This information is based on my experience over many years of doing business successfully in Africa, Canada and the United Sates, using the leverage of Joint Ventures, incorporating the Mastermind, Strategic Alliances and Barter to do business and create value and wealth with no money and no risk. Tried and tested, proven in the field with thousands of business owners, these principles work on one condition: You can only succeed in Joint Ventures with people who are honest, professional, smart and disciplined. Once you have found people like that, JV’s can open the doors to unlimited wealth and success for you.

~ Robin J. Elliott (JV & Business Broker and Serial Entrepreneur)

Joint Ventures work when people realize that we don’t have to own skills, money, employees, inventory or other resources in order to do business, create value and make money. And it can be done VERY FAST if we use existing resources.

Your business can skyrocket to new levels of performance and profitability using Joint Ventures. The purpose of Joint Ventures is to access new markets, grow your business and access new competencies, while leveraging your hidden assets and business partnering to optimize sales and profits. Don’t create competencies; borrow them. Don’t compete; partner. Two companies essentially spawn a new company. One plus one equals three through synergistic and exponential growth. JV’s inject new energy, excitement, commitment, loyalty, purpose, optimism, enthusiasm, creativity and fun into businesses. This increases value and thus profits. From Proctor and Gamble, Wal-Mart and Pfizer, to Sony, Tom’s Corner Cafe and Bert’s Dog Grooming, business owners are discovering the magic of Joint Ventures. In fact, you don’t even need a business, a product or a service to make money from Joint Ventures.

If I was to add Bob’s dog grooming services to Alan’s Animal Hospital and everyone (me, included) got a piece of the action, I could literally start earning money immediately. The distribution channel is already in place. The overhead is already paid for. This is incremental business with the corresponding high profit margin. All Alan has to do is offer each of his clients the option to use Bob’s dog grooming services. He could hand them a discount voucher or merely a flyer. That is additional business for Bob, with no cost of sales (acquisition cost) at all. Bob has already paid salaries, rent and other overhead, so it’s found money for him. He pays you and Alan a commission on all the business thus generated. Everyone wins. This money is 100% profit in Alan’s hands. And at no risk, because you set it all up.

Joint Ventures can be very simple or more involved, but they usually cost very little to set in place, because most of the infrastructure already exists. If I sell landscaping, I can piggy-back my service on a realtor’s services. Or I can TRIANGULATE that deal – I don’t have to own the landscaping service or be a realtor to make money from that JV.

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass” – Paul. J. Meyer.

Napoleon Hill educated millions on the power of the Mastermind. He said: “The ‘Master Mind’ may be defined as: ‘Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.’ No individual may have great power without availing himself of the ‘Master Mind.’”

“We do not conquer mountains, nor tame elements. The true conquest lies in penetrating the mental barriers; those self-imposed limitations that we carry in our minds.” -Sharon Wood (First North American woman to the summit of Mt. Everest)

Together, we can do amazing things.

Tap into other peoples’ goodwill, database, capital, time, distribution channels, sales efforts, everything. Upsell existing customers on a new, additional product or service. The sky’s the limit.

Do you have or control anything that other JV partners would want?



The KEY is finding Good, Honest, Smart people. Start with people you know and trust: NEER: Naturally Existing Economic Relationships.

Talk in the other person’s interests, not your own:

When we understand that people are basically self-interested and that they don’t care about what you want, but rather about what they want, we should change our approach. Instead of thrusting your business card at someone and telling them how great you are and begging for their money, smart operators think about what THEY want.

Imagine your response if someone was to approach you with the following pitch:

“What can I do to help you achieve your goals? How can I use my resources and the resources and hidden assets of my network of associates, friends, family, customers and vendors, to help you? How can I utilize my distribution channels, relationships, underutilized assets, salespeople, personnel and equipment, to generate more business for you?” I’m sure very few people, if any, have approached you in that way, right?

By the same token, you could approach someone with this offer: “If I bring you access to markets, prospects, buyers, customers, advertising, that you never had and I turnkey it all, can I have 50% of the profit?”

You’re offering Found money – incremental profits and no upfront costs or risk.

If you want to open the door to JV’s with successful people, you have to differentiate your approach. They’re being hit on multiple times every day, but few if any are using this approach. Do your homework; study their websites, Google them, do your research and due diligence and be well prepared for your meeting. Forget about what you want and concentrate on looking for ways to benefit them. You will definitely get their attention. That’s why my website is called, DollarMakers.com

Let’s look at some FREE options for promoting and selling services and products:



Remember, you don’t even have to own a business to make money from JV’s, but it does help to have one.

