Entrepreneurness

After a search online, I noticed that uspto.gov offer patent libraries around the US. Here is a link that lists the services the library provides http://www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl/ptdlserv.htm . I found I am fortunate to have one of those libraries close to me, so I drove to it in hopes of gaining more wisdom about the unknown that is patents. I was a bit disappointed to find that the 'patent library' is nothing but about 3 book shelves full of books somehow relating to patents or invention. And where as the website says that you will have knowledgeable staff who will be able to help you along the way, it seems like they have gotten rid of the library, and you might find some left over staff from the 'ol glory days from the library. Supposedly a volunteer comes in 5 days a week, a couple of hours a day to help out, so I'll make a visit to hopefully visit the 'Wizard of OZ'. I think the hardest part of all of this is tracking down the resources I need to help m...

So, spent some time today looking for a lawyer.. I'm still confused. So, you have an idea.. and you need information, but you can't give away any real information because you want your idea to be hush hush. So its this stupid games of asking general questions in the hope that you can find out enough information without disclosing all the information that you have. So that's the first part of the dilemma. Then, I'm trying to find a patent lawyer with certain expertise, and I want a good lawyer with a certain background... and the people who would know such information would either be companies.. who, if they are big enough would have in house lawyers. Then if they are smaller companies, they may not want to disclose their lawyer. And then if you contact a lawyer for a referral, they just want your business... so how do you find a really good lawyer.. with cold calling? I guess this is one of those things you figure out along the way. Or.. if anyone has any advic...

So today I did some preliminary research to find an Intellectual Property Lawyer. I was walking around the library today and came across “The Best Lawyers in America 2007” I figured that was a good starting point. First you look up by the state you are in, and then the categories are broken into types of lawyers. There are even little symbols that notate if a lawyer has been appeared in the book for the last 10 or 20 years. I guess tomorrow I will begin my first round of calling. The other thing I discovered today is that my (and probably your) library subscribes to different online resources that you can access from home with just your library card in hand. So, even if you can't make it to the library, you can still access more credible sites than your standard 'wikipedia'!

I attended my first class today, the instructor's name is Doug Kelly, he's a pretty smart and cool guy. The class is about 2 hours in length, but he's knowledgeable and entertaining, so the time went by in good time. Its nice to finally be able to attend a class because I want to, and not because I'm required to. There are too many decisions in life that are made for us, and not enough we willingly make for ourselves. We will be writing a business plan in the course, which is great, because I know I need to learn to write one, and it'll be good to have a guiding hand. It's also really nice to be in a crowded room (minus the crowded) full of people who want success on their own terms. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamics of the course work out. I wonder what will come out of taking this course. And I must say.. to walk on a college campus again to once again take a course...felt so strange/happy/sad. Stanford's entrance and Main campus is b...

So, today was kind of a lazy day, a very lazy day. But here's an update. Tomorrow I start my first class after completion of my undergraduate degree. I will be taking a class at Stanford called 'Startups: from Idea to IPO' which hopefully will be completely relevant and awe-inspiring. I'm hoping to work on my product idea in parallel to the course. Hopefully that'll fire me up! Maybe I'll even make some connections to help me along my way. How great it would be to be successful at what I love to do! I've also again posted the Wedding Photography and Videography ad on Craigslist to get some events on my calendar. Our website is at http://www.sharonandisaac.com , and we are based out of Mountain View, CA.

Archived Post. September 11, 2008. So, I might be starting something new. I'll try to keep some kind of blog, but since I don't really do well with keeping habits up, there is no guarantee that this will be a permanent or even temporary thing. I quit my job as a Mechanical Engineer at an Industrial gases company August 1st, 2008. Was it because I wasn't making enough money? no. There are many reasons why I quit, but to simplify it, I was bored. I was bored out of my mind. I would sit in my cube and feel the walls close in on me. I would look at that clock, and wish that they day would pass, but at the same time hated that I just waited for the clock to run out. Why spend your life wishing that your youth would just fly by? I wanted to live every minute, not after my 'work' was done. I want to be passionate about my work, and life, even if that means combining the two. So, that brings me to today. On July 18th, 2008 I printed off and handed in my two weeks notice, an...