Big business understands the leverage and reach available through Joint Ventures.  Don’t create a competency or distribution channel - borrow one! Share the love, as it were.

H&R Block and 7-Eleven

H&R Block Inc. and 7-Eleven Inc. signed a three-year agreement Wednesday that enables Block customers to cash refund loan checks at 1,100 7-Eleven stores in the United States.

Yahoo! and Starbucks

Online dating is growing in popularity. And people who meet online typically like to meet for the first time in a coffee house like Starbucks. Armed with that data, Starbucks teamed with Yahoo! Personals to produce an “Espresso Dating Guide” that can be found exclusively online. The guide offers advice such as what to wear on a first date, what to talk about and, if necessary, how to end the date gracefully. Starbucks is running a print ad campaign to support the online site.

Time for small & medium business to get in the game!

The ego-driven, “Lone Ranger” mentality of the typical small to medium business owner is expensive and risky. Big business has been using Joint Ventures for a long time because they have the ability to be objective, bottom line oriented and unthreatened. Now it’s time for small and medium businesses to benefit as well.

After the Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp I presented in Toronto on Sunday, one of the Delegates, the owner of a well known eatery on Bloor street, reacted fast and immediately started arranging Joint Ventures that will bring him serious profit with very little risk and negligible cost.

You don’t even need a business to JV!

The good news is that you don’t even need a business to benefit financially from brokering Joint Ventures. It’s just a matter of seeing the opportunities, much like the stereogram analogy. At first, a stereogram looks like a nonsensical arrangement of patterns, but when you look long enough, a 3D picture magically emerges. Joint Venture brokers simply link supply and demand and take a piece of the ongoing action. There is literally no end to the opportunities available and the potential income, especially since it’s all 100% profit to the broker.

Got a database?

When I hear of a person who has a good relationship with a large number of other people, I see massive opportunity. By providing all those people with what they want, value is created. We get paid in direct proportion to the value we provide. The more people you help, the more money you can make.

Linking 1,000 people with solutions and being paid on every transaction is great, especially when you don’t have to provide the services or carry the inventory – you simply link A and B and become a little tollgate. You stand on the money bridge and collect. No cost or risk to you, and very little time.

I was recently asked why I was so passionate about Joint Ventures. Here is why:

Money is the lifeblood of a free, capitalist society. Joint Ventures offer people who have no savings, little education and no connections or business background, the opportunity to make money quickly and build multiple streams of passive income. Joint Ventures is a tool:

• to create wealth and freedom.
• to help small businesses survive and flourish.
• to build strong relationships between good entrepreneurs.
• to allow people to regain their dignity and self respect through the ability to be paid what they’re really worth.

A Tremendous Opportunity for All

Joint Ventures are a business opportunity in itself – it is the great liberator. Anyone can learn how to use Joint Ventures to create financial independence.

• Students who finish college and still can’t find a job,
• Seniors who can’t survive on their pensions,
• Immigrants who face xenophobic attitudes in their new countries,
• Good people who are downsized and people whose educational qualifications are no longer deemed sufficient by bureaucrats…

… can all grab Joint Ventures as a drowning man in a turbulent and dangerous ocean would grab a lifebelt.

Quashing Desperation & Instilling Prosperity

Crime, drug dealers and terrorism needs poverty and desperation in order to flourish. By helping people to create their own financial independence through the understanding and application of Joint Ventures, we can save marriages and lives and our society. The only people who claim that money is not important are those who don’t have any.

People can make good money with no risk, no overhead and no previous experience or education, and they can do so very fast. Our one day, Joint Venture Broker Bootcamps teach people in one day how to start making money the very next day, with no capital investment, regardless of age or gender. It’s almost miraculous how powerful this concept is. That’s why all the large businesses use them.

Real Security

Joint Ventures also give us security – we can earn money even if we can’t work through illness or other reasons, because that is the nature of a good Joint Venture. This is the solution so many people seek, yet they don’t even know it exists. I want to tell people all over the world that they can create financial freedom through Joint Ventures. With Joint Ventures, we don’t put all our eggs in one basket and we don’t give someone else power over us. We can be independent and proud and free.

I love Joint Ventures and I love teaching others about this amazing business tool.  I strongly suggest you watch the following video on the home page of www.jvwisdom.com.

Many Coaches and Consultants experience the “feast or famine, chicken or feathers” ups and downs in income - they’re either out there selling, or they’re delivering. In addition tp the resulting yo-yo income, they have to deal with:

• Either busy times or quiet times.
• Increasing competition.
• Because they’re selling time, they have limited income earning capacity.
• Many clients regard the consulting or coaching service as a luxury that can be terminated as soon as cash flows get tight.
• The popular perception of coaches and consultants leaves a lot to be desired, which is quite understandable, given the fact that many who use this label are about as valuable as a rotten peach on a busy sidewalk.

