subject: Joint Ventures - Don't Fear Your Competition! Combine and Conquer! [print this page] Joint Ventures - Don't Fear Your Competition! Combine and Conquer!
Ever dream of having no competitors? A monopoly in your industry would make life so easy, wouldn't it?
It's rare to be the only provider in your industry. In fact, it's rare to be the only provider in any group of business owners! This is why some networking groups have an "industry exclusive" policy where only one representative from any industry is admitted to the group. Only one real estate broker, chiropractor, web designer and so forth.
Smart business owners realize there is a better way! Savvy business owners capitalize on the strengths of others, including their competitors. By joining forces in limited duration, single focus joint ventures. Combining with one or more other business owners is the fastest way to grow your profits.
Where do you find joint venture opportunities? Joint venture opportunities are available to you everywhere you look! The key is to look. It only takes a little imagination, ingenuity and foresight to find abundance resources in other business owners.
You can often find the best prospective joint venture partners within your own industry. Your "competitor" may be your best business ally! What if you formed an alliance with one or more business owners in your industry to host a seminar and invited potential clients from all of your prospect lists? One very likely result is that each of you will appear more credible, more in tune with the needs of clients and a team player. Contrast that scenario with your hosting your own event by yourself. Sometimes those types of events smack of self-promotion. The appearance of being self-promotional often results in the opposite effect and turns off potential customers.
You can also find suitable JV partners by establishing business friendships with other business owners you meet in the operation of your own business who are not in your industry. You may find someone in a different industry who could be the perfect complement to your efforts. For example, if you have brick and mortar business, joining forces with the businesses on either side of you and across the street for a promotional event to benefit a popular charity can work wonders to bring attention to each of your businesses and paints you as a community leader in the eyes of your customers.
To be successful, a joint venture must be mutually beneficial and profitable for everyone involved. Be sure to agree on paper what the common goals are and how profits will be divided among the joint venture partners. Obtain the signed, written agreement of all involved.
Communication is the most important factor in a successful joint venture. The prospective joint venture partners would do well to carefully plot out the business plan, the roles of each participant, the financial split among the partners and the plan of action. The particulars should be spelled out in a written and signed contract leaving no possible decision open for interpretation or misunderstanding.
Your joint venture success will depend on your own creativity, a grand sense of what is possible and the ability to communicate your idea effectively to potential joint venture partners. And above all, have fun with this process and this project. The more playful the plan, the more potential customers will want to come and play with you and your joint venture partners.
One of the best places to find joint venture partners is in groups where business owners gather. I invite you to take a look at the National Association of Entrepreneurs. Visit us at http://theNAE.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Barnby is a multi-business entrepreneur with diverse companies including a successful law practice, a real estate investment company and a non-profit association benefiting women and children. Linda is the founder of the National Association of Entrepreneurs. Listen to Linda's radio show "Building Your Business" online at http://www.WDBO.com.
