The most lucrative Joint Venture one can engage in usually involves a Center of Influence.

• This is a person who has the respect, admiration, trust, cooperation, and attention of a large group of people with whom he or she regularly communicates.
• This database of people is strongly inclined to follow the directions, instruction, advice, and suggestions of their leader, and they often do so blindly, as do most sheep.

And herein lies the challenge:

There are some dishonest and psychopathic centers of influence that misuse and abuse their power and their people, selling their loyal followers pigs in pokes, and taking advantage of their position of power to the disadvantage of their flock. One wants to identify and avoid these centers of influence like the plague.

You will be judged by your associations and the company you keep, and aligning yourself with con artists is financially tempting, but is as unwise as eating chocolate cake doused in strychnine.

The Most Valuable Activity of Any JV Broker

Seek out the honest and sincere centers of influence.

I would rather spend $2,000 working on a relationship with one genuine center of influence who has integrity, than reach hundreds of individuals who are not centers of influence. Those who have successfully Joint Ventured with good centers of influence know how valuable those relationships are. This is BY FAR the most valuable activity of any JV Broker: finding and pitching centers of influence.

7 Pointers for Gaining Top Notch Associates

Here are seven pointers that you would do well to be aware of:

#1 – Not everyone who has a large database is a center of influence.

There are characters lurking on the Internet who have plagiarized lots of information and built large opt-in databases under false pretenses – those databases are usually low quality, and your hit rate and conversion rate will be very low, while those you do convert will be low quality, too.

You want a high quality relationship between the center of influence and his or her people, and a high quality person in the database. Quality is more important than quantity.

#2 – Centers of influence can lose their credibility…

…with their flock as the products, services and investments they sold their followers prove to be scams at worst, and empty promises at best. The chickens come home, as it were, to roost.

Be on top of things and be current in your information about your target centers of influence. Things change, and there are a lot of posers and has-beens out there. Some centers of influence are on their way out.

#3 – All centers of influence are busy

…and what we hate more than anything else is an MLM type that sells lotions, potions, swill, and pills, snake oil and weight loss products, magic drinks, and overpriced vitamins and placebo effect products.

Realize that JV’s that involve the aforementioned and start-ups, unproven, miracle investments, gold mines in far-away places, and property/real estate “investments” in volatile, unstable third world countries are not JV’s most intelligent and honest centers of influence will even consider. We hear a lot of hype, and we have “BS Detectors”.

#4 – Don’t be intimidated by a center of influence.

They all want more money, and they all realize they can leverage their database. And they’re all looking for good, solid, lucrative, and viable JV’s that don’t involve cost, risk, or time.

#5 – Your Presentation:

Look, act, groom yourself, dress, and present yourself at least at the same level of professionalism as your prospect.

Showing up badly dressed, unshaven, covered in cat hair, answering your cell phone in the meeting, surreptitiously  glancing at your Blackberry or cell phone every few minutes (usually the sign of a lack of discipline and/or desperation), being unprepared, or smelling of tobacco, will simply irritate your prospect and end the meeting before it begins. And if you’re overdressed (glitzy, embroidered French cuffs, bling, big mouth, loud, ostentatious, aggressive and egotistical), you simply reveal that you’re intimidated, nouveau riche, or stupid. (Or all three.)

Be demure, professional, high quality, self confident, relaxed, and focused.

#6 – Your Offer and Approach:

Your offer has to be sufficiently financially rewarding to get the avid attention of your prospect.

• Get it in writing.  Click here for information about writing up an MOU, otherwise known as Memorandum of Understanding.
• Run it by your lawyer. I use Pre-Paid Legal and save a fortune on lawyers.
• Be very specific.
• Be concise and to the point, and remember that you have little time and only one opportunity to make a good impression. Talk about the bottom line and the time it will take to deliver the profit.
• Also mention who will control the money. This can easily be a deal breaker.
• Do your homework and position yourself.

#7 – This is a JV between equals.

…and you’re not a sales person or employee, so don’t act like one.

Be prepared to walk away from the deal. No center of influence wants to deal with someone who is in financial distress or under pressure to make money.

By seeking out solid, professional, and honest JV partners, you build your financial future on a firm foundation. Be selective, patient, and focused, and the sky’s the limit when dealing with centers of influence. DollarMakers is built on JV’s with good people.

