Joint Ventures: Small Business Ideas That Work

Joint ventures may sound like something mysterious and hard to do, but with a little mental agility and creativity, any business owner can create prosperous ventures that make their customers happy.

A joint venture in business is simply a triple win, or a win-win-win. It happens when 2 (or more) business owners do a deal that not only benefits both businesses, but also serves the customers. There MUST be a win-win-win.

There are many ways that a business owner can organize a joint venture. Since this may be a completely new concept to you, let me give a demonstration. This is based on a real-life "JV" or joint venture happening right now.

Sarah puts a few of her fancy treats into cute little bags. She includes a business card, of course, and she also includes a coupon. maybe it is a 10% discount or maybe it is a gift with purchase offer. She brings the treat bags over to Sam's restaurant each week. Whenever a dog-owning diner comes to eat, Sam makes their dog very happy by giving the cookies. Any dog owner is likely to go buy the treats if they are a hit with the dog, right? So the dog owner makes a purchase from Sarah and in turn gets a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert from Sam's restaurant. As you can imagine, both businesses benefit, and the customers will tell their dog-loving friends about their experience. That's a match made in heaven.

If you want to re-define economic stimulus for yourself, then you want to start creating joint ventures for your business. Think of the buying habits of your customer and you can start coming up with some fabulous ideas for your own joint ventures. Why not take out some paper and start using the creative side of your brain?

Think of your customer's wants and needs, and you are on your way to thinking of joint venture ideas to implement in your business. Do your customers talk about shopping at a particular store? Do they frequently come from another shop into yours? Do they talk about needing to find a particular service or product? Those are the fuel. Can you make coupon/discount arrangements like the one in the example?

Some questions you can ask yourself to get you thinking:

What other businesses do your customers frequent? is there a complimentary service or product they would also enjoy or need? is there something people keep telling you they are seeking? Do you have a friend who owns a business serving the same customers you serve? What deals can you arrange that will show your customers how much you cart about them?


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How could joint ventures help your business? Find out when you get your free audio "How to harness The Power of Joint Ventures for Your Business" at http://asktsl.com/jvinfo .

Ronda Del Boccio is a Certified Joint Venture Facilitator, author and mentor. She works with entrepreneurs, authors and business owners.