Ronald Balla, Founder of The CJB Group, is our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio. Several years ago, Ron was employed by a local municipality and had a brother that was employed as a police officer. Together, they had many discussions about the events happening within his brothers line of work as a law enforcement officer.

It was from these very discussions that sprung forth the inspiration for Ron’s invention, The Balla Base. The Balla Base is is a safety product designed to protect law enforcers and preserve evidence which will be introduced to the market in the fall of 2008.

Ron shares his personal story of invention - from idea, to prototype, to field tests, to market - and everything in between.

Here’s a sampling from the show:

• Where do you begin? — The first step may be different for some, but a good starting point is to contact an established patent attorney to perform a thorough search that no prior art exists. Once that is confirmed, you are free to seek a manufacturer to create a prototype.

• Necessity IS the mother of invention. — When consumers or industry are in need of your product, the demand can be strong. So it’s important to first ask yourself, “Is there a need by consumers or industry for my product?” If the answer to that question is yes, your chances of success are greatly increased.

• Is it expensive? — Cost can be a factor but being prepared helps. Working out many of the small details on your own, prior to presenting your idea to a manufacturer, can save you money. The less specifics the engineers or manufacturers have to work out, the more the cost savings to you.

You, too, may have a great idea that you’d like to share with the world but may not be sure about what’s involved or how to go about doing so. If you’d like to learn more and hear Ron’s story, listen to his full interview by clicking the red and yellow player below.

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