Perfectionists vs. “Good Enough” Partners for Your JV
Most people are “good enough” types of workers. They know what a job entails and how to get the desired results, but nothing else is needed. A job is done when it’s “good enough” and will suffice for the purpose. Though you may not think it, these are the type of people who get things done and are good for progressive business processes like those found in joint ventures.
Perfectionists, on the other hand, may determine that a job is never done – not until it is perfect. They will spend hours, days, and even months trying to perfect a business process, product, or service and still determine that it is incomplete. Perfectionists are important in business because they can see the fine details and flaws that others may not notice. But is a perfectionist the perfect type of JV partner?
Combining a Joint Venture with a Perfectionist
A perfectionist personality who owns and runs a small business may find that they really need to loosen their standards and look ahead at progress. A JV can be good for this type of personality with the right partner – one who can help guide the perfectionist toward a goal and see the benefits waiting at the end of the rainbow. Remember, it’s not necessarily the destination that is important, but the journey to get there that counts.
How can perfectionists be more productive in a JV situation? Though perfectionists may have a hard time giving up their quality standards, it may be just the thing to get them to more profits and a thriving business. Here’s what they can do:
Toss the Fear of Mistakes
One of the worst perfectionist attitudes is the fear of making a mistake. They believe it must be done right the first time. However, this attitude can lead to stagnation. It is important to make mistakes and learn from them. NASA didn’t go straight to the Moon. They developed their technologies little by little, learning from their mistakes in order to get the right method and strategy for getting a man on the Moon.
Accept Change
Many perfectionists are resistant to change. The method that has always worked in the past is the one to follow. However, “the way we’ve always done it” has to progress through change. For hundreds of years, accountants kept the books by handwritten ledgers. Computers have changed all that just in the last 25 years. Though it was difficult to let go of the “hardcopy” ledgers, computer accounting is the norm now with safety standards and procedures that avoid loss of data.
Learn to Let Go
Perfectionists have a hard time letting go. A project is never complete. The result is “imperfect” in their mind. However, progress and success must come even with a little imperfection. It is important that a perfectionist learn to move forward in order to make a business or JV strategy work. And sometimes that means letting go of the “perfect” image in order to make something “good enough” for the overall purpose of business success.
Perfectionists can be good for producing the best quality products and services. However, a JV with a perfectionist as a partner will need to learn a little give and take in order to meet the goals of the venture.
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.
5 Key Elements of a Joint Venture Vision
What is your joint venture vision? Do you have one? Or are you just on a coasting pattern that brings some profits but nothing to brag about? If you want your JV to be a big success and experience the full profit potential that JVs can offer, you need a clear and excellent vision.
A JV vision is not just a blueprint. Though you need a roadmap detailing the route to your goal, a vision entails much more. Here are the 5 main key elements of a great JV vision:
1. Goals
Of course, your vision needs a destination. What is the outcome of your JV? Do you want to see profit? Bigger market bases? Expansion? Your JV vision needs to have a clearly defined goal or goals that you are trying to achieve.
Sit down with your JV partner and list the goals that you want to achieve together. You may come up with more than one, and you may have too many that need to be carved down to a few achievable goals. However, knowing where your destination is will help you to form your strategy.
2. Strategy
Using the roadmap metaphor, your strategy is the route you will take to reach your destination. Is there a straight line to your goal? Or will you need to take a few side roads in order to achieve your main goal? Your strategy will consist of smaller, step-by-step goals that will ultimately lead to the top.
3. Inspiration
Who wants to take an uninspired journey? The vision journey should be inspiring to you, your JV partner, and all employees and business partners you need along the way. Inspiration is important as part of your vision in order to make the journey to the goal worthwhile. That may mean inspiring others to endure hardships, as well as the joys along the way.
4. Leadership
Your JV vision needs leadership to keep the metaphorical car moving along the road. Sometimes it may require tough-love leadership to keep the momentum needed to reach your goals. Your leadership role means you need to work in harmony with your JV partner, as well as your own team. A leader needs to be respected by his peers and employees. But be sure you respect them in return, and they will follow you along your vision.
5. Enthusiasm
Lastly, enthusiasm is important for your JV vision. Through the hardships and trials, it is the enthusiastic leader who will keep a JV partner or employees motivated. Enthusiasm means looking past the negative and seeing the positive of every situation. That’s not an easy task. If you will to achieve your JV vision, it will be done only through an enthusiastic effort on all parts.
Your JV vision may be long, medium, or short-term. You may have more than one vision at a time. But if you plan on making your JV a success, keep a vision on the horizon at all times so you know what you and your JV partner are working for.
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.
Strengthen Your Own Business with a JV
If you own and operate a small business, you are most likely earning a small business income as well. Even though you may have spent years getting your business off the ground and running to its current efficiency, you still are not satisfied with the income you generate. You know your business has more income potential, but you just don’t know how to get the word out and bring in more customers. If this is you, then perhaps you have a perfect situation for a strategic joint venture.
Case Study: Joint Venture between a Seminar Producer and Travel Agency
A JV does not have to take you and your time away from your business. In fact, a strategic JV that merely shares resources can push your small business to a whole new level. Take, for instance, Dan Kennedy. Kennedy is an extremely successful copywriter, seminar producer, and entrepreneur who has started or acquired numerous small businesses and turned them into huge and profitable ones.
Kennedy knows the power and potential of a strategic alliance and a JV that can benefit his own growing business. His seminar and speaking business was taking off with more and more bookings every month. He knew that travel arrangements would be frequent, and he needed an ally that could potentially help him save money on travel fees and make the best possible arrangements. He found that ally in a friend who started his own small travel agency.
