Invent It, Sell It, Bank It!: Make Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality Read Online Free PDF Page A

materialize. There’s always one more form to fill out, one more phone call to make, one more person to track down. So you’ll need to have discipline and an organized system to keep on task.
    Many of today’s inventors probably rely on any number of apps for that. My system, however, has always been and remains quite low tech. I keep lists on my iPhone and computer, but my team teases me about the number of yellow notepads I have. I love notepads. I love writing things down with an inky pen and seeing the scope of my to-do’s all in front of me at one time so I can prioritize. I have a lot of balls in the air at one time and the list changes frequently. I’ll write five columns on the front page listing all my Shark Tank ventures; my QVC business; contracts, agreements, and negotiations; new product development; outside retailers; video shoots; social media, and more. I try to check things off as I go through them, but it’s always a work in progress. Then I rewrite my lists to narrow them down, and of course they instantly get just as crowded again. I usually have about four notepads going at any one time, and then when I travel I condense them down to two. It sounds crazy to schlep all that weight in this day of sleek phones and wafer-thin computers and tablets, but nothing beats the satisfaction of writing on a lined piece of paper with a black pen, and then crossing the words out. That quirk probably helps explain why I’m drawn to inventing tactile products and not techy ones.
    It’s hard for entrepreneurs to delegate, but over time I’ve learned how. And yet my to-do lists remain as long as ever because I stay so closely involved with each of my products, projects, and ventures. I can ask people to communicate with our factories, and trust others to arrange for samples to be shippedon time or transmit orders, but only I can confirm that a product’s design and creation are true to my vision.
    One last thing should be said about being organized and making plans. Of course, you need to make them, but a smart entrepreneur also knows when to go off script. It’s common for people to believe that before they embark on a big project they need to have a fully outlined master plan. I’ve never worked that way; I don’t think it’s wise. How can you make a plan when you don’t even know where to begin? Only by figuring out each step you need to take can you see the shape of your plan. Each discovery leads to the next one, so your plans will always need to adapt. Figure out what you’re going to need next, and then use your organizational skills to get to that next step. Allow yourself room to be spontaneous, to change your mind or adjust your expectations. Structure and discipline are important, but don’t ever let your plan become a cage that bars you from reacting quickly, taking advantage of opportunities, or adapting to new realities. Be willing to change tactics midstream if that’s what it takes to solve a problem and get you to your end game.
    Though many of my products are intended to help make people’s lives easier or better, and several of them have been organizers, I’m not freakishly organized. I do believe, however, that chaos, clutter, and disorganization make you crabby and your day harder. I know it did for my mom. The home where I grew up was neat and orderly, except for my mother’s bedroom. She worked, she was busy, and she was always running late. I have strong memories of watching her scramble around, hunting frantically for some misplaced earring, lipstick, or shoe. I was very close to my mother growing up. She’d spend thirty minutes searching for something like her lipstick—“My lipstick. Where’s my red lipstick?”—and I’d walk in and immediately pick it up from her nightstand. “You mean this one?” We’d crack up.
    It happened all the time. Who knows, maybe watching my mom taught me that life goes just a little more smoothly when things are put away where they belong,