How do you keep someone from stealing your idea? This is one of the most frequent questions I get from budding entrepreneurs. Here is my common sense advice that will help you move past being frozen without totally abandoning common sense. "Creative Commons" by Grégoire Hervé-Bazin is licensed under CC BY 2.0[/featured-image]Click to ListenDale’s Rule of Thumb:  "People who will steal ideas cannot execute them."]Corollary:  "People who can execute ideas do not need yours."] Five Things You Can Do to Protect Your IdeaMake sure your ideas is really unique. Most people think their idea is new, but often it is not. So before you get too worried about protecting something that someone else owns, search and find if it has already been done. Beware of the red jeep rule. (Do a quick patent search)Document your idea. Use photos, notes, emails to trusted people or even to yourself. Common sense stuff.  (Engineering Notebooks)File a provisional patent. (See provisional patent forms)Sign a non-disclosure as you are discussing your idea.  (Non-disclosure Form)Execute swiftly. The sooner you capture the market the better. "In entrepreneurship, execution is everything. Ideas are a dime a dozen."]What’s the Worst that Can Happen?Your idea will be stolen. But, you will know you have good ideas and you can now move to idea #2 with lessons learned.Subscription LinksIf you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to it on iTunes. To subscribe, go to iTunes and hit subscribe! You may have to click the button that says, “OPEN IN ITUNES.” You can also find Company of One on Stitcher.Your FeedbackIf you have an idea for a podcast you would like to see or a question about an upcoming episode, e-mail me.Also, if you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out! Thanks.