“How could I partner up with someone?”
“How could I partner up with someone?” This was a question asked by a young person just getting started in the agency business. I gave the following answer. In case it might be helpful to others who might not see it buried deep in a comment thread, I have reposted it here: There are lots of ways to partner with people, from a simple affiliate arrangement to a full blown joint venture. They all boil down to a basic quid pro quo, or “I give you this and you give me that.” So, start by figuring out what specifically you can give. And what specifically you would like in return. Then find folks who have what you want, and are willing to trade that in exchange for what you have. For instance, I am in the process of setting up partnerships with folks who have certain skills that they are willing to use to perform certain tasks that produce certain results in exchange for shares in the corporations I am setting up. In other words, I am setting up the business and providing the use of particular pieces of intellectual property. Each partner has developed a standard package of their services. One partner might be a copywriter who has pledged to provide copy for ads, a sales funnel, sequences of emails, etc. I’ll not take the time to list all of the elements of their particular standard service package here. Suffice it to say that it is pretty comprehensive when it comes to copywriting. We negotiate a price and delivery terms for that standard service package and apportion a certain number of shares to them in exchange for their providing it to us. Another partner, a graphic designer, has created a standard package consisting of such things as a logo, letterhead, responsive web design, etc. In short, everything a company needs in terms of graphics. Again a price is set, shares apportioned, etc. We do this with each partner. That way, everyone is clear about exactly what they are getting and exactly what they are expected to give in return. It helps the team.