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Who's Got Your Back? Joint Ventures

Guest post by: Robin Elliott

Article Overview: Entrepreneurs understand how important it is to surround oneself with strong, dependable, loyal and able people. The question is do you know where to find them?

Who's Got Your Back? Joint Ventures

Entrepreneurs understand how important it is to surround oneself with strong, dependable, loyal and able people. It’s been said that, in the heat of battle, the soldiers who stand by you are not the college kids and the pretty boys, but rather the ex cons, thugs, drifters and pimps. When the bullets are flying, somehow a PhD or MBA doesn’t make much of a difference.

If you were about to trek across the ice to the North Pole, whom would you choose to be on your team? Whom would you trust with your life? Would you choose someone from Greenpeace or someone from the Marines? A “peacekeeper” or a warrior? I want the toughest character can find on my side, not some politically correct wimp who’s scared of hurting a tree or upsetting an owl’s nest. I want people who are serious about success, hungry, fearless, determined and very, very disciplined. How about you?

The team you build will mirror, or at least strongly aspire to, your level of integrity, motivation, professionalism and drive. Your “Inner Circle” should be very carefully selected, vetted and constantly trained and tested. And when you see cracks in their veneer, you should remove them from your orbit – fast. Sincerity, grit and focus should be a requirement, not an optional extra. Your team members will either carry you or drop you. They will either be the wind beneath your wings or the quicksand under your feet. And it all depends on your leadership ability.

Have you ever heard of a “Cult Manager”? Probably not – it’s Cult Leader. And the best people will follow the best leaders. So, instead of bewailing your fate and complaining about the losers in your team, go to the bathroom and take a good, hard look in the mirror. You are a magnet. You either attract Eagles or ducks. If you behave like a loser, that’s exactly what you’ll attract. If you accept mediocrity and compromise, that’s the team you’ll soon be scraping off your shoe. But if you set a high standard and strive for a magnificent vision, you’ll find strong people joining you, and the sky’s the limit. Together, we can do amazing things.

Sales Tip
Just as a leader must carefully choose his team, so must a salesperson carefully select his clients. Surround yourself with excellent people at all times. Don’t suffer fools lightly. Good people will lead you to more good people. Invest in your clients and the ROI is great.

Management Tip
A few good salespeople with serious commitment and very specific goals is far better than a big bunch of wanna be’s and has-beens. Spend your time carefully. Invest in good stock. If you’re a lifelong learner, so will your team be. Set the pace, set the standard, set the example. Be selective and demand excellence.

“Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future.” ~ Edwin H. Friedman

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  Advantages and Disadvantages of Joint Venture
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  The Importance of Joint Ventures
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Related Forum Posts
Joint Ventures?? - I read this following paragraph in another business forum. Has anyone used joint ventures and had successful results? How do you go about setting up joint ventures? [quote:3vnvuml9]Joint Ventures have been, and always will be one of the most powerful marketing tactics ever, and for good reason. They are easy to set up, and they cost you nothing and if set up correctly will allow you to have more customers than you can handle! So if you promote a great product or service and want to expose it to more prospects, or you you seek ways to increase your sales, but aren't quite sure how to go about it you should definitely consider harnessing the power of Joint Ventures And the best part is that anybody can start using joint ventures to skyrocket their profits. It doesn't matter what you sell, or where you sell it.[/quote:3vnvuml9]
Re: Marketing a company - Get their contacts from someone who had been marketing to them before and do Joint Ventures with the guy
Free Ebook on Joint Ventures - Julie, you might be interested in the free ebook offer through Dollarmakers.com on Joint Ventures that has upto 30 variations for a small business to create joint ventures. Once you've read it I'd be happy to share more advanced ideas based on the book.
Different types of funding - Business Relationship Funding This is another source of funds that can be overlooked. It may be possible to introduce potential alliances to add value to both parties. It may produce an ultimate exit route in the medium to long term. Joint Ventures: Requires a legal agreement embodying the deal and another company Partnerships: Two companies collaborate with possible funding. Joint working relationships: These are an informal partnership which may be more project specific where the parties can share resources. Agencies: These can be geographical or product specific and generally incorporates a payment for the right to the agency. Distributors: Very like an agency but may not necessarily involve up front payment. Alliances: These do not require a separate company and can be embodied by a legal agreement to work together. Trade investors: Otherwise known as Corporate Partnering. This can be a good way to involve a much larger company in the business with a view to possible trade sale further down the line. Associates: This can be a loose arrangement with no fundamental commitments either way, rather like a preferred supplier. Equity Swop: Two companies exchange shares to a similar value to develop both businesses. Franchises: This can allow the business to grow without further direct investment. Licensing: This involves licensing a product or service to enable others to sell it. This requires you to own the intellectual property.
Joint Venture - How did the seminar go yesterday? Joint ventures can open up so many possibilties and are a great way to promote your products and/or services to a whole new and with the right base, to a targeted audience. Chris


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