Are you a solopreneur or small business owner who is frustrated about being able to increase revenues in this dour economy? Maybe it's about time you give collaborating with others a serious look. It's not just for the online elite or celebrities! Inspired by the article, 50 Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing, here are the top ten pain in the butt reasons to get your rear in collaboration or joint venture gear:

1. Long-lasting business relationships are difficult to find. JVs will test your boundaries and limits, and expand your perspective. They will also improve your self-confidence, communication and relationship skills. Three years ago, I was super independent and just beginning to JV. I was choosing partners who were “unavailable”. What I learned about those initial experiences is that I only partially believed in, and committed myself to JV’ing. Consequently, my JVs weren’t lasting beyond 6 months. Eventually, when I was willing to constructively face confrontation and exercise my assertive skills, long-lasting JVs and results became possible!

2. New products and services are a low priority. What’s fun about JVs is that they stimulate your creativity and desire to provide more value to your customers. - Because they boost your motivation to “get the job done”, which means also decrease perfectionist and procrastination tendencies. Talk about many benefits all at once! Of course, this is contingent on finding the “right” partner because if your personalities, skills and strengths are too similar or not complimentary enough, then the JV won’t have lift. Conversely, if there’s great potential and new “products” between you, then your vitality will be renewed. And your customers will feel that emanating from you!

3. You think outsourcing your workload has to cost a fortune. Outsourcing and delegating one’s weaknesses to a supplier (e.g. Webmaster or Virtual-Administrative Assistant) becomes more enticing and probable because your JV budget is larger than what it would be when you’re operating solo. If you don’t make that smart strategic move, then your business will stay stuck at a certain plateau. In human terms, that typically translates into being unmotivated, uninspired, discouraged and sometimes even disillusioned.

4. Up selling and backend products fall victim to forgetting. Your business’ profit potential is dependent on how fluid one “product” flows into the next, including the up sell and backend “products”. Getting “there” usually happens faster when you’re in a JV because as a team, you have a bigger pool of prospects to poll and communicate with, and to therefore gain clarity and plan for the future.

5. Creating products takes too much time and effort. If you enjoy creating products but you’re impatient about getting them out the “door” or your Inner Critic doesn’t allow you to complete them, then this point will really bring it home for you.

6. You can't afford to invest in yourself. In any collaboration worth its time, there will be opportunities for trade. One collaboration allowed me to exchange my expertise for highly specialized personal life mission coaching. The result was, not one penny out of pocket for either person sharing their expertise for their personal development.

7. Joint venture deals require money I just don't have. In a down revenue time, wouldn't you just love the luxury of someone else to share costs with? Collaborations are usually partnerships where is there is unlikely greater out-of-pocket expense because of being able to divvy up costs among the collaborators. Your budget is better off.

8. If other businesses are struggling, there's little point in joining up. Have you heard there is strength in numbers? The morale and emotional strength in people that are optimistic by nature but just at a similar bump in the road can help you leave your worries behind.

9. There's just no time. Nonsense! You know that's just not true. How many things do you already procrastinate about? What kind of actions are you already taking that fit the category of what some call, "brainwasher" actions like computer games, way too much time on social media, activities that make you think you are creating but are spinning your wheels action and you know it? You have time to put a spark back in your business efforts.

10. The – take your pick – depression, recession or a slow economy is a time to pull back. Au contraire! It's a time you want to act more quickly. I tend to get a little lazy at the end of the year with the holidays and all. For you, it may be the looming dark cloud of a slow economy. Whatever stimulates you to pull back, a collaboration can be just the thing to help you move forward. You have the momentum of new energy, new products and new ideas that help new optimism to take hold.

Regardless of what is ailing your business, collaborations can be good for the health of revenue and profits. So what’s it going to be for you? Pick your poison of the top ten to take you down or – the sky's the limit! And if you want to know all the nuances in the most successful way to find and profit from collaborating, then let us help you with true-life lessons. Get your Complete Guide to Collaboration, with a 60 minute teleclass recording and slideshare presentation, at http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBooks . Or if you want it on Kindle, it's published there now, http://bitly.com/CollabGuideKindle .

