This short article is intended to impart and share a Joint Venture Mindset that can liberate us from restrictive assumptions and perceptions.

Chances are You’ve Been Hoodwinked!

Entrepreneurs have received many messages in the past that have had the cumulative effect of hoodwinking us. We have put blinders on by accepting certain “Solutions” from the Gurus.

The purpose of an Entrepreneur is to make after tax profit. We use business as the vehicle. But we heard that we need to be “focused” and that we need an “Elevator Speech” and similar concepts that can effectively lock us out of tremendous wealth opportunities.

Just Connect Problem to Solution

When I visit my doctor, does he immediately suggest a special on hip replacements or hair implants? Does he urge me to consider a heart transplant, perhaps, (early bird special) without even examining me? No. He looks for problems and then suggests solutions, and I buy every single time. Does my doctor need to specialize in orthotics to prescribe orthopaedic footwear? No. He refers me to someone who does that. He doesn’t need to be an anaesthetist or a surgeon in order to offer me that service. He examines me, asks me questions, LISTENS, and offers solutions. He doesn’t talk about himself.

Why Networking Meetings Don’t Work

Go to any “Business Networking Meeting” and you’ll find dozens of wanna-be entrepreneurs, usually self employed salespeople, who thrust their business cards at you, talk at you, pitch you, and then leap up to enthusiastically deliver the pre-digested, pre-packaged, boring “elevator speech” that they paid someone who lost their job and now calls themselves a “coach” to create.

Everyone is there to sell, sell, sell.

And while they’re giving their elevator speech, what are the rest of the people at their table doing? They listen long enough to decide whether or not the speaker will buy their product or service and then promptly lose interest. They’re waiting to give THEIR speech. You know this is true. Just look at the audience – they’re bored stiff. Everyone is there to sell, sell, sell.

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider things.

When you go back to your office, you send e mails to all the people you met at the “Networking Meeting”, saying how nice it was to meet them. Most of them don’t even return the e mails. And so it goes. Everyone is out to sell, everyone is only really interested in themselves, and nobody gives a damn about you or your amazing business, flashy brochures or scintillating elevator speech. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider things.

See, it’s not about you at all.

Nobody cares about your packaging, website, qualifications or incredible accomplishments. Most people whom I meet that insist on telling me about all the things they have accomplished, are simply HAS BEEN’S. I don’t care hat you did in the past. I want to know what you will do in the future, because that’s where we’re going to live! People don’t care about your qualifications – they want to know one simple thing: “What can you do for ME?”

How about this elevator speech?

“My name is Robin Elliott. My job is to help you achieve your business goals with no money and no risk. I would like to find ways to apply my rather extensive resources, contacts, skills and connections to your business challenges and help you to achieve your goals – at no charge. To see if you qualify for this service, call me.”

The Right JV Mindset:

I’m like a plumber coming to fix your problems at your home. You don’t care about my background or how many kids I had. You just want your problems solved.

My contacts and Joint Venture Partners are my Tools.

I walk in to a meeting with a toolbox full of really great, professional, honest, competent, experienced and trusted business associates and all their products and services. I don’t care which tools I use – I will always get paid for my services. I don’t have to have a business or products or services of my own in order to solve your business problems because I understand business. I have been doing this for 19 years. I look for the problems, discuss the solutions and introduce you to the person who will apply those solutions to your business. And I will get paid by the people whom I refer to you, while I’m at home with my wife and everyone else is working hard, creating multiple, diverse, passive income streams for me.

Joint Ventures:

• If you know John needs what Paul is offering, you introduce them and get paid. You’re a middleman, a tollbooth, a facilitator. You connect the right people.
• And when a few people have a common goal and wish to share their skills, resources and abilities, you can help them form a syndicate or a team.
• If someone has excess resources, underutilized inventory or assets, you can show them how to optimize their resources through Joint Ventures.
• You can facilitate the sharing of sales staff, employees, distribution, advertising space, retail space, warehousing, transport, skills, reputation, access and databases. And get paid for the value that you create.

