For this edition of Entrepreneur University I turned to the joint venture expert, Robin Elliott. For more than 19 years Robin has worked with small business owners helping them attain success through joint ventures. You can learn more about him at his website: JVWisdom.

Robin shares with use three examples of easy ways you can joint venture your business to success:

“When people think Joint Ventures are complicated or difficult, it’s good to review some simple examples of real Joint Ventures that I have recently done. Here are three of them:

A Member of the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum (I only deal with Members) set up a meeting with a well-known seminar leader, who agreed to have me speak at one of his seminars. Out of the 30 people attending (each was paying $3,000 to attend the program), 14 signed up as Members. This is an unusually high percentage.

Anyway, the seminar leader and the Member each made good commissions. This seminar leader has 3,500 people in his database and the next step is to arrange a more formal relationship and also to use a teleconference to sign up more Members. This is a win/win/win/win scenario, done with no cost or risk and very little time.

The Member and seminar leader will naturally get good commissions on any of those new Members who attend Bootcamps in the future, as well.

Another Member, who is involved in a local church, is arranging for me to present a Bootcamp at the church as a fund raiser. We have agreed on a minimum amount payable per delegate, and all the money will go to the church. I will receive a tax receipt equal to the amount of money raised.

We expect, given the amount of church members and the demographic profile, to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 for the day. The church incurs no cost or risk and uses very little time. I sign up new Members and the Member who arranges the JV gets paid on all Members that sign up. In addition, his own business will get great exposure. Everyone wins. This can work for service clubs, sports clubs and societies as well.

A third Member has linked me up with a well connected and influential entrepreneur in another country. All it took was a simple phone call. Any resulting bootcamps or business will make the Member serious money, and as I haven’t worked in that country before, the sky is the limit.”

How have you used joint ventures to help your business grow?