What's your biggest pain in the business butt reasons that you might want to consider collaborating?

Top 10 Pain in the Business Butt Reasons to Collaborate is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by turahbird via Flickr

My complete list of what I want in a collaboration partner is two pages but length is not as important as the specificity.

Get it out of your head! Otherwise those attractive ideas, to bring you just the right partner, just float up and away.

I did, and that somehow makes it more real. No; if you read the leading post to this, How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy, I did not write down my ideal mate list many years ago. But I was crystal clear and highly motivated to find my man. Today we are doing more, being more and wanting more.

So, let’s not assume we easily take the time to get clear on anything we want, including a joint venture!

Get your description of your ideal joint venture partner down on paper and you can start and then continue conversations at a pace that will likely surprise you. Knowing someone to the degree where trust moves the collaboration forward is more easily facilitated with clarity. Even with the ideal joint venture characteristics, other variables may mean conversations take days, weeks and even months to reach agreement. The time frame is dependent on mutual clarity, trust and goals.

One thing that can enhance the trust is to share this list with your potential Ideal Joint Venture partner. Make it part of your exploratory conversation. Joint venture success is more of building rapport and trust in both the beginning and ensuing conversations. When you get clear about what you want in a joint venture partner, you will find you also attract someone who is likely as this same stage in his or her search for collaboration. Willingness to share each others lists puts you and this potential partner at a similar starting point and you feel more connected with commonalities.

One of the reasons for joint venture breakdowns is lack of rapport and regular communication that fits both partners’ preferred styles, which can lead to micromanaging or cheating. Issues like this can be minimized if the partners take time early on to communicate the factors that are most important to each, thereby deepening rapport and trust.

“The power of intention is the power to manifest, to create, to live a life of unlimited abundance, and to attract into your life the right people at the right moments.” - Wayne Dyer

What have you done in attracting your best collaboration partners, those Dynamos as we like to call them?

What are one of your top tips in finding the best joint venture partners?

I've enjoyed giving you some ideas about collaboration and joint venture partners. I'm getting ready to kick off another collaboration event which you will find here starting – this evening! So come back later for wisdom from seven women – it's a collaboration that came together as a result of many of the ideas you can learn about in the excerpt of this eBook http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBookExcerpts

But WAIT – before you order all four of them you will see listed, make sure you apply the coupon discount code, available for a short time: it's BOGO.

Collaboration Emotional Rapport: how do you know to go further? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by Brenda Cooper via Flickr

Is it possible to find a joint venture partner with no investment in time and energy? No. Is it possible to find someone to collaborate with in a business venture that benefits both, even all parties, with less time and energy than you might have imagined? Absolutely! There are opportunities both within your present sphere of contacts and everywhere you network, to attract the partners who you want.

Just as in the Law of Attraction (LOA) that you might be familiar with, there is a process to bring these right joint venture opportunities to you and all in the course of your normal, daily conversations. It starts with getting clear on what you want. Then you need to be willing to relentlessly focus on this and enter into conversations with the same clarity and focus to keep this positive energy with you around the people who you meet. Here's an excerpt from the eBook, How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy:

Getting clear on the Relationship
So you have been seduced by the possible benefits of joint ventures. You’ve done the inner work to rule out alternatives that might get similar results. If you aren’t clear about the alternatives and haven’t done this work, then you'll want to get our eBook, Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures Boost Business Success. It will give you enough information to assure you that you have made the best decision and are ready to joint venture.

With that preliminary work complete, you are now on the path and have set an intention to find joint venture partner(s) where you can add additional streams of income, increase your mailing or eZine list, and enjoy the rewards of sharing talent and resources, and laughs too.

Have you thought through the characteristics you want in this partner? The LOA process can work easily for you once you get crystal clear on the qualities you want in this person. The operative word in LOA is – want. I think back to many years ago when I was single and wanted to attract that marriage partner, for life. Most of us have had that time in our life of dating and wanting to find the perfect partner during that time. How detailed did you get in your mind about that one special person? For me some of my wants were: a man, good looking, slim physique, smart, showed either potential as a bread-winner or was already earning a family-supportive income, enjoyed children, wanted his own children, was fun to be with, and the picture in my mind just started there as the traits list went on.

