A business plan doesn’t have to be a novel-length document. It could simply be a few pages that describe you and your JV partner, why you’re in business, and how you expect to achieve success. However, a more complicated JV that may require outside financing may require a more detailed business plan with professional biographies, marketing strategies, and financial projections.

Whatever the length and detail of your joint venture, here are the basic elements that all business plans need to have:

Executive Summary

Though this section is at the front, it should be written last after all the details have been thoroughly completed. The Executive Summary should be written meticulously and concisely and serves as an intro to the business plan. It should be about a few paragraphs, or no more than a few pages long, and contain just the fundamental nuggets of the rest of the document. Think of the summary as a “sneak preview” that will tantalize the reader into the rest of the document.

Company Description

This section should discuss your vision statement, the people, and business profile. It should contain details about you and your JV partner and include a bio your experiences and expertise. You will also want to talk about what why the JV is in business and what you plan to sell.

More detail in this section could include:

• Organization & Management
• Product or Service Line
• Management Details

Market Strategies

You need to identify who your market is and how you will market to them.  Discuss why your product or service fills an identified and unsaturated niche. Show details of market research performed. And be specific about your marketing strategies and goals, as well as how you and your JV partner will work together to tap into potential customers.

Competitive Analysis

Your JV is not the only one doing business in your niche. Include this section so you clearly identify who your competition is and why your product or service offering stands apart from the rest.

Financial Projections

This section is essential if your JV is looking for outside financing, such as loans or investors. Even if you do not show the plan to anyone else, it’s a good idea for you and your JV partner to formulate financial projections showing your expected cash outflows and anticipated revenues. A financial expert who can develop accurate projections based on dependable research should complete a detailed financial projection.

With a dependable business plan in hand, you and your JV partner have a reliable blueprint for achieving success. If you don’t already have one, get together with your JV partner and discuss forming a plan right away. It will help lead you down the road to a thriving JV!

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Each one of us feels a need for speed in getting things done. Certainly in business, it is no different. Your joint venture must be proactive in procuring business and react to various daily business stimuli. And any business owner and JV partner recognizes the importance of quick and decisive action, especially in a down economy.

You Can Afford To Slow Down

The fact is that you can accomplish more in less time when you focus and consciously direct your attention and efforts toward a specific task. Of course sometime’s quick decisions need to be made and put into action in the course of business. But are you really taking adequate time to come up with and compare alternative solutions? Sometimes a quick decision is not the best decision.

By taking time to reflect and weigh potential consequences in your business and JV decisions, you are able to make decisions with more confidence with more effectiveness.

How Slow Should You Go?

Of course, you want your JV to succeed and do everything you can to keep it moving along to produce profit for you and your JV partner. But how do you take the time to become more effective in less time? How do you decide how much time you need for major decisions?

• Determine a timeline – First, with each decision you need to make consider when your decision must be made. A quick decision may be required to satisfy a customer or react to a business situation. But take a moment to consider whether more time may be more beneficial in the end. With additional time, you may be able to brainstorm and come up with a better solution for your customer or a better response to a business question. Sometimes it may be a few minutes or perhaps it may take weeks. But with any business question, consider the impact of your bottom line if you decide too hastily.

• Reflection - Once you know you have some time, take the time to reflect. Reflection is an important part of pacing yourself. Taking quiet time to think and analyze the possibilities and alternatives gives you an important tool in making decisions, and that is confidence.

• Use your experience – In the writing realm, the common adage is “write what you know.” The same holds true in business. Use your experience and expertise that you’ve accumulated over the years to come up with solutions and make decisions. You may know that a strategy will not work based on past experience, or you may know what works like a charm.

Recognize that you must take risks and make decisions that may not work well. However, by taking the time to consider the possibilities, you allow your JV to take calculated risks – and that is how you succeed in business.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Your value toward the effectiveness and success of your JV may be analyzed in a number of different ways. Most JVs are 50/50 between the partners, but many are weighted differently such as a 60/40 or a 70/30 split. In any case, it’s important for each partner to pull his own weight in relation to the agreed contribution. Here are some aspects that can give you an idea of how effective you are toward the JV’s success and your value to the bottom line.

Profit - This is one of the biggest value indicators. How does your contribution affect the profit capability of the JV?  Is profit dependent upon your role within the JV? Usually sales and marketing are a big factor in determining the profitability of a JV. But other ways can contribute to profit such as price determination, production efficiency, or expense reduction.

Purpose – What is your purpose within the JV? Are you there as a contributing partner, or do you take a back seat approach and observe and let things happen? Do you contribute ideas for improvement and strategy? Are you an action person who carries out the strategy?

Problem Solving – Are you a creative problem solver? Solving problems may not seem to have a direct effect on profit, but when solutions create faster and more efficient production, quicker market response time, or a better product, then value is certainly realized.

