Business Opportunities Weblog

November 23, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 4 Comments

Leada Gore At Hartselle Enquirer:

I have lost my keys. Actually, lost is a strong word. I prefer to say I have temporarily misplaced them. This just sounds better.

And then a brilliant idea hit me.

Someone should invent a device that allows you to dial a number on your phone to prompt a beeper on your key chain. You could then track down the noise and locate your keys. Admittedly, this will not help you if you’ve dropped your keys in the church parking lot, but it would help if you, like me, have just temporarily misplaced them.

I shared my idea with my brother, a technical sort who just might be able to create such an invention. He shared with me a similar idea.

Inspired by stories of people accidentally leaving their newborns in the car, he thought there should be a car seat with an alarm. If you leave the child in the car after you put it in park, it will sound an alert to warn you of the problem.

“Then, I turned on the TV and saw someone talking about a similar invention,” he said. “I guess I was too late.”

I know the feeling. Several years ago, after a particularly harried session of Christmas shopping, I had an idea. What I needed was a small, personal electronic organizer that would contain my Christmas list, budget and any gift ideas.

“Can’t you just use a sheet of notepaper for all that?” my brother asked.

The next year, I was walking through the mall when I saw a display advertising a similar product. The small organizer did all the things I had envisioned, for the low price of $29.99.

Just think – if I had jumped on my idea, I could be on my way to riches, maybe ending up on QVC hawking my cool invention.

But I didn’t. And someone else did. And I’m sure they are now a rich person, sitting on an island sipping a drink with an umbrella in it. And me? I’m still looking for my keys.

Photo by Steffe.

In Ideas, Invention, Strategy | 4 Comments