But I didn’t get clear that quickly and so the men I attracted for a while weren’t quite fitting the bill. When I did decide to take the time and look into my heart as to all that I wanted, there he was. He showed up. Peculiarly at the same time, I was saying good-bye to a recent boyfriend. And here we are, 41 years later… still together.

While you don’t have to have a want of a 41-year joint venture, you do want to be clear if you want a project, a short-term or a long-term venture. Notice in my preliminary description of my perfect mate, it is all about what I want. You don’t see anything like; “I don’t want him to be ugly,” in my list. While I had no clue about the LOA at that time, intuitively I had an image in my mind of everything I wanted. If I had dwelled on anything I didn’t want, that is what would have showed up.

Have you started your trait list of successful collaboration or joint venture partners?

What are some of the things on your "desired" collaboration partner list?

How To Find Your Best-Fit Joint Venture Partner With Less Time And Energy is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

How do you collaborate in a project with Dynamos where everyone benefits?

In the six types of entrepreneurial profiles with the six types of commitment issues, you get a good look at the brief descriptions to determine which one best describes you. This helps you discover how you can attract more JV Dynamos instead of JV Duds to your beautiful blossoming business. Reminder of the one profile we are looking at:

1. The Adventurer: You’re a natural risk taker who is very adept at exploring new ideas and markets.

Attract JV Dynamos: As tempting and addictive as it may be, instead of automatically rushing in to start (or end) partnerships or change your partner, think about whether it’s premature or none of your business to give these ideas your attention and energy. Realistically, all you can and should control is you. You do yourself and others a disservice when you jump in and try to control (including fix) others. Regularly practice letting go of this control (and yes, it’s not exactly easy), as it’s not your responsibility or right in the first place. Also, tell your partner how your adventurousness and high levels of risk tolerance can complement her potentially less adventurous and risky ways. Be careful though that there’s not too much of a gap between where you and your JV each sit on the risk and adventure scale. Most of all, allow your adventurous spirit to infuse your partnership with possibilities that may not have been there prior to you coming together.

What are the other types to know the Dud and Dynamo affects? Here are the remaining six types:

2. The Innovator: You’re a natural troubleshooter or consultant, who sees connections and finds solutions that others don’t.
3. The Maverick: You’re a go-getter who is highly individualistic and whose ultimate motivator is money.
4. The Nonconformist: You’re a daydreamer who is very talented creatively/artistically and intent on not getting boxed in.
5. The Thinker: You’re an intellect who needs lots of quiet time for thinking and self-reflection.
6. The Rebel: You’re a straight shooter who is willing to break rules to be successful.

Have you identified your type? An excerpt may help you decide and then you can be further along to attracting those JV Dynamos you want to help build your business.

You can get your excerpt of this eBook or take a peak at all four at http://bit.ly/CollaborationeBookExcerpts

But WAIT – don't order them yet because we have something special planned just for you.

Attraction actions to give you more collaboration Dynamos instead of Duds is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Image by wsh1266 via Flickr

One of the things that is almost critical for business success today is being willing and able to collaborate. Whether it's being a guest blogger or co-hosting a telesummit with a dozen guest speakers, I have a track record of both failure and success. A most successful and rewarding collaboration I partnered in with Monique MacKinnon of Energetic Evolution subsequently led us to co-author eBooks about how to successfully joint venture. Here is the first sneak peak of the eBook, Entrepreneurial Joint Ventures: Psychology + Soul, and a series of posts intended to give you an insider's tips of knowing how to select who you collaborate with in a project where everyone benefits.

According to Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel, authors of the ‘Ebook Secrets Exposed’ (http://www.ebooksecretsexposed.com), people’s Top 3 (out of 10) most powerful motivators are:
(1) Make money
(2) Save money
(3) Save time

But why do so many entrepreneurs avoid developing joint ventures (JVs), which can positively influence both their bottom lines and facial lines. Allow us to explain, creatively.

