4 More Ways You Can Control Risk in Your Joint Venture

As you move forward with your joint venture, there are always risks along the way. The key with any business practice is to identify risks and take precautionary measures to control and avoid them. Below are four good ways you can control risks with your joint venture so you can enjoy a long and fruitful partnership.

1. Use existing resources rather than paying for new ones

Finding sources for capital can be difficult and costly. Why not use existing resources as much as possible when you form a JV? Rather than buying a new delivery truck for your JV, use an existing one from your company. The same holds true for computers, equipment, supplies, and even human resources. Utilize as many resources as possible at your disposal, and your JV partner should do the same.  This will save you money down the road in interest charges and unnecessary capital expenses.

2. Reduce or eliminate your overhead

Overhead can be an incredible drain on your joint venture budget, requiring constant inflow of cash to patch the outflows. Try to operate with as little overhead as possible or eliminate it completely. This is where using existing resources can come into play by using and sharing existing office supplies and/or office space. Use an existing cubicle in either your or your JV partner’s office for your administration. Any expense that is related to general or administrative costs is overhead. Keep it low.

3. Choose business associates carefully

One of the biggest risks in business is trust. You must trust others to do business ethically and trust that they will not take advantage of you. However, these types of business people exist – which is why it is so important to carefully choose the business associates on whom your JV depends. Delivery companies or distributors should have the highest reputation. Get your JV business supplies from a vendor who has great prices, but not so cheap that your product suffers. JV success depends on the quality of your product or service and your reputation.  Protect them both with the choices you make.

4. Don’t depend on government contracts

There can be big money in government contracts, and a lot of businesses do well with work awarded by federal or state government. However, government agencies have a tendency to eliminate contracts at a whim for budget reasons or even disappear itself at the decision of the Appropriations Committee. If you can acquire government contract business, that is certainly fantastic. However, make sure you diversify your business so that you don’t depend wholly upon government work.

A JV business can run smoothly and efficiently. Shared resources and smart decisions are the key to making a JV a success. However, you must form and implement strategies to reduce and control risk. Use little new capital. Operate efficiently. And choose your business associates and deals carefully.

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.

Perfectionists vs. “Good Enough” Partners for Your JV

Most people are “good enough” types of workers. They know what a job entails and how to get the desired results, but nothing else is needed. A job is done when it’s “good enough” and will suffice for the purpose. Though you may not think it, these are the type of people who get things done and are good for progressive business processes like those found in joint ventures.

Perfectionists, on the other hand, may determine that a job is never done – not until it is perfect. They will spend hours, days, and even months trying to perfect a business process, product, or service and still determine that it is incomplete. Perfectionists are important in business because they can see the fine details and flaws that others may not notice. But is a perfectionist the perfect type of JV partner?

Combining a Joint Venture with a Perfectionist

A perfectionist personality who owns and runs a small business may find that they really need to loosen their standards and look ahead at progress. A JV can be good for this type of personality with the right partner – one who can help guide the perfectionist toward a goal and see the benefits waiting at the end of the rainbow. Remember, it’s not necessarily the destination that is important, but the journey to get there that counts.

How can perfectionists be more productive in a JV situation? Though perfectionists may have a hard time giving up their quality standards, it may be just the thing to get them to more profits and a thriving business.  Here’s what they can do:

Toss the Fear of Mistakes

One of the worst perfectionist attitudes is the fear of making a mistake. They believe it must be done right the first time. However, this attitude can lead to stagnation. It is important to make mistakes and learn from them. NASA didn’t go straight to the Moon. They developed their technologies little by little, learning from their mistakes in order to get the right method and strategy for getting a man on the Moon.

Accept Change

Many perfectionists are resistant to change. The method that has always worked in the past is the one to follow. However, “the way we’ve always done it” has to progress through change. For hundreds of years, accountants kept the books by handwritten ledgers. Computers have changed all that just in the last 25 years. Though it was difficult to let go of the “hardcopy” ledgers, computer accounting is the norm now with safety standards and procedures that avoid loss of data.

Learn to Let Go

Perfectionists have a hard time letting go. A project is never complete. The result is “imperfect” in their mind. However, progress and success must come even with a little imperfection. It is important that a perfectionist learn to move forward in order to make a business or JV strategy work. And sometimes that means letting go of the “perfect” image in order to make something “good enough” for the overall purpose of business success.

Perfectionists can be good for producing the best quality products and services. However, a JV with a perfectionist as a partner will need to learn a little give and take in order to meet the goals of the venture.

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.

5 Key Elements of a Joint Venture Vision

What is your joint venture vision? Do you have one? Or are you just on a coasting pattern that brings some profits but nothing to brag about? If you want your JV to be a big success and experience the full profit potential that JVs can offer, you need a clear and excellent vision.

A JV vision is not just a blueprint. Though you need a roadmap detailing the route to your goal, a vision entails much more. Here are the 5 main key elements of a great JV vision:

1. Goals

Of course, your vision needs a destination. What is the outcome of your JV? Do you want to see profit? Bigger market bases? Expansion? Your JV vision needs to have a clearly defined goal or goals that you are trying to achieve.

Sit down with your JV partner and list the goals that you want to achieve together. You may come up with more than one, and you may have too many that need to be carved down to a few achievable goals. However, knowing where your destination is will help you to form your strategy.

2. Strategy

Using the roadmap metaphor, your strategy is the route you will take to reach your destination. Is there a straight line to your goal? Or will you need to take a few side roads in order to achieve your main goal? Your strategy will consist of smaller, step-by-step goals that will ultimately lead to the top.

