Before you seek a JV partner, take a look at your current business strategy. In the previous module you identified areas where you could benefit from a successful joint venture. It is important that those areas for growth align with your overall business goals. Once you ensure partnering up with another small business owner is the right idea for the growth of your company, you can start looking for viable partners.

What Types of Businesses Should You Consider for a Partnership?

This will have a lot to do with what type of JV you’re planning on developing. A cooperative affiliate relationship may require a business partner who is very different from one you would seek in a merger. In the previous learning activity, you chose a particular type of JV partnership to pursue.

Take a look at other similarly sized businesses in your field. Joint ventures are usually more successful when each party is familiar with the struggles and challenges the other party is facing. Talk to other business owners in your market. Look at your immediate circle of influence, those business contacts you already have a relationship with.

Have any of them had success with a JV in the past?

Choosing a partner with JV experience is extremely important, especially if this is your first time entering into this type of agreement. This speeds up the learning curve and improves your chances of success.

Think about what end result you are trying to achieve. Then picture in your mind the perfect type of entrepreneur or business owner who can help you fill that gap in your business. For instance, perhaps you have just designed the world’s best fishing lure, guaranteed to catch fish every time. However, you are a virtual unknown, with limited capital, and no one to market to.

Performing a Google search for local fishing tackle stores makes sense in this case. They have the customers, and probably an advertising budget. This “filling the gap” partnership is the most common of all JVs, and is also the easiest to implement.

Look for Similar Customer Bases

If you are a wedding photographer, approach noncompeting businesses that deal with similar prospects. Wedding planning services and caterers would be perfect matches for a partnership. You both serve the same client base, and can help each other through a JV co-op or affiliate partnership.

You can do this if your business is online as well. If you market information products to vegetarians, perform a Google search for vegan diets, vegetarian blogs, and other vegetarian-based terms. This simple strategy can reveal opportunities where a JV partnership is profitable for both parties.

Tap into Your Distributor Network

You already deal with distributors, suppliers, clients, advertisers, and other professionals who are familiar with your business. You never know if a partnership would be profitable for both you and these business connections unless you ask. These are the perfect types of businesses for developing an affiliate relationship with. They offer your products and services to their established prospect pools, they are paid a commission, and you improve your client base, market exposure, sales, and profits.

A Word about Dealing with Your Direct Competition

Take some time to think about teaming up with your competitors. You are both in the business of offering similar products and services. Each of you would love to have access to the other company’s resources and prospect pool. You and your direct competitors could team up on an entirely new product launch, or tout your new partner’s offerings.

These types of agreements can be extremely profitable. However, they can also cause a lot of heartache. The balance of power has to be even. You should consider avoiding a JV deal with your competitors altogether, if you are afraid both parties will not be represented equally. On the other hand, don’t instantly rule out working with the competition without exploring the possible benefits. If you each have your own unique value proposition, there’s a huge potential for filling gaps in each other’s offerings.

Smart JV Partner Research

Perhaps you are just starting out, and don’t have any business contacts. Reach out to your friends, family members, and coworkers. Ask them if they know anyone who would be interested in a partnership, and tell them what you have to offer. You personally deal with dozens of people each and every day. Each one of these people is an opportunity for a successful joint venture.

As mentioned above, you can put the power of Google to work for you. The internet puts you in touch with a global audience. You may think there aren’t too many small business owners specializing in your particular field or marketplace, but a quick web search for your product or service keyword can put you in touch with many potential JV partners from around the world.

One quick way to find other small business owners like yourself online is to search for relevant forums and directories. Enter your “product or service keyword” + “forum” or “directory” into your favorite search engine. The results are virtual meet-ups where business owners and clients in your market like to hang out and talk shop.

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest can also reveal businesses for possible partnerships. Use their built-in search engines to look for groups, company pages, marketing directors, and business owners who are marketing to the same type of audience you are seeking.

Working with a JV Broker

If you have limited time and some marketing capital, consider employing a joint venture broker. There are specialists in a number of fields that make a living putting two interested parties together for a successful joint venture resolution. You pay them a fee for finding potential partners, and they work with you to make sure your match makes sense.

Some really talented joint venture brokers can be found on LinkedIn. Using the LinkedIn search engine, look for “joint venture broker” or “JV broker”, followed by the name of your product, service, or niche.

Many JV Brokers are one-person operations. Don’t let this dissuade you from working with these individuals. In many cases, they have extensive networks and lists of contacts in your field. In many cases, JV brokers have flexible fees, and will work with even the smallest of budgets.

Consider Internet Marketing Forums

Even if you sell a physical product or service, an internet marketer might be able to help you. Successful online marketers have large, devoted email lists which could make your business an overnight success. These entrepreneurs are very good at what they do – marketing goods and services online.

ClickBank, JVZoo, Warrior Forum, Digital Point, and PayDotCom are just a few internet marketing forums and online affiliate marketplaces where you can locate and contact joint venture specialists.

Live Conferences and Seminars

This approach will usually require more of an investment than an online search. Every field, niche or market has important live events held every year. In most major cities, there are local events, business meetings, and meet-ups that cater to your specific industry. One place to locate “real world” seminars, conferences and business presentations is at MeetUp.com. You can filter your searches by city, state, or industry.

Building Healthy Relationships

One great way to build a strong relationship with a potential JV partner is to purchase that business owner’s products. Reach out to them and tell them what you think about the services and products they offer. Let them know you are in a similar field, and ask them if they have ever benefited from a JV relationship before.

Spend time interacting with the social media accounts of your prospective partners. Comment on their blog and Facebook page, and make sure your comments are providing value. If you have purchased that person’s products, leaving a strong testimonial is a great way to attract that business owner’s attention.

Another smart way to start off on the right foot with a potential JV partner is by doing something for them.

Perhaps you have used a business strategy in the past which was very successful for you. You may have made a costly error that can save that business owner a lot of frustration and wasted capital in the future. Reach out, giving advice and guidance without thinking about how you will benefit. This is a surefire way to show another business owner you are just as concerned about their benefits in a JV partnership, as you are your own.

More Thoughts on Selecting a JV Partner

Once you have a few prospects in mind, do your homework. Look into their reputations, spend some time on their websites, and see what others have to say about their offerings. If they have a brick-and-mortar business, go check it out. What type of customer service experience do they offer? In relevant online forums, are they well thought of?

When you first interact with their website or blog, what is the initial feeling you get? Is their content all about their business, rather than the customer? How good of a job do they do with their online presence and making prospects want to know more? Scroll down to the bottom of their home page and look for “JV Opportunities”, “Partner with Us”, or some similar text.

Some savvy business owners are constantly looking for joint venture partners. If there is not such a reference on the website of a business owner you are interested in partnering with, click on their “About Us” tab. Get to know more about the business, and its owner. Then contact the owner with a simple introduction about who you are and how you think you could help him or her grow their business.