Through a successful JV partnership, the travel agency owner received the guarantee of Kennedy’s own business arrangements, as well as that of his clients and others who needed to arrange to be at his seminars. In return, Kennedy received the use of the agency’s staff who would answer calls and make all hotel and airline arrangements for his seminar business. Kennedy’s clients enjoyed enhanced service from the agency and freed up his time to focus on other money-making opportunities. The travel agency got a plethora of customers and commissions without any marketing costs. Indeed, the joint venture created a win-win situation for both businesses.
Maximizing the Potential of Your Business through a JV
This is a small example of how sharing resources with a JV agreement can help both parties come out ahead with their own business goals. But you have to think creatively to get the benefit of the right JV partner. You may want to find a business that can help you with bookkeeping, or maybe even share a delivery truck. Think of what you need most to make your small business grow bigger. Then look around your community for another business with the resources you need to reach your goals. Determine how you can benefit that business as well and approach the owner with a proposal for a JV. The worst that could happen is that you’ll get turned down, but on the flip side, you may find a JV partner who needs your help as well.
Get in on the JV action and find multiple ways you can get ahead with your business through strategic alliances. If you don’t, you may have to be satisfied with keeping your business small.
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.
How Do You Handle A JV Crisis?
Every day, you are subjected to the slings and arrows of business. Machinery breaks down. Shipments get lost. Airplanes are delayed. And in each of these types of scenarios, you are tested on your ability to effectively deal with the situation in a manner becoming of a business owner and a joint venture partner. However, when your JV rubs against friction how do you handle it? Are you a pro, or do you wilt and become a feather in the wind?
Crisis is usually not easy and most certainly unpleasant. But your attitude and leadership toward solving the problem(s) and getting resolution tells volumes about the success of your JV and your relationship with your JV partner. If you can improve upon the ways you handle and lead crises, you can bet you’ll find greater satisfaction with your JV.
So what are the characteristics of an effective crisis leader? A great crisis manger will have the ability to:
See the cause of the crises - A crises happens when something happens that wasn’t according to plan or strategy. What caused the machinery to break down? Was it faulty maintenance, or perhaps a warranty problem? Knowing the source gives light to the path of fixing the problem.
Know what resources are needed to solve the crises – A solution to a big problem requires resources. Continuing on the broken machinery example, a good crisis handler will know the tools needed to fix it, the right mechanic to summon, or perhaps the right tech to call for an over-the-phone repair.
Admit strengths and weaknesses – You may have the right tools to fix your machinery, but you may also not have a clue how to disassemble the parts. Know what you can and cannot do, and lean solutions toward your strengths.
Identify the obstacles - Any solution may have obstacles that need to be overcome. You may not have the right tool, or it may be the weekend and a technician cannot be called for repair of the broken machinery, etc.
Find multiple solutions - A broken down machinery problem may have many solutions. One solution may be to fix the machinery. Alternately, you could hire someone else with the same machinery to do the work if you’re in a hurry. Another solution could be designing a client order that requires different machinery that is in working condition. Think outside the box.
Know that a solution exists – A good crisis leader doesn’t give up. There is a solution for every problem. It just requires creativity and thought to discover it.
Encourage others to do their best - A crisis puts stress levels on overdrive. A good crisis leader will have the ability to encourage and pep up another JV partner and believe in their abilities to work toward the solution.
Crisis leadership is not an inherited trait. It takes practice and experience. Learn to get a grip on your top JV problems as they arise and let your inner crisis leader emerge.
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.
Forming Your Joint Venture Business Plan
Like any business that expects to succeed, your joint venture needs to have a plan – a business plan allows you and your JV partner to form a blueprint of your success and a strategy for achieving it. If you are forming a new JV, or have an existing JV without a business plan, here’s how to get one started right away.
A business plan doesn’t have to be a novel-length document. It could simply be a few pages that describe you and your JV partner, why you’re in business, and how you expect to achieve success. However, a more complicated JV that may require outside financing may require a more detailed business plan with professional biographies, marketing strategies, and financial projections.
Whatever the length and detail of your joint venture, here are the basic elements that all business plans need to have:
Executive Summary
Though this section is at the front, it should be written last after all the details have been thoroughly completed. The Executive Summary should be written meticulously and concisely and serves as an intro to the business plan. It should be about a few paragraphs, or no more than a few pages long, and contain just the fundamental nuggets of the rest of the document. Think of the summary as a “sneak preview” that will tantalize the reader into the rest of the document.
Company Description
This section should discuss your vision statement, the people, and business profile. It should contain details about you and your JV partner and include a bio your experiences and expertise. You will also want to talk about what why the JV is in business and what you plan to sell.
More detail in this section could include:
- Organization & Management
- Product or Service Line
- Management Details
Market Strategies
You need to identify who your market is and how you will market to them. Discuss why your product or service fills an identified and unsaturated niche. Show details of market research performed. And be specific about your marketing strategies and goals, as well as how you and your JV partner will work together to tap into potential customers.
Competitive Analysis
Your JV is not the only one doing business in your niche. Include this section so you clearly identify who your competition is and why your product or service offering stands apart from the rest.
Financial Projections
This section is essential if your JV is looking for outside financing, such as loans or investors. Even if you do not show the plan to anyone else, it’s a good idea for you and your JV partner to formulate financial projections showing your expected cash outflows and anticipated revenues. A financial expert who can develop accurate projections based on dependable research should complete a detailed financial projection.
With a dependable business plan in hand, you and your JV partner have a reliable blueprint for achieving success. If you don’t already have one, get together with your JV partner and discuss forming a plan right away. It will help lead you down the road to a thriving JV!
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.
