I like to read about business success stories and then draw lessons from them to apply to my own business and to share with others. Recently, I read about an entrepreneur in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You can read about the business owner and his invention here but I’ll summarize the article below and draw out a few lessons that you can apply to your business.

Chris Schutte recalls from his childhood that his mother would “revive” frozen hotdog buns by steaming them. The steam would help to keep them turning stale by thawing them quickly in moist air instead of letting them linger in dry air.

As a grown man, Schutte found himself with a similar dilemma: In 2003 he had an old thaws-from-frozen hotdog bun that could have used a healthy dose of steam to make it edible. He realized his opportunity: Steam generated from cooking the hotdogs could be used to steam the buns, making the hotdog-cooking and bun-steaming process efficient.

Over the course of a few years, he experimented with various models of his wire mesh steaming grill, making refinements as he went. One major refinement was the use of a large cross-shaped hole in the center, where the hotdog could be removed from the pot without having to remove the grill.

The catalyst that turned this from a tinkerer’s hobby into a career was the loss of his job in 2007. At that point he knew that this was the opportunity to monetize his idea.

He has invested over $50,000 into his business and the product is sold for about $7 on eBay and the shopping channel QVC. They can also be purchased through his website.

With Americans consuming over 20 billion hotdogs a year (I am stunned by that number), he believes that the market supports his product, but the grill can also be used for other steaming, too.

So, what tips can we learn from Schutte’s hotdog steaming grill?

1. A good idea starts by solving a need. Forget searching around to find a need; just think about a need in your own life. Solve it and you have the potential for an invention or innovation. (And if other people have the same problem then you have a potential market).

2. Innovations are rarely new. They often combine ideas that already exist: Schutte remembers his mom steaming hotdog buns, and Schutte thought about using the water that was already steaming from the hotdogs he was cooking.

3. Many entrepreneurs need a catalyst to take them from the idea stage to the execution stage. In Schutte’s case, he lost his job. Lots of entrepreneurs wait until an event outside of their control makes the decision for them. However, you might consider taking charge of that decision preemptively.

photo credit: rob_rob2001