One of our new Portable friends is Mary Pat Kavanaugh. She is an expert in making any business more profitable by using your business relationships. This article will explain what joint ventures are and how they can help you!

Why Joint Venture?

In business, relationships are everything. They can make you or break you. They can bring you to success, or bury you in the gutter, on so many different levels. But I just want to talk about one type of relationship today, Strategic partnerships.

What is a strategic partnership? Some people call them joint ventures. They are when two smart business people come together to create an opportunity that will benefit a larger group of people. Usually, their audience.

Please note that joint ventures ARE NOT affiliate relationships. Many people use the two terms interchangeably, but they are not the same. An affiliate relationship is where one person is promoting the other and making money from those promotions. A joint venture is where two people come together to create something: a new product, an opportunity, etc.

So why are they important? We have heard that you do business with those you know, like and trust. And since the onset of the internet and the loss of personal relationships, this is more true now than ever. A business partnership creates an opportunity to get in front of new people, build your list, get new clients, and offer quality services that are complimentary to you and your own offerings. It provides greater value for your audience, but combining resources. And if you are in front of your partner’s audience, you are an instant expert.

When you are developing your own joint venture, there is some criteria you must follow to insure a long-lasting relationship with both the partner and the audience. First, you must assess the target market to see how it compares to your own. Sometimes, this means that you want to reach out to more of your own target. But not always. Sometimes, it is an opportunity to reach out to a different/new audience. However, you must make sure about one thing: you must have something of value for the new audience. Perhaps it is a strategy to help them reach their goals quicker or fix their problems faster.

Some other criteria used in assessing a good relationship is identifying the purpose of the relationship. Are you just trying to produce a product? Are you looking to build your list? Be clear about what you are doing and why you are doing it. This will affect your audience and determine how long the relationship lasts.

Finally, keep an open mind when approaching people about beginning a business relationship with them and their list. You must provide something of benefit and value to their list, which might be different than what your audience likes. Use this as an opportunity to grow and think outside the box. And never pigeon-hole a potential JV—don’t tell them what this relationship is going to look like. You don’t know. Offer options and be willing to discuss other possibilities that you may not have thought about.

For more information about joint venturing and creating profitable relationships, connect with MaryPat Kavanagh at http://www.QueenofMarketing.com. Make sure to include your comments on her blog at http://www.Queenofmarketing.com/blog. One of the most appropriate venues to learn more about successful relationships is to become friends on http://www.myspace.com/queenofmarketing

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