In my last newsletter issue, I covered what the definition of what a joint venture is and the advantages of forming a joint venture with a business partner or partners. Again, I’ve listed the definition in case you didn’t see if the first time.

Definition of a Joint Venture:
A joint venture is working together with another interested party so that both sides can benefit from the combined effort. This can be a project that is for a set period of time or even long term.

So in this article, I want to cover how to form a joint venture and some key points to keep in mind when you are forming this joint venture.

Here is a list of a few ways to form a joint venture:

1. A good place to begin is to try networking in discussion groups/forums. This is a great way to get your business and name out there and get recognized as a key player. You can build relationships with other business associates and learn about their business and what they offer.
2. Ezine (Newsletter) directories are another great resource to finding joint venture partnerships. Most newsletter publishers will welcome the opportunity of a joint venture providing it parallels with their business and your approach is professional.
3. You can also perform a search with the major search engines to find potential joint ventures. Just implement your targeted keywords and visit the websites. When you find ones that you would consider, look for the contact information and contact them.
4. You can search for sites that promote link exchanges, cross promotion forums and ezine exchanges. Many of these types of sites are interested in joint venture partnerships.

Key Points to Remember:

• When searching for a joint venture, capture as much contact information as possible, including the phone number, if given.

• After you have formed a joint venture and worked out all the details, its good business sense to build on your new relationship.

• Always make sure that the products your partner will be promoting for you are all in working order.

• Pay your partner the proper commission that you both agreed upon and that he/she gets paid on time.

• Always treat your business partner with respect and professionalism, be honest and upfront at all times. Remember in a joint venture you are instilling trust with one another. If you agree to promote your partner’s products or service, make sure you follow through on your commitment.

Absolutely! I wish I had thought about partnering with another like-minded business individual sooner than I did. Here are some tips on how a joint venture can benefit your business model:

Definition of a Joint Venture:

A joint venture is working together with another interested party so that both sides can benefit from the combined effort. This can be a project that is for a set period of time or even long term.

Advantages of a Joint Venture:

• This is a specific targeted form of marketing, so you can capture a selective niche’ audience.

• You increase your income potential and profit margins dramatically.

• Depending on the type of joint venture, most of them will cost you next to nothing.

• People have a tendency to respond better to endorsements, rather than buying a product or service outright.

• You can build credibility from other successful marketers and establish new business relationships.

• You can endorse products or services on your website or newsletter and receive a percentage of the sale (affiliate marketing).

• If you are advertising a joint venture in ones newsletter, you are not paying for the ad, shipping or printing.

• When you promote a joint venture on other business websites, you are gaining link popularity.

In my next newsletter, I will cover how to form a joint venture and some key points to keep in mind when you are forming the relationship with one or more business partners.

It seems lately that there has been a lot of conversation around the topic of having a life and work balance if you are a business owner. And one aspect of being able to make the balance work is to set boundaries within your business. The boundary concept was put best in Vickie Turley’s recent blog posting, How does a Small Business Owner Have a Work/Life Balance? But what I want to focus more on is not necessarily the boundaries you make, but the kind of schedule you can create for yourself that will allow you to work at a certain time of day and still have time to spend with family, particularly your children if you have youngsters in your life (like me!).

What makes a usual work day productive for me is to have a set daily schedule of the number of hours I work that day, the clients that I will be working with and times within the day that I can take breaks, especially a lunch break. It is important to also nourish and take care of yourself so that you are a productive and happy biz owner. I cannot stress that enough. Sometimes you catch yourself skipping breakfast, followed by a sparse lunch and you wonder why you feel so sluggish and lethargic by the end of the day. It doesn’t make for a great attitude towards your family when you haven’t taken care of yourself. Trust me…I’ve been there.

One other thing I want to add about having a set schedule (and it can be as simple as a Word or Excel document you create) is that it cuts off at the same time my office closes. Before I stop working on client tasks at the end of the day, I go ahead and answer any emails that need my attention before the following business day. It sure cuts down on emails I need to reply to first thing the next morning! That also means that I do not work on client tasks in the evening. That time is my family time. It allows me to prepare meals, help my children with their homework, make sure they are fed and bathed each day and it allows me to relax after a busy day working with clients. And sometimes, I need to have that “away” time as I attend women’s meetings or prayer meetings at my local church.

So being a business owner doesn’t mean you have to work 24/7 to make your business work. You will find the time to continue to work your business AND build your business. But it also means you take care of what is really important FIRST: that’s you and your family. They come first whether you have a business or not. Succeeding at the life/work balance is not a science. It’s like a see-saw. It does have its ups and downs! But once you start to take action and make subtle changes in your schedule and set the boundaries that Vickie speaks of, you will start to see that see-saw balance out and you will see the difference it makes in your daily interaction with your clients.

I would love to hear from you if you have success stories (or horror stories) that have challenged your life/work balance. There’s not a wrong answer here. Your comments and questions are welcome!