Hello, My Name Is. . . The best way to protect your invention? Brand your name.

Lea Cavender's epiphany, one that would change her lifeforever, occurred in a ribbon store. Back when the founder of E-ZBowz LLC was still an employee at Ribbon Outlet, she realized thebiggest reason people didn't buy more ribbons was that theysimply didn't know how to tie bows. So she recruited theassistance of her father to create E-Z BowMaker, a wooden devicethat made tying beautiful bows a snap.

Ribbon Outlet immediately placed an order for a whopping 10,000E-Z BowMakers in 1993, and Cavender, 43, was off and running. Sheand her 48-year-old husband, Art, quickly built the business tosales of $1.5 million during its first year.

Cavender got another boost during the start-up stage: Sheattended the 1993 Hobby Industry Association for Crafts Show, whereshe set up a demonstration table at which people could make theirown bows. "We had people lined up the entire show wanting tomake a bow," she says. "Our 'make it/take it'strategy created tremendous interest in our product."

As a direct result of that successful show, Cavender got a dealwith C.M. Offray and Son Inc., a leading manufacturer of decorativeribbons. Offray agreed to distribute the E-Z BowMaker to all itscraft retail store customers with the exception of Michael's,which Cavender kept as a house account. "Offray reapedimmediate dividends because everyone who bought an E-Z BowMakerbought lots more ribbon," explains Cavender. "It was awinning situation for both them and us."

By 1999, Cavender had managed to increase sales to more than $5million. But she realized her start-up advantages wouldn'tnecessarily result in long-term sales success. She was vulnerableto competitors producing better products or offering knock-offversions of her product at a lower price. She also had the possiblethreat of a ribbon company offering a free or reduced-pricedbow-maker to consumers as an incentive to purchase more of thatcompany's ribbons. Cavender could have been out of business orexperienced dramatically reduced sales if any of those eventsoccurred. So she formed a strategy to brand her name. Her goal: tohave people interested in crafts recognize and associate her namewith quality, easy-to-use craft products.

Cavender has spent the past six years making her name knownthrough heavy TV exposure, new products and product packaging.Branding her name has created a strong market presence for Cavenderand helps ensure strong sales even if competitors produce similarproducts.

Secrets Of TheCraft
Cavender believes the most important ingredient for aninventor's success is a "can-do attitude; not everthinking you can fail." She also believes in "putting allher cards on the table" when approaching manufacturers anddistributors and "being very open about the fact that you needhelp to succeed."

One last tip: "Don't try to manufacture the productyourself until you have success marketing it." Cavenderbelieves inventors need to concentrate on selling their products,and they can't do that if they're trying to overcome dozensof manufacturing-related problems.

Make Television Appearances

Cavender has a two-pronged TV strategy: One approach is toappear on home shopping networks, and the second, as she puts it,is "to be on as many related TV shows as possible."Cavender marketed her product on Home Shopping Network every otherweek from 1994 to 1998, before switching to QVC in 1999. She reapedsubstantial sales on the network-$150,000 from just her firstTV appearance.

Meanwhile, Cavender has appeared as a frequent guest on cable TVshows that target people interested in crafts, including TheCarol Duvall Show on HGTV, Aleene's Creative Livingon TNN and Handmade by Design on Lifetime. Cavender saysshe's "always bubbly and animated" on the shows andends up "getting a lot of fan mail from thoseappearances."

Has She Got A Deal ForYou!
Have a great craft idea, but don't know how to get it off theground? Cavender is always on the lookout for craft products todistribute. If she believes she can sell your product, she'lleven help arrange for manufacturing. Cavender started this programto expand her product line . . . and because she remembers how hardit was for her to get started. "I try to help other inventorswhenever I can," she says.

The deal Cavender offers inventors varies depending on the levelof production support she would have to provide, but she's anideal outlet for inventors who don't have the capital or timeto push their products onto the market.

Visit the E-Z Bowz Web page at www.ezbowz.com for more information.

Put A Picture On A Product

Having established her name on TV, Cavender's next objectivewas to make sure consumers would link her name with her product inthe stores. While Cavender acknowledges "only 20 percent ofpeople purchase products from TV," she also feels those other80 percent are still affected by TV ads and would remember herpicture if she placed it on the product. Consequently, all her newproducts boast her picture on the box. Putting her picture on thebox provides Cavender with two major benefits: First, it helpsconsumers immediately recognize her products on the shelf andincreases their confidence that the products will work. Second,putting her picture on the packaging makes it much easier forCavender to introduce her new products. Retailers now have anincentive to put E-Z Bowz's products on the shelf: They knowthe products will be promoted on TV. In the past few years,Cavender has successfully introduced Angel Bowz Kits and the E-ZRose and FlowerMaker, largely due to her success in branding hername.

Got An Old Patent HangingAround?/b>
Inventors' Digestmagazine has a nationwide database of inventions available forsale or license. Included in the listings are the names anddescriptions of the inventions as well as inventors' names,addresses and phone numbers. This database is shared only withmanufacturers looking for ideas. The cost to list an invention isjust $10. For application forms, send an SASE to Inventors'Digest, P.O. Box 70, Guffey, CO 80820, or call (800)838-8808.

Create Brand Identity

Inventors sometimes concentrate on branding a company name suchas E-Z Bowz, a product name such as E-Z BowMaker or a person'sname such as Lea Cavender's. Branding the inventor's nameis a better strategy in almost every case for three reasons:

1) People relate better to people thanthey do products or companies. They're likelier tobelieve the claims of a strong individual than those of acompany.

2) Branding a name gives an inventormore flexibility as to the products he or she can introduce in thefuture. Cavender, for example, can use the credibilityshe earned as a television expert to help introduce other itemsthat aren't craft-related.

3) People notice the picture of aperson on a package if it's someone they recognize.They will also remember a brand name, but not as well as theyremember a person.

Like Cavender, most successful inventors concentrate on onetarget customer group and work on introducing one product afteranother to that group. With that in mind, you should give seriousconsideration to branding your name when you introduce your firstinvention. Not only will this help you sell your first product, asit shows you truly stand behind it, but it makes selling futureproducts much easier as well. Branding is one tactic that gives youa major advantage over the conglomerates, which can only brand thenames of their companies and product lines. Inventors need everyedge they can get to succeed, so start putting your smiling face infront of your target customers today.

Go By The Book

How to transform that crude sketch into a bona fide patentdrawing

One way underfinanced inventors can cut patent costs is to learnto do their own patent drawings. The best book on the topic is thesecond edition of How to Make Patent Drawings Yourself: PrepareFormal Drawings Required by the U.S. Patent Office (NoloPress) by patent agent Jack Lo and patent attorney David Pressman,available for $20.97 at www.nolo.com.

The book covers how to do illustrations with a pen and ruler, acomputer or a camera. The last two techniques are ones evenartistically challenged inventors can manage. You can also readrather extensive explanations of patent drawings to help youunderstand prior art patents that your patent might potentiallyinfringe on. The book explains all the details required on drawingsfor the Patent Office. Even if you hire a patent attorney, thisbook is worth reading, as it can help minimize the $200-per-hourconsulting time you'll need with your attorney.

The book also offers recommendations for both 2-D and 3-Ddrawing software. One such 2-D program is AutoSketch, whichI've personally found useful for doing layout drawings for ads,packages and brochures. It's available from Autodesk for $99(street); visit www.autodesk.com for more information.

Don Debelak is a new-business marketing consultant and theauthor of Bringing Your Product to Market(John Wiley& Sons). Send him your invention questions at dondebelak@uswest.net.