I think that one of the most challenging
parts of being a business owner is the lack
of a clear direct support system. Several
years ago I had a great job at the
University of Pennsylvania. It was
prestigious and I had a wonderful department
of bright, helpful colleagues.
When the time came that I knew I needed
to take the plunge into entrepreneurship, I
was nervous about going out on my own and
being a solopreneur. I knew that I'd miss
the social and professional interactions
which I loved and felt made me better at
what I did. This was particularly difficult
for me because I’m an extrovert by nature
and thrive on interacting with others.
Are you like me? Do you thrive on
brainstorming and talking with others? Do
you get your energy from being around people
you enjoy and respect? Do you worry about
being isolated in your life or business?
I always say to listen to worries because
they can contain the solutions to our
problems. If we use our fears to illuminate
new possibilities, they can incredibly
helpful. The best anxiety cure is to ask
ourselves how we can use the anxiety to help
us.
What I did was confront my fear of being
alone in my work. I knew that the solution
was to go out on my own anyway even though
it was frightening.
But simply confronting our fears is not
enough to truly manage anxiety and stress
and be successful. The next step is to
realize that we worry about things that are
important to us (if we didn't care, we
wouldn't worry, right?) and to take action.
Confronting the fear is step one, and
step two is to see if there's more we can do
with it. Let's say, for example, that you
have the fear of public speaking. The first
step is to do it and get practice. The next
step is to think about why public speaking
is important to you and take action on that.
Maybe you want to share your message with
more people, become a professional speaker,
or emcee for fundraising events. Take your
fear to the next level.
Okay, back to my story....A wonderful
solution to the fear of being isolated is to
set up joint ventures (JVs), so that is
exactly what I set out to do.
Joint ventures work like informal
business partnerships. You can collaborate
with a colleague on a small or large
project, write articles together, cross
promote each others businesses, and help one
another get more exposure.
Joint ventures have not only helped me
reduce isolation, but they have stimulated
and inspired me to do more in my business
than I ever thought I could. I love how
joint ventures set up a system of
accountability, and divide up work so
everyone can do the parts they enjoy most
and are best at.
Most importantly, joint ventures have
been extremely educational and fun for me.
If you don't yet have joint ventures,
mentorships, coaching relationships, or
mastermind groups set up, I highly encourage
you to do so.
The first step is to figure out who would
make an ideal joint venture partner. Learn
about them. Subscribe to their newsletter,
buy their products, and read their books. Be
sure you have a genuine interest in and
respect for what they do. I now get
approached for joint ventures fairly often
and I’m much more receptive to someone who’s
very familiar with my body of work.
Otherwise I feel that they aren’t interested
in working with me but in getting exposure
to my list or some such and that doesn’t
motivate me to work with them.
Next, determine how you have
complimentary skills or situations. For
example, one of you may be great at coming
up with story ideas and the other is great
at writing, so a series of articles or
ebooks could be a great project. You or your
partner may create a product and the other
one markets it. If you have a set of skills
that is applicable to multiple groups, you
have great JV possibilities. For example, my
expertise is in the psychology of marketing
for business growth so I’ve partnered with
interior designers, coaches and therapists,
and doctors to apply my concepts to their
specific fields.
Then you’re ready to set up your
agreement. It is critical that you are
completely clear on roles, rules, and
responsibilities from the beginning.
Managing expectations is critical. You must
do what you say you’re going to do.
As you go through the process, stay in
communication with your JV partner and show
results so that they don’t need to wonder
what you’re up to. Make the process
enjoyable and hold one another accountable.
Enjoy your JVs and the support and bottom
line profits they bring you!
Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA helps women
build their businesses using the psychology
of marketing. Her unique approach is
regularly featured in media such as
Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines. Women
entrepreneurs – get dozens of tips at
www.WeHabitat.com
Keywords:
Joint ventures, business partnerships,
women entrepreneurs, psychology of
marketing, business owner, anxiety and
stress, fear of public speaking, mastermind
groups
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