How do I know this? I was a consultant for eighteen years. And I’ve specialized in Joint Ventures for small and medium businesses for twenty two years.

The Obvious Solution

The solution to increasing your coaching or consulting business as well as income from other sources, while at the same time differentiating yourself from the herd, is Joint Ventures. It’s a great fit and a great complement to any coach or consultant’s business. Use your insight and communication skills to create lucrative JV’s. Have the money and the time to enjoy it, as well as the luxury not to rely on your income from consulting or coaching.

This is exactly what I did. I no longer sell my time as a consultant, but this information has worked for me for twenty two years and it will work for you.

3 Obstacles Holding You Up…

1. First, understand that you do not have a 100% profit margin, which you do have from Joint Ventures.
2. Second, know that you cannot possibly be all things to all men.
3. Third is the hardest – getting rid of that giant ego. I think ego is the enemy of coaches and consultants. Business is not about sales or being well known – it’s about bottom line, after tax PROFIT.

… And 3 Strengths You Have to Turn It Around

1. You have the ability to cut through the BS and guide and direct people.
2. You can gain their trust.
3. You are a good communicator and you have an understanding of business and human nature.

These are very powerful skills and tools in the hands of a Joint Venture Broker.

Don’t Push. Find a need and meet it.

If my doctor called me last week and informed me that he had a great deal on heart bypasses, I would get worried. Instead, he examines me and points me in the direction of a solution or relief. That’s real business. “Find a need and meet it.”

In a room of 20 “Business Networking” people, not everyone wants a coach. But they all have needs, hopes and dreams. If you’re there to make money by helping people, why not simply link these people, be they clients or prospects, with the solution to their needs and get paid for it? When they want a new house, why try to sell them coaching, instead of introducing them to a good Realtor and getting paid 20 – 50% of her commission? Easy money, no time, no risk, 100% margin. Think about it.

Triangulating JV Deals

Business consultants can make a lot more from triangulating JV deals than selling their time. Become a “Toll Gate” – something like Bill Gates. Create solutions that pay you well. Leverage other peoples’ time, resources, money and access. Something like Ari Onassis. Think about that!

It’s amazing how many people I see doing crossword puzzles. In coffee shops, on planes, in airports, in trains. Rika likes doing jigsaw puzzles. Many people enjoy chess. They’re all solving problems and making connections.

When I first read Zig Ziglar’s statement,

“You can get anything you want out of life, if you’re prepared to help enough other people to get what they want”,

I realized that the more value I could create and the more people I could reach, the faster I would reach my own goals. So the puzzles that I enjoy are “value” puzzles: How to connect the dots and link the right people and resources in such a way that I create massive, unprecedented value. It’s called Joint Ventures.

JustLook at How the Big Guys Do Business

This is how I’ve done business and done well for nineteen years.

• We don’t have to create competencies; we can borrow them.
• We don’t have to own or buy resources – we just need access to them.

Ericsson and Sony work together. Disney, Amex, Pfizer and IBM all excel at Joint Ventures. Wal-Mart formed a Joint Venture with Mexico’s Cifra, which significantly shortened its learning curve about the Mexican market. It is said that 20% of the revenues of large companies are the result of Joint Ventures and that 50% of those Joint Ventures are with their competition, yet only 1% of small and medium businesses understand and use this powerful business tool to create fast and large profits at virtually no cost or risk.

It’s all about leveraging exiting resources and hidden assets. And it requires a certain mindset. And it doesn’t take years of academic study; it takes one day to get started.

Everything You Need is Already Available

The most important component of a successful Joint Venture is finding the right people to work with. One has to be careful to select ethical, professional people one whom one can rely. Secondly, you have to learn the mindset and understand how to select and approach potential Joint Venture partners and then to set up the deals in a win/win, no cost or risk manner. Once you get it, it’s like riding a bicycle or becoming a physician – you can work anywhere in the world, without any resources. Everything you need is already available through someone else.

A Game Where the Winner Gets Paid

Brokering Joint Venture deals is a wonderful and very rewarding game. It’s better than jigsaw puzzles because it creates value wealth, and great relationships. Real money, real fast, in the real world, with no downside – that’s why I love Joint Ventures. Remember “Six degrees of separation”? It’s true. And “What goes around comes around”? It works. I set up one Joint Venture yesterday that instantly exposed me to four thousand people. On my own, that would have taken a lot of time and money. Together, we can do amazing things.

