has complete autonomy in performing the agreed upon scope. Jen K. Will provide a W-9 to TBIC and is responsible for all
employment taxes, workers compensation, etc. as she agrees that she is not an employee of TBIC. It was agreed that she would provide progress reports to the
Board on a weekly basis. After discussion, George M. asked for a motion which was made by Irene P. Jen K., Irene P., Greg C., Rob A., Dan M., Wayne R.
Voted Yea. Paul S. Was not present. George M.Abstained. Paula D. voted against. The motion carried by a majority vote.
Jennifer K. And Irene P. then stated that Paula should be compensated for her work as Treasurer and for maintaining the web site. Paula said that for her duties as
Treasurer she only asked the Board’s respect. George M. reiterated that the TBIC bank balance had declined over $3000.00 and that the organization required
volunteers to survive. The membership classifications were revisited and confirmed as follows:
Student (under 18) and Junior Einstein Club $25.00
Sustaining (6 months) $65.00
Sustaining (12 months) $125.00
Active – Eliminated
Paula D. was given the floor. At this time Paula resigned her position of Treasurer, Board member and Co-Secretary. She cited irreconcilable differences. She
agreed to help with these positions for two more weeks maximum. She indicated she intended to remain involved with the Young Einstein program.
Ellie Esposito attended the Board meeting and asked to address the Board. She said that in the future, when items involving the budget are brought up at general
member meetings for member discussion, she would like to see both sides of the case presented: Ellie was thanked for taking the time to provide her input to the
Board.
The meeting was adjourned.
Treasurer’s Report for November
(Unaudited)
Balance Sheet
Assets – Cash on hand and in Bank
Liabilities
Newsletter Accrued Expense
IPT Books
Excess/Equity
$4914.73
$( 450.00)
$( 294.92)
$4169.81
Income Statement
Income
Book Sales
Memberships
Newsletter Ads
Total Income
$25.00
$470.00
$ 25.00
$520.00
Expenses
Printing Brochures
Refreshments
Postage
Membership Expense
Increase in Cash
$ ( 77.50)
$(203.84)
$ ( 15.00)
$ ( 50.00)
$ 173.66
Page 11
BULLETIN BOARDS
Just A Note
All items to be placed on our bulletin
boards should be given or sent to Jennifer
Knoepp, our TBIC secretary. These items
will be dated to stay on the Board for two
months, after which they may be
resubmitted, if there is room. Otherwise,
that item will have a one-month waiting
period.
We would like to remind our
members that our Board meetings are
open to you if you would like to sit in
on them. We usually meet at 7:00 on
the alternate Wednesday nights
between our regular meeting nights .
TBIC reserves the right to determine the
suitability of all items posted. TBIC
neither investigates, promotes, endorses
nor profits from the information provided
and will govern themselves accordingly.
GENERAL MEETINGS
CALENDAR
VOLUNTEERS
Monthly Meetings
December 8, 2004 .... 7:30 pm
December 22 .... Cancelled
We could use some help here!! We are asking
that those of you who could spare a little time
before the meetings, please come in and help
welcome people. Tell them what you know
about TBIC. Help them with filling out a new
visitor form so that we can all welcome them to
the meeting and introduce them to the
membership.
Members are invited to write letters
for inclusion in the newsletter.
Email to [email protected],
fax to 727-547-5490 or mail to TBIC at
our office address.
Letters should be brief, to the point,
and be accompanied by member
name, email address . and phone
number. Letters can be edited for
clarity, taste and length. Letters will
be printed as room permits.
We hope that those of you who have taken
advantage of our Affiliate Program had a
good experience. We hope that you will
continue to make your purchases this
way. For those who haven't tried the
program or don't know how to use it can
go to the TBIC web site, www.tbic.us and
click on 'General Information'.
Other Meetings / Presentations
None Scheduled due to Holidays
Next Monthly Meetings
January 12 2005 .... 7:30 pm
January 26, 2005 .... 7:30 pm
Membership
Make your inventing
process more effective and
more fun !
A few benefits you will enjoy:
• Monthly Newsletters
• Free Workshops
• Updates on Legislation
affecting the industry
• Current Industry News
• Focus Groups
• Inventor-Related Computer Programs
• Inventor’s Library
• Formal Presentations to
Marketing Media Representatives
• Access to Machine & Wood Shops
Bring a Friend !
Membership Director: Jennifer Knoepp
Page 12
C L A S S I F I E D S
T B I C
Promote your idea with Video !
Professional video services are available
to TBIC members at a very affordable rate.
Let us produce the message you IN10DID
Call 727-372-0155 and ask for Wayne
Your Ad Could Be Here Next Month
Would You Like to Advertise
Your Product or Service?
IT’S E-Z 2 DO !
NEED TO GET AWAY ?
LE
WILL DO BABY-SITTING IN MY HOME.
CONTACT MICHAEL JACKSON
NEVERLAND RANCH, CA.
P
SAM
NEW MONEY MAKING INVENTION
Frank B. Arenas
Juris Doctor, Law
Registered Patent Agent
Registration Number 51,412
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Bachelor of Science, Architectural Engineering
Inventor, U.S. Patents: 4,498,526 • 5,209,702
Intellectual Property Consultant
LE
Spin straw into gold in your spare time.
