When one plus one sometimes equals three…

I am very excited — I found a business partner for my Send Out Cards business.  I love Send Out Cards, I love the mission of intentionally reaching out to people and providing something happy for them.  I went to the Send Out Cards convention and really just *got* the mission.  It is a cool and wonderful thing.  I can tell you that my life is better now that I can easily send out cards to people beyond my immediate family.  I am all set to go full force and really make Send Out Cards work for me.  Trouble is… I have a very successful virtual assistance and internet training business.  I love working on Yellow Highlighter and mentoring emerging VAs through the Internet Monster Tamers School.   I can do both businesses justice –even though I very much want to.  At the convention, I met two friends who went into SOC together.  They say that working together not only spreads the load,  it keeps them both accountable.   I thought… this just might work.  Enter my new business partner TIffane Maltba.  Tiffane and I worked together at Fairfax County and we were an fabulous team.  We just seem to have very complimentary skills.  We had been looking for a way to work together again… this seems to be it.  I am delirously happy that Tiffane is now my SOC business partner.

Here are some tips for finding a perfect partner for your business (or for just one project…)

If you have an idea about something you would like to create but do not know anyone to team up with, start researching people that have the skills you need. Send them an email and let them know you like their work and might like to team up. You can also ask for recommendations from WAHMs you already know or put up a post on a message board about what you would like to accomplish.

Whatever method you choose to find potential co-workers, interview several people before you make any decisions; you want the project to be a success. Look at samples of the work each person has done in the past. You will also want to make sure your personalities do not clash, as you will be spending a lot of time working together.

When you find someone you are interested in working with, make sure you both understand how the work will be divided, when the deadlines will be for each step of the project, how you are going to sell your product and how the profits will be divided.

Keep looking for other joint venture opportunities as they are win-win situations ñ you can offer a new product or service to your current customers and the new product can also bring you a whole slew of new customers!

Happy partnering