| By :
Ronda Del Boccio
Every busy business owner looks for ways to make the most of your time and resources. You want to work smarter, not harder, and you want to find unique ways to get your clients talking about you. What you will discover in this article gives you all that and more. I will show you a profitable and truly exciting way to define economic stimulus for you and your business. Maybe you are a service provider, such as a chiropractor. Perhaps you run a store. You can apply this strategy no matter what type of business you conduct. Setting up joint ventures (JVs) is a powerful and profitable activity for business owners for a variety of reasons. JVs are multi-tasking powerhouses for you, because they accomplish a number of goals while taking little extra time to establish and track. 1. These deals are profitable for you. 2. They are profitable for the other party involved. 3. They do not require outlays of cash/resources. 4. They can reduce your advertising budget. 5. They provide a higher level of service for your customers or clients. Here is an example. Remember that you can adapt this to your own business. What you want to do is to start asking yourself questions like: "What else do people who buy from me want and need?" "How can I serve my customers BETTER without taxing my own time and resources?" and "How can I make more money with less effort?" Thinking up opportunities like this is a matter of thinking in a new way. You have to get beyond the linear way of thinking and play a game of matching. You look for ways to hook up what you do with a relevant service or product and make magic. Imagine putting together an arrangement such as this one between a flower shop and a photographer. Imagine putting together an arrangement such as this one between a flower shop and a photographer. Sue owns a flower shop. Jerry is a photographer. Since Sue arranges flowers for weddings all the time, it is a good idea for her to serve her clients better by offering them opportunities to take care of other wedding needs. Naturally, some people already have a referral for a photographer from a friend or family member. Some brides, however, will be so happy if they can get a good referral, especially if there is a special deal. So here is what Sue works out with Jerry. Along with her own wedding planning display, she includes a book with sample photographs from Jerry. She also has him make a card offering a 10% discount or special pricing on a wedding package. Not only are these cards in the display, but Sue gives one to each potential client. The customer gets their discount from Jerry and Sue gets a referral fee from Jerry. Now, you may be wondering how to track this sort of arrangement. You may think that Jerry would honor the discount but simply neglect to pay Sue her fee. Yes, this could happen, however think of what is happening for Jerry. Without advertising in the usual ways, such as radio or newspaper, he is getting new business that he would not otherwise have enjoyed. His profits go up, so even though he is giving a small piece to Sue and a small piece for the customer's special offer, he is growing his profits without any outlay of cash. In fact, you can see that he is saving money. Maybe you think this seems like giving up a "piece of the pie," but remember this: the "pie" - the profit- expands. If Jerry takes in an additional $50,000 because of his arrangement with Sue, he has raised his income without having to scrounge around for new clients. This is as close to effortless as it gets. he would not have made that extra money if not for the JV with Sue. And by offering a value added service to floral customers, Sue earns effortless extra income and makes her clients happy. Besides, Sue might suggest other profitable deals for him, and of course, she would not do this if she does not get paid. Jerry would never need to take out a newspaper ad. He can severely cut back on his advertising budget and focus on forging joint ventures. Additionally, Jerry can make a similar arrangement to refer people to Sue's flower shop. He might take photos of some of her arrangements and include them in his displays. He also gets a card from her, which he gives to all his clients, because many photographic occasions are also flowers occasions. He photographs weddings, family reunions, anniversaries, proms, galas, fundraisers, holiday parties and more. All are fantastic occasions for giving flowers. Imagine how much more business Sue can gain simply from Jerry's referrals. She offers special pricing or an upgrade to the customer and a "finder's fee"/referral fee for Jerry. She also can cut way back on her advertising budget because of JVs. Everybody wins, especially the happy customers. You can organize deals like this one for any kind of business. If you would rather leave it to someone else, you can gain the services of a Joint Venture Facilitator to arrange them for you. A JV Facilitator is a marketing consultant who first determines your needs and your assets and then finds matching partners. No matter which road you choose, you definitely will beenefit in many ways from partnering up in this profitable manner.
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