Open Source Business

The BusinessPundit touched on an idea that I've discussed with a few friends. His thoughts are slightly different than mine but along the same lines. Should business owners be more open about the underlying details and issues of their business?

I'm not sure how open I would be about an existing business with complete strangers, but I think it's my duty to share what I've learned with anyone in my network that is going through similar experiences. Personally, I've tried to build a network of trusted business advisors that I turn to for help in dealing with things that throw me for a loop. One of my earliest mistakes when I was evaluating new business ideas early on was to keep the idea to myself. I thought that if I told anybody anything about it, it would surely be stollen along with the millions that I was going to make off of it. I think the majority of people don't have the drive that it takes to pursue even excellent ideas on their own... even when you hand them the concept and explain it in detail. That doesn't mean that you can't get good feedback from these people. They may love to talk about business opportunities, but not necessarily pursue any of them :)

An entrepreneur knows that the only way that things happen is if you make them happen. I now find myself throwing out business ideas into conversation just to see other people's reaction.