1. Use your own, or others’, E Newsletters (ezines). The two ezines that I write (Eagle Attitude and Entrepreneur Newsletter) each reach over 6,000 people internationally every week. My cost to have an ezine sent out every week is only $50 per month! Regular information that is actually READ, ids a powerful communication and selling tool. Use others’ ezines – I write for someone else’s ezine that reaches 20,000 people per week. That’s great free exposure for me. Other people use my articles free of charge, in exchange for displaying my contact information and giving me credit for the writing.

2. Use a BLOG – mine works well for me, and I use my ezine articles on it. It’s FREE!

3. Use a website. www.DollarMakers.com has made me hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales.

4. Give away free reports and e books like this one – free advertising and you get to create massive credibility. (Given that you know what you’re talking about.)

5. Give away or sell audio CD’s, or have them available free of charge in audio streaming on your website.

6. Give away free CD’s and charge for Shipping and Handling to cover your costs and even make a profit. Team up with others who already have CD’s made. Use my CD’s to market your business. I can show you how to do that. Use other peoples’ skills, competencies and resources.

7. Offer to convert other people’s inactive customers into active customers for an on-going piece of the action. This idea, alone, can be worth a fortune to you, when you consider the amount of customer attrition going on.

8. Piggy-back your product or someone else’s product, on to existing sales streams and have someone else’s sales team sell your products and services as an add-on to their existing sales.

9. Convert unconverted leads or triangulate the deal. Switch leads between two realtors and take a piece of the action.

10. Find people who have products they can’t move, get the products on consignment and sell them through other people distribution channels – on consignment! No risk.

11. Create multiple add-on sales options – wedding planners, lube centers, webmasters, courier services and home improvement services are great for this.

12. Buy and resell advertising space and / or services.

13. Offer Free Seminars – either you do them or have someone else present them.

14. Sell Bill’s CD’s on consignment through Jack’s gas stations.

15. Free Conference Calls are very powerful selling tools. Interview experts and they will help you sell. You don’t need any skills or money – use other peoples’ skills time, energy and money.

Bundle your products with someone else’s – every time they sell a course, they can include your CD’s!

16. Join forces with your competitors – together you can accomplish a lot more.

17. Share advertising space, mailings, seminars, radio and TV time and database communication.

18. Use Gift Vouchers – give away samples of other peoples’ services and take a piece of the resulting, ongoing business. Carpet cleaning, accounting, consulting, car services,

Always ask yourself, “What does the other party REALLY, REALLY want? What is his or her HOT BUTTON? And always ask them, “What will it take?”



Simple Examples:

1. I gave a restaurant owner 400 free paper placemats, each including some nice graphics and interesting information, PLUS a pitch for my business broking services and my contact information. I also gave him a gumball machine full of gum, with an advertisement for my business services right on top of it. He will get paid a generous commission on any resulting sales.

2. With my friend, Antonio, we created an amazing marketing package for small businesses including 11 CD’s, a powerful marketing program worth $900, plus six months of conference calls and a two day convention in Vegas, all of which sells for just $695.

3. I’m not a realtor, but I recently earned a few thousand dollars on a simple referral to realtor. I do the same with websites, cars, you name it. I don’t need an office or employees and I can work form anywhere in the world where I have access to a telephone and the internet.

I have been arranging JV deals since I was at high school. I was seldom at risk and my business has been thriving for 18 years because of this simple, yet highly effective mindset.

If you qualify, I can show you how to create a joint venture with me, using your existing resources, in one hour. It’s easy to do and it works well, with virtually no cost or risk. It’s a true Win/win deal.

BARTER is a form of Joint Venture.

Leverage and barter underutilized goods, resources, services, capacity, raw materials, storage space, a sales team, personnel, intangible assets like distribution capabilities, etc.

In the 1970’s, Chrysler had 10,000 small cars they couldn’t sell. They exchanged those cars for radio & TV credits all over the country, to be used over a five year period, and traded the cars at full retail. (Window sticker) Their money was tied up in the cars. They weren’t spending cash on the advertising. The radio stations were selling unsold, future time and getting the cars right away.

