Lisa Ascolese The Inventress CEO Claimed

Lisa Ascolese, Inventing A to Z. https://www.inventingatoz.com Office# 732-647-5433,  info@inventingatoz.com.
Inventing A to Z is a product development company. We take your product ideas and inventions from concept to fruition. From prototyping to manufacturing all the way to the market place, the right way!!! QVC, HSN, Shop HQ, & Retail Stores.

Hi I’m here with Lisa Ascolese The Inventress. She founded Inventing A-to-Z, where she helps you take an idea from just an idea all the way on to a product in the marketplace. Why do your clients like working with you?

Elizabeth I think I make things real. Number one, I have been inventing products for so many years, I’m well-seasoned at what I do, and I take people from concept to fruition the right way. And you know what I always say to my clients when they come to me and they say have an idea, I’ve had something for years, and they talk to me about having someone else do it, and I say, why not make it you? Why aren’t you the one inventing the product? And I can take them through the steps to do it. If they follow my steps, step by step, they can take their napkin idea all the way to the marketplace. Flawlessly.

And I have seen that list of steps briefly, I deleted it because it’s proprietary to you, it was so impressive. Its concrete nuts and bolts, this is exactly what you do, do this now right here, and I think people need that, especially starting out with their first product.

100%. If they take the steps, baby steps, and I guide them through the entire process, as I said the right way, because there’s a right way and a wrong way, I take you through it the right way and save you a whole lot of unnecessary spending. I connect you with all of the right people in order to make it happen and I’m a hand-holder. I hold your hand through the entire process of Inventing. A to Z.

I can’t tell you how many times at Gearhart Law we’ve referred clients to you for help, but secondly we’ve had people come to us from other places and say ‘wow, this person took all my money and I have nothing for it.’ I hate those stories but we trust you, and you actually help people get to the market. Who’s your latest success story?

Oh geez oh my gosh, there have been many. The latest success story is I have a client who invented a shoe caddy. She came to me with a napkin idea for a shoe boot caddy, all of the ladies out there can relate to this, and it was just an idea of having a swivel shoe boot caddy that holds your boots and your shoes, and she’s done. Manufactured. Finished. Bringing her to QVC. We also had Kevin Lane, you asked me but I can’t just tell you one Elizabeth.
It’s many because people literally are dedicated to doing what they’re doing and that’s really important too. You know having a focus and really staying the course, and having the desire to do it, we’ll do it with my guidance.

Kevin Lane is another great success story, his Create A Castle is doing extremely well in the marketplace. But I want to ask you, the lady with the shoe carousel, how long did it take from the day she came to you until the day she got on QVC ?

It took about two years and the process is slowed now because of everything that’s happened. But it took about two years to develop the product because it was very complex. I mean some products are easier than others, and this is what I want everyone to know, it’s not an overnight process. It is a step by step, it’s a fun process though, and it’s very educational, and you’ve never been down this road before. And that’s exactly what people say, they don’t expect this, it’s not coming up with an idea and putting it on a shelf the next day, it doesn’t happen like that. There are a lot of companies out there who will promise you that they can take your idea, license it, put it on a shelf in four weeks. That doesn’t happen. With no patent, with no licensing, they could just put you on a shelf. That doesn’t happen. What I do is, I tell you the truth. I walk you through the process as I said, the right way, step by step, and I get results. I’ve had over 100 clients, I have over 50 products on national television from QVC to HSN. I help people get on Shark Tank and I tell you the truth. I’m very honest and very upfront. I’m very passionate as you can see.

So one piece of what you do that I think is really important, because this is hard for people that aren’t familiar with how to make consumer products especially, is the manufacturing. And right now of course we’re in quarantine, it’s a challenge, but you have to have a lot of products done and made and ready to ship when you go on these TV shows. So what do you do to help them with the manufacturing especially?

So with the manufacturing I do all of the QA (Quality Assurance) virtually, which is an amazing thing. So I make sure everything is done the right way, through the manufacturing, through the proper sourcing, and just making sure the manufacturers could do what they say they’re going to do. So I flesh all of that out in advance. So when I find a manufacturer for my clients I make sure everything is done properly.

But I do know people who to have gone to a factory overseas and they haven’t gone there in person, they’ve had somebody helping them, and what they’ve gotten back is not what they ordered and that’s a heartbreaker too. Because with the factories you have to be heavily involved.

That’s what I do, is managing. I manage all of my clients’ projects, all of them. I make sure that everything is on point. If I tell my client they’re going to get something they’re going to get it. It may not be the perfect prototype the first time because we don’t always speak their same language obviously. I’ve worked with a lot of overseas companies and they may not understand the first time and this is what people need to understand. The first time something comes back the prototype comes back, it’s not always perfect but we flesh through those things and we have to have a lot of patience but I make sure I QC (Quality Control) every single product that they send before I send it to my clients.

In working with professionals such as yourself in this type of environment, if I just went to a factory and said make me a thousand of these things, they’d kind of laugh in my face or they might take my money and say there’s a sucker born every minute. If you go, you’re like, ‘look I’m bringing you clients if you don’t behave yourself then I know exactly what to do and you will not get any more clients from me and it is going to hurt your business’ so they listen to you.

Yes, well I’ve been doing this for so many years and I know so many different factories and companies across the world, across the globe, and I have built relationships I’m building relationships with these factories for years. I don’t use anyone who I have not checked out thoroughly. And yes you’re absolutely right, they know that working with me, they see my background, they know that I’m going to remanufacture if they do it right and yes so they are held accountable. They want the business, they want our business over and over again.

Right. And you know how to do that because it can be tricky sometimes. So what advice, we’re under quarantine right now and you mainly deal with consumer products, people are still buying, what advice are you giving entrepreneurs that are trying to have things manufactured right now?

So I say slow your roll, take your time, I mean right now China is on another holiday, believe it or not it’s another holiday for China. They just got out of quarantine, they’re back and now they’re on holiday. They’re doing something right! But anyway, I would just say take your time, think things through, now’s the time to really be deliberate, be deliberate, focus on all of the details. Don’t overthink things, I want to say that don’t overthink but be intentional about everything that you want to do and write everything down specifically. When you want a manufacturer, obviously when you’re ready to do that, I can certainly walk you through the steps. I can certainly source the right manufacturing companies to make it happen, but now it’s the time to create and think things through diligently.

That’s great advice Lisa, is there anything else you’d like to tell people right now?

Well you know what? Just now’s the time to just be happy and it’s easier said than done, but you know for people who are at home, who are innovators, inventors, use this time to journal everything. Journal all of your ideas. Don’t be hasty, take your time, do it right, like the song ‘baby you can do it take your time do it right’. You know take your time and do it right and just stay the course, stay focused and think things through the right way, and come to me when you’re ready. Come to Lisa@InventingAtoZ.com.