Most of the Joint Venture stuff out there is related to internet marketing and affiliate programs. But most businesses are more interested in real time, real money, real people and touch-and-feel business. The internet is great and we all use it, but there needs to be balance.

The KEY

The key to successful Joint Ventures is to find the RIGHT PEOPLE. In fact, if there were twenty good people in a room, and all we did was mastermind, brainstorm and create Joint Ventures for five days without leaving that room, we would all double our wealth.

It’s hard to find good people who will honor their commitments, do what they say, deliver the goods and take responsibility. It’s not easy to find honest people who will pay you and reciprocate.

That why I started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum.  www.jvwisdom.com

You talk to yourself at a rate of 600 words a minute. Even when you’re talking to yourself out loud, you’re talking with yourself internally as well. You’re constantly evaluating your circumstances and choices, based on your frame of reference and conditioning.

Choosing a New Program

Many of the confusions we jump to are automatic; conditioned responses based on past experiences which were often painful. So, many of the choices that we make are guaranteed to keep us in a negative loop, unless we consciously and actively stop the downward cycle and interrupt the negative pattern. Here’s a proven and simple way to do just that.

Asking Better Questions

Have you noticed that you always answer your own questions, and that the question determines the answer? And that we act on those answers?

• If you ask yourself, “Why am I so stupid?” You’ll get an answer that confirms that you are stupid, by telling you why you are stupid.
• If you ask, “Why do I have to work so hard?” you’ll trigger the same, negative response to confirm and support a negative belief or paradigm.
• “Why can’t I get out of debt?” will elicit an automatic, programmed response that will keep you in debt.

Break Free with This Recipe

The way to break free and escape this trap is to consciously and purposefully construct and ask questions that are designed to break the mold of pessimism and failure in any area of your life. In order to break disempowering habits, one fast way is to constantly ask yourself the right questions.

Write down the questions and be sure to ask yourself these questions (out loud, if possible) at least seven times every day. Try these for a start:

1. How can I double my income?
2. What is great about my life?
3. What do I like, respect and admire about the person I just met?
4. How can I add more value to the products and services I sell?
5. What am I grateful for?
6. How can I do more in less time?
7. What am I happy about? What is great about this situation?
8. Why do I have so much energy and joy?
9. How can I joint venture with others to make my dreams come true in a fraction of the time?
10. What can I do to increase the happiness and comfort of those I work with / my vendors / my family?
11. What did I learn today that will help me for the rest of my life?
12. Why am I such a great person? Why do people like and respect me?

Tips to Manage Your Mind

Tailor your questions to overcome mental and emotional challenges in your life. Focus on good things, solutions and events that you’re grateful for. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Create vivid mental pictures of your goals. Manage your mind and thoughts and everything else in your life will improve. Most of all, mix with Eagles instead of turkeys – Eagles will help you, support you and encourage you. Want to know where to find them?  Check out the  DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum at www.jvwisdom.com.

We tend to compare ourselves DOWNWARD, which is very disempowering.

• Do you say, “I’m not as fat as my friends, so its OK”? Or, “At least we have less debt than Monica and Manny”?
• Do you justify your lack of success and performance, initiative and progress by comparing yourself with less successful people?

This is a recipe for disaster.

• “Well, we’re better off than when we lived in the car and ate out of dumpsters - at least now we get hand-outs from the Food Bank!”

No. That’s not going to make your dreams come true. We all get stuck in this trap of “Negative Comparison”, a term I have just concocted.

Why not compare yourself with more successful people in order to motivate yourself? Sure, it’s less comfortable, but it works!

Try Comparing UP Instead

If you make ten sales a month, instead of feeling jolly because last month you made 7 sales, why not ask yourself,

“What will it take for me to do better than the best salesperson in the team?”

Even if the best salesman is doing 20 sales per month.