Here, I mix and match the six types of entrepreneurial profiles with the six types of commitment issues. Take a good look at the brief descriptions below and determine which one best describes you, and how you can attract more JV Dynamos instead of JV Duds to your beautiful blossoming business.

1. The Adventurer: You’re a natural risk taker who is very adept at exploring new ideas and markets.

Attract JV Duds: Your habit of being in overdrive and thinking about the future can at times impair your creativity and judgment about who a good match would be for you. Since you enjoy being on an adrenalin high, you tend to spring for partners who are unavailable, overly dramatic, or inappropriate. This habit keeps you stuck in the cycle of attracting short-term partnerships that over time suck the life out of you and your business. Plus, because you prize your personal freedom, you fear losing it. Even just the thought of living a boxed-in life makes you gag. Why else did you become self-employed anyways? What does freedom mean, specifically working solo... that you have liberties that partnerships do not themselves offer? Ah yes, that may be so. However, the grass can be greener – and that includes financially more prosperous – on the other... the JV partnership side. JV partnerships can give you freedom from financial insecurity and worrying about having to do it (your business) all alone. They also allow you to contribute to your target market in a bigger and better way: a perk that the corporate world doesn’t offer. A word of caution, though, this financial security comes only when you first feel emotionally secure... alone, before even venturing into partnerships. The reality is, a healthy and prosperous JV relationship ensues when both parties come together to create an exponentially powerful outcome. It’s not like the Jerry Macguire movie, where Renee Zellweger romantically reveals the following to Tom Cruise: “You complete me.”

Does The Adventurer sound like you? If it does, you'll want to stay tuned for the part about Attracting JV Dynamos to complete this style.

If you are an Adventurer, what do you do to attract the more successful collaboration partners?

Want to attract more collaboration Dynamos instead of Duds for your beautiful blossoming business? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Most ideas for JVM strategies are quite simple, but there is always plenty of scope for new innovated ideas i.e.

Branding – Most small businesses have minimum credibility and brand awareness in their market place and region, which can affect the response of their promotions and presentations for new business. Prospects may not know certain members, but they may know one or more of the fellow members. This aspect and the fact that the promoter is part of an associated group of established companies, gives the promoter more credibility and the prospects more confidence, especially important with corporate companies.

Advertising – JV partners can combine their advertising budgets and strategies to get bigger and better coverage from running joint adverts. JV members can chose to save money by sharing costs of regular size advert they may use, or using their full budgets to get additional coverage with bigger adverts or using more forms of media.

Public Relations – Conduct a long-term PR campaign submitting any interesting story, or information article you can provide on any member of the group or the group itself i.e. the launch of the group, additional benefits and value for customers, or any project the group is involved in.

Endorsement Marketing - Endorsement is very powerful promotional strategy for members of a JVM group and can be done directly when networking or by sending personal letters of recommendation of other members directly to a client base. A well-written endorsement letter can easily achieve a high response of around 30% - 50% if certain rules are followed.

Newsletters are an excellent JVM promotional medium, which can be used to promote all partners in a JVM group. One business may have challenges and lack the budget to produce their own high quality and interesting newsletter, but several businesses co-producing such a publication would find it far easier and very cost effective.

Vouchers are a really exceptional promotional incentive to use in a long-term JVM strategy programme. When all JVM members proactively operate a high value voucher incentive scheme, it will offer one of the best and most cost effective ways of getting free promotion and potential new long-term clients. A single business may only be able to afford a small incentive offer; collectively the members of a joint venture will be able to “pool” the value of their incentives and provide a far larger value and incentive offer. All members would also enjoy free marketing on the back of other member’s promotions.

Loyalty Marketing can offer JV members an excellent strategy for additional sales and customer retention when they combine their incentives and special offers in their individual customer loyalty projects.

Competitions – Promote like a voucher scheme.

Internet – all partner’s websites can be reciprocally linked to each other, providing opportunities for a lot of additional free traffic, greater profile, affiliated income, higher ratings with search engines etc.

Opportunities – Members of a well managed joint venture consisting of high quality members will have many new and greater opportunities available to them through communication and working closely with fellow members, which can include new contacts, markets, projects, investments and small joint ventures with various members can be formed within the main joint venture itself.

