Are You Teaming Up With a Biz Bestie?

It is GREAT to see so much collaboration happening around social media. After all, we know that community over competition is the way to go and make sure we ALL succeed. But often times we JUMP into a collaboration or partnership without really thinking about the impact it could have on our business, income, or liability.

So what does it mean to be in a partnership? You don’t necessarily have to form a “formal partnership” in the traditional sense to be considered partners or collaborators. Basically, any time you decide to work with someone else, whether it be 1 month or 1 year, and there is MONEY involved, you should recognize that you are entering a relationship that needs to be captured in writing through a partnership agreement.

Here are the types of collaborations that require a written agreement:

• Co-hosting a live event or retreat
• Running a group program, online course, or membership site
• Joint coaching programs
• Selling any product jointly through webinars, teleseminars, etc.
• Running a podcast together

Here are the types of collaborations that usually do not require an agreement:

• Co-hosting a webinar for exposure and promoting your own products (or being a guest for someone)
• Participating in a teleseminar (although still good to have terms for this type of relationship, so it is clear who owns what copyright, has access to emails, etc.)
• Participating as a ‘bonus’ in someone’s program (as long as it’s clear what you are giving and getting)

Collaborations can be awesome to grow your business, but to protect your business and your income, you need to sort out some important terms before getting started.   Also keep in mind that, for any of the things above (live event, course, etc), you ALSO need a Terms of Purchase in place to protect you both from liability and make sure you have your refund policies, etc. for when those customers come rolling in!

Here’s to collaborating in a fun (and legit) way!