You’re failing to take action because you lack awareness about the opportunities and ways to protect, manage and use your IP to make money.
Your IP winds up undervalued and in many cases unprotected. For example, imagine what happens if one of your employees accidentally discloses crucial IP information while updating his/her status on social networking sites. It costs you money in missed income opportunities and legal fees taking action against others using your IP without your permission.
But you’re not alone. A 2010 survey of small and mid-size businesses found over 70% lacked an understanding about their IP and it’s relevance to their business. A recent study of UCLA graduate engineering students revealed over 60% didn’t even understand the different types of intellectual property.
So now that you understand why IP awareness is so important let’s talk about the 2 biggest problems you have in acquiring it:
There is no system to help anyone—from stay at home mom, to business owners that helps them find, value and position their intellectual property assets and bring them into the market place. Few business schools and universities teach courses on how to manage and make money with IP.
The traditional formula for “building a business” is also responsible for preventing you from not only identifying your intellectual property, but also translating the value of it in the market place. You’re following outdated methods and a plethora of bad advice
These are problems because you underestimate the value of your intellectual property, you feel confused about how to turn it into cash flow, and you don’t know how to price and position it in the marketplace.
The result is you wind up flailing around, trying to figure this out on your own.
Your IP awareness is the difference between success and failure in transforming your IP into wealth. Your awareness begins with you being willing to take action, have the ability to take action, and the knowledge of about the correct actions to take.
In the course of acting, you gain experience. That experience improves your awareness of the situation, and affects your willingness to act or not act on the next opportunity. Then by improving upon your ability and knowledge, you gain yet more experience, and so on.
By reading this article, you’ve already started to increase your IP awareness. Like any profession, whether it’s accounting, engineering or marketing, you need professional advice to teach, mentor and guide you. The more you learn and do, the faster you increase your awareness and your ability to protect, manage and make money with your IP.