Competitive Companies in a joint venture – Competitive companies, professionals and organisations can also successfully work together in a joint venture. Example joint ventures I have conducted with competitive companies have included; 11 DIY shops and 5 restaurants. These projects were successful and competitiveness was minimised due to distance in-between member’s locations and in the case of the 5 restaurants, each had a different food speciality and most consumers prefer to vary their eating requirements in the long term.

In cases of small JVM projects involving just 2 – 3 companies, with zero or very little marketing investment, management of the project should be easily conducted between all partners.

If all members in a JVM group worked in a positive, proactive and determined matter, promoting each other extensively and the group as a whole, then the driving force and results will far exceed the effort placed by all members. This “synergy” is a major contribution to the success behind a professional run joint venture marketing programme.

If you are looking for a sound approach to expand your company, increase sales and profile at minimum cost and with best results, then seriously consider joint venture marketing as part of your future marketing strategy.

Thank you Vince!

What other ideas do you have to partner together for this synergistic approach to marketing?

One to add because of experience with it is - cross-promotion. It falls in the broader category of Endorsement Marketing. If you are invited to cross-promoting someone's book then consider the due diligence discussed in part one of this two part article and then - take action. Either participate with a relevant and valuable give-away to add to the bonuses people get. Or say, no thank you and wait for the next one to come into your email box.

Come and join Monique MacKinnon and I at a group on LinkedIn, You Are In Royal Hands or FaceBook, You Are In Royal Hands or both. These are a central resource for joint venture enthusiasts open to collaborating. We inspire entrepreneurs at all levels to actualize their creative vision by helping them lift their passions to an energized and profitable focus. We connect for either potential collaborating, like this, or to discuss successful strategies.

11 TIPS ON HOW TO REALLY BOOST YOUR BUSINESS WITH JOINT VENTURE MARKETING PART 2 OF 2 PARTS is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Imagine you were on a TV quiz programme and the million dollar question was “If two horses can pull a total load of 9,000 pounds, how many pounds can FOUR horses pull?"

If you were like me, your initial answer would be to say that four horses could pull a total load of 18,000 pounds. Sounds reasonable — but it’s wrong and you have lost your million dollar prize!!

Four horses combined efforts can actually pull a total load of over 30,000 POUNDS. This amazing achievement is possible because of something called synergy (synergy is the scientific term for combined power that is greater than the sum of its components).

Synergy is also a good description of the real power behind a very successful promotional strategy called Joint Venture Marketing (JVM). In brief JVM involves two or more companies or organisations conducting joint marketing campaigns on a co-operative basis, to promote each other’s company, organisation, charity, products or services. When done properly, this form of marketing is very powerful and will result in greater success when conducted in a combined team effort between several companies.

What is the difference between an alliance and a joint venture? An alliance is a more casual form of association between companies normally “I scratch your back if you scratch mine”. A joint venture is a structured association between companies, with an agreement in place, a clear marketing plan and strategy programme. If there are many companies involved then there can be a committee structure headed by a chairperson, with committee members responsible for marketing, administration and accounts. If any members have a particular skill such as presentation, then they could take on the task of presenting the JV group to large potential projects.

The potential benefits of JVM for your own company or organisation would be many and far greater than you could obtain from trying to market yourself independently. On the operational side this would include; huge savings on marketing costs (from 50%), greater return on your marketing investment, sharing of branding, contacts, commitment, skills, technology, resources, budgets etc.

Actual marketing benefits from JVM would include; wider exposure, higher promotional response, greater sales results, new business contacts, extended client base, higher company profile and greater credibility for your business or organisation.

Companies and organisations of all sizes continually conduct joint ventures in various formats; i.e. Coca Cola, Mattel, McDonalds, Sony, Tesco and many SMEs use joint ventures very successfully. Many example case studies of joint ventures used by corporate companies can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_venture#Examples

JVM methods are many and varied and can be used in ALL forms of marketing strategies including; advertising, mail-shots, PR, exhibitions, networking and especially the Internet. Normally all partners in a JVM group are non-competitive and their services and products compliment and promote each other, but competitive companies can still work very well together (examples later). Joint venture marketing is also a very powerful concept to be considered for rural enterprise projects, those aim is to help many small businesses in a particular region.

