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Sole proprietors and entrepreneurs with small businesses usually adapt to doing everything themselves. More often than not, the need for an extra pair of hands doesn’t justify the cost of hiring someone else to help out. However, there is a way to bring in more business without hiring more people. It’s called joint venturing.

A joint venture is when two business people get together to collaborate on a project that will benefit both business owners. Each person brings their own experience and resources to the table, and the resulting product or service offers the customer added value for their money. Some examples of a joint venture include freelance commercial writers who work with graphic designers to produce advertising or marketing pieces for a shared client base, and webmasters who cross-promote each other’s business on their websites and in their newsletters.

I know one woman that runs a hair styling salon from her home who also offers her customers facials and manicures and pedicures–a value-added service provided by a friend who specializes in that area. Both women benefit from the joint venture because it increases their market base, giving each other access to the other’s clients. By bundling their services, they can provide an all-in-one solution for their customers. This gives them a competitive edge over similar businesses who provide only one or the other service. Their clients are happy because they get personalized attention they wouldn’t get elsewhere, and both women profit from the added exposure to more customers.

Joint ventures can also increase income when a for-profit business teams up with a nonprofit or charitable organization. An example of this is the recent news story about a pizza parlor owner in a small town that teamed up with the local fire department to raise money for a new fire truck. The pizza business owner, who usually netted a few hundred dollars on a midweek day, pledged to give the fire department all the pizza proceeds above his usual take on one special promotional day dedicated to the fund raising effort.

Thanks to the media, which heavily promoted the fund raiser, the pizza parlor generated several thousand dollars in revenue on that day, and the fire department was able to purchase their new truck. Not only did the pizza business owner benefit from the free advertising, he also gained a whole new client base from the volunteer firefighters and their families, as well as other townspeople who hadn’t been regular customers before.

In addition to collaborative sales efforts, a joint venture can save both parties money through shared advertising and cross-promotions as well. For example, a direct mail piece targeting homeowners could advertise a carpet cleaning service and a housekeeping service that gives homeowners who spend a certain dollar amount to get their carpets and/or upholstery cleaned a free hour of maid service, or a certain number of windows washed, or a similar incentive that will prompt homeowners to respond. Both business owners save on their advertising expense and increase their market base through the added exposure to customers who might not otherwise be in the market for their particular service.

Another example is the gift basket designer who sells customized gift baskets to realtors, who in turn gives them to new home buyers. The realtor benefits from the goodwill and resulting referrals they get from happy customers, and the gift basket designer benefits from not only the direct sales to the realtor, but also from the increased exposure her business gets from the company brochure she includes in each basket.

If you’re looking for cost-effective ways to boost your own business, consider joint venturing with other small business owners. Your customers will appreciate the value-added service your venture provides, and you and your joint venture partner will enjoy the fruits offered by an expanded marketplace.