This article is important to those who want to achieve great things.

Any successful athlete will tell you how important momentum is in ther training. Consistency, focus, momentum – you can’t serve two masters,

“because you will love the one and despise the other”.

Compromise and distraction, laziness and pride all decrease momentum. An aircraft requires 95% of it’s power to ascend, but only 65% while cruising.

Build Momentum to Build Real Wealth

Many so-called “entrepreneurs” spend their time swinging between feast and famine, chicken and feathers. They spend their money in the good times and suffer in the bad times, forgetting that business is cyclical.

Joan Welsh said,

“If you’re coasting, you’re either losing momentum or else you’re headed downhill.”

In order to build real wealth and get to a place where you can cruise, you have to build momentum in the right areas.

Business Is A Relationship With Money

Anthony Robbins said,

“The most important thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make sure that as soon as you set them, you immediately begin to create momentum. The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man who taught me to first write down the goal, and then to never leave the site of setting a goal without first taking some form of positive action toward its attainment.”

And you have to keep on taking that positive action. Business is a relationship with money, just like your relationship with your spouse – remember that.

Build A Bullet-Proof Mindset

At any given point in your day, on a regular basis, ask yourself,

“Is what I am doing now taking me towards my goal or away from it? What is the return on investment from this choice?”

It’s sad to see many people join DollarMakers and take off in a flurry of promises and activity, and then to see them quit at the first sign of difficulty. Others get overconfident and sit back, riding on the backs of others, and before they know it, they’re cut loose.

The smart ones build a bullet-proof mindset and are consistent, disciplined, focused, and reliable. They build relationship and momentum, and they get rich.

Time – Your Most Valuable Resource

Michael Korda said,

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”

By building relationships with strong entrepreneurs whose goals are aligned with yours and with whom you have “overlap”, you will find yourself staying on track.

Once you lose momentum, it’s hard to build it again, especially since one often loses credibility in the process, and that diminishes trust and closes previously open doors.

Sporadic, emotional bursts of ego-driven activity seldom achieve long-term results. You can’t chase two rabbits or ride two bicycles.

Manage your time carefully – it’s your most valuable resource.

Consistency and Momentum  - The Essential Components of Success.

Set your goals and action plans carefully, remain flexible, continue to add income streams and dollarmakers, and remember who your friends are.

Consistency and momentum are not options – they are essential components of success.

Winners hang in there through the tough times, make the hard choices, apply self-discipline, and get rich.

Paul Graham and his partners invest in startup businesses. He says,

“We learned quickly that the most important predictor of success is determination. At first we thought it might be intelligence. Everyone likes to believe that’s what makes startups succeed. It makes a better story that a company ‘won’ because its founders were so smart.

The PR people and reporters who spread such stories probably believe the stories themselves. But while it certainly helps to be smart, it’s not the deciding factor. There are plenty of people as smart as Bill Gates who achieve nothing.”

The Person Behind the Opportunity

They say that when Venture Capitalists evaluate a new business to invest in, they evaluate the PERSON more than the opportunity or business.

They look for determination, because they know that is the key to success. When you get truly determined, you become unstoppable.

You will burn through any obstacle and attract a host of willing followers. Most people are looking for a strong leader. Someone once said,

“Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”

A Look At What Determination Is

Let’s look at this word, “Determination”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “determination” as “the act of deciding definitely and firmly.”

It includes the word, “termination”, which, to me, implies the termination, or end of alternatives or options.

The word “Decide” has the Latin root “-cide” in it, meaning “to kill” – to kill off any recourse or modifications.

Set in stone – no turning back – no more dithering – no questions asked – burn the bridges, all-or-nothing, this is it, baby.

A Quitter Will Never Win

Ayn Rand  accomplished amazing triumphs in her life. Her motto was,

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”

Sounds a bit like Mohammad Ali, doesn’t it? George Allen said,

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.”

In my 23 years of business, I have never seen a truly determined person fail. I have seen many highly educated people with massive support and financial backing fail, however, due to lack of determination.

Quitters NEVER win. My daughter, Sacha, is the most determined person I know.

The Personal Success Plan

Finally, let me share with you what I learned from Paul J. Meyer, Founder, Success Motivation® International, Inc., when I got into business 23 years ago. This “Personal Success Plan” he created is burned into my brain. Note step number five.