Chrysler took the advertising credits to the bank and got money on them to pay for the manufacture of more cars that were sold with the advertising, so the bank financed the whole program! The radio and TV credits appreciated in value over the five years! That’s leverage.

Restaurants – a $10 meal costs around $3. The restaurant can barter that for $10 meal for $10 worth of radio advertising or whatever, so they’re saving 70%! Plus there are incremental sales – people buy drinks, tip waiters, new customers are generated that continue to spend money. The gift certificates are called SCRIP in the Barter business. The advertising they bought brings in more customers. A lot of the meal vouchers are never cashed in – this is called BREAKAGE. Remember, the overhead is already covered – electricity, server salaries, uniforms, telephone, etc., is already paid for, so the profit is high.

A commercial printing business has staff and machines on hand but not is fully utilized. His only cost is the paper and ink. The rent and payroll is already paid. So he can produce printing very cheaply and trade it for things he needs now, without using cash.

Soft dollars and hard dollars: Trade TV sets that cost $300 at $1,000 retail, for hotel rooms that cost $7 and retail at $100. Both win. Soft Dollars are Barter Dollars and Hard Dollars is cash. Conserve your cash by setting up barter deals.

That’s why we’re called, www.DollarMakers.com

HOTEL EXAMPLE – trade room for $100, cost is only $7.

If the average person spends $50 in other services that the hotel has, and your cost is only $7, you’ve made extra cash right away, plus many gift certificates never got utilized! AND you got 100% retail value in barter! And you can sell bartered goods and services for CASH.

A Beverley Hills hotel was bought out of Chapter 11 and immediately issued $3 million worth of rooms, food and drink credits to be used over a five year period. Scrip brokers bought it up for $1.5 million in cash. They cash converted future rooms.

Cash converting means trading for goods or services and then immediately selling those goods / services for cash.

Advertisers of a Shopping Mall set up a deal to pay people back the money they spent in the mall. “Prove you spent $1000 in the mall and we’ll give you $1,000 in cash!” This creates what we call THE FLOW – it’s ongoing, resulting business from barter. Store owners in the mall happily paid for advertising because they knew that, this way, it was much cheaper – they only paid for the cost of goods sold (They reimbursed the retail price) so this was cheap advertising – it forced people to buy in the mall.

Dentists and doctors, chiropractors and consultants, couriers, web masters, writers and such trade or barter services. I know a dentist who traded dental work for radio advertising.

Instead of using cash and time, spend more time thinking about value and JV’s!

You can exchange apartments for services and pay your employees and vendors with barter and apartments,

Barter SCRIP is like printing money. It can be transferred and assigned - it’s legal tender.

Scrip Expiration dates – the further out, the better – there are many permutations. BREAKAGE is the barter credits which aren’t used – up to 40%!

SET up a barter deal and take a piece of the action/ savings in cash or in scrip that you can convert to cash.

Remember: The key to successful JV’s is the people who are involved. Integrity, Professionalism, Punctuality, Accountability and Passion and Generosity are essential ingredients.

JV’s is the way business is being done by smart people. Join us and take advantage of this wonderful tool.

My Offer to You:



If you are interested in learning how you can work with me to set up a Joint Venture, feel free to e mail me at robin@dollarmakers.com with “JV Offer” in the Subject Box, or call me at 604.945.5754. I can’t guarantee that we’ll find a way to work together, but it’s worth talking.

By Robin J. Elliott ~ www.Dollarmakers.com Copyright.

Recommended Reading for all serious entrepreneurs:

“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand.

Instead of my usual scintillating article, I decided to write a little story for you this week, dear Readers. Thanks for all your encouraging letters, by the way; much appreciated.

Cadfael Joshua had had a long day and was on his way to the corner store to get some milk. It was unusually quiet. The usual dog guardians, clutching their white plastic doggy-doo bags, were nowhere to be seen. A brisk wind clutched at his legs with the promise of a cool night and a free sample of winter from the snow on the nearby mountains. A few drops of rain plopped onto his Respect hat.

Suddenly, a swift black shadow introduced a bulky, unshaven lout who lunged at Cadfael – it was Weariness, brandishing a huge Fatigue stick over his hatless head of unruly hair. Cadfael reacted automatically with an Energy kick at the brute’s kneecap. Almost instantly, Worry moved in from the shadows with an automatic Fear, pointing directly at Cadfael, who whipped out a Self Confidence and knocked the weapon to the ground. Then he punched him out with a Tenacity. Two against one, but he was winning. He whirled around to see Weariness had extracted a concealed Guilt from his belt and was moving in fast. What now?

