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Question about joint venturing

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Mr_G

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Hi,

So I am looking for a joint venture with someone, but I am afraid that the other person will just copy my idea and steal my businnes. As the barrier of entry is low and we share the same customer base.

I want to start a workshop meeting once a week for 20 people.
Let’s assume it is a workshop for photographers (which it is not).
I then would like to make a joint venture with a camera store, where the owner would push for my photography workshops, giving me leads, and I would push for his camera store, giving him leads.
But after a while, maybe the owner of the camera store will start his own workshop and copying my bussines, and becoming my competitor instead.
You might say that the owner does not have my skills in photography nor the place to hold the workshops at, but this is not about photography as I said above, and the owner would rent a place for the workshops, just as I would do. So the barrier to entry is low, just like working at McDonadls (well almost). I would not hold the workshops myself either as I do not consider myself as suitable, but it should be easy to find someone that could. Whereas the barrier of entry for his camera store business is higher.

This makes me to not approach anyone to make a joint venture with. So now I have but a few leads, which is not enought. One big plus with joint venturing with someone would by that the ”camera store owner” would provide with content to my website, giving my better creadibility, better content, and better SEO ranking.

Penny for your thoughts :)
 
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alexkuzmov

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Hi,

So I am looking for a joint venture with someone, but I am afraid that the other person will just copy my idea and steal my businnes. As the barrier of entry is low and we share the same customer base.

I want to start a workshop meeting once a week for 20 people.
Let’s assume it is a workshop for photographers (which it is not).
I then would like to make a joint venture with a camera store, where the owner would push for my photography workshops, giving me leads, and I would push for his camera store, giving him leads.
But after a while, maybe the owner of the camera store will start his own workshop and copying my bussines, and becoming my competitor instead.
You might say that the owner does not have my skills in photography nor the place to hold the workshops at, but this is not about photography as I said above, and the owner would rent a place for the workshops, just as I would do. So the barrier to entry is low, just like working at McDonadls (well almost). I would not hold the workshops myself either as I do not consider myself as suitable, but it should be easy to find someone that could. Whereas the barrier of entry for his camera store business is higher.

This makes me to not approach anyone to make a joint venture with. So now I have but a few leads, which is not enought. One big plus with joint venturing with someone would by that the ”camera store owner” would provide with content to my website, giving my better creadibility, better content, and better SEO ranking.

Penny for your thoughts :)
This is a bit funny.
Do you know that 9/10 business fail within their first year? (not quite accurate, but I`m making a point)
Going into business caries a high risk by default, so things like "someone can steal my idea" should never be something to stop you.
There are hundreds of potential reasons why you can fail.
Someone copying your idea is just another drop in the bucket.
 

JAJT

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So I am looking for a joint venture with someone, but I am afraid that the other person will just copy my idea and steal my businnes. As the barrier of entry is low and we share the same customer base.

The barrier to entry for your idea may be low but the barrier to entry for exceptional execution is ALWAYS high.

In your camera example, the way you ensure that the camera store doesn't steal your idea is you be so absurdly good at giving photography workshops that copying you will seem like way too much damn time and effort.

You develop your own brand, you get damn good at it, and then mutually beneficial relationships become no-brainers. It stops becoming "a photography workshop" and starts becoming "Mr_G's photography workshop".

Look at Tony Robbins - love him or hate him, there's a huge a$$ difference between his workshops and your local motivational speaker. People will pay any dollar amount for Tony while the local guy is begging for gigs despite talking about the exact same subjects.

If what you offer is mediocre, easy to copy, and really not much effort to do as good a job as you do - then you should EXPECT that the only thing stopping someone from copying you is laziness.
 

Mr_G

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The barrier to entry for your idea may be low but the barrier to entry for exceptional execution is ALWAYS high.

In your camera example, the way you ensure that the camera store doesn't steal your idea is you be so absurdly good at giving photography workshops that copying you will seem like way too much damn time and effort.

You develop your own brand, you get damn good at it, and then mutually beneficial relationships become no-brainers. It stops becoming "a photography workshop" and starts becoming "Mr_G's photography workshop".

Look at Tony Robbins - love him or hate him, there's a huge a$$ difference between his workshops and your local motivational speaker. People will pay any dollar amount for Tony while the local guy is begging for gigs despite talking about the exact same subjects.

If what you offer is mediocre, easy to copy, and really not much effort to do as good a job as you do - then you should EXPECT that the only thing stopping someone from copying you is laziness.
It makes sens in the way you put it! People should choose me over any other competitor because I am the best "out there". Building some credibility is not so easy though.
 
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Johnny boy

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Not only could the shop owner steal your genius idea, any of the members could too!

And if you drive a car, you could get in a wreck and cause millions in damages, much more than insurance could cover

and if you wear jeans, you could catch your johnson in the zipper and rip it right off

and if you swim in water, lightning could strike and you get shocked to death

better to never start your business, never drive a car, never wear jeans and never go swimming!



