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Joint Ventures: a way to improve your business.
Written By Carolina Gonzalez

A joint venture is the collaboration between two different business on
their way to succeed. By offering a service to business owners you can
promote your home business for free – and we makers know free
advertising is almost impossible to find nowadays!

Part One: The Experience
My husband met the The Old Riga tea bar owners before their business even
started, as he made the electricity installation for the place. We became good
friends along the way. A few months after the opening, I needed a place to
make a showroom for my hand crafted jewelry and I didn't want to make it at
home, so I asked them if I could borrow a “room” (the bar is a 100 year old
house, restored but untouched, so the distribution has rooms) for the jewelry
party. They would get more than 20 customers eager to try their delicious tea
mixes and I would have a beautiful environment and an easy-to-find location
for my exhibition.
They were more than happy to accept. We discussed all the details of the
display. I even made sketches of what I wanted and tried to keep space to the
minimum. As they are crafty people themselves, they added very helpful
suggestions.
Not only they didn't want a percentage of my earnings (I offered them a 30%
of sales) but also gave a wonderful treatment to the party attendants, which
spent a little fortune on their exquisite teas and coffees. The party was a
complete success for both parts.
Since then our businesses have made many things together. I had a henna
booth every Saturday during the whole summer, made a free Tarot reading
session on last year's Halloween party and most important, we have
recommended the other's business to as many people as we have been able to. Word
of mouth is the strongest advertising system of all. We have taken all our
friends to the bar and I make many customer appointments there instead of
at my house, which is a great alternative when you don't want to (or don't
have time to) clean! We constantly provide ourselves with flyers and business
cards. We discuss better ways to improve our work and share what we have learnt along the way.
Their Halloween party is their biggest hit in the year. Last year more than 200
people passed along the night, and we're talking of a really small place, on a
really small city, and on a country where Halloween is not celebrated almost.
This year, since we have re-opened the tattoo studio and have started selling
prints of my artwork, what we needed was some promotion, so we are
making promo packs for them to give in a free raffle. Every person gets a
ticket as they enter and at midnight the raffle will happen. In the promo
packs, their flyers and business cards will be included. We will have a small
booth for our prints and other little beauties related like buttons, notepads,
cards and stickers. Most of the everyday customers there are goth teenagers
so I'm sure a few will find something to buy!

Part Two: The Theory
The generosity on both parts is the key to successful joint ventures. On your
side, you must be creative and offer different things because what a small
business needs is variety. Sometimes it will be more profitable for you,
sometimes it will be more profitable for them. You have to learn to give
before you learn to earn. The more generous you are, the better karma and
luck you will have, and the more opportunities you will find along the way.
All long term artists know very well sales can come from the most
unsuspected places and situations, so do as much as you can to help.
It is important to build a respectful and loving relationship between the other
business and yours. You have to love what they do too, so they will love what
you do. Joint ventures based only on profit rarely ever succeed because both
parts have selfish goals. Know the people you work with and care for them.
Do not ask for too much. Remember your “host” business can be very busy
too! If you are displaying your work at their shop, keep everything as simple
as possible for them. Provide them with a price sheet with their and your
percentage so they don't have to calculate that themselves. Also provide them
with simple packaging or bags if needed. Anything that makes the
transaction smoother is a must!
Present a good project for your stand or display. Making your own displays
or buying pre-made ones, keep in mind the style of decoration the other business has and try to make it look like part of it.
On the other business side, do not accept deals where you have to do all the
work by yourself. If you sell crafts, the shop owner must be not only open to
your ideas, but willing to add their own.
A shop owner that does not feel passionate about your work won't make you
sell. We are only good at selling what we love, so if you make gothic chokers
look for people who love gothic chokers, not teddy bears.
Even if the shop owner is your best friend, keep all terms clear and offer a
private contract between both parts for anything that could be regulated. You
don't want to lose a friend!

Part Three: Epilogue
If both parts respect each other, joint ventures are not only a very profitable
way for both businesses, but also an amazing personal experience of growth
and help. The amount of knowledge you will get from seeing other people
work and grow their businesses is one of the most valuable experiences you
will have on your way to success, so be creative and think of an idea for your
sister-in-law hairdresser salon, your school mate boutique or simply go to
that place where you love to shop and offer a fund raising, a face painting
party for kids or whatever your creativity suggests you. Only those who dare
win!

Carolina Gonzalez Acosta
Self taught artist and Eclectic Witch for 20 years, has been publishing
articles on creative living and marketing for home-based art businesses
for three years online. Her articles have been featured on more than 50
websites – you can find her work at http://magickshop.wordpress.com/