Joint Venture – 4 Important Steps to Starting a Successful Partnership
Every once in awhile a joint venture partner will just fall in your lap. But, that’s not the norm. More often it requires a little more effort if you’re looking to find the “right” partner.
My first suggestion is to get out there and connect. It’s extremely critical to become more visible. You need to grow your network among like-minded people. To create a successful joint venture, you want to connect with people who are moving in a similar direction, share a similar goal and common interests.
I’m really happy to say that quite a few joint venture partnerships have blossomed among Metromom members and from entrepreneurs that have participated in my interactive coaching programs. These partnerships work because not only do they have a lot in common, but they’re working towards similar goals.
The next step is building your credibility and trust. You can build credibility by following up with your promises. You build trust by having the intention of giving and serving others. Your intention is, “How can I help you?” rather than “What can I get from you?”
Building trust and credibility takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. My friend Gina Bell shared that, “If you’re trying to go straight to profitability, it’s like proposing marriage on the first date. It just doesn’t work.”
Next, your joint venture need to be a win-win-win, which means it’s good for you, your partner, AND your clients and prospects. Often the missing piece is knowing how it’s going to benefit the customers and new clients you want to serve. However, if you’re clear on the benefits for everyone involved, the odds are very high that you’re going to have a profitable outcome for your joint venture.
Finally, don’t be afraid to lead and motivate your partners. People are busy. So don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and make some reminders. This can be the difference between a joint venture being spectacular and failing. Don’t be afraid to give your joint venture partners a gentle nudge.
Bottom line? The key to being successful in a joint venture partnership is having faith, being of service to others, being of value to others in your network and finding ways for everybody to win.
I’d love to hear your experiences about positive or negative joint ventures you’ve created. Please share your comments.
Tags: connecting, Gina Bell, intention of giving, Joint Ventures, Kim DeYoung
