Introduction:

One day during my own inventing journey, I woke up with three important phone calls to make. I wondered how I was going to manage this seemingly simple task with a strong-willed toddler attached to my leg. As each hour passed, my anxiety mounted, and I debated when I could take the chance to make these critical calls - and also ensure a "professional" impression. One was to a senior buyer in a retail store to whom I was attempting to sell my new product. The other was to my patent attorney, where every five-dollar minute always seemed to click away in double time. The third was to the factory where critical decisions had to be made about problems that had occurred during my first manufacturing run.

As the day progressed, I decided to drive Sophia around the block until she fell asleep in the car. If I were lucky, I'd have an hour, tops. So I made the calls, trying to whisper and sound professional at the same time. I knew that if she suddenly woke up my cover would be blown -- that I was "just" a stay-at-home mom, not a "serious" businesswoman.

As I spoke to each contact, I visualized them sitting at their mahogany desks, comfortably conducting business on a normal schedule. Little did they know that I was conducting business from our family van, sleeping child in the back seat, a smashed bean-and-cheese burrito on my pants, and a poopy diaper among the stacked papers on the passenger seat! I remember pausing as I was about to dial the first number: I thought there had to be a better way.

A Message to Those Who Are Not Moms

"I am a mom, and it is from that perspective that I became an inventor and developed a community for other mom inventors. However, this book is for anybody who wishes to transform their invention into reality. Throughout the book, references will be made to mom inventors; however, the information and the process applies to any inventive entrepreneur. Even if you're not a mom, you were mom invented (and dad inspired) so turn the page and get started!"

Excerpted from 'The Mom Inventors Handbook: How To Turn Your Great Idea Into the Next Big Thing' by Tamara Monosoff. Copyright© 2005 by Tamara Monosoff. Excerpted by permission of McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.