Without a second thought, Cadfael delivered a Self Esteem that knocked his opponent right off his feet, just as Worry heaved himself off the ground and was now approaching with the largest Self Doubt Cadfael had ever seen. Our Hero grabbed his faithful Self-reliance and fired three Beliefs right into Worry’s bewildered face. Only Weariness was left, who was lumbering forward wielding a shiny and sharp Laziness, switching it between hands, laughing and ridiculing Cadfael, who responded by blocking with Discipline and delivering a Proactive blow to the throat of his wily attacker. He finished him off with a Positive Expectation and one solid Integrity. It was over.

Sitting in his armchair after dinner, reading Atlas Shrugged, Cadfael poured himself a large Vision and put some Goals and Courage on a plate for a snack. Another day done. He had sown good things and he smiled, knowing that the future he was creating was bright, indeed. In his daily battles with Mediocrity and his treacherous band of Collectivists, Cadfael (which means Prince of Battle) knew that he had to stay alert and in shape. His personal trainer, Napoleon Hill, and mentor, Winston Churchill, along with his advisors, Ayn Rand and a stable of other winners, helped him stay focused and on track. They lived on his bookshelf and his CD rack, always on duty, always available to support and guide him. But he was the leader and the point man. He initiated, he took responsibility and he got the accolades.

In our daily lives, we’re wise to align ourselves with winners, Eagles and mentors who can sustain and direct us. Every choice counts.

Yesterday, I received this encouraging note from a friend of mine who is a very successful entrepreneur:

“Hi Robin, I just read your Eagle Attitude article and you are right on. I always make asset vs. liability calls. Recently one of my staff did considerable damage to our main computer and database by going to inappropriate places on the internet. Certainly grounds for firing, not too mention suing for damages. Instead we are reworking his job description to take advantage of some obvious talents. There are some penalties he is working through, but there should be some substantial benefit to the company long term. Its nice to read that a risky decision is sometimes the best decision.”



That reminds me of the time I was a manager in a large, resort hotel and we learned that one of the staff members was secretly running his own little room service business inside the hotel. He diverted all the orders to his cousin’s café on the corner. The thing was that he gave excellent service and guests were delighted with the quality (that’s how we caught him – compliments from guests about dishes that weren’t on the room service menu!) So instead of firing him, we created a joint venture: we saved his salary, cut overhead substantially and continued to provide the service to our guest, while his own business flourished. Win/Win!

Savvy entrepreneurs look for ways to capitalize on the strengths and resources of their partners, associates, employees and vendors. They focus on what does work instead of what doesn’t work and, most importantly, keep their egos in check. Take the time to listen carefully and discover hidden assets like skills, connections, resources and information. Sometimes, opportunities take a little while to appear and options take time to become apparent. Patience and good communication skills, as well as being prepared to generously share the profits, are essential. Think outside the box and keep your eyes on your common goals. Be flexible and open to new ideas. Good people are hard to find.

Sales Tip

The better you know your salespeople, the better you can channel their energy, interests, skills and time. Don’t make the salesperson fit the job; rather, make the job fit the salesperson. Take time to listen to their opinions and suggestions, encourage sharing and reward innovation and risk.

Management Tip

By clearly defining the parameters of your employees’ jobs, you remove fear. Show them what they have to do to get fired, and you reduce any reticence to innovation. Fear stunts creativity and openness. People who feel secure will be more productive and honest with you. Spend more time developing relationship with your staff than you do with your customers.

When we exchange resources, goods, time, inventory, skills, equipment, goods and services, we’re bartering. Instead of using cash, we can barter underutilized time, space or other assets and even future services and production, especially if the products and services have big margins. And they may be depreciating, hard to sell or easy and cheap to produce. Extra capacity is as good as hard cash when bartered.

I know a dentist who bartered his services for advertising time on a radio station and a restaurant that bartered meals for cleaning services. Hotel rooms and staff training, consulting and legal services, high margin electronics and a host of other products and services lend themselves to barter. Barter conserves cash, and the goods are always bartered at their retail price! That means that if your food cost percentage is 34%, you’re buying at a discount of 66%!