Try and form marketing partnerships with people and companies you already know and can work with, these can also include your own clients and suppliers. Choose potential partners on how their products and services could compliment your own business and how you could do the same for them.

Well-established businesses with an excellent background, reputation and integrity, large client bases, with good client relationships etc. would obviously make the best JVM partners. Having an association with top quality, highly respected companies would greater increase your own company’s profile and credibility.

Choose your marketing partners carefully, only form associations with companies who have a referral mindset, a positive attitude, are very customer focused and have excellent business and professional ethics, background, reputation and financial status.

In cases of small JVM projects involving just 2 – 3 companies, with zero or very little marketing investment, management of the project should be easily conducted between all partners. For larger, long-term and more extensive JVM projects, it would be wise to commission an experienced JVM marketing consultant to help develop and be a project manager for the whole strategy programme.

If all members in a JVM group worked in a positive, proactive and determined matter, promoting each other extensively and the group as a whole, then the driving force and results will far exceed the effort placed by all members. This “synergy” is a major contribution to the success behind a professional run joint venture marketing programme.

A thread that stands out for me as crucial to a collaborative success is the due diligence to make as certain as possible there is that synergy gets results: research, relationship and reputation - just three pieces to consider as you are deciding who to collaborate with.

For more details on the strategies you can used in joint ventures go to part two of how to really Boost Your Business with Joint Venture Marketing.

Vince has project managed 28 successful joint venture marketing projects so the details to come will be worth subscribing to this blog for.

Come and join Monique MacKinnon and I at a group on LinkedIn, You Are In Royal Hands or FaceBook, You Are In Royal Hands or both. These are a central resource for joint venture enthusiasts open to collaborating. We inspire entrepreneurs at all levels to actualize their creative vision by helping them lift their passions to an energized and profitable focus. We connect for either potential collaborating, like this, or to discuss successful strategies.

HOW TO REALLY BOOST YOUR BUSINESS WITH JOINT VENTURE MARKETING PART 1 OF 2 PARTS is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

In the word collaborate you will see the word LABOR. The top lesson that I have learned from being in partnerships is that you have to be willing to work. There are 5 steps to making team work payoff.

L - Listen to your partner. When they have ideas pay close attention to your front line and their thoughts have an effect on your bottom line. Never think you are the only with great ideas. Get feedback from them on what you can do better and how you can implement it.

A - Act on things immediately. After you and your partner have a terrific brainstorm session pick 1 to 3 ideas that your company or organization can put into effect in the next 21 days. Urgency can keep your business out of the emergency.

B - Be alert to your industry. Go to networking events and do research on and off line to find new trends and opportunities in your field.

O - Offer encouragement. There will be up and down times in any business. It’s not how you go down, it’s how you get up. Empower each other with positive works and uplifting feedback. If you keep them up they will rarely let you down.

R - Review results often and make adjustments. Set up a meeting weekly and see where you stand. Did you meet your sales goal? If not, find out what you can do next week to improve? Average people stay in the same places and above average people make the adjustments and take off like a rocket.

These 5 steps will help any partnership go from LABOR pains to LABOR gains.

There's a trend in the collaboration theme and what top lessons people have from their own partnerships. Have you noticed it?

Communication is key! In being clear you minimize mistakes, build trust and are able to get things done.

What do you think about Derrick's ideas to turn labor pains into labor gains?

Derrick Hayes, an alumnus of Tennessee State University is available for small and large meetings, church events, academic speaking engagements and workshops. Please visit Derrick's website at http://www.DerrickHayes.com or send an email to info@DerrickHayes.com

ColLABORate means work is in the middle is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Since my first business, Professional Strategies Inc, a name I still use but my services and products have changed, I've found collaboration to be fun, profitable and evolving. One theme that remains consistent with anyone I collaborate with is the issue of trust. If it isn't there, I can sense it, I don't stuff it or ignore, instead, good-byes are imminent.