Compare UP. Challenge yourself. Push yourself. The amount of money we earn is usually within 10% of the earnings of the people we spend the most time with. Why not spend more time with winners? Find someone who is even more successful than you are and learn from them. That’s why I started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum - a place to meet with and work with real Eagles.

The best part of Joint Ventures, as well as the easiest and most lucrative, is “Piggybacking”.

When I was 11 years old, my favorite game at school was similar to piggybacking. Small guys like me would ride on the backs of big, strong guys and we would try to pull our opponents over. They key to winning was strong arms and a strong “Horse”. I had strong arms and I always chose a strong horse, so I usually won.

A Strong Recommendation

In business, the book, “Horse Sense” by Al Ries and Jack Trout applies the same concept. This book was personally recommended to me by a multimillionaire client of mine, many years ago. I read the book three times.

A Lucrative Piggybacking Example

I recently talked with a man who has 1,200 people in his database. I suggested he offer them Membership in my DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum at a great discount. By sending out two e-mails and one voice broadcast and adding value, for which I would pay, and by mentioning the opportunity in his e-zine, we estimated that he would have at least 120 join (10%). That would earn him significant money, at no cost or risk to him. That’s piggybacking – and it’s that simple.

The same can be done with shared advertising, mailings, e-mails, e-zines, direct mail, seminars and business opportunities. Riding on the back of existing distribution, reputation, reach, access and exposure is very effective.

Consider the Power of Partnering

• Don’t buy a 747 to fly to LA – simply rent a seat.
• Don’t own the overhead or create a competency; borrow it.

Consider the power of partnering: everyone wins by sharing underutilized resources and Hidden Assets. And here’s the Good News – you don’t need to own the resource, be it a database, distribution route or relationship – you simply make the connection – it’s called “Triangulation”. No risk or cost, no downside, lots of fun and lots of money. You don’t need a business to set this up. Link me up with someone else and take a piece of the action. Link Bob up with Sally and get paid on all ensuing business over the next two years, why not?

The key to successful piggybacking…

is a strong horse and a strong rider – both parties should be ethical, generous, smart, professional and proactive. That’s the hard part. I know people whose databases I wouldn’t touch with a 20 foot pole. Be selective; be VERY selective.

Talk with Members of the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum and if you want to make a lot of money easily, remember that all it takes is a bit of thought. It’s not hard work and there’s no risk if you’re dealing with the right people.

The Bottom Line

Bundle a product or service with one that is already selling well or add a product or service to an existing database or distribution route – that’s piggybacking, and it can create increasing, multiple streams of passive income for you.

“I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.”
– John D. Rockefeller

Are you experiencing a difficult time and perhaps considering giving up? The key to real, lasting success is Perseverance.

The Hallmark of Eagles

Champions win because perseverance is part of who they are, and it is reflected in every aspect of their lives. It separates the men from the boys. It is based on a strong foundation of self discipline. Eagles will never tell you, “I’ll TRY”. They don’t make excuses. They make it happen. Samuel Johnson said:

“If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.”

Look at the lives of successful people and you will find a steel will; a steel fist in a velvet glove. They know the secret to success is to persist and persevere. These people don’t doubt their own ability and they expect to win.

Be an Unstoppable Force

“If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.”

- Norman Vincent Peale

When you decide that nothing and nobody is going get between you and your goals, you have already won! It has to happen in your head and your heart and deep down in your gut before you will take the necessary action and get the results you want.

There are two people in your life:

1. Those who will encourage you, challenge you and inspire you, and
2. Those who will discourage, depress, sabotage and undermine you.

Get rid of the latter. Remove them from your life. They are poison. They usually hide behind “I care about you”, smiles and “tact”, but believe me, they are hell bent on your failure.

The former, on the other hand, will stand by you, support you and remind you when you slack off. Seek them out. They are headed in the same direction that you are. Team up with them – Joint Venture with them. They don’t even consider the possibility of failure, and neither should you.

