Two years ago, if you would have told me that you withheld business secrets, I would judge you harshly as a self-centered and selfish person. Not anymore. A while back, I did a perfect market research and invested in a small business. I had done all the feasibility studies and established an actual need for the products. Needless to say, the business took off instantly. Every day I would make 4k-7k net profit (not sales). I was certain of being a wealthy man. My friend started snooping around and if someone is a close friend, you share business secrets (WRONG!). He saw my books. From an outsider’s perspective, nobody would think that I was making a decent return considering that I had invested less than 300k. When he saw my books, he teamed up with his filthy rich cousin and that is how my success was shortlived. They rented a very big shop and brought the same products I was selling. In fact, they used my supplier:mad:. Since their shop was bigger, they got more discount and I could no longer compete with them pricewise. It was a sudden death for my business. Right now, they are both filthy rich. I learned my lesson but I did not take it personally.
idea conceptualization and feasibility studies = intellectual property, sadly very few people respect IP
opening books to an outsider safe for auditors = shooting yourself in the foot
though you can never fully protect none patented work, always keep some things closely guarded until you atleast break even, and move so far forward that copy cats will be playing catch up
Sharing a business idea with someone who knows where you sell, or where you buy is suicide. I learned that the hard way. Copycats who have large capital reserves can drive you out of your own business idea if they have enough information.
gathering of “market intelligence” and competitor information is actually very big business . i know of some places where they have budgets for it :D:D:D
One of my bosses is very good at that. Only that for him hawezi lipa mtu for it. He choses to use people. e.g an intern hoping for a permanent position,to find out about his business rivals through their known customers. The intern doesnt usaully know anatumiwa kama spy
If your value proposition was based on pricing only it was just a matter of time, if not that guy somebody else would have. You were selling a product not a solution, anyone can sell a product but few sell solutions. You should seek to build relations with your customers, they won’t be too quick to migrate, at the very least, they will share your competitors quotation and give you a chance to try and match it.
IMHO ideas are worth nothing, implementation is everything.
I am glad my business and all employments I have been in are based on my skills. It is something you can only steal if you are me. Imagine taking #Gunia wiki hii from @introvert