Business in Side

For most entrepreneurs, their business is their life. They have watched it grow from an idea to a thriving enterprise, hard work being the energy by which it has been fueled. Some have taken the reins from earlier generations, hoping every day to make the family enterprise more successful. In today's economy, big box stores threaten the very existence of these small retailers.

There are harsh realities to be learned in the world of business. Perception is reality in the minds of consumers. It does not matter if a given operation has prices lower than a large national chain, unless the local community knows that to be a fact. Large scale advertising for national chains makes it hard to get the word out for local businesses that cannot begin to compete in terms of an advertising budget. But business owners should not despair; there are other ways to become top of mind to the local consumers.

Are you interested in getting your name out in to the community? Do you have the type of business that would benefit from people getting to know who you are? Realtors, salesmen and business owners need to have their name or service be the first thing someone thinks of. Seeing your name over and over can be very helpful.
Years ago it was popular to hand out pens, note pads and pencils at the county fair. Everyone enjoys getting something for free, Sometimes the pens ran out of ink or dried up very quickly. That was not very good advertising. It is not a way to win customers.

Working with another company through a joint venture marketing agreement can be a good business decision, especially for companies who have limited resources but are willing to take the risk. Teaming up and creating a new business entity with its own assets and sharing the risks and rewards from the project may be just what is needed to accomplish what seems impossible to do individually. But the question is how to find joint venture partners who are a good fit for your business.

Finding joint venture partners

There are two possible solutions to finding the right JV partner. First, look around your immediate and local market for prospective partners and talk to them directly. The other is getting in touch with them through a "feeler" question or comment. A feeler usually draws out the hint, opinions or purposes of others in a group of people who might be interested into contacting you. One of the best places to find prospects is through social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook, however your first stop should be LinkedIn, which is the leading social media channel for professionals. You will find in most cases, that what you are looking for is just a click away.