Insist on Winning

Napoleon Hill said:

“Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”

Demand that of yourself. Insist on winning. Do not give in to greed, sloth, attachment or fear. Be resolute and firm. Do not take “No” for an answer, and you will join the Eagles who always end up winning. They may be bloodied and scarred from battle, but they are the victors. Don’t quit – you deserve to win!

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

– Thomas Edison

One of the most common questions I am asked at the seminars, talks and Bootcamps I present, is:

“But, Robin, how do I find people to Joint Venture with?”

Good question, of course. In a world where a good website and business brochure can make a bank robber living in his dog’s kennel look like the CEO of a Fortune 500 business, we have rightfully become skeptical, even cynical. We are wary of the scam artists and wanna-be’s out there. We don’t want to refer our trusted clients and friends to losers.

Use a Group that Enforces High Standards

That’s why we started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum. Good people were invited to join and they invited their best people, and so on. And now that people from all over the world are applying to join, we insist they agree to adhere to our Code of Ethics and we watch them carefully. Any deviation and we unceremoniously kick them out. Unlike many “Networking Groups” that would accept Hitler if he paid enough, our fees are so low and our benefits so high that we can afford to be, and are, very selective. So that is one way to find good Joint Venture Partners: simply join the Forum!

Use Your “N.E.E.R.” Relationships

Another way to find good Joint Venture partners is to start with your N.E.E.R. relationships – your Naturally Existing Economic Relationships – people whom you know and trust and have done business with in the past. People who are referred to you by trusted friends and associates are more likely to turn out well. And if you follow our guidelines, you will initiate those Joint Ventures with no money, no time and no risk. So you can walk away if things don’t work out or the Joint Venture partner deviates from the agreement, as some, I assure you, will.

Why You Should ONLY Associate with Successful People

Always remember that there are people out there who will agree to anything to grab a customer and make a quick buck. Desperate people do desperate things. So you should choose successful people – not the trailer park type who lives on welfare and can’t afford gas, whom you want to help; you’re not a social worker. I have tried that and it cost me money. Find winners and visionaries.

Other Key Factors

And make sure to manage the relationship and the Joint Venture – it takes attention and monitoring to make it work well. And the more they know about Joint Ventures, the more likely the Joint Venture is to succeed. For example, DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Member who has attended the Joint Venture Broker Bootcamp is more likely to succeed than one who hasn’t.  Contact Us to attend one yourself.

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

- Helen Keller

Do you know this person?

• He rises without hitting the snooze button.
• She works without complaining.
• He works longer and harder than anyone else.
• He always delivers on time.
• She gets there before anyone else.
• He cares little about the opinions of others.
• She consistently raises his own standards and expectations.
• He is not cowered or frightened by his circumstances – he is in control of his environment and his mind.

If you know such a person, they are living on purpose. They have a Magnificent Obsession.

“But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you’re fighting for.”

- Paulo Coelho

Living on Purpose

People with a very specific and definite purpose are not easily phased or thrown off course. They are utterly reliable and focused. They do not make excuses. Their lives are meaningful. They know who they are and they don’t need anyone else’s permission, endorsement or acknowledgement – only their own.

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

- Thomas Paine

He knew whereof he spoke. Purpose driven people pay the price of success gladly. They are warriors.

Are You an Eagle or a Chicken?

Unstoppable people are Eagles – they have goals and objectives and they are self reliant. They concur with Ayn Rand’s definition of Freedom: “To ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing.” And Freedom is usually their highest value. They enjoy strong self esteem and confidently pioneer new frontiers, never doubting their own ability. They don’t know how to turn tail, quit or compromise. It’s foreign to them. Eagles expect to win.

Someone with a purpose will know unprecedented peace, power and profit when they discover their own Magnificent Obsession and give themselves permission to win at all costs. They are strengthened by detours, obstructions and the mindless, seething masses. They see beyond the ordinary. They rise majestically above the quicksand of Collectivism and compromise.

Do you see this person in the mirror every morning? You can, you know.

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.