What's a Business Joint Venture?

How to reduce risks, maximize profits, and create new opportunities

What is a business joint venture? Is that like a partnership? Aren't partnerships bad?

What I'm talking about is very different from the legal entity known as a partnership. That kind of partnership is full of risk, and almost always ends badly.

A joint venture is a way of cooperating with others for mutual benefit. It usually involves cooperation with another business that is somehow related and complementary to yours. There are probably thousands of problems that you could solve by using a joint venture.

For example, let's say you have a business that does graphic design work. You are very good at what you do, but you aren't very good at getting new customers. You need new customers, and you really hate selling your own services. How do you solve that problem?

You could team up with another company that sells website development, or marketing and advertising, or anything that is closely related to graphic design. Let the other company bring in the work for you. They take a percentage of the sale, and you get more work without having to lift a finger. You and the other company both win.

Use a joint venture when you need what someone else has, or when someone else needs what you have. By working together, you each get what you want.

Joint ventures allow you to reach new markets that would otherwise be inaccessible. They can help you to reduce your costs. When you only pay for results, you also reduce your risk.

I believe in joint ventures so much that I'm willing to work with my clients on a joint venture basis. Instead of paying me up front, we could agree that I take a share of increased revenues or cost savings after your new solution is in place.

Let's think about that. I am partnering with you on a short-term basis to help you grow your business. You don't have to pay any money up front to get my help. You have no risk whatsoever. Instead, depending on the kind of help I provide, you either pay me a fraction of what you would have spent or a percentage of your increased sales. Either way, you are increasing your wealth by working with me. And I'm getting a new customer by eliminating your risk. We both win.

Example Structures

A business joint venture can be structured many different ways. Here are a few common ways.

  • One time deal - Help promote a product or service for a share of the profits. Groupon.com is a good example of this model.
  • Ongoing promotion - Like the one time deal but ongoing. Affiliate marketing is an example of this.
  • Share of sale - Two people work together to sell the same product. Each party receives a percentage of the profits. Unlike affiliate marketing, this is more exclusive. Each party is more like a partial owner of the product, or there is control over the sale of the product. Examples: Co-author a book; a real estate agent's exclusive right to sell your home.
  • Share of company - This is used when the kind of help you need is very broad, and you need someone to help you on an ongoing basis. It's similar to a legal partnership, but without the big downside risks.

    For example, I could help you with your marketing and business strategy on an ongoing basis in exchange for a financial interest in your company. When the company makes more money, I make more money. Unlike a partnership, I cannot financially obligate the company in any way. I have no control over the operations of your company. I don't own a part of the company. I would only receive a portion of the company's income for providing my services.

It's important to note that share-of-product and share-of-company deals have a legal agreement to protect your interests and mine. An agreement might specify that I only receive compensation if certain goals are met. It's all negotiable.

Problems Solved with Business Joint Ventures

The types of business joint ventures are truly limited only by your imagination. Let's take a look at a few ways I can use joint ventures to solve your problems.

Example 1: You have a product, but don't know how to market it.

You've invented a new product, service, process, or something else that's completely new. You know it's valuable to the right people, but you don't know how to get the word out and start making sales. I can help you with that.

Example 2: You have an expensive asset that is underutilized, but don't know how to get more value from it.

That asset can be anything. It could be a piece of equipment like an earth mover or log splitter. It could be an empty lot. If it's just sitting there doing nothing, it's a wasted opportunity. I can help you with that.

Example 3: You have an audience, but you need more products.

If you have a store, you can sell other people's products in it without tying up your own money in inventory. I can help you with that.

In addition to these examples, you can also use a business joint venture to:

  • Reduce your advertising costs
  • Increase sales of your products
  • Create new products and services
  • Slash your marketing and operational costs
  • Reach new markets
  • Stomp the competition
  • Get publicity and credibility
  • And more...

You can solve almost any problem with a business joint venture. And when you use one to work with me, you don't have to figure it out on your own. I'll do the hard work for you.

Business joint ventures are a creative way to get access to what you need using "out of the box" thinking. I can help you use them to free up your time, increase your sales and achieve amazing growth. Contact me now to get started.

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