“1. Crystallize Your Thinking

Determine what specific goal you want to achieve. Then dedicate yourself to its attainment with unswerving singleness of purpose, the trenchant zeal of a crusader.

2. Develop a Plan for Achieving Your Goal and a Deadline for its Attainment

Plan your progress carefully; hour-by hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.
3.  Develop a Sincere Desire for the Things You Want in Life.

A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action. The desire for success implants “success consciousness” which, in turn, creates a vigorous and ever-increasing “habit of success.”

4. Develop Supreme Confidence in Yourself and Your Own Abilities

Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses…on your powers, instead of your problems.

5. Develop a Dogged Determination to Follow Through on Your Plan, Regardless of Obstacles, Criticism or Circumstances or What Other People Say, Think, or Do.

Construct your Determination with Sustained Effort, Controlled Attention, and Concentrated Energy. OPPORTUNITIES never come to those who wait…they are captured by those who dare to ATTACK.”

Determination 24/7/365

With this level of determination, you cannot fail.

“24/7/365, outside my comfort zone, whatever it takes, I am bulletproof”

– those are the words of a determined winner, who never doubts the fact that she or he will conquer. And here’s the best part: determination can’t be

• inherited,
• bought,
• stolen,
• leased,
• or copied

– it is simply CHOSEN – second-by-second, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, until it becomes a habit and a natural way of living.

You win by being determined, and determined people are focused, consistent, congruent, and unstoppable.

If you have read Ayn Rand’s prophetic “Atlas Shrugged”, you will know that we are living in turbulent times, and that this book is the capitalist’s guidebook and map, our survival tool.

It puts things into perspective, and helps the reader to see through the illusions, deceptions, and lies fed to us by the collectivist powers that be.

As a capitalist, a producer, and a creator, there is no way one can find common ground with collectivists and mystics – that compromise will kill you as sure as trying to make friends with a rattlesnake will.

The alternative is Galt’s Gulch.

A Speculative Form of Galt’s Gulch

While I don’t recommend a literal Galt’s Gulch, in which the producers in society physically leave the wretched world of parasites and looters that has been subjugated and enslaved by the statist government behind, and form their own

• lifestyle,
• governance,
• and territory,

a figurative, allegorical or speculative form of Galt’s Gulch is, in my opinion, the only way to prosper in a socialist/communist environment.

A Grand Solution

Understanding the dynamics, requirements, benefits, and parameters of Galt’s Gulch as presented by Ms. Rand allows one to formulate the mindset and philosophy that is necessary to emulate such a grand solution metaphorically.

By realizing the implications and consequences of socialist world government, one can avoid the looting of the slackers, the incompetent, and the moochers, financial rape by government and the mystics, and, ultimately, the complete loss of personal freedom.

Creating a personalized, representative Galt’s Gulch means carefully selecting and teaming up with like-minded producers who share one’s:

• philosophy,
• ideology,
• motives,
• and beliefs,

and operate with the integrity and congruency to be found among some intelligent, rational capitalists.

A Formula for Success

With the understanding gleaned from Ayn Rand’s work and my experience of life and business, along with a realization of the way the world is moving, I started DollarMakers as a type of “filter” to find people who fit the Galt’s Gulch model.

Far from being a conspiracy theorist or alarmist, I am a realist and an Objectivist, and practical common-sense that is free from the mind-numbing poison of collectivism and mysticism dictates that I create a Galt’s Gulch, since success occurs when preparation meets opportunity, and forewarned is forearmed.

Having seen what has happened in Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom, and now America, the proverbial writing is one the wall.

The PBS television show I watched described how a couple in New York City closed their coffee shop because of the recession.

In some cases, closing down a business that is running at a loss is the right thing, however in many cases, a business can be saved instead of being closed down, especially if there are leases and penalties and further losses to be incurred by the closure.

There is a little-known way to redeem a business and move it back into profitability.

How can one turn a business around without incurring additional costs and risk?

Turning It Around with Joint Ventures

We’re talking about a blood transfusion here, not a brain transplant. But then it does take a different way of thinking to rectify this frightening situation.

“You’ve gotta know when you hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run” is right.

But it’s good to know that most entrepreneurs are unaware of the most valuable, lucrative option available to them – Joint Ventures. Thousands of businesses could be saved with Joint Ventures.