When you’re ready to start doing Joint Ventures, you should look at opportunities that fit the following criteria:

1. No Cost & Risk

There should be no cost or risk to you and it should not involve a lot of time, and definitely no selling.

2. Worth Your Time & Effort

The deals should be able to create enough money per deal to be worth your time and effort.

3. Pick Excellent Partners

You should only work with people you like and trust, who take action and are reliable. Don’t deal with whiners, losers or flakes.

4. Quick Turn-around Time

Look at the turn-around time. If you’re bringing leads to realtors or financial planners (insurance salespeople), for example, their deals generally take a long time and often fall apart, whereas certain deals are time sensitive (like a seminar) and people have to make fast decision, so the deal happens or it doesn’t in a shorter period of time. We want high-return, no risk (to EITHER party), little time invested, no money invested, and a quick turn-around time.

5. Multiple Complementary Income Sources

Structure your multiple income sources to complement each other. Instead of a “feast or famine” scenario, have different businesses with different busy cycles in the hopper, so that you get an even flow of income. Also look for synergies between the different demographics and buyer needs so that the same customer can buy from more than one income source.

6. Put it in writing!

Put the deal in writing - who does what, how they do it, when they do it, how payment takes place, the exact amounts or percentages paid, when payment takes place, etc., the more detail the better so that there are no misunderstandings later on. Do you get paid on the first transaction or on ongoing transactions?

7. Get Educated!

Attend the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Member meetings and conference calls and attend Bootcamps so that you stay connected and keep on learning. Remember, if there’s no risk to either party and a deal doesn’t work out, nobody gets hurt, so don’t be afraid to fail. Also, some people will not want to Joint Venture with you. Don’t take it personally; they simply don’t understand value yet.

8. Come Prepared

Create an action plan and be prepared to do some research on people whom you intend to approach. For example, what are their profit margins, underutilized resources and needs? What kind of reputation do they have? Google them, check the Better Business Bureau, run a credit check, ask around.

9. Maintain Your Confidence & Strength

Be upbeat and optimistic when approaching potential Joint Venture partners, but never be desperate. You don’t need them. Be prepared to walk away from any deal at any time.

10. Think Big & Take Action

Finally, business is a numbers game. The more people you talk with, the more you try, the more you fail,  the bigger you think, the better. Joint Ventures is the fastest, best and most fun way to make an unlimited amount of money with no risk, little time and no money, that I have ever seen. Make it happen!

Which are you right now?

I worked with a real estate company to help them increase sales and saw the “tortoise and the hare” fable come to life right before my eyes. One of the salespeople (the tortoise) was slow, not highly skilled, not a great communicator and she had a long commute to work, which cut into her flexibility. But she was steady, consistent, reliable, very enthusiastic and totally focused and committed to reaching her goals. Some of the other “hare” salespeople tended to be highly skilled and polished, but they were often erratic and unfocused. They worked in fits and starts. They got side-tracked. The tortoise beat them every single month. The results I see a salesperson accomplishing are in direct proportion to his or her consistency and focus.

The “Magic” Formula

The formula for Momentum is p=mv where p is momentum, m is mass and v is velocity. If we were to translate that into sales, momentum would be branding and results, m would be the amount of effort, action and focus and v would be enthusiasm and belief or:

Your Brand’s Momentum = Your effort, action and focus + Your enthusiasm and belief

It’s the Accumulation of Great Action

Branding and momentum is not achieved overnight. It takes consistent sowing and nurturing to build a brand, whether that brand is you, your website, your product or your business. Imagine someone pushing a car up a hill. As they push, they gain momentum and it gets easier. If they stop and let go of the car, it starts rolling back down the hill! Momentum is a vector. That simply means that momentum is a quantity that has a magnitude, or size, and a direction.

Are you headed in the best direction?

Some businesses have momentum in the wrong direction, and they require a turn-around expert to deal with them. We need to be sure that our efforts are taking us in the right direction and we need to know why we want to move in that direction.

Use this Reality Check

• It’s good to stand back and take along, hard look at your business.
• Re-evaluate your goals.
• Look at your activity.  Is it building momentum and the branding you want?
• Are your sure you’re creating the right image?
• Most of all, focus and consistency should be built into all your systems.

As Michael Gerber tells us in the E Myth, work ON your business, not IN it. And continually adjust and improve upon every aspect of it. Concentrated effort and persistence is the mark of a winner. Once you gain positive momentum in the right direction, make sure you continue to feed the fire, and the sky’s the limit.

How much should you make from a Joint Venture?

