One of the most important things you can do to help yourself toward success in entrepreneurial inventing is to establish a set of credentials. Most people hear the word "credentials" and immediately think of advanced college degrees or other semi-sophisticated awards that are difficult to attain. Yes, it would be nice to list the Nobel Prize on your resume or personal history sheet, but that isn't possible for the majority of us. Although these items are part of some peoples' credentials package, you don't have to have them to succeed in entrepreneurial inventing.
Credentials are the everyday documentation of what you make of yourself through your efforts to attain a better life. What you do with your credentials once you have them is a matter of individual choice. Most people, as they assemble a set of personal credentials, see the value of the credentials as a spearhead to opportunity. Whether you are trying to raise capital, get in to see an important contact, or get a manufacturer to work with you as an equal, credentials can play a vital role. Credentials are part of your public inventor's image. They are the "envelope" in which the world sees you. The world at large tends to respect experience and prior accomplishment because it makes the individual with credentials a known quantity on whom people can rely or have respect.
Credentials are not something to be flaunted. They are the past that lays a groundwork for getting things done in the future. Credentials provide a "comfort level" for people working with an inventor. They represent a level of expertise, interest or accomplishment in some particular area. They are the reason many people and companies will invest time and money in an inventor's concept.
Remember, credentials are only as good as what you make of them.
Properly packaged and distributed, credentials can sway investor opinion, get media attention, help market a new concept and generally provide a good base for you to build your entrepreneurial inventing career.