Leverage Your HIDDEN Assets

Instead of focusing on what is drowning us, like insufficient sales and customers, high overhead, bank loans, and so on, let’s focus on what we DO have:

• hidden assets,
• resources,
• relationships,
• credibility,
• access,
• a database,
• inventory,
• location,
• a brain and a work ethic – these are qualities that are seldom found…

we have far more than we don’t have. We might be rowing our boat along with breaking back and blistered and bleeding hands, while we have access to a seventy horsepower outboard motor we’re not even aware of…

Create 100% Profit Without Cost or Risk

Business is not about selling more cups of overpriced coffee and muffins. It’s not about getting more customers. It’s not about increasing sales and cutting costs or feeling important – it’s about NET PROFIT.That is the true purpose of business: To make the maximum after-tax profit, as fast as possible, with the least cost, risk, time, effort, and frustration.

Joint Ventures allow one to leverage existing resources, access and leverage the resources of others, and create multiple additional income sources – fast – all at 100% profit, with no cost or risk, and little time.

Discover Your Existing Resources

How can the coffee shop owner leverage existing resources? He starts thinking about what OTHER people want – his customers, people who are not his customers, his vendors, his competition, the public, tourists… Then he starts solving problems – linking supply and demand, like a broker or middleman, and getting paid an ongoing commission on all the resulting sales. Zig Ziglar said,

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

Enter Joint Ventures.

Create Income and Increase Value

The coffee shop owner can Joint Venture with the hair salon who is also in the financial doldrums. When a customer indicates an interest in buying jewelry, real estate, or finding a cab, Ka-ching! When his vendors need help with their problems, when someone is looking for a good printer or needs renovation services – all of these are income opportunities.

The coffee shop owner can use Gift Certificates to create income and increase value, work with tour guides and dentists, and set himself up as a go-to guy that gets stuff done.

He is literally surrounded by lucrative Joint Venture opportunities, and he’s right in the middle of New York City. He has the gold mine, and I have the shovel.

Reality Check on Small Business Joint Ventures

In fact, someone who really understands Joint Ventures would never open a coffee shop to begin with. But that’s why most of the owners of small and medium-sized businesses operate at about ten percent of their potential profit, and why they work too hard, too long, and risk too much, for far too little.

For more information on the power of Joint Ventures visit us at www.jvwidom.com, – we have solutions.

I heard Rika telling our cleaning lady that she wanted the kitchen closets done, and the cleaning lady replied, “Of course I can do that.” I chuckled.

When it comes top cleaning the garage, polishing shoes, cutting the grass, changing the car’s oil, or swimming across the lake, people seem to enjoy the challenge and brag about their accomplishments. “I lost ten pounds!” But when it comes to business, it’s entirely a different deal.

It Doesn’t Make Sense!

How do you decide which Joint Venture Partner you want to work with? After all, we have literally millions of options, don’t we?

If you agree that basically, people don’t change – we change our choices, but not who we essentially are – then their past track record must, to a large extent, predict their future choices.

• I’m talking about a track record that starts early in life, and consistently repeats.
• Also, small decisions and actions give us clues to who people are.

We want to work with winners, not wanna-be’s. The quality of our network will determine our net worth, and we can’t afford to hook up with losers. That means that 97% of people simply don’t qualify to work with us. Here’s a simple checklist:

1.  Their Track Record.

Talk with people about their successes and failures in their lives, from childhood. Winners and leaders will always, like the proverbial cream, rise to the top – in teams, in groups, in organizations, in clubs, at school – wherever they choose, and wherever their passion is. If a champion believes in something, he or she is going to make it work. They have track records of success in many different areas of life. Ask the hard questions.

2.  Their Daily Choices.

Watch their daily choices – do they deliver on time, return calls and emails promptly, dress professionally, groom themselves well? Are they reliable, punctual, respectful, honest, and straightforward? Are they generous? Do they honor their promises and make good and take responsibility when they mess up?

3.  Their Money.

Have they made money? If not, what makes you think that will suddenly change? If they have money, where did they get it? Inheritance? Are they self-made, or Daddy-made? If the boy lives with his parents, is a stay-at-home-dad, has his wife support him, and moves from one financial disaster or network marketing company to the next, how will you benefit from partnering with him? Ask them!

