A good way to increase profits, reduce risk and broaden your market is by joining forces with a competitor. Maybe not all the time but a project or two may be a good way for both of you to grow your businesses and to see if a long-term association is worthwhile. If you have multiple businesses, the joint venture may be just one of those businesses, and the others you continue to run on your own. For instance, if you’re both life coaches, you can offer more seminars in more places for mutual benefit. A shared company name will also help to brand your services.

However, be careful. Make sure the venture is on an equal footing. It’s probably a good idea to get a legal agreement that clarifies exactly what is shared and who is boss, things like that. A legal document gives you the way in and the way out, if you need to end the venture.

It’s imperative that there’s a business plan for the venture. The plan should detail what the goals are and how you’re going to reach them together. You can’t be working at cross purposes if you want to succeed.

Of course, the most important factor in a joint venture is trust. Without mutual trust and openness what could have been a successful venture (the usual result of a joint venture is success) will fall flat on its face.

When is the last time you put your vision on paper. I am not talking about a 30-page business plan or the hottest self-improvement seminar that you went to and had to fill out a questionnaire or assessment. I am talking elementary school. Taking glue, pictures, colors and phrases and placing your vision on a board. This concept known as a Vision Board is a visual explorer.

It is our thinking, more than our surroundings, which determines our level of happiness. Hold a thought and you will create an emotion. That emotion drives a behavior, which in turn creates an event. To change your events you must first change your vision.

I was up one Sunday morning watching Joel Osteen and he was talking about visions and he stated that we must change our vision in order to change our lifestyle…he used chickens and eagles as an example. Chickens vision is limited, they only go after more of the same thing that is placed in front of them and they are always pecking down, they never look up for other things to eat. Eagles on the other hand uses his vision and soars, he chooses to get his food from afar, his vision is expanded and he uses that to survive. Which one are you? The chicken who just accepts what’s in front of him and continues to look for more of the same, or an Eagle who soars and reaching far to get what he wants?

The challenge, for most of us, is to move from pessimistic thinking to a place where your thoughts create feelings of hope and joy. So how do you do it? Simple, no secret, you create a Vision Board or better yet do what I do, have a Vision Board Party where you get a group of friends together with magazines, books, anything visual, and you cut out pictures that represent how you envision your life/business in the future. This whole process helps you turn your visions into reality and watch your goals come to fruition right before your EYES.

The concept of vision boards has been around for years; I actually started researching this concept last year and have conducted a Vision Board Party in Feb 2009. As a living testimonial, I was able to accomplish 80% of my goals for my life and business that I had on my vision board for 2009. Most people have a hard time creating a life plan or business plan and a hard time believing in the success of accomplishing their goals, but this visual process will give the motivation you need to go after “What’s been holding you back”.

Here are some tools you will need:

1) Create a vision board that includes pictures of things that you would like to have in life. Include things that you know you cannot afford right now, but if money were not an option you would have it right now. Items could include a vacation, a new house, a husband, wife, kids and of course more money and health. The pictures can come from anywhere such as magazines, computer printouts, and newspapers.

2) Place the vision board in an area where you’ll see it throughout the day.

3) Look at each picture on your vision board at least daily, and daydream about having that thing in this present moment. Allow yourself to be fully engaged in the daydream, and have fun with it.

Enjoy your visual creation and please keep your eye on the prize.

If you are in the NY area on January 26th you are invited to attend the Empire State of Mind Vision Board Party: click here for more information