Speed – Can you perform work more efficiently in less time? Many people are valuable because they get things done. They know the shortcuts necessary to get an action complete, or perhaps have the contacts to call and get things completed faster.

Motivation – Many people are valuable because of their personality. They are catalysts for others to get things done. They may be the enthusiastic motivator for productivity, creativity, and ultimately, a part of the success of the JV. Their personality never wavers between ups and downs.  Rather, they are consistently optimistic and cooperative and are able to get people to respond to them in positive ways.

Pride – Are you someone who takes pride in your work? Ultimately, if you are proud of the work you create and perform for a JV, then your value is intrinsic with its success.  People who take pride are more effective and have a stronger desire to see success.

How does your value quotient add up? Do you feel you contribute enough? Too much? Not enough? Ultimately, if you want your JV to be successful, you must realize your value to the partnership and contribute your share of value. In doing so, you will feel good about your part in the JV and realize the potential profit for your added value.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Weighing the Pessimists and the Optimists

Though many business owners have a pessimistic outlook, they are sadly correct. And unfortunately, it is the pessimistic ones who will bail out and cut their losses and save what assets they can before losing everything. It is the pessimists who say that things will not improve and complain about how business should happen.

However, the business owners and JV partners who succeed are the ones who remain optimistic and take charge of their psychological mindset of doing business in a downturned economy. While ten years ago business owners and executives were reading books about squashing the competition and making millions, now bookstores’ shelves are cleared of books about sustaining through tough economic losses and simply keeping business alive.

The fact is that it is the optimist who will survive the current economic crisis, and not only survive, but thrive. The optimist in a JV looks for what is going well in their venture, and what is likely to improve, and then focuses energies to keep the right business elements navigated through the muck and mire of a raging economic whitewater rapid. The optimist also is aware of economic change and realizes that the JV business process much change with it.

Ways to Stay Positive

What can you do to remain optimistic through this tough economic climate?

• Don’t Panic – Level headedness and patience must prevail in order for your JV to survive.

• Listen to the pessimists – They will likely reveal what is true about slower economic times. By listening you can discover what not to do.

• Keep the outlook positive – The optimist knows that a recession is only temporary and that they are a natural progression of business evolution. As history has shown, things will improve.

• Always focus on your strengths – Doing what works best for you and your JV is the key to keeping your JV alive and thriving.

• Analyze good and bad – Evaluate the difficulties of your JV and try to discover whether it is due to consumer panic and fear, or whether it is a normal cycle of economic swings.

• Look for ways to improve – Your JV’s success through economic recession depends on your ability to find ways to improve and do business during tough times.

So how will you approach your attitude in order to wade through the economic climate? Will you be pessimistic and give up hope? Or will you face the raging rapids and find the silver lining along the cloudy path?

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Mistakes are the seeds for improvement. No matter how well founded our theories are, mistakes are the key to finding the perfect and best solution. The same goes with a joint venture. You may find a great JV partner and develop an exciting business idea, but no matter how sound your business plan is, you’re likely to encounter mistakes. However, should mistakes be considered failure and grounds for giving up? Absolutely not.

With that said, how do you improve upon mistakes and errors of judgment? Not every decision we make will work perfectly. You and your JV partner may have decided to promote your JV business idea through a local trade magazine but with disappointing results and at a high advertising cost. However, once the results are in, you can meet to discuss other options that may work better.

Here is a four-step process of improving from mistakes:

1. Recognize and Admit the Mistake – Take time to review results of an attempted strategy. Or if you’ve been going along at status quo, keep your eyes open for irregularities that may result from poor decisions. You’ve heard the idiom that there’s no use beating a dead horse. Don’t continue with a strategy that doesn’t work just because it was your best idea. Admit it was the wrong choice.

2. Glean Valuable Info from the Mistake – With any JV business strategy and action, you always want to find ways to improve. Mistakes can offer the best educational advice on how to improve. Analyze both the positive and negative reactions to your failed JV business strategy. You can discover things that were great about a choice, as well as learn what not to use again or what needs improvement.

3. Formulate New Ideas – Now it’s time to improve. What was it that made your JV strategy or action fail? What worked well? You may discover that your packaging needs improving or the choice of distributor was the mistake. Joint venture and business strategies are a process.  Edison didn’t make 3,000 mistakes. He discovered 3,000 ways not to develop the incandescent light bulb.

4. Move On – When you have analyzed your mistakes and formulated new plans, move forward and try to get it right. Put your new JV business plan into action and wait for the next results.