4.  Their Associations.

With whom do they associate? Look at their friends. Birds of the feather flock together. Losers love to team up with each other.

5.  Their Input.

Look at what they read. BIG clues there. Be careful of “seminar junkies” – they flare up fast and fade away even faster.

6.  Their Philosophy.

Determine their philosophy. Avoid mystics, socialists, and altruists. You will discover their philosophy by observing their lives. Do your due diligence.

7.  Their Involvements.

What clubs / groups / cults / organizations do they belong to?

8.  Their Action.

Are they action-takers or procrastinators? Are they overly analytical? Do they embrace change positively? Are they “big hat, no cattle”, or the real thang?

9.  Their Presentation.

How do they present themselves? Their dress, grooming, business cards, car, pen, shoes, paperwork, binders, hair, (men with nose / ear hairs, women who have unruly, wet, or badly cut hair) nails, jewelry, tattoos, piercings… Everything is a clue. Do the women dress act like flirts / sluts? Avoid smokers and drinkers.

10.  Test Their Metal.

Even is all the above are in line, test your potential JV partners in small matters before opening up the store. Give them enough rope to hang themselves, enough opportunity to steal, and enough time to let their masks slip.

Be patient – it’s well worth it. Remember, you’re looking for 3% of people.

Most Network Marketers rely on trying to recruit:

• unsuspecting waiters in restaurants,
• fleeing family,
• captive audiences in gas stations and supermarket lineups,
• and those attending business networking meetings,

to build their business.  After recruiting three of four people, who in turn use the same, silly recruiting techniques, they quit, disappointed and frustrated, and lose an excellent opportunity to use leverage and duplication to build real wealth.  Warren Buffet bought a Network Marketing company, after all.

The key to success in this business is recruiting more than four people.

You Might Say:

“But it’s so hard! Nobody listens to me! They’ve heard it all before! Who can I talk to? They don’t understand! I worked so hard and I didn’t get anywhere! I was right – this doesn’t work.” Precisely – the system that you use doesn’t work, but that doesn’t mean there are no alternatives. I can only tell you what works for me, which doesn’t mean that others systems don’t work.

Let me share with you what WILL work for you, given that you don’t get negative and quit like most well-meaning people.

One Qualifier Here:

I’m not talking about MLM’ers who sell lotions, potions, swills, or pills; I’m talking about legitimate, professional, necessary services that no reasonable person will stop paying for.

1. Learn the “Compound Interest” Concept & Set a 3 Year Goal

Understand the “compound interest” concept that we learned about in Jeff Olson’s amazing book, “The Slight Edge” – you need to set a three year goal and be aware of the process of time and return on investment. That keeps you motivated, consistent, and persistent.

It’s worth conceptualizing the timeline and realizing that this is not a quick fix, but a real wealth building process that makes some people a million dollars a year. That doesn’t mean you can’t make real money fast, but it keeps things in perspective and show us why things DON’T work.

2. Understand Your Product or Service.

I focus only on services marketed via MLM, since that is, in my opinion, the most viable, lucrative and long-term option. Know what you’re talking about and be very well prepared and equipped.

If you’re new in the business, make sure you have a reliable, professional upline support system in place.

3. Create a “FEEDER SYSTEM” like we have done with DollarMakers

This means getting the people coming to YOU, instead of hunting them down, cold calling, and generally irritating strangers. This can be done through Centers of Influence, group meetings, and the Host Beneficiary process.

Sign up strong, influential people that actually understand business and leverage. This is the part where most people fall through the cracks; they know their service, they’re in it for the long run, they show up at meetings, they’re committed, but they have nobody to recruit.

Two words will change your life: “FEEDER SYSTEM” – something that is created to feed you with qualified prospects on an on-going basis.

Two Final Points:

1. I talked with a woman who was bewailing the fact that she had nobody to talk with about her MLM business, and I gave her three specific things she could do to create a Feeder System. She never did anything about it. If you’re not prepared to work hard and do what it takes, it’s either because you don’t believe in the system or in yourself, or because you are simply bone lazy. There is no excuse.

2. If you’re communicating with losers, the above will not work. Find people with successful track records, achievers, and leaders to work with. These are the ideal people to incorporate in your Feeder System. And the Feeder System can be set up in such a way that you never mention your MLM business – that’s the Joint Venture approach in action.