Believe it or not, successful joint ventures can sometimes come down to four little words. If you learn what those words are, you can put yourself in a perfect position for a great experience with your joint venture each and every time—even if it isn't a profit magnet on the surface. So, what are four Cs of joint ventures and how can they help you make your joint venture a success?
Choose Your Partners Carefully
This is the first C for good reason. If you don't have a partner for your joint venture that you trust completely then your venture is doomed before it gets off the ground. You need to be able to trust someone in order to provide them with your greatest business asset—your list. You should never introduce a person or a product to your list unless it's a product or person your believe in. Your joint venture partners are going to expect introduction to your list at some point in time so make sure that they are people you are willing and interest in introducing your list.
Communicate
The second most important C for your joint venture is communication. You need a joint venture partner that you feel comfortable communicating with and can actually get in touch with when you need to. While you do not need to be in touch 24/7, you do need to feel confident that you will hear back from your partner within 24 hours unless you know that he or she is going to be away for a certain period of time. There are times when you need to be able to ask questions and expect answers quickly from your joint venture partner. Be sure that you can do this with the partner you choose to avoid potential problems later on in the project.
Clarity
While the ability to communicate with joint venture partners is important, it is equally, if not of greater importance that you can actually understand one another. If there are any points that are unclear you must be able to iron out the details and be certain that you both understand each other. It is impossible to work together if you aren't on the same page or both think you are doing what is needed only to find out you were doing the wrong things.
Contract
The final C of the four Cs is a contract. This is an important tool in building a better joint venture because it protects all partners in the joint venture and helps everyone identify what they need to be doing to make the project a success. Not only that, but it provides protection for everyone should something go wrong as well as a guideline for receiving payments when the profits begin to roll in.
These four Cs can be the difference between success and failure in your next joint venture. Make sure you pay close attention to them in ever joint venture you consider and you should enjoy greater opportunities for success.