3. Inspiration

Who wants to take an uninspired journey? The vision journey should be inspiring to you, your JV partner, and all employees and business partners you need along the way.  Inspiration is important as part of your vision in order to make the journey to the goal worthwhile. That may mean inspiring others to endure hardships, as well as the joys along the way.

4. Leadership

Your JV vision needs leadership to keep the metaphorical car moving along the road.  Sometimes it may require tough-love leadership to keep the momentum needed to reach your goals. Your leadership role means you need to work in harmony with your JV partner, as well as your own team. A leader needs to be respected by his peers and employees. But be sure you respect them in return, and they will follow you along your vision.

5. Enthusiasm

Lastly, enthusiasm is important for your JV vision. Through the hardships and trials, it is the enthusiastic leader who will keep a JV partner or employees motivated. Enthusiasm means looking past the negative and seeing the positive of every situation. That’s not an easy task. If you will to achieve your JV vision, it will be done only through an enthusiastic effort on all parts.

Your JV vision may be long, medium, or short-term. You may have more than one vision at a time. But if you plan on making your JV a success, keep a vision on the horizon at all times so you know what you and your JV partner are working for.

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.

Strengthen Your Own Business with a JV

If you own and operate a small business, you are most likely earning a small business income as well. Even though you may have spent years getting your business off the ground and running to its current efficiency, you still are not satisfied with the income you generate. You know your business has more income potential, but you just don’t know how to get the word out and bring in more customers. If this is you, then perhaps you have a perfect situation for a strategic joint venture.

Case Study: Joint Venture between a Seminar Producer and Travel Agency

A JV does not have to take you and your time away from your business. In fact, a strategic JV that merely shares resources can push your small business to a whole new level. Take, for instance, Dan Kennedy. Kennedy is an extremely successful copywriter, seminar producer, and entrepreneur who has started or acquired numerous small businesses and turned them into huge and profitable ones.

Kennedy knows the power and potential of a strategic alliance and a JV that can benefit his own growing business. His seminar and speaking business was taking off with more and more bookings every month. He knew that travel arrangements would be frequent, and he needed an ally that could potentially help him save money on travel fees and make the best possible arrangements. He found that ally in a friend who started his own small travel agency.

Through a successful JV partnership, the travel agency owner received the guarantee of Kennedy’s own business arrangements, as well as that of his clients and others who needed to arrange to be at his seminars. In return, Kennedy received the use of the agency’s staff who would answer calls and make all hotel and airline arrangements for his seminar business. Kennedy’s clients enjoyed enhanced service from the agency and freed up his time to focus on other money-making opportunities. The travel agency got a plethora of customers and commissions without any marketing costs. Indeed, the joint venture created a win-win situation for both businesses.

Maximizing the Potential of Your Business through a JV

This is a small example of how sharing resources with a JV agreement can help both parties come out ahead with their own business goals. But you have to think creatively to get the benefit of the right JV partner. You may want to find a business that can help you with bookkeeping, or maybe even share a delivery truck. Think of what you need most to make your small business grow bigger. Then look around your community for another business with the resources you need to reach your goals. Determine how you can benefit that business as well and approach the owner with a proposal for a JV. The worst that could happen is that you’ll get turned down, but on the flip side, you may find a JV partner who needs your help as well.

Get in on the JV action and find multiple ways you can get ahead with your business through strategic alliances. If you don’t, you may have to be satisfied with keeping your business small.

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.

How Do You Handle A JV Crisis?

Every day, you are subjected to the slings and arrows of business. Machinery breaks down. Shipments get lost. Airplanes are delayed. And in each of these types of scenarios, you are tested on your ability to effectively deal with the situation in a manner becoming of a business owner and a joint venture partner. However, when your JV rubs against friction how do you handle it? Are you a pro, or do you wilt and become a feather in the wind?

Crisis is usually not easy and most certainly unpleasant. But your attitude and leadership toward solving the problem(s) and getting resolution tells volumes about the success of your JV and your relationship with your JV partner. If you can improve upon the ways you handle and lead crises, you can bet you’ll find greater satisfaction with your JV.

So what are the characteristics of an effective crisis leader? A great crisis manger will have the ability to:

See the cause of the crises - A crises happens when something happens that wasn’t according to plan or strategy. What caused the machinery to break down? Was it faulty maintenance, or perhaps a warranty problem? Knowing the source gives light to the path of fixing the problem.

Know what resources are needed to solve the crises – A solution to a big problem requires resources. Continuing on the broken machinery example, a good crisis handler will know the tools needed to fix it, the right mechanic to summon, or perhaps the right tech to call for an over-the-phone repair.

Admit strengths and weaknesses – You may have the right tools to fix your machinery, but you may also not have a clue how to disassemble the parts. Know what you can and cannot do, and lean solutions toward your strengths.

Identify the obstacles - Any solution may have obstacles that need to be overcome. You may not have the right tool, or it may be the weekend and a technician cannot be called for repair of the broken machinery, etc.

Find multiple solutions - A broken down machinery problem may have many solutions.  One solution may be to fix the machinery. Alternately, you could hire someone else with the same machinery to do the work if you’re in a hurry. Another solution could be designing a client order that requires different machinery that is in working condition.  Think outside the box.

Know that a solution exists – A good crisis leader doesn’t give up. There is a solution for every problem.  It just requires creativity and thought to discover it.

Encourage others to do their best - A crisis puts stress levels on overdrive. A good crisis leader will have the ability to encourage and pep up another JV partner and believe in their abilities to work toward the solution.

Crisis leadership is not an inherited trait. It takes practice and experience. Learn to get a grip on your top JV problems as they arise and let your inner crisis leader emerge.

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.