Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a summer. I’ve done a ton of work on creating Mills Creative Minds, so I’ll try to summarize some of the elements for those curious readers out there. Forgive the abrupt format of the entry – I gotta go pick Kyler up from kindergarten in about 20 minutes.
Children – Kyler’s in full-time kindergarten now, so that means getting him up at 7:00am each day to get out of the house at 7:30am. Then pick him up at 3:00pm. Long day, but he’s sleeping quite soundly at night. Heh.
Kaleb’s now in part-time daycare with a nanny about 3 minutes away. I knew I was going to need a good 4-5 hours a day to work, but we didn’t want him to be in one of the overcrowded daycares. So we discussed the dilemma with our LifeHouse (church group), prayed about it, and one of them had a sister-in-law (Rhonda) who was interested in being a part-time nanny. 
Voila! Problem solved! (Glory be to God!)
Patents & Licensing - I’ve read up on the invention process, and it’s clear that a patent offers good protection when developing a product. It’s also clear that you don’t have to have a patent in hand to approach manufacturers about their licensing the idea from you. (Indeed, you have a year from filing a provisional patent to manufacture & SELL a product, regardless of whether your patent goes through or not.)
I’m NOT going to manufacturer my ideas, and the majority of them don’t even need a patent to make a profit (it wouldn’t be worth it). I have too many of them to narrow it down to just ONE to pursue, plus I don’t want to spend the exhaustive man hours & money establishing an entire company (aside from mCm, that is). So after doing the basic market research to make sure any given idea isn’t already out there, my next step is to write up a simple one-sheet to present to a licensing agent. The licensing agent, in turn, will take whatever ideas he finds worthy and approach the appropriate manufacturers. Once you get a manufacturer on board, you draw up a licensing agreement (where you & the agent split a 5-10% profit from each item sold) and away you go.
My plan is to narrow down my top 5 ideas, do the necessary research & legwork, and present them to the agent(s) or marketing company. I haven’t decided which one to use yet (there’s quite a few to choose from), but I’m confident God will lead me to make the right decision when it’s time to make it. (Your prayers for wisdom & discernment are always welcome.)
Sole Proprietorship vs. LLC – I’m currently a Sole Prop., but after doing some research I think I might upgrade to an LLC. Mainly because if I license an idea to a company and they make it & sell it & then some idjit decides to hurt themselves with it, I could be liable. As an LLC, I’d have more protection from litigation, at least on the surface. As a sole prop., ALL my assets are free game. So I figure I’d rather be safe than sorry. (Granted, I still think there could be a clause added to each licensing agreement which absolves me from litigation, but I’m new to this, so I’ll just go with what I know.)
Ideas – they just keep coming. Non-stop. And yes, I’m biased, so they’re “all good.” This is another confirmation that I’m on the right track. I’m definitely not a “one-hit wonder” when it comes to ideas. I simply have more than enough, so I wanna share with others.
mCm – I’m working on developing the brand of it all, both as one-sheet summaries & on the website. I need to straddle the fine line of “I’m a creative inventor” and “We’re a serious business.” God, give me wisdom, please.
The Vision – Last week as I was stressing out about composing a bonafide Business Plan for mCm, I decided to sleep it off. As I was drifting away, I was thinking about my financial goals for mCm. One of the primary motivations for creating mCm was to provide for missions. In fact, I had privately resolved to give away $200,000 of the first $300,000 I made. Arbitrary, I know, but that was my goal.
As I lay on the bed, however, I asked myself: why stop there? Why should I only aim to give 66% of the first $300,000? Why not do that ALL the time? And why not bump that to 70%? (Just to round up, make it an even number, to appease the OCD hand-washer inside me…)
And at that point… I cried. Not because I was freaked out about the idea of giving so much away, but because I was thrilled with the idea of giving so much away.
I am, by nature, a generous man. I love to share, to meet the needs of those around me. It’s the way I am, the way God wired me. And I am constantly frustrated when I run into a situation where I want to give, but I can’t because I don’t feel I have the money. (Translation: it would threaten my comfortable cushion.)
So by making the act of sacrificial giving a permanent cornerstone to Mills Creative Minds, I’ve effectively removed the “I can’t afford to give” mentality that holds me back. And THAT’S why I cried. Because honestly? I can’t WAIT to give the money away. Even before this new direction, I had compiled an extensive list of organizations, charities, causes, etc. that I want to bless. (And God keeps expanding my list with new areas of need…) I am so incredibly excited to give, it keeps me up at night. With a permanent, gleeful smile.
And the 30%? I can hear someone (most likely a relative) say something to the effect of: “How can you live off of only 30%?” Well, now, that’s just doubting God’s providence. And abundance. Read Colossians 1:16. Read Psalms 24:1. It’s all His. EVERYTHING. 30%, 90%, 100% – what does it matter what I take home? He’s the one who will provide it all, regardless. I might be planting the mCm seeds, but only He can make them grow and prosper. It’s completely in His hands.
God was the one who began this process, He’s the one who continues to give me new direction, a renewed vision, and I fully believe that He’s going to help me see this through to completion. I have a newfound purpose and JOY that I haven’t relished since college. My life has changed so dramatically in the past 4 months, it’s astonishing. But as much as I’m enjoying the present, I really REALLY look forward to next year. And the year after THAT. It’s gonna be fantastic.
Kevin
P.S. On a side note, I will say that my music addiction is almost completely destroyed. No longer do I spend countless hours adding to “the list” of songs to download “someday.” eMusic has since dropped me an e-mail, offering an additional 75 free bonus songs if I come back. It was tempting, but when it’s a choice between having the time to pursue Mills Creative Minds or adding to my Stack of Stuff, it’s no contest. God’s vision trumps my never-ending collection. Maybe I’ll rejoin after the new year, just to take a Big Swig and grab all the stuff on my list. But to be honest? That doesn’t really appeal to me anymore. That just means I’d have to reinvest more time LISTENING to the new stuff. And that just doesn’t interest me anymore.