If you genuinely worry about someone stealing your business, you have a seriously f*cked up perspective on risk.

Given that you don't die in the next 5 years, we all get enough time to be successful. Winners win. Doesn't matter if they had mean parents, got bullied in school, lost their hand in an accident, got a business idea stolen from them. Life isn't fair. But opting out of the game because you're afraid to lose is a great way to stay a complete loser.

This type of thinking is the exact opposite of how winners think.
 

Mr_G

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Not only could the shop owner steal your genius idea, any of the members could too!

And if you drive a car, you could get in a wreck and cause millions in damages, much more than insurance could cover

and if you wear jeans, you could catch your johnson in the zipper and rip it right off

and if you swim in water, lightning could strike and you get shocked to death

better to never start your business, never drive a car, never wear jeans and never go swimming!



If you genuinely worry about someone stealing your business, you have a seriously f*cked up perspective on risk.

Given that you don't die in the next 5 years, we all get enough time to be successful. Winners win. Doesn't matter if they had mean parents, got bullied in school, lost their hand in an accident, got a business idea stolen from them. Life isn't fair. But opting out of the game because you're afraid to lose is a great way to stay a complete loser.

This type of thinking is the exact opposite of how winners think.
I just wanna the risk to work FOR me :) The best case would be to reveal myself to potential competitors when I am already too big to beat.
 
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Stargazer

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I don't know what your real idea is but this may help.

Every camera shop knows about photographic workshops with in the local area. And have done for ages. Yet they don't do them themselves do they? It's not their focus.

The guy above you has a Landscaping Business. It would not be some revelation to him that Garden Centre's exist and it would not be a revelation to Garden Centre's that Landscapers exist.

So don't worry about it. What you are describing is not a Joint Venture anyway. That would be you and the Camera Shop setting up a completely new business, such as a Family Portrait Studio, and running it a as a separate entity fully staffed and financed by both of you.

Your idea is more like a mutual referral arrangement.

Dan
 
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Mr_G

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I don't know what your real idea is but this may help.

Every camera shop knows about photographic workshops with in the local area. And have done for ages. Yet they don't do them themselves do they? It's not their focus.

The guy above you has a Landscaping Business. It would not be some revelation to him that Garden Centre's exist and it would not be a revelation to Garden Centre's that Landscapers exist.

So don't worry about it. What you are describing is not a Joint Venture anyway. That would be you and the Camera Shop setting up a completely new business, such as a Family Portrait Studio, and running it a as a separate entity fully staffed and financed by both of you.

Your idea is more like a mutual referral arrangement.

Dan
Thanks for your insights! Yeah, I should not make it harder than it already is I guess.
 

Ernman

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Not only could the shop owner steal your genius idea, any of the members could too!

And if you drive a car, you could get in a wreck and cause millions in damages, much more than insurance could cover

and if you wear jeans, you could catch your johnson in the zipper and rip it right off

and if you swim in water, lightning could strike and you get shocked to death

better to never start your business, never drive a car, never wear jeans and never go swimming!



If you genuinely worry about someone stealing your business, you have a seriously f*cked up perspective on risk.
You always have such an eloquent way of putting it Johnny Boy :rofl:
 

Ernman

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I just happen to be in a business where - if I wanted to, I could have had the same concerns and been afraid to start. Oddly enough I now sell to and buy from two much larger companies that could easily do what I'm doing IF they wanted to. One tried and failed so they're happy to have me doing it. The other is just too big to get out of their own way and be profitable at what I'm doing. I've become a part of their business model - not a competitor. We're all doing better for the relationship.

It's good that you understand the risk, but don't let it stop you. Plan for it. Be so awesomely excellent that the other businesses, the "photoshops", wouldn't want to partner with anybody else, including themselves, on what you do.
 
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SEBASTlAN

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I am afraid that the other person will just copy my idea and steal my businnes.

 

Johnny boy

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Mr_G

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To be fair, everyone can write an article about anything, especially a Designer and Freelancer, as in this case. In this case, he would very well have right...I am just sayin'... But still, my takeaways are that I will try to connect more with other people about my business. Also, when time comes, I maybe can make my employee/employees sign a contract that they can not work with similar things for a competitor X years after working for my.
 
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alexkuzmov

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To be fair, everyone can write an article about anything, especially a Designer and Freelancer, as in this case. In this case, he would very well have right...I am just sayin'... But still, my takeaways are that I will try to connect more with other people about my business. Also, when time comes, I maybe can make my employee/employees sign a contract that they can not work with similar things for a competitor X years after working for my.
You sound like a petty person. Micro manager.
Also the need to be right is strong in you.
Why do you resist the advice thats been given to you?
 

Mr_G

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You sound like a petty person. Micro manager.
Also the need to be right is strong in you.
Why do you resist the advice thats been given to you?
I do not resist the advices. I am very appreciative for all advices I recieved and I will pursue and contact other people for my business, that is leveraging on other people's credibility and knowledge to advance my will-be-business. But I also do not jump into things either, a personality trait I guess...
 

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