What are natural pieces for an introvert? What pieces do you want to pay attention to regardless of your preference to introversion or extroversion? Marc Lawn of The Business GP, a consultant to some key blue chip businesses across the globe, has a few lessons for all:

Never forget that collaboration by its dictionary definition is all about people coming together to deliver an overall goal or project. This must be a ‘win-win’ for all concerned. It is extremely easy for each party to come in to a project with a very selfish view of what they want to get. It is exactly this behaviour that affects the overall result for all concerned. You must always be clear on the desired outputs for all parties up front. Write these down early and share with everyone. The collaborators must also regularly review the project against these objectives and be committed to driving and supports the objectives of others as well as their own. It is only with a true partnership that all parties get the fullest value and superior performance based on mutual respect and trust.

For me clarity is imperative. The words we use are so important yet sometimes taken for granted. My goodness, think of the work collaborate and what do you think of? If just glossed over you might be thinking cross-promotion and I might be thinking affiliate. That's where the win-win for all can begin to unravel. These are two very different forms of collaboration.

At the heart of whatever direction a collaborative effort takes is to be clear in words, goals and intentions. As Marc so assuredly says, when you are in collaboration, "be committed to driving and supports the objectives of others as well as their own." That's the mutually beneficial piece and that's the piece an introvert in particular may need to learn a lesson about speaking confidently. We're generally quite clear in our head aren't we? That's a plus. However we want to be just as clear in our words. It's really being selfish about being mutually beneficial. Clarity equals better chance of success.

How do you think collaborating for mutual beneficial can go off course?

How do you think you can use your strengths to keep it on course?

Collaborating selfishly is easy; mutually beneficial not always so is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer

Level of Integrity Equals Level of Trust Determines Level of Collaboration

Being an entrepreneur is difficult. You are always selling and marketing plus actually delivering products or services. When you are a team of one, these challenges truly escalate because you cannot be in two places at once.

One of the most viable solutions to increase sales and expand your business presence is through collaboration with another person or persons. These collaborations are called strategic partnerships or joint ventures.

Having engaged in several collaborations during the last 10 years and turning down at least three times that, I can share the most important aspect of any engagement is the level of integrity. Simply speaking, do you and the other person or persons share the same high level of ethics and trust each other?

If you are considering a collaboration to improve your business results, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Is everyone investing approximately the same amount of time into the endeavor?

Is everyone reaping the same percentage of monetary reward?

Is everyone willing to be open specific to opportunities and sharing those opportunities with each other?

Is everyone committed to this relationship?

If you cannot answer yes to each of these questions, then the level of trust is weak and this will weaken the collaboration.

The benefits of a great collaboration include:

-Tag team networking events to speaking engagements
-Leverage off each other’s strengths
-Be larger than just one person

Collaboration is a great way to increase sales provided you share the same high levels of integrity and trust.

Wow! Thank you Leanne Hoagland-Smith. For my introvert side so much of this rings true.

The questions are excellent and the answers will be invaluable with whom ever I consider partnering with. It's possible even asking some form of them might be useful in the exploratory discussions with the person being considered for the joint venture.

The questions and the answers could be a an ideal to benchmark for the relationship if you choose. As Rabbi Harold S. Kushner says in one of his books, like in a marriage, you might find there are actually four people in the relationship: 1) the husband, 2) the wife, 3) the husband the wife thought she married and 4) the wife the husband thought he married. In collaborating, whether a joint venture, an affiliate program, cross-promotion, you want to learn ways to stay in integrity for stronger trust. You want to know the people you are in a joint venture relationship with maybe even better than you know your husband or wife.

Are you an introvert or extrovert and how do these questions resonate with you?

As an introvert, how do you like the depth of the questions?

And if you want more of a collaboration discussion, or maybe you are ready for a joint venture experience, sign up now and receive the webinar recording, Joint Venture Matchmaking. Monique and I are pretty excited about helping you build your entrepreneurial empire.

Introvert entrepreneur: will you consider collaboration or choose be a team of one? is a post from: Courage Coach for the Reluctant Marketer