Are you working at a rat race pace? American culture and norms dictate that we should give 100% to our jobs, 100% to our family, 100% to our religious and spiritual life, and the list goes on. Our culture is so dependent on overworking that it should be a
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Like any business that expects to succeed, your joint venture needs to have a plan - a business plan allows you and your JV partner to form a blueprint of your success and a strategy for achieving it. If you are forming a new JV, or have an existing JV without a business plan, here's how to get one started right away.
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Most people are very liberal with their estimations of self-worth. In many cases, a person may think they are the most highly qualified worker and candidate for a promotion, but are simply passed over. How does one truly estimate their value to a company, and in the case of a joint venture, their worth toward the success of the JV?
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With the entire world losing almost one-third of its monetary value over the last few years, it's difficult to stay optimistic about making money or profit in business, much less staying afloat. Should you choose to dissolve the JV and focus on your own business or put the extra effort into keeping the JV alive until happy days are here again?
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When you agreed to formulate a joint venture with your partner, did you both decide who would have the final word on all important and major decisions? Perhaps you both want to be in complete agreement on all decisions. Or perhaps one of you is more capable of making final choices confidently, soundly, and reasonably. In any case, before you finalize your agreement, you should decide how decisions are to be made.
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To error is human. We all make mistakes. But the key to making mistakes is to learn from them and improve upon prior decisions or actions. Even Thomas Edison, inventor of the common incandescent light bulb, went through at least 3,000 theories before developing the correct combination of filament, glass, current, and efficiency. But through his trial-and error process to develop a long-lasting, low-cost light bulb for general household use, he also discovered a number of other practical electrical system elements that were required for private light bulb use, such as the parallel circuit, underground conductor network, as well as safety fuses and insulating materials.
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What happened to the days when we would take time to think and dwell on our accomplishments? Instead of conscious reflection on our successes and failures, we tend to rush and run to keep up with our schedules and deal with as many issues as we can each day: put the fires out at work - pick up the kids - buy groceries - fix the kitchen sink - set the alarm and get to bed so we can do it all again tomorrow. But when we stop and reflect a while, we are that much more confident and able to move forward with the right choices.
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Becoming a business owner is a great endeavor for many entrepreneurs. They get to sort through all the data, have presentations made to them, and they get to make the final decisions on all aspects of their business. But when they enter a joint venture, decisions need to be made on a joint basis between partners. What does one do when a course of action seems like a good idea for the venture but the JV partner needs convincing?
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Your joint venture is a specific business endeavor with both you and your JV partner at the helm. You may be conducting a specific mail or Internet marketing campaign, or perhaps you have even developed a new product or service that is successful and looks to be a long-term venture. In any case, you and your JV partner will be dealing with not just customers, but with other businesses. How are you developing those relationships?
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It's easy for the mind to lean toward cynicism and negativity. The dark side of attitude is the path of least resistance. If things don't work the way we want, we get frustrated, angry, and we want to strike out, lay blame and sometimes even give up. All these can have devastating effects on a joint venture and your relationship with your JV partner.
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