You can even pay people to work for you with barter. And with redeemable coupons and gift certificates, you are essentially being loaned money at no interest until those coupons are redeemed. “Breakage” makes barter even more attractive – a certain percentage will not be redeemed.

Barter is like printing money! Deals can be triangulated and cash flow can be relieved and ramped up. Plus, one barter transaction can lead to repeat business and thus an exponential return on investment (without a cash investment!) Bartering services and slow moving inventory for advertising is extreme leverage. Barter can produce cash customers. Think about the resources you have and who would want them. Work ON your business instead of IN it.

I was on the top of a very high, convex, brown concrete sculpture. Far below me, people were happily milling around and laughing in a plaza, eating ice cream and playing with their children. I couldn’t move backwards or forwards as I was afraid of slipping off this dome that I was on, and fall to my death below - I was really afraid. Then, in front of me I suddenly saw a steel ladder! (By now, you have probably correctly guessed that this was a dream I had – last night.) The ladder was my only hope of salvation and the only way to safety, yet it was even scarier to reach out and get onto the ladder! It was easier to remain perched precariously on this concrete sculpture, terrified as I was, than to try to climb onto the ladder.

I called down to the plaza below, and some kind workmen agreed to assist me to get onto the ladder. It seemed pretty flimsy to me, and it had to be pushed over towards me so that I could gain a foothold. Two workmen held the ladder closer to me, one on each side, while a third climbed up in front of me to guide me. He assured me that the ladder was quite safe, and he adjusted it so that I could climb on, and then he told me that I had to lean out into space, let go of my handholds on the dome and grab the ladder! This was the scariest part of all. I had to let go of what little security I had in order to climb down to safety. I was frozen with fear. Then a fourth workman climbed up, got right next to me and held my arm tightly, while I finally reached out and grabbed the ladder. Once I was on the ladder, relief washed over me and the strain lifted off me. I was soon climbing down to the plaza below to the welcoming cheers of the people. What a dream!

I awoke from this dream realizing that it was an analogy of life. We create sculptures in our lives and we get ourselves into difficult circumstances. And when we look again, we find ourselves in scary situations. We realize that things are getting worse and that we have to do something before it’s too late. Often, we don’t even see the solutions / ladders available to us, as we’re blinded by panic and blindfolded by stress. And, when we do see the ladders, we perceive our present situation as being less dangerous than climbing out onto that precarious looking ladder, don’t we? We want what those people in the plaza below have so badly, yet we’re paralyzed, and the more we analyze the situation, the harder it gets to break free.

Those of us in the plaza below see the casualties, the broken lives and the bankruptcies of those who wait too long on those high, slippery domes they have built. It’s sad to know that there were solutions and salvation, ladders and liberation available to them, but they chose not to take advantage of it. And we do understand how difficult it is to make the transition from our current situation.

So, what we need is those caring and skilled workmen to get up here on this dangerous dome with us and help us get onto the ladder. Fortunately, there are good people who can assist us and there are many tools available as well. But we have to call those workmen and tell them we need their help. And, when they kindly offer it, we have to be prepared to take their advice and follow their instructions if we want to party in the plaza and enjoy the relief and peace of mind that is available to us at the bottom of the ladder. That ladder might be our own business, a diet, Alcoholics Anonymous, business solutions, a spiritual path or marriage counseling. The good news is that there are solutions and there are wonderful people to help you. For your own sake, and for the sake of those who love you, grab the ladder.

Robin J. Elliott robin@dollarmakers.com Call Toll Free1.866.746.0631 Pacific Time 8am -10pm EIGHT days a week.

Robin J. Elliott has been officially included in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002 and has been nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals.

People who say that money isn’t important either don’t have any, or don’t believe they can make any, so they have to justify their situation.

In today’s world of unlimited opportunity, where two twenty-somethings can start a business in a garage and in a mere six years each be worth over six billion dollars, with a business that is bigger than General Motors and Ford combined, (I’m talking about GOOGLE), we all have wonderful opportunities to make lots of money and enjoy life to the fullest.

This Blog is about helping you to achieve real success in every area of your life, based on the foundation of a successful business.

Listen to the audio posts in this Blog, visit our website, www.DollarMakers.com regularly, and sign up for the free ezines available at www.DollarMakers.com while you’re at it!

We’re here to show you how to reach your full potential.