Are You Overlooking the Obvious?

When was the last time your were frustrated by a tedious process in your life? A task or situation so annoying or cumbersome that you knew there just HAD to be a better way to go about it? If you ever bemoaned a problem and then walked away, you’ve probably missed a chance to make money.

George Lucas faced such a challenge when he began filming “Star Wars” in 1976. He could see the entire film in his mind, down to the last detail-but he had trouble bringing his ideas to fruition. The alien creatures, the space battles, the light sabers-every cool visual effect he wanted to include created a trial for the special effects department. Why? Because no film to that point had ever required the magnitude of effects at the level that Lucas demanded.

Yes, there had been a number of science fiction movies and series before then–”Star Trek”, “My Favorite Martian”, and “Lost In Space” to name a few–but the effects were as obvious as they were low budget. Lucas wanted more. And since he knew he’d need the technology for later projects, he decided to do something about it: he created Industrial Light and Magic.

Today, I.L.M. is THE place to go for special effects in the film-making industry. Next time you see a film with all kinds of cool effects, scan the credits. You’ll no doubt see a mention of Industrial Light and Magic.

What? You don’t have tens of millions of dollars sitting around to start a big venture like I.L.M.?

You don’t need it. All you need is a problem to solve that’s common to your field of interest. If you’re having difficulty with something, no doubt others are as well. Take “the bull by the horns” and become a problem solver.

Here’s what some other folks have done:

• Steve and Andi Rosenstein were hard-working clothing sales reps who wanted to lounge-but look great-on the weekends. Sweats weren’t just cutting it. So after a “what if?” conversation and a few preliminary sketches, Fitigues, Inc. was born in 1988. Combining pajama comfort with flair and style, Fitigues is geared toward the person who wants to knock about the house in comfort but still look great enough to answer the door or run a few errands.

Today they have 26 retail outlets, a mail order company, and a web site-with sales approaching $40 million. Seems a few other people wanted to be stylish “couch potatoes” as well…You can visit them online at www.fitiges.com .

• Judy McDonald was working at Hewlett Packard when she brainstormed an idea to jump start activity in their sluggish color ink sales. “We could develop software that would enable people to use their computers and color printers to create customized craft projects, like iron-on designs for T-shirts,” she enthusiastically told her boss. Unimpressed, he passed.

Hopes dashed, Judy vented to a friend-who immediately jumped on the idea. Partnering with another friend, the trio started Jiro, Inc. in 1995. When their sales screamed past the $10 million dollar mark in less than two years, they attracted the attention of Mattel-who acquired them in 1998. With the team firmly in place, they’ve gone on to make additional software titles under a new label called Fashion Magic, a division of Mattel Media, www.mattelmedia.com .

• Dave Kappel was a budding songwriter who just couldn’t get the words right-but not for lack of trying. He wrote and rewrote, and after going through reams of paper, finally cut the words into pieces so he could re-arrange them at will. He later pasted them to magnets, which found their way to the refrigerator door.

When visiting friends couldn’t keep their hands off them, Kappel wondered if he was on to something. He bought $100 worth of supplies, made 100 sets of magnetic words, and took them to a local crafts fair. They sold out in three hours.

That was 1993. Today, Magnetic Poetry has sold more than a million kits, including kids’ versions, theme versions, and foreign language versions. Not a bad outcome of a little writer’s block. You can visit them online at www.magneticpoetry.com .

So I ask you again, what problems have you encountered in your everyday life? Don’t discount the obvious. A little problem solving could a long way toward simplifying your life AND filling your pockets. Look around. Take some notes. Observe. Ask questions.

You never know…opportunity may be knocking louder than you think.