This is not for you, you are a finance guy, not a scientist, this is not your field. That was all I heard from my colleagues and mostly from my inner dialogue when I said, “I have an idea for an invention.” I studied finance for 12 years, worked in admin and management departments, in my spare time I wrote self-help books, so what does invention have to do with me? I had a problem, couldn’t find a practical solution, so I had an idea to invent a solution. Can you be an inventor and file for an invention patent? Do you want to be an inventor? Ok let me rephrase the question, do you have a problem? Did you find a practical solution for that problem? If no, then invent the solution, if yes, can you do it better? Then upgrade the current invention, oh by the way, you can get a patent on upgrading a current invention. Where to start? Should I manufacture first or file for a patent? Whom should I trust with my idea? Where can I get funding? All of these questions and more will be answered in this article.

Rule number one, Albert Einstein, said: “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.” It took me two years to have the courage to file for a patent because I thought I was not an inventor. Once I figured out the process, now everything seems like a patent in the making. With online registration, online funding, and online freelancers, it’s never been easier than before to patent your ideas. What sparked my invention? While traveling to Western countries, I can’t use public toilets because they don’t provide washers with the WC, so I either had to wait until I go back to my hotel or use wipes! Yikes!! So I thought of a portable washer tool that you can easily carry in your pocket and that works on batteries. I had this idea by 2012. In 2014 I filed for a patent, after 6 months I was asked to represent Bahrain in the Kuwait invention convention and won a silver medal for my invention, though I’m not a mechanical engineer nor a scientist.

Do you want to be an inventor?

• Solve a problem
• Put your idea on paper
• File for a patent

Who knows where this road will take you?

Kamal Al Shehabi is the author of 4 self-help books in Arabic and English. He is a Public Speaking Coach and a Creative Content Consultant.