“Open source business model” takes on a new meaning with the Open Business Foundation

The Open Business Foundation (OBF) operates on two premises: that the open source development community makes good business sense, and that small businesses can be more successful if they band together with each other to share resources of all kinds.

OBF’s founder Robert Whetsel, the owner of Ravensong Consulting, says that OBF “was developed from the design philosophy and the principles of open source software communities. Furthermore, we promote true community empowerment in that we require members to share resources, experiences, and business processes. Therefore we can pursue joint opportunities with trusted and proven members to create a thriving, open business community.”

Whetsel came from an entrepreneurial family, and grew up surrounded by small business owners. After a tour of duty in the military, his first goal was to open his own business. He started with a Sonic restaurant franchise, but ended up working so many hours that his “quality of life was zero. That’s not what I signed up to do.”

Whetsel started thinking about other ways to earn a living. “I was a geeky kid; had my first computer built when I was 14. I was one of those guys. People were always asking me for help, and I realized that I could get paid for that. So I started an IT firm.” He says running a business solo was a completely different experience for him. “You’re by yourself. You gotta understand marketing, bookkeeping, and tax regulations. That’s a tall order.”

Smart enough to realize his strength was in IT consulting and not administration, Whetsel envisioned a business collective modeled after a traditional open source development community; one where there were no secrets; where everyone shared their techniques for creating a successful business with each other, and they worked together in a synergy that would allow their very small businesses to band together and compete with much larger and more diverse companies.

Read more at Linux.com