Your JV, like any business, requires a method of constant improvement. Take time to review the mistakes you or your JV partner have made, and with the right attitude of learning and improving, you will make your JV a success.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Your joint venture is no different. What did you do today that promoted your JV product or service? What will you do tomorrow? What strategies have worked? What strategies need to be changed? Time for reflection can help you make the right JV decisions and move forward with confidence in your strategy.

What is Reflection?

Reflection is simply time to relax and get your brain out of its fast-paced, rat-race mindset, and analyze. In all our daily business activities, we tend to make decisions quickly and reactively. Someone calls – must answer it, talk, and make a decision or tell him or her “you’ll get back to them”. The copier broke – must call the repairman. You accountant needs budget answers – must give the answers or tell them “you’ll get back to them.”

See how fast business can be? You need the time to think about the small things so you will be able to “get back to them” and move forward with your business and JV strategy. Stopping to take a moment can give you clarity and the ability to think clearly to make the best decisions based on your past performance and what is in store.

How to Reflect

So how do you incorporate reflection in your busy daily life?

• Find a quiet, calming place - Being able to think and analyze in a quiet place is a better atmosphere for clarity and positive thinking. Find a nice coffee shop.  Perhaps it’s your back porch overlooking the sunset. The place you reflect is the key to getting good thinking done.

• Keep notes – When you sit down to reflect, do you know what you need to think about? Keep a small notebook like Moleskin with you at all times where you can jot down notes and ideas to think about later.
• Write it in your schedule - Sometimes you just need to create time for reflection. Write the time in your daily schedule and stick to it.

• Take time at the beginning and end – The best times to reflect are at the beginning and end of the day. Take a short while to reflect on what you need to accomplish today after you wake up. Then, at night take a while to mull over what you have accomplished and how you could have made better decisions.

• Make it a part of business strategy – And finally, with any JV business strategy, you must make time to review how a strategy is going and what needs to be changed to make it more successful.

The time you take for quiet reflection is time well spent. You will be able to make better decisions and be more confident in the decisions you make.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Knowing a bit about the psychology of persuasion can help in swaying a JV partner to your ideas. First you need to know what kind of decision maker your JV partner is. Here are the main types of decision maker types that are found in executive positions around the world.

• Controllers – This type of decision maker is the pushy, take-control type who wants it their way. Usually it’s because of insecurity that they are less easily persuaded. They need cold, hard facts, logic, and an analytical style in order to persuade them. Don’t be ambiguous with this type. Keep your persuasions clear and to the point.

• Thinkers – This type may be tougher than Controllers to persuade. They, too, need cold, hard facts, and lots of them. They like to think and analyze each decision, and they may take a while to do so. Give plenty of information for this type to chew on if you want to persuade them to your thinking.

• Charismatics – Charismatic businesspeople are the enthusiastic type who makes a decision and carries through with it whole-heartedly. They like balance and enjoy choosing the course of action that is familiar with past experience. Give plenty of information to this type as well, but also lean arguments toward their past successes to get a positive persuasion.

• Followers – This type of decision maker is adverse to risk. They like to know that something has worked in the past before they try it themselves. Facts aren’t so important as examples of previous success. Give them a good, sturdy platform to jump onto if you want them to follow you.

Now that we are familiar with decision making types, how do you actually create an argument for your JV partner? Here are some helpful techniques in building your argument:

• Display the need – Each decision maker type needs to know that a decision has to be made. Create a need for your course of action, such as more income, reduction of expenses, bigger market-base, etc. Include the facts and previous success of your plan as needed to help

• Choose the right words – Remember, you need to use the proper words according to your JV partner type. Charismatics like enthusiastic and positive words. Thinkers like intelligent and logical words. Followers need to hear words like responsible, cautious, and proven.

• Call to action – Once you’ve made your presentation or argument, you need to get them into a frame of mind that requires decision. Tell them your beliefs and why you are convinced of a course of action, and ask for their support.

Persuasion is like an art form.  Good salespeople know the art of persuasion well. If you are in a position that requires persuading a JV partner in a course of action, take heed to how you will formulate your action based on the decision-type he or she is. Good luck!

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

The Importance of Good Relations

Your business relationships outside your own business or JV are important. Why? Where do you get your raw materials? Who services your technology and equipment? Who delivers your product from your warehouse directly to the customer? Your JV depends upon many other businesses for success. Don’t you think it is worthy to spend time developing those business relationships as if your continued and future success depends upon it?

A simple rude or berating comment can sever a good business relationship. Who wants to work with difficult people? Your supplier may decide there are better pastures in which to make sales. Or your distributor may suddenly find that there is “no more room” in his warehouse for your product. Keeping your business relationships sharp and well nurtured will keep your business alive and thriving.

5 Ways to Stay in Good Favor

How does one continually develop good business relationships and keep a smooth flow of business going?

