As entrepreneurs, most of us are doing businesses on our own. Many of us, however, long for the support that a joint venture partnership provides. I believe there is so much more that can be done when we work and bring our strengths together in a joint venture. The question is – how do you create a partnership that works for both of you, as well as the communities you’re serving?

I interviewed Gina Bell, a friend of mine and the founder of GinaBellInc.com, for some tips on how to collaborate effectively and profitably. I want to share with you how you can find the “right” partner for your business and start an enjoyable and prosperous joint venture.

 

 Joint Ventures - How to Collaborate Effectively and Profitably [Metromom Podcast] [5:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

As entrepreneurs, most of us are doing businesses on our own. Many of us, however, long for the support that a joint venture partnership provides. Women especially need and want to collaborate with others (however men really benefit as well).

I believe there is so much more that can be done when we work and bring our strengths together in a joint venture. The question is – how do you create a partnership that works for both of you, as well as the communities you’re serving?

I interviewed Gina Bell, a friend of mine and the founder of GinaBellInc.com, for some tips on how to collaborate effectively and profitably. I want to share with you a few gems from that call.

So what is a joint venture?

A joint venture is an agreement or alliance between two or more people. Most of time these partnerships make sense when you share a target market. For example, Gina and I discovered that we share a target market of entrepreneurial women. The key is that the joint venture must benefit everybody involved.

Here are a few different ways to collaborate in a joint venture:

1. Share intellectual property
2. Combine methods to create a product or service
3. Share assets
4. Share the expense hiring a virtual assistant
5. Have an agreement to share knowledge
6. Share profits

How do you find someone you would enjoy working with and who has similar goals as you do? In my next blog, I’ll share with you 4 steps on how to get a joint venture started and how to keep it working well for everyone concerned.

Are you ready to learn the nuts and bolts of joint venture partnerships? Check out the upcoming Get It Done Challenge starting on January 21st. You’ll receive the support and wisdom you need to create your own joint venture. And quite possibly you’ll meet that fellow entrepreneur who is the “right” match for your business.

Earlier this year I hit some pretty low points after my husband had lost his job. Not only was I anxious about our situation, I was watching many other mom entrepreneurs come onto the scene with their own websites and communities. My first reaction was to go to a place of scarcity. I had this awful limiting belief that if they existed, and were doing business, that there wouldn’t be enough left over for me.

It sounds crazy when I write it, but it felt incredibly real and scary in that moment. I did know two things at that time. First, I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Second, I knew that to do business in a way that was fun for me, and to stick around, I would have to just focus on doing business in a “Kim” way, and show up as authentically as possible. Some would be attracted to me and follow me, and others wouldn’t. I trusted it would all be fine.

Around the same time, I felt drawn to connect with a particular mom entrepreneur with her own community, Carla Young of MOMeo. On the surface, one would think “competitor” in the yucky sense of the word. But what I sensed from observing her on Twitter was a kind, funny, open woman. I was blessed to discover that she’s even more wonderful.

We joked back in March that it’d be great to get some amazing mom entrepreneurs together in Las Vegas in June. Sounded fun I thought, but we didn’t pursue it. Fast forward to April, and Carla was scheduling me to speak with her MOMeo community about how I get things done so quickly. She asked, “When are you free in June?” I told her the only days I wasn’t when I’d be in Las Vegas attending Baeth’s Life Purpose Spiritual Summit. Carla laughed and said she’d be in Las Vegas that very same weekend!

We decided to make that gathering of great entrepreneurial women come together. As a connector, I immediately got to work inviting some women I wanted to meet and who I believed would be interested in creating something bigger as a group than any of us could on our own.  Much to my surprise, nine of us ended up coming together – Alexis Martin Neely, Carla Young, Sarah Robinson, Jennifer Haubein, Sandy Grason, Kim Castle, MaryPat Kavanagh, Dorcy Russell and me!

Each of us shared what we could offer (our true creative brilliance and what’s fun for us to do) as well as the support we’d love from the rest of the group. Getting behind each of these women to support their product and service launches feels great. I’m not sure where it will all go but I have lots of faith. I’m so blessed that I could connect with them and them together and bring them into my life.

Please share your comments on how you’ve benefited by turning your “competitors” into “collaborators”. This is an area were women entrepreneurs really shine!