Go to www.millerswife.com or Call
st
Rumplestiltskin @ 1 -Born Enterprises
P
SAM
PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
D o n ’ t L o s e Yo u r B e s t I d e a s .
Protect Them. See a Qualified Patent
Attorney. Call Dewey, Cheatham & Howe at
1-800-555-LOSER
(352)748-6629
www.frankarenas.com
1511 Taylor Avenue • Coleman FL 33521
Discounts to Independent Inventors
WILL DO I.D. BADGES OR
NEWSLETTERS FOR FOOD
CALL Tampa Bay Inventors Council
727-555-0000.
Ask for Gary.
LE
P
M
SA
DRAFTING
Where do you go to get the DRAWINGS done for your PATENT or
TRADEMARK? And where might you find someone to make the
DRAWINGS for the manufacturer's perusal?
Richard Humphrey
(727) 938-2017
Email: [email protected]
Each Space Like This
Would Cost $5.00 Per Month
Larger Ads Can Run
Each Ad Block Taken
Would Cost $5.00 Per Month
This Sample Ad Takes Up Two Blocks
Household
Repair
Specialist
2 x $5 = $10
Even Larger and Wider Ads Can Run
Each Ad Block
Would Cost $5.00 Per Month
This Sample Ad Takes Up Four Blocks
4 x $5 = $20
If you would like to advertise your product or service,
or if you have any questions . . .
Contact the TBIC Office
Phone:
727-548-5083
Toll Free: 866-787-8242
Page 13
2004-2005
OFFICERS AND
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
George Mouzakis - President
[email protected]
Need to Reach TBIC ?
Jennifer Knoepp
Membership Director
Office:
727-548-5083
Toll-Free: 866-787-8242
Irene Petree - Vice President
[email protected]
George Mouzakis
President
Jennifer Knoepp - Secretary
[email protected]
Kirk Collins - Treasurer
[email protected]
Robert Aiken
[email protected]
Greg Carbonaro
[email protected]
Dan Meier
[email protected]
Wayne Rasanen
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Web Site Info:
www.tbic.us
Visit our web site for information
on current and past happenings.
You can download current and
past newsletters in *.pdf format.
You will need to have Adobe
Acrobat Reader on your computer.
If you don't already have it, go to
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat
/readstep2.html
to download this free document
viewer.
Paul Simmons
[email protected]
Founder: Ron E. Smith
Would you like to contribute an article
or editorial message to this newsletter?
Just write up your contribution and
email it to [email protected] or fax it to
727-547-5490.
Material must be received no later than
the last day of the month prior to the
next publication.
Page 14
Newsletter Staff
Executive Editor . . . George Mouzakis
Contributing Editor. . . Jennifer Knoepp
Publisher . . . . . . . . Gary M. Simmons
To submit articles, send emails to:
[email protected] or
[email protected]
Articles and other items must be
received by the first Tuesday of each
month.
DUES DESCRIPTIONS
A Student Member at the $25.00 rate
must be an active student. They may
attend meetings and receive the
Newsletter.
An Active Member ($45.00) enjoys the
benefit of attending meetings, seminars,
socializing and networking with the
other members, receiving the Newsletter
and participating as a reviewer in our
Focus Groups.
A Sustaining Member ($120.00) has
the same privileges described above and
others such as being allowed to present
their protected product to all of the
various companies that come to TBIC to
find new products for the market such as
Sharper Image, Reliant and Idea Village
as well as many Catalog companies.
Sustaining members are allowed to
utilize our woodworking and machine
shops for prototyping here at the TBIC
headquarters. Members usually find
other members with the prototyping
knowledge that they need, pay that
member for their time and also for
prototyping materials used. Sustaining
members also may ask to have a free
Focus Group done on their product, be
allowed to display their product in our
designated display areas and receive a
free Science Notebook, (valued at
$15.00) to log progress on their
invention.
Corporate Membership of $250.00
will allow your corporation to elect up to
3 Corporate members to sit in on
meetings as well as all of the above. Also
this membership will allow said
corporation to have access to new
products before they are introduced to
the open market.
The Tampa Bay Inventors' Council (TBIC) is a
corporation as defined in Chapter 617, Florida
Statutes, as not for profit. The corporation is
organized exclusively for charitable, educational
and scientific purposes. The TBIC is a 501(C)(3)
charitable corporation, which allows the receiving
of tax deductible contributions of goods and
services. There are over 150 active members
willing to share their expertise and experiences
with fellow inventors.
Membership
Application/Renewal
Please Send Your Dues to:
TBIC
10750-A Endeavour Way
Largo FL 33777
Make Check or Money Order to:
Tampa Bay Inventors Council
PLEASE FILL IN ALL
THE BLANKS BELOW
NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP:
PHONE:
SPONSOR:
Check One:
Student Member $25
Active Member $45
Sustaining Member $120
Corporate Member $250
Page 15
LARGO FL 33777-1622
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
10750-A Endeavour Way •
Information and articles printed in this
newsletter are not necessarily
endorsed by the T.B.I.C. and may not be
applicable to everyone.
SM
TAMPA BAY INVENTORS COUNCIL