A great way to expand your business is by working with joint venture partners. When building win-win partnerships, you not only have the opportunity to share a valued expert with your audience, but may also be invited to speak to theirs. But not all partnerships are created equally, and there are specific criteria you should consider when selecting the right ones for your business. So last week I posed the question,
Joint Venture Partners can really help you grow your business. What are the most important criteria when selecting JV’s?
Three experts graciously shared their insights on the subject, from the viewpoint of selecting partners, and setting yourself up to be considered a valuable partner too. Enjoy!
You must share the same basic values, both personal and at a business level. If you don’t then the partnership is doomed before it starts. There must be a synergy of some sort. While it would be great if the synergy is a shared target market, you may find your common ground is a shared sourcing need, marketing tool, or some other unusual perspective. Finally be sure both parties are equally committed to making it work.
Nicole Fende (@BizFinanceForum), President of Small Business Finance Forum
Are they bringing what you need? It is really easy to get excited about partnering up with someone, but you need to evaluate whether they are really bringing what your business needs and are they capable of delivering. If you can, do a probationary period on your JV, to see how you work together, if they are actually delivering what they promise and really committed to the company. A trial period can help you get past the excitement of the honeymoon period and get into the nitty gritty of what the actual partnership will look like.
Lauren MacEwen (@laurencubed), Primary Strategist and Creator of SM Cubed Consulting
I’ve worked with speakers and trainers in the real estate investing arena for the last several years and one of my responsibilities has been to connect good products with good JV promoters. The thing I found most important to BE selected as a JV was to have a stellar reputation. When selecting JVs you have to know you can trust the person to market what you ask when you ask how you ask. The potential JV has to have a list that is relevant enough to your segment that your offer is going to be of interest to them. And both parties have to offer total transparency.
Shannan Hearne (@Shannan0), Founder of Success Promotions
My sincere thanks to all our respondents this week! Openly sharing your expertise and experiences is a huge asset to this blog and the readership. I wish you all a wonderful week and hope to see you here again.
This week’s question is –
Failure is a big part of learning to be successful in business.
What was your biggest start-up mistake, and the valuable lesson you learned from it?
Why should I join the discussion?
Because this online forum is a great place for us to exchange ideas, learn from each other and network. My goal is to unite successful women entrepreneurs to share our insights and solutions to the challenges we most commonly face in our businesses.
How do I get involved?
Every Monday I will post a new Question of the Week. This is a great opportunity for you to bring your expertise to the table. Using the NEW link below, please submit a one paragraph response by Saturday, and the following week I will share our community responses on my blog.
To submit your response CLICK HERE
I look forward to your response to this week’s question! If you have any questions you know where to find me. Have a great week!
Strategies and Tactics for Women by Dr. Shannon Reece 