Follow on Facebook
Follow on TwitterA reader asks:
Can you tell me how to go about selling my business ideas? I’ve got some great business ideas, but I can’t afford to start the business myself.
To sell my business idea I’ll have to explain it to people so how can I stop them stealing it?
You can’t stop someone stealing your business idea. As I’ve explained in my articles on protecting business ideas and stealing business ideas there is no way to legally protect a business idea.
That obviously makes selling a business idea harder, as in order for a buyer to determine if they want to buy it, you’d need to share the idea with them. Of course once you share it with them, they no longer have any need to buy it. Catch-22 it seems.
There’s another problem with selling business ideas. Business ideas on their own are essentially worthless. The value created by entrepreneurs is not in their business ideas, or the business opportunities they spot, it’s in the execution of those ideas. So if you want to sell your business idea, I suggest you start executing it and then sell either part of, or all of the business.
But what if you can’t afford to start the business? In that case you need to pitch both the business idea and your ability to execute it to a financial backer. If you get their backing you can the execute the idea with a view to selling the business or part of it later.
Asking John:
Do you have a business question you would like me to answer? If so you can Ask John or or you can ask on the forums where you’ll get both my input and that of your fellow entrepreneurs.
Email This Post
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
You make a very valid point. Ideas are great, but without a practical means of implementing them, and at least getting them off the ground, you really are going to struggle to sell them.
You are right that you cannot protect a pure business idea, but you can often get close (at least in the US) with a business method patent. If is sufficiently novel and leads to a new tangible result you can apply for patent protection. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_method_patent#United_States)
Also as a practical matter, most reputable investors are unlikely to rip you off. As well as doing the usual stuff like making them sign an NDA, they have their reputation to be concerned about. If they get a reputation for ripping people off, nobody will pitch to them.
But like you say, it is very hard to pitch someone on a pure idea, especially in this climate. But I have noticed if you have even a very small scale ‘proof of concept’ business investors are very willing to pay to help you scale up and take it national.