Water Watcher

Water Watcher

Entrepreneurs by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Inventor and entrepreneur Ron Sargent explains how his newest invention is coming to life. His advice helps creative people make financial sense of their ideas.

Tucked away in a small, nondescript warehouse in Fort Myers, Ron Sargent is busy working on his latest invention.

It's an innovative plant-watering system called Water Watcher that's so easy to use that any homeowner can stick it in a 10-inch potted plant and not have to water it for two weeks.

He's about to start marketing it to plant shops and specialty retailers such as Brookstone, The Sharper Image and Cracker Barrel. "There's no other product like it," he says.

Sargent was selected among 30 finalists on the NBC television networks' "Made in America" show in 2005, in which 3,000 inventors competed for the top spot.

Sargent is no bright-eyed novice inventor. He was the co-founder and president of Thetford Corp., a major manufacturer of recreational-vehicle sanitation equipment, turning a $2,400 investment into a company with $18 million in sales by the time he sold the company in 1974.

A mechanical engineer by training, Sargent invented automatic pool cleaners, a cruise control and window-lift system for cars. He even designed nine innovative water fountains at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park, including the Leapfrog Fountain that shoots jets of water from one area to another.

With so much experience with successful inventions, Sargent is frequently sought out by budding entrepreneurs in Southwest Florida. He occasionally attends meetings of the Edison Inventors' Club in Fort Myers, where members pepper him with questions.

Large corporations have sought Sargent's counsel too. He's led training seminars on creativity for employees of companies such as General Motors and DuPont. The fee for his consultations is $2,300 per day, plus expenses.

Watch your water

Designing the Water Watcher took two years of painstaking work. But Sargent had to be sure there would be a market for the plant-watering system before committing so much time to its creation.

The first criterion was that the invention had to target a wide market. With millions of potted plants, it's easy to identify the potentially huge size of the market. Interestingly, there are more potted plants per household in Europe than in the U.S., he says.

Then, Sargent had to identify a customer need. Clearly, customers who are away from home for extended periods wouldn't want their plants to die of thirst. "I had trouble with plants because I travel a lot," he says.

In addition, Sargent wanted to keep the cost of the product low. The Water Watcher will cost $9.95 in stores. More critical, Sargent says his goal was to keep his costs to just 10% of the retail price, or close to $1. That's because he figured distribution costs will eat up a lot of the profits.

Keeping it simple

Perhaps the biggest challenge was to keep the Water Watcher's design simple and the initial design looks nothing like today's version. It has just three parts: A green plastic tube that holds the water, a cap and a ceramic sensor. The green tube is inserted into the soil in a potted plant and when the sensor detects a lack of moisture, it loosens to let the water into the soil. "It delivers water to the plant precisely when it's needed," Sargent says.

The key to the system is the ceramic sensor at the bottom of the tube, which reacts to the moisture when the soil gets too dry or too wet. It does this without any power. Sargent won't reveal how it does this because it's a trade secret and a patent is pending.

Despite his extensive experience transforming inventions into financially successful enterprises, Sargent still faced setbacks.

Although he won't say how much money he spent on the Water Watcher's design, he says it amounted to double what he had originally budgeted. "You look at the market, what people will pay for it and you have to make it for one-tenth of the retail cost," he says.

It also took two years to develop Water Watcher versus the one year he had scheduled. "It took a while to optimize the sensor," he says.

Marketing and sales are key

Ultimately, marketing the product will define much of Water Watcher's success. "How you sell it is probably more important than how you make it," he says.

Sargent says he's about to start pitching his product to specialty retailers, plant stores and nurseries. "I'll probably sell it myself, though I'm considering hiring a marketing company," he says.

Another way he plans to sell the Water Watcher is via the Internet. "The Internet is part of our life," Sargent says. The Water Watcher will be available at www.waterwatcher.net.

Once it's established, he may approach large retailers such as Home Depot. Currently, he can produce 2,000 a day in his warehouse in Fort Myers with part-time help.

To market it, Sargent hired a friend to design Waldo, the emu with oversized glasses that graces Water Watcher's packaging. Sargent got the idea after coming face-to-face with the funny bird in Brisbane, Australia. "You don't want to be too techie," says Sargent. "It's also the Disney influence," he adds.

While many inventors are concerned about protecting their patents, Sargent says the quality of the product, its uniqueness and the business to sell it are much more important considerations. "My focus is on the business proposition and how it works," he says.

Questions to boost creativity

Inventor and entrepreneur Ron Sargent suggest you ask yourself these questions to boost creativity:

• Why was this done this way?

• How would [fill in the blank] do this?

• What would make this easier to do?

• Is this the best way, or the only way?

• Is it easy to understand?

• Who would use this and why?

• Would it work inverted? Upside down?

• Can the parts be classified or arranged another way?

• What satellite items or accessories are possible?

• What little lead can you grasp or expand on?

• What new twist will make it different?

• What do others think is most important?

• Can you identify a key drawback and work from it?

• Can you identify a key positive feature and work from it?

• What does the customer really want?

• What is the simplest form of this challenge?

• Would you buy it?

• Could you sell it?

Source: "15 Minutes for the Mouse: Your Guide to High Performance Creative Thinking," by Ron Sargent.

Advice for inventors

Ron Sargent has brought numerous inventions to market, including portable toilets for recreational vehicles, self-propelled pool cleaners and a plant-watering system called Water Watcher. He's also been a consultant to companies such as General Motors and DuPont to help employees boost their creativity.

Here's some advice for inventors who want to accomplish financial success:

• Don't fall in love with your idea. You've got to evaluate it with objectivity.

• Go for lots of ideas. One will likely rise to the top.

• If you need expertise, don't hesitate to go out and get it.

• Watch your costs and make sure your invention is financially viable. One rule of thumb: to make your product, it should cost you no more than 10% of the price you intend to sell it for.

-Jean Gruss

The crapper award

In his book, "15 Minutes for the Mouse: Your Guide to High-Performance Creative Thinking," Ron Sargent says humor is the lubrication for creativity. The most accomplished creative people have a playful aspect to their nature.

Sargent was co-founder and president of the Thetford Corp., a company that makes sanitation equipment for recreational vehicles.

Here's a passage from his book that illustrates his point:

"In the early days at Thetford Corporation, the Porta Potti for camping had become successful and we were beginning to be successful with the Aqua Magic, a permanent toilet for recreational vehicles. Toilets are not normally the subject of greatly sought-after awards, but we did actually use this to advantage with a bit of humor. We started honoring certain people each year with the Thomas Crapper Award, an idea of Tom Shannon's. Tom Shannon was vice president of marketing at the time. The award was a huge medal, about two inches in diameter, hung on a multicolored ribbon around the recipient's neck. Only one or two of these were given each year for significant corporate contributions. At first, it was done partly in jest and it did create considerable merriment. However the medal became so significant that it was actually awarded for sales achievement to one of our best customers, Phil Tyler, who was the buyer for sporting goods at Sears at the time. The award made the Sears internal newspaper, with pictures and much fanfare. Those little side trips of frivolity combined with seriousness enhance performance and make life more fun."

Review summary

Inventor. Ron Sargent, a Fort Myers entrepreneur with a history of successful inventions.

Product. Plant watering system.

Key. Bringing an invention to market often takes longer and more money than you think.