• 10%? 20%? 50%?
• Should it be of the net or gross profit or off the top?
• How do you decide?

This is an important consideration, especially for people who are used to paying peanuts and those who are used to accepting a few crumbs. Entrepreneurs who understand business and profit are more likely to pay and demand reasonable commissions.

Look at the Profit Margin & Be Generous

For example, when people attend a DollarMakers Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp, I pay the referring Members up to 50% in commissions! My cost of putting an extra chair into a Bootcamp and a few extra cups of coffee and donuts, plus a workbook, is negligible. I can afford to be generous. My DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Members earn thousands in commissions every month. But if I was selling computer hardware, with a profit of around 6%, I could not afford to pay such a generous commission. Large profit margins demand high commissions; real business people understand that. And there are other ways to reciprocate, other than financially – but that’s a subject for another blog or the Bootcamp.

Avoid Ridiculous Offers Like This

A realtor approached me with the typical offer: “Send me a buyer or a seller and I will pay you $75 for a completed sale.” So you get $7,000 and you expect me to accept $75? Are you kidding me? I’ll take 50% of the realtor’s commission or no deal. Am I being greedy? No – I pay 50% and so can they. If you don’t ask, you won’t get. Desperate realtors will not agree to this, but the smart realtor who has built in multiple Joint Venture back end sales into every transaction will jump at the opportunity.

50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. It’s business they would never have had. When you show them how much business that one deal can generate over the years and the Marginal Net Worth of a customer, they might see the light.

A Smart Business Owner Knows

Most entrepreneurs don’t understand their acquisition cost, attrition rate, profit margins, back end value or Joint Ventures. That’s why they feel they have to grab every up front cent they can. When they understand the big picture and they want to create increasing, multiple streams of passive income, they will become generous in their referral fees and commissions.

My Standard

I personally don’t accept anything less than 20%, but it all depends on the big picture, margins, reciprocal consideration and value. Remember the big picture and demand to be paid a fair amount or walk away. There are many opportunities out there but very few people who understand Joint Ventures, so you can call the shots.

A client of mine who owned a chain of restaurants radically improved his business when we tested his employees for the personality styles and re-organized the business. We all have characteristics of all the four major personality styles, however one is normally dominant. In business, it’s important to acknowledge our strengths and leverage them, and to find others to supplement our weaknesses. There’s no right or wrong character type. Here’s a quick overview.

The High D - Dominant style

Dominant style (minority of people, hardest to find) is bottom-line andresults oriented, impatient, sometimes tactless, driven and extroverted, with weaknesses in details. Major fear: being taken advantage of / ripped off. Good closers, great pioneers. Need the numbers and systems guys.

The High I - Influencing style

Influencing style is an extrovert, “party animal”, great at meeting people and starting relationships, popular, good opener, weakness is details and time management. Major fear: being embarrassed in public. Needs closers and numbers guys.

The High C - Cautious style

Cautious style is introverted, loves details, numbers and systems more than people, excellent numbers guys and accountants, computer experts, analyzers. Weakness is over analysis; fear is criticism of their work. Needs the extravert’s and the drivers.

The High S - Steady style

Steady style (majority of people) is an introvert, loyal, team player, family type, great systems and support person, needs security and long term relationships, fears risk, conflict and change. Needs others to make things happen and to create change and to take unpopular action when necessary.

Optimizing the Strengths of the Styles

This is a simplistic approach, but understanding our strengths and weaknesses and allowing people to do what they’re good at, while avoiding tasks that they’re weak at, is simply smart business sense. For technical sales we use High C’s and S’s. Ideal salespeople are normally High D’s with secondary I’s. One wouldn’t an accountant who is a High D, or a High S to launch a new business. You don’t want a High C to be the host at a cocktail party and we don’t want two High I’s behind a reception desk because they’ll talk all day!

Using personality style analysis has helped many of my clients to be better entrepreneurs and hire the appropriate people. Self knowledge is essential to success. I use the DISC style analysis – there are many others available, including the excellent Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Sales Tip

When selling to:

• High D’s - Talk results and ROI and close early and hard.
• High I’s - Build relationship, have fun and close early.
• High C’s - Provide copious details and proof and take time to close.
• High S’s - Prove that the support and relationships will be in place long after the sale is made and close slowly.

Management Tip

When Managing:

• High D’s - Give them lots of control and clear objectives and do what you say you will do.
  High I’s - Reward them publicly, make them look good and watch their time allocation.
• High C’s - Be specific, don’t rush them, and compliment their work (catch them doing something right), set time goals.
• High S’s - Make changes slowly, provide lots of security, share long-term plans.