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Got a great idea? Here's how to market it

"Today" financial editor Jean Chatzky offers pointers on how to get your business or product idea off the ground successfully.

How often do you see a thriving new business or company, and slap your forehead for not thinking of the idea first? Or, even worse, slap it because you did think of it, but didn't do anything about it?

Everyone has good ideas, but we are so often at a loss as far as how to use them. You'd be surprised at how many letters I get that follow the same theme: People who know that they bake the very best sweet potato pies (or develop the very best computer games) in the country, but just don't know how to market them.

That's why I thought it was so important to share Julie Clark's story with you. As the founder of The Baby Einstein Co., Clark turned her idea into a company with over $20 million in sales.

Clark, a former teacher, shot the first Baby Einstein video in the basement of her home because it was something that she wanted for her children — an age-appropriate way to teach art, classical music and poetry.

From there, she hit a New York trade show, sans booth (because she couldn't yet afford it) but with video in hand, and made sure that it got into the right hands — a buyer from children's store The Right Start. Her enthusiasm, clear vision and persistence sold the first copy, and her distinctive idea ensured that sales continued to climb.

Clark has since sold The Baby Einstein Co. (to Disney in 2001), and moved on to a new project, The Safe Side, through which she produces children's safety videos in partnership with John Walsh of America's Most Wanted. She makes her story sound simple, but she's actually a wealth of information for aspiring or current entrepreneurs — especially women. I picked her brain for tips to pass on to you:

Make your idea unique. "One of the best things you can do as a business owner," Clark says, "is to try to come up with an idea that really is completely new." If you replicate another company's creation, you're going to be hard up to generate demand for your product. Why? Because there simply isn't a need for it — the market for that product has already been satisfied, and, since the other company has likely been around longer, chances are they already have a bigger customer base. It's okay, though, if you take an idea that's already in the marketplace a step further. Julie Clark didn't invent children's videos — she saw a hole in the existing line-up, and developed something to fill the void. "When you do that, you almost automatically create demand," she says.

Know your product inside and out. If you can't explain what exactly your business does, and why it will be successful, then no one will be able to — and as a result you need to go back to the drawing board, says Marsha Firestone, president and founder of the Women Presidents' Educational Organization.

"First and foremost is being clear and specific as to what the business is about." Once you've come up with something that makes sense, practice pitching your idea to your friends, family, even your mirror, until you can effectively answer any question that's thrown at you. It's the best way to work out the kinks.

Do your homework. Many new entrepreneurs shy away from market research, thinking that it will cost them buckets of money that they don't have. Don't make this mistake!

You can do research for cheap or even free if you get creative. Firestone's suggestions include talking to people in a mall or other public place that attracts your potential customers, developing surveys via a low-cost Web service like SurveyMonkey.com, and scouring phone books for similar businesses in other cities.

Pinpoint your market. Clark knew that her video would primarily appeal to college-educated parents who were looking for engaging ways to jump-start their children's education early in life.

She went to her first trade show with one singular goal in mind: Getting her video into the hands of the buyer from a retailer and catalog company called The Right Start. She knew that she'd have a better chance of selling to them because their customer matched her video's target consumer. And when she spotted someone walking the floor with a Right Start name badge, Clark cornered the person and made her pitch.

This is key — whether you have a product that will be sold in other stores, or you're starting a service or retail business of your own, it's never going to sell unless you manage to bring it to the attention of the kind of consumer that will likely buy it.

Know your talents, and your limits. "When I first started out, because I'd been a teacher and a mom, I thought that I could do everything." But she quickly learned that while there were certain aspects of running her business (video production) that she was good at, others (keeping the books) were not her strong suit.

Those were the ones she delegated first. "A lot of people try to do too much themselves. One important thing is to recognize what you can't do, and get someone else to do it for you." Take this advice in stride, though — remember that the more employees you have to pay, the less money you'll have coming in. When Julie sold The Baby Einstein Company, she only had five employees on the payroll.

Finally, be patient. The fact that Julie Clark got a bite at her first trade show doesn't mean it won't take a little longer for you. Going in, have a plan for the amount of time, energy and money you'll invest in your idea before moving onto the next. Then give it your all. Says Firestone, "You just have to stick to it and really push ahead — success is not going to be instantaneous."

Additional reporting: Arielle McGowen

Jean Chatzky is an editor-at-large at Money magazine and serves as AOL's official Money Coach. She is the personal finance editor for NBC's "Today Show" and is also a columnist for Life magazine. She is the author of four books, including "Pay It Down! From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day" (Portfolio, 2004). To find out more, visit her Web site, .