Joint Ventures: Diamonds on the Beach

The Advantages of Joint Ventures

By Susan Ward, About.com

Properly chosen and implemented, joint ventures can be a great way for your small business to get in on opportunities (and profits) that otherwise you would miss out on. I like to think of them as diamonds on the beach. You see the diamonds lying on the sand but try as you might, you can't pick them up – until you team with someone else who knows the trick of scooping them up.

By teaming up with other people or businesses in a joint venture, you can:

• extend your marketing reach
• access needed information and resources
• build credibility with a particular target market
• access new markets that would be inaccessible without the partner

For instance, suppose you and five other potters form a joint venture to hold a Potter's Fair on a particular date. Because you pool your resources, you're able to do much more advertising and promotion than you would be able to go alone, bringing out crowds of customers for your joint event.

Joint Venture Definition

A joint venture is a strategic alliance where two or more people or companies agree to contribute goods, services and/or capital to a common commercial enterprise.

Sounds like a partnership, doesn’t it? But legally, joint ventures and partnerships are not the same thing.

Joint Ventures versus Partnerships

The main difference between a joint venture and a partnership is that the members of a joint venture have teamed together for a particular purpose or project, while the members of a partnership have joined together to run "a business in common".

Each member of the joint venture retains ownership of his or her property.

And each member of the joint venture shares only the expenses of the particular project or venture.

Tax-wise, there are also differences between joint ventures and partnerships. As a member of a joint venture, you will receive a share of the profits which will be taxed according to whatever business structure you have set up. So, for instance, if you operate a sole proprietorship, your joint venture profits will be taxed just as any other business income would.

Joint ventures enjoy tax advantages over partnerships, too. Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) is treated differently. While those in partnerships have to claim CCA according to partnership rules, those in joint ventures can choose to use as much or little of their CCA claim as they like.

And joint ventures don’t have to file information returns, unlike partnerships.

How to Get a Joint Venture Started

• The first step to creating a joint venture is to set your goals and decide what you want your joint venture to do. If you need help getting started with this, look at the four things a joint venture can do that I've listed at the beginning of this article, pick one, and then develop a goal that is as specific as possible.

• Then it's time to look for the like-minded - people or firms that might be interested in the same goal or goals you want to pursue. Look in the business groups you already belong to, both in person and virtually. Use your social networking connections. Study business listings in the phone book or on Web sites to find those that might share your goals.

• And be open to being asked. Once you start talking to other people about what you might do together, a joint venture idea you haven’t even thought of might pop up - one with a lot of potential.

• Once you've found the people to share in a joint venture, be sure to have it all put into writing in a joint venture agreement. I strongly recommend hiring a legal professional to do this.

So instead of dismissing an opportunity as out of your reach, start thinking instead about how you could participate with a joint venture. Properly planned and executed, joint ventures can help your small business go where it's never been able to go before.