If you have read anything about opening a business or growing the business you already have, it's likely you've seen the term joint venture, or JV. A joint venture is a way for you to partner with another business for a specific reason or reasons. You might find you can bolster each others' strong points or share each others' markets. When two businesses create a joint venture, they are actually creating an entirely new business entity.

Joint venture actually refers to the reason for the partnership and not to the entity created by the joint venture. Anyone can enter into a joint venture agreement. The forming partners can be individuals, corporations, organizations, limited licensing companies (LLCs), or any combination of these. Likewise, the resulting entity can be an LLC, corporation, or any other legal structure.

Joint ventures are quite common in large businesses. They're often necessary for the purpose of entering into certain markets. Some countries require that foreign companies enter into a joint venture with a company from within the country in order to do business there. And, even when a joint venture isn't required, having one partner located in the geographical region offers a local presence and helps keep a better eye on the market there.

Even where it's not required, joint ventures offer fantastic benefits when they're not taken too lightly. One reason many small businesses enter into joint ventures is to take advantage of the products, skill sets or customer base of another company.

For example, let's say you have incredible computer repair skills. Your only problem is that you don't have much of a customer base and very little money to advertise. To help your business grow, you approach a local computer sales store that doesn't currently offer repair services to its clients. You propose a joint venture where the store refers its clients to you, and only you, for repairs. The benefits? You get a steady flow of business at no cost to you, and the store adds valuable repair services to its list of offerings to clients.

Joint ventures can be cause for celebration for all parties involved -- or they can be a huge disaster if you're not careful. Successful joint ventures have five common characteristics. They are: 1) Creativity; 2) Persistence; 3) Visualization skills; 4) Negotiation skills; 5) Client relationship skills.

Creativity is a key skill in successfully seeking out and developing joint ventures. You must be able to see all the ways that your business could fit into various joint ventures. There are joint venture possibilities for virtually anyone and any kind of business if you know where -- and how -- to look. Creativity is also important when you're explaining the benefits of a joint venture to a potential business partner.

Persistence is particularly important when you first approach your potential partners. Small businesses have a lot going on, and the owners can forget you if you're not careful. You might also have to explain what a joint venture is if they don't already know.

You must have good visualization skills because you have to be able to predict how your side of the JV will benefit your partner, and how the two sides will fit together. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. If you're forcing the pieces together, you need to find a better fit. No breaking out the saw, now.

When you're putting together your JV agreement and business plan, you'll spend a lot of time negotiating with your partner. You'll want to make sure you're getting exactly what you want out of the deal, and that means sometimes you'll have to be pretty hard-nosed. If you have difficulty entering into professional negotiations, forming a strong joint venture that provides the best benefits for you will be very difficult.

Once you have successfully entered into a joint venture, you will need to find and build a client list. If your partner is providing clients for you, you must be extra attentive to their needs and make sure you don't lose them for your partner. If you have clients, they might be wary of your new business and fear that your products or services are about to change or become more expensive. It's important to keep in close touch with them and explain the changes in detail.

If you properly research what it means to enter a joint venture, and look at all the different possibilities before choosing a partner, you are likely to succeed and reap great benefits for your efforts. The main thing is to be assertive, honest with your partner -- and most of all, to make it fun! Justin Bryce has been a contributing author for this website and is an acknowledged expert in the field of Joint Ventures.