Good business ideas are like hens teeth and should be guarded like the crown jewels.

Being too willing to share your ideas about new business ventures or opportunities can comeback and bite you in the butt.  Sure, you want to seek validation for your vision and acumen, but don’t tell anyone outside of your most intimate circle because you are committing a major faux pas.   You know the saying “A secret known to more that one person is no longer a secret.”

Trustworthiness is not something you should ever assign to your gut.  It is your brain that should be the judge and even then think twice.

For those bigger ideas and opportunities don’t shy away from using non-disclosure documents.  It may seem a bit much in certain cases, but a good idea is worth protecting.

If you have seen the future and are about to make the plan that will get you there don’t expose the vision until you have figured out how it will become real.  Who needs to know, why they need to know and how will they fit into the plan.  Being cavalier with your information is just not wise.

You need to craft your idea in the quiet and not shine the light on it until it is just about a reality.  There is enough time to gain recognition, support, and buy-in once you have put some meat on the bones of your idea.

There are always those around you who are not a scrupulous as you.

Let’s assume you do have that once in a lifetime idea but it will take you some time to put it together because you only have the idea and not the infrastructure to bring it to market.  Yet, you blurt the idea out at a networking meeting looking for input from casual business acquaintances.  In the group is someone with deeper pockets or a staff of people and can execute your fabulous idea. How can you be certain that a few weeks later you will not see or hear that something very similar to your idea is about to hit the market.  And if it does, you are the only one to blame.  The person who took your idea and ran with it learned it from you.  True they might not be the nicest person in the world, but you handed the idea to them free of charge.

All I am saying is don’t be naïve about business.  Business is Business.  Intellectual property is one of the most valuable business assets and that is why IP lawyers are so expensive.  They are protecting you from the opportunists who hover all around seeking to capitalize on others ideas.  Don’t be a victim.

In the words of Ronald Reagan  “Trust but verify” and be sure to apply that to those you share your ideas with.