I'm almost 6 months pregnant and mentally already on Maternity leave. I'm very good at my job and up for promotion just before I go on Maternity leave, but just because I'm good at my job, doesn't mean I enjoy being there.

I've always dreamt of having my own business and am desperate for it more so now because I'd love to run it from home and have time for my child.
I have a vague, very vague idea of what I would like to do, and even have a great name for the business in mind.

How do I go about developing the idea? My dear is that if I share it with other people to get ideas and opinions, I'm afraid someone will steal the idea and do it better or sonner than I can.

I've already found similar products on the market for one part of my business idea which made my heart sink a little.

Like so many others on here I've thought of a few ideas over the years but haven't acted on any because someone has always done it before me, and I lose hope/interest thinking that mine would never be able to compete. I'd love to stay on track, but I really don't know where to start.

How can I bounce my idea off people and develope it without the fear of losing the idea to someone else?

Your fear is common. But, frankly, it is very uncommon for someone to steal and develop someone elses' idea. Lots of people have lots of ideas every day. It takes A LOT more than an idea to get a business going - money, time, and more money! :) So, even if someone wanted to develop your idea, they would still need to invest the money and the time. Most people just don't want to do that.

You may want to consult a SCORE center near you. Those people are there specifically to talk to people who want to start businesses so maybe you would feel more comfortable talking to them given that their job is to hear and provide feedback on ideas.

Best of luck!! :)

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yes I agree with what has already been said. You also may want to consider a direct sales business where you market an already existing product. This can be much easier to get going with. Besides SCORE you may also want to consult your local chapter of SBA.gov.

You can have anyone you actually discuss the details of your idea with sign a Non-Disclosure agreement to protect your idea and this before beginning discussions.

It is standard operating procedure for us to sign a legal document that guarantees our potential customers that we will not steal their ideas while we discuss whether or not we will be the company to work for them. (I'm in food manufacturing). I imagine it would easily work the same or similarly in other industries.

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods Inc.
http://www.peppermaster.com