Companies such as Chrysler and Pacific Cycles are now openly holding so called 'Spin it your way' and 'What kind of bike would you like to see' suggestions. They want you to email in design suggestions,send them a sketch or even send in a 3-D Model of your hot idea! Now readers correct me if I am wrong, don't those companies and many like them PAY PEOPLE to come up with hot designs?

I guess that is beside the point. I understand the need for these kinds of contests but the point of a contest is that there they are supposed to be for a limited time, they should have a close date, and there should be two winners, the company gets free publicity and the contestant usually gets a valuable prize. The way these two particular contests are set up is they don’t have a close date, I can’t find what the prize is that either company is offering and IF anyone submits a hot design or suggestions for improvement, the only clear winner is Pacific Cycles and Chrysler!


Readers, I speak from experience when I tell you that any designer has to be careful putting their ideas, sketches, etc out there for a company or general public consumption. On this very blog that you are reading, I had a guy who owns a Bicycle Company come across my blog and ‘Steal’ one of the sketches I posted. Not only that he emailed me back the design when it was finished and asked me “What do you think of my design?” Now that was bold!
I said all of that to say this, a designer has to understand the value of their ideas and designs. Instead of just giving your ideas to someone who undoubtedly will make MILLIONS off your ideas if they are hot enough, package and sell them yourself!


Even if you don’t package them and sell them because you don’t have the financial wherewithal to do so, your expertise and experience makes you a consultant. Why should you help companies like these improve their products for free when all they will do is turn around and charge you to buy a product that you designed? Remember this, if they haven’t thought of it and you have, IT HAS VALUE! An example of this is the mail service that most of you use called ‘Hotmail’. This service started off as a guy wanting an easy way to electronically communicate with his colleagues. It grew a little and at that time in the 1990’s, the software giant Microsoft didn’t have such a service. The entrepreneur sold Hotmail to Microsoft for a reported amount of $400 Million dollars! That guy didn’t give his idea away for free or submit it as part of a contest. His idea had value and so does yours!

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