Perhaps you're familiar with the phrase "too many chefs in the kitchen". It's a phrase to describe the kind of chaos that often ensues when too many people are trying to perform the same tasks. Arguments erupt, confusion takes over and the entire project becomes at risk. Not to mention completely unpleasant.

This is what can happen in a joint venture partnership, and why it is so important to not only find the right person to work with, but also to lay out the responsibilities beforehand.

The first step, it would seem, is to find a partner to work with. If you're a writer and that's your strength, there may not be any benefit to partnering with another writer with the same strengths. No one is bringing anything new to the table. However, if that same writer is also excellent with marketing products, then you may have a partnership where one partner writes the product and the other partner markets it.

The objective is to find complimentary skills rather than competing skills. Let's imagine that you as a writer are able to work well with another writer to create a product. The "too many chefs in the kitchen" analogy famously doesn't apply to you and you partner. A real top notch product is produced. What do you do with it? You're both great at writing and neither of you have marketing, list building, or fulfillment skills, knowledge, or experience. You're stuck in the mud.

So you see, it is important to not only have complimentary skill sets within partnerships for the sake of working together, you also need to be able to make some money off of the venture.

The following are examples of potential complimentary partnerships:

o Partner with a large opt in list or list building skills with a partner that has proven experience in product creation.

o Partner that has proven sales and marketing skills with a partner that has a proven product.

o Partner that has a high blog or ezine subscription rate with a partner that has a proven product,website, service and can guest blog in exchange for part of the profit.

o Partner that has excellent web design skills with partner that has excellent writing and copywriting skills. You could put together a profitable affiliate website or information site.

o Partner that has a number of relevant products and an opt in list with a partner that has a number of relevant products and an opt in list.

The last possibility is a situation where the people do have the same basic skills. They both have products, both have lists, and presumably both are good at marketing to their list. The benefit here is a combined product bundle where no new skills are needed, just a new product.

When planning your next joint venture and seeking the right partner, consider first what you have to bring to the project and then seek a partner who will compliment your strengths. It will save you both time and money, and ultimately save you frustration.