Business ethics question!

[WingsOnFire]

I have a dilemma. I own a business and we have found a good factory in Europe, which is reasonably priced, produces generally great quality and is always on time with production. When I was starting out, it took a while to find my first factory (not this one) because everybody keeps their factory contacts as business secrets.

I told one competitor our factory's info, when they were struggling with lousy quality soon after starting their business.
Now, I have many people asking for our factory's info. I want to tell them, even though it's not "good business" and I guess it's against my own company's interests. But I would love to "be the change you want to see" -help out others starting their businesses like I wish I'd been helped, and I guess help the planet a little bit, as good quality is the single most important factor in being eco-friendly. Bad quality organic stuff is a huge waste! (I studied environmental economics at the University before going to art school and I hate green-washing...)

So if I'm already FI for my basic living expenses and my business is not my life or my identity, why not help others? What would you do, would you risk losing edge (reputation of rare great quality) and revenue from acting as an agent or middle man if other businesses want to order from this factory through my company (which obviously could get annoying to me if there are problems, as there is always bound to be some)?

[Alphaville]

win-win: maybe you make a deal with the factory to tale a commission for referrals?

[ThriftyRob]

I'd start by asking what are the risks and what are the benefits of you sharing your supplier's details.

Your contacts and your relationships have a value, based on the time you have invested in finding a trusted source and nurturing that. It's only fair to you that you should receive some compensation if you share your knowledge and experience.

You don't know whether your competitors would respect the factory as you do and they could have a disruptive effect on your current supplier relationship.

Every sector I have worked in has been ultra-competitive and I wouldn't trust my competitors any further than I could throw them. YMMV.

So if I'm already FI for my basic living expenses and my business is not my life or my identity, why not help others?

I had to come back to edit in response to this. My experience is that unless you're full-on 100% committed, to product quality, customer service and employee satisfaction, then it's very difficult to sustain a competitive advantage. It's easy to run a business badly and the real sense of achievement comes from doing it the best you can and seeing that reflected in the performance measures.

[chenda]

Could they not ascertain for themselves your supplier by buying one of your products ?

[UK-with-kids]

I don't think you've mentioned whether you're buying raw materials or goods for resale. If you have a business with few barriers to entry then it doesn't make a lot of sense to divulge details of your supply chain. For me it's the ethics of the person asking you for the factory details - perhaps they have a friend who wants to launch a copycat business, and maybe that person is going to do a better job than you can because they've noticed some shortcomings in your own business. If there are too many competitors then it drives down the margins and suddenly you're working harder and harder to win customers for lower and lower profits.

[jacob]

Do business exist to solve a problem after which once solved they go out of business ...
Or do they exist to maximize profits possibly creating further problems along the way insofar that's profitable too?

What are we optimizing/satisficing here?

[tonyedgecombe]

In general I've found sharing my knowledge has helped me more often than not. I do draw the line at some requests though. I once had a potential rival tell me they wanted to create a competitive product but were stuck on some technical details, would I help?

[WingsOnFire]

@chenda:
They can't find out our supplier by buying from us if the order is shipped through us.

I've worked to gain a reputation of good customer service, but as I'm tired of dealing with retail now, we will start to sell via retailers in the future (selling of our inventory at the moment)..

Uh, I can't think like a businessman (woman) I guess. I know if I were to sell my business, info like factory contacts are considered to have value. So in that regard it would be silly to just give the info away for free to anyone who asks.
Is it just me wanting everybody to think I'm a nice person? Or is it actually preferable to act this way?

@jacob: In an ideal world I guess I could help others solve their problems while if not benefiting from being helpful, at least not taking a personal hit from it either. If this was a bigger company I would probably be stopped by other shareholders hehe.

But then again, integrity is important to me and if I feel like sharing my info is for the greater good (less poor quality stuff being made), then I should do it. According to my conscience I guess?

[ThriftyRob]

I know if I were to sell my business, info like factory contacts are considered to have value. So in that regard it would be silly to just give the info away for free to anyone who asks.
Is it just me wanting everybody to think I'm a nice person? Or is it actually preferable to act this way?

@jacob: In an ideal world I guess I could help others solve their problems while if not benefiting from being helpful, at least not taking a personal hit from it either. If this was a bigger company I would probably be stopped by other shareholders hehe.

But then again, integrity is important to me and if I feel like sharing my info is for the greater good (less poor quality stuff being made), then I should do it. According to my conscience I guess?

Maybe that's the way forward - if they want that information they buy your business and pay a premium for the knowledge/expertise contained within it. It reads as though you're maybe a tad jaded with it and a clean break might support your FI.