Listen – Always listen to the people from other businesses. They have specific policies and procedures they need to follow to keep their business alive just as you do. Listen to them if they have a problem.

Talk to the right people – Sometimes you need to talk to a decision maker rather than the person answering the phone. It is not uncommon that at times you need special consideration or a modification of their business practice to get what your JV needs.  Don’t talk to a brick wall that goes by the book. Talk to the business owner or manager who may be able to get special consideration for you.

Be persuasive – Sometimes it takes a sales pitch to get a new business relationship going or to get special consideration as noted above. Avoid being belligerent or demanding.  Using persuasion and kind words can go a long way to helping your relationship and developing success.

Empathy – Sometimes other businesses need things from you. Just as you may need something or special consideration from other business, this is the time you need to be empathetic and listen to the person on the other end of the line or in your office. Putting yourself in their shoes can help you make the right decision.

Use Professional Behavior – And finally, you will be appreciated and others will want to work with you when you use professional behavior. That means not yelling into the phone when you don’t get what you want. It means returning phone calls. It means following through on a request or letting a person know you need more time. It boils down to common courtesy. Be courteous, and you will always have good business relationships.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Where does negativity stem from? There are many rocks that can be thrown at our psych that triggers negativity. Here are a few:

• News – Every day there is another story about the economy, and usually the news is not good. Unemployment is up. Stock market is way down – again. The economy won’t recover for a long haul. All these factors could cause us to give up and stop trying hard to be successful.

• Anger – The emotional response of anger comes easily. And let’s face it – there are many people who have anger issues. When we are angry, we say things we don’t mean and do things we did not intend. Uncontrolled anger festers as negativity.

• Powerlessness – We’ve been told all our lives that we can do anything we set our mind to do. However, achieving lower results, too many obstacles, and yes, also failure, can make us feel powerless and out of control of our own jobs and destinies.

Alternative Positive Strategies

What can you do to keep mentally challenged, remain focused, and stay positive? A positive mental attitude requires continual effort, lest the dark side creep in. Here is what you need to think about each and every day:

Passion – It’s easy enough to say it, but you must be passionate about what you do. If you form a JV, be sure it is something that you will work at passionately and feel passionate about. Passion could come from wanting success in your own business, or a new creative idea for a joint venture. Without passion, you may find you put less effort into it.

Challenge – Form a JV that challenges you and your JV partner. A challenge makes reaching the goal that much more exciting and fulfilling.

Think of Others – Don’t just work for yourself. When others depend upon your work, there is more incentive for you to succeed and meet their needs. Whether you form a JV for non-profit community and social benefit, or just trying to feed your family and send your daughter to college, let others motivate your success.

Balance – Work is great. And it should be fulfilling. But don’t forget to balance your work life with your family, friends, and other obligations. Avoid the temptation to allow work and your JV to take over the majority of your life.

In a world where negativity is all around us, we must consciously remain focused on the positive in our lives. Negativity can be overwhelming. But when we take control of our mental status and focus, success follows. Stay positive!

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Savvy business owners and entrepreneurs are choosy about with whom they spend their time and build alliances. Association with other successful business owners may give them additional credibility and status. Therefore, it’s not just business success, but also the reputation at stake as well.

Subsequently, with this type of business owner with whom you want to partner on a joint venture, you must earn his trust as a credible business owner yourself. Success breeds success, as they say.  If you are after a savvy business owner who is careful with his associations, here are some things you might use to gain his trust:

Client Testimonials

Use your own customer testimonials. Don’t just tout your own success; let your customers do it for you. Your customers and clients can really help your company shine. Whether you provide the best customer service, or produce and sell the best widget, customer testimonials will be the driving force that tells other customers, and your potential JV partner, that you do quality work. Get as many testimonials as you can. A few are good, but 10 shining testimonials are great.

Press Exposure

What have you done in your business that has been noticed by the press? Keep a clip file of any and all media about your business. Perhaps you were interviewed by the local major newspaper or gave a radio interview. And better yet, you got a stellar review about your business in a newspaper or magazine. Clip those articles and reviews and show them to your potential JV partner. Again, praise about your business ability from others gives you additional and heightened credibility.

Endorsements

Positive press is nice, but endorsements from other reputable businesses in your industry or field of business can give you a lot of credibility. People with high status and reputation that say good things about your work are a boost toward greater success. For instance, if you invented a small product and famous pitchman, Billy Mays, chose it to be in his next infomercial, you and your product just enjoyed a jolt of credibility from his endorsement.

A potential JV partner with a discerning eye and a sense for reputation may be one of the toughest pitches you’ll make for a business arrangement. But if you feel that their status, business acumen, and product are a good fit for a JV with you, then it’s worth the effort.  Be sure to appeal to their sense of reputation and status by highlighting your own.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.