Greetings Mike,

Great article, and I'd like to add my two cents about JV brokers. Before I created my third successful JV partnership, I wanted to 'test the waters' and see what else there was out there that I might be able to involve myself with. I was interested in finding JV partners in outside industries, and I thought it would be a perfect idea to enlist the services of a JV broker to do so.

I hired someone that I found on LinkedIn, and we created a contract. Although there was many promises of working hard to find great potential JV partners, I rarely heard from this person, and when I did, the proposed JVs were in industries that I had previously stated were not suitable for my business. I tried my best to direct my JV broker to help us secure success, but it was a losing effort. It ended with me giving up on using a JV broker altogether, and working harder myself to do whatever was necessary to create JV success.

In the end, going it alone worked for me, and the experience of working with a JV broker was futile. But (as Peter's article says), it was mostly an indication of me not doing my due diligence with regards to hiring a JV broker, rather than a reflection of the inadequacy of JV brokers in general.

In conclusion, I would advise that anyone thinking of working with a JV broker do their homework before moving forward with a contract. That includes making sure that the broker has a solid understanding of your industry, your offer and potentially relevant markets that you can enter in attempting to secure a JV partner(s).

If you do the leg work before you decide to work with a JV broker by following 'best practices', you'll be that much better positioned for success.

Happy JVing!

Richard