Knowing A Good Joint Venture When You See One


by Justin Bryce - Date: 2007-06-09 - Word Count: 745 Share This!

If you have read anything about opening a business or growing the business you already have, it's likely you've seen the term joint venture, or JV. A joint venture is a way for you to partner with another business for a specific reason or reasons. You might find you can bolster each others' strong points or share each others' markets. When two businesses create a joint venture, they are actually creating an entirely new business entity.

The term joint venture does not in fact refer to this new entity but to the reason for the partnership. Also, there are no legal limits on who can enter into a JV -- anyone can, including individuals, corporations, websites and small local businesses.

The most common type of joint venture is between two large companies. They enter into them most often to break into a new or specific market. There are countries that demand any foreign interest entering their economy first enter into a JV with a native company. Still, even if it's not a prerequisite, foreign companies can greatly benefit from having an interested party located in-country. The local office can keep a better eye on the social, economic and political situations there.

Even where it's not required, joint ventures offer fantastic benefits when they're not taken too lightly. One reason many small businesses enter into joint ventures is to take advantage of the products, skill sets or customer base of another company.

Let's say you are a software engineer who knows how to fix many of the bugs that plague computers. You have advertised your services, but you just aren't getting much business. You know that there is a store down the street that sells computers, but doesn't offer repair services, so you approach them about a joint venture. They will benefit by no longer turning people away who need repairs, and you will start making money doing what you love.

Joint ventures can be a wonderful tool for business, but they can be a disaster as well if they aren't properly planned out. Successful JVs usually comprise two companies with a combination of five characteristics: 1) Persistence; 2) Creativity; 3) Negotiation Skills; 4) Client Relationship Skills and 5) Visualization Skills.

Creativity is a key skill in successfully seeking out and developing joint ventures. You must be able to see all the ways that your business could fit into various joint ventures. There are joint venture possibilities for virtually anyone and any kind of business if you know where -- and how -- to look. Creativity is also important when you're explaining the benefits of a joint venture to a potential business partner.

Persistence is particularly important when you first approach your potential partners. Small businesses have a lot going on, and the owners can forget you if you're not careful. You might also have to explain what a joint venture is if they don't already know.

You must be able to look beyond the present and visualize how your side of the partnership will fit with the other business's contribution. If you look ahead and see problems, you must iron them out before you make any firm commitments. Look for the bigger picture, or the bigger picture might not be as pretty as you'd hoped.

Negotiation skills are absolutely necessary if your JV has any chance of success. You will have to spend many hours with your new partner making sure you are both going to get what you want out of the deal, and that it's a fair amount of work for both of you. Sometimes, that will mean being assertive. Being too passive might mean you end up doing all the work and only getting half of what you wanted out of the deal.

Finally, once your joint venture is under way, you're going to have to spend some time nurturing your client relationships. This is especially true if you're the partner bringing in the clients. Your existing clients may not understand the joint venture and may fear that their level of service will change. To ensure your client relationships stay strong, you'll need to stay in contact with your customers and work at understanding their needs. This way, you'll not only retain your customers, but you'll also know which offers, products and services they'll respond to.

Joint ventures offer great opportunities for those who enter into them thoughtfully, carefully and properly. If you do your research and make sure to uphold your end of the bargain, it's likely you and your partner will find great success.

Related Tags: benefits, joint ventures, joint venture, joint venture information, joint venture opportunity, successful joint venture

The writer of this article, Justin Bryce, is an expert withJoint Ventures. To learn about Joint Venture Benefits visitJustin at:www.lazy-internet-marketing.com/bm/joint-ventures.ag.php

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