subject: Joint Ventures: The Best Small Business Advice I Can Give [print this page] Joint Ventures: The Best Small Business Advice I Can Give
As a small business owner, the more creative you can be, the better, because you can find innovative ways to serve your clients well and bring additional income into your business. This small business advice teaches you a strategy for increasing your profits while working less and serving your customers more.I will show you a profitable and truly exciting way to define economic stimulus for you and your business. Maybe you are a service provider, such as a chiropractor. Perhaps you run a store. You can apply this strategy no matter what type of business you conduct.Setting up joint ventures (JVs) is a powerful and profitable activity for business owners for a variety of reasons. JVs are multi-tasking powerhouses for you, because they accomplish a number of goals while taking little extra time to establish and track.1. These deals are profitable for you.
2. They are profitable for the other party involved.
3. They do not require outlays of cash/resources.
4. They can reduce your advertising budget.
5. They provide a higher level of service for your customers or clients.Here is an example. Remember that you can adapt this to your own business. What you want to do is to start asking yourself questions like: "What else do people who buy from me want and need?" "How can I serve my customers BETTER without taxing my own time and resources?" and "How can I make more money with less effort?"You will discover that once you start developing the mind of a joint venture facilitator, you will enjoy profitable and creative ideas all the time. Imagine putting together an arrangement such as this one between a flower shop and a photographer.Sue owns a flower shop. Jerry is a photographer. Since Sue arranges flowers for weddings all the time, it is a good idea for her to serve her clients better by offering them opportunities to take care of other wedding needs. Naturally, some people already have a referral for a photographer from a friend or family member. Some brides, however, will be so happy if they can get a good referral, especially if there is a special deal.Sue works out a profitable arrangement (no pun intended) with Jerry that works like this: She adds his sample book to her wedding display, and she gives a special card from Jerry with an exclusive offer for her customers. She makes sure that every wedding customers gets one of those photography cards. The customer turns in their card when they hire Jerry. Thus, Jerry gains a new customer and Sue gets a referral fee from Jerry.Now, you may be wondering how to track this sort of arrangement. You may think that Jerry would honor the discount but simply neglect to pay Sue her fee. Yes, this could happen, however think of what is happening for Jerry. Without advertising in the usual ways, such as radio or newspaper, he is getting new business that he would not otherwise have enjoyed. His profits go up, so even though he is giving a small piece to Sue and a small piece for the customer's special offer, he is growing his profits without any outlay of cash. In fact, you can see that he is saving money.Maybe you think this seems like giving up a "piece of the pie," but remember this: the "pie" - the profit- expands. If Jerry takes in an additional $50,000 because of his arrangement with Sue, he has raised his income without having to scrounge around for new clients. This is as close to effortless as it gets. he would not have made that extra money if not for the JV with Sue. And by offering a value added service to floral customers, Sue earns effortless extra income and makes her clients happy.Jerry should even be able to cut way back on advertising because of this JV with Sue, because he gets a source of customers. Sue might even think up some other creative ventures that are mutually beneficial, especially as she sees those referral fees add up.Additionally, Jerry can make a similar arrangement to refer people to Sue's flower shop. He might take photos of some of her arrangements and include them in his displays. He also gets a card from her, which he gives to all his clients, because many photographic occasions are also flowers occasions. He photographs weddings, family reunions, anniversaries, proms, galas, fundraisers, holiday parties and more. All are fantastic occasions for giving flowers.Imagine how much more business Sue can gain simply from Jerry's referrals. She offers special pricing or an upgrade to the customer and a "finder's fee"/referral fee for Jerry. She also can cut way back on her advertising budget because of JVs. Everybody wins, especially the happy customers.You can arrange deals such as this for your own business. If you prefer to stay focused on your business and have someone else organize this kind of situation for you, you can engage a Joint Venture Facilitator who will assess your assets and needs and take a sliver of the ever-expanding
