JV and Grow Rich
To illustrate the concept of arranging simple joint ventures that can lead to exciting new business opportunites, I am including a short story and correspondence that led me down a grand path to a very successful deal that involves one of the most successful personal and financial achievement books ever written, not to mention partnering with a living legend.
To start things off, in early July of 2002 I read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill for the first time in my 36 years of existance on this spinning orb of madness. I have read many personal achievement books, but this one was different, I mean WAY different.
I had always heard this was a must read, but I thought since it was old (1st Printing 1937) that it was also out of date and not applicable to the world as it is today. How wrong I was. After reading the first few chapters, things started to become crystal clear, things that had been at best, hazy and out of focus only days earlier -- All of a sudden, I started to see how things were supposed to be done, how life should be lived and at long last, how continued success could be captured.
This all may sound very melodramatic, but I swear that it is true.
I had thought for many years about getting into the publishing business, but had never seriously considered it due to the fact there was so much risk involved due to all of the hard costs involved with standard publishing.
I had read about how some people on the Internet were making a lot of money publishing eBooks. At the time, I didn't feel I had the time to write my own, so I thought that "Think and Grow Rich" would be an excellent choice as it was very popular since it was written and it hadn't been converted into eBook form as far as I could tell. I could spread the word about a book that helped change my life for the better and get paid for it! Doesn't get much better than that.
I looked at the publisher's name (Fawcett Books) in my copy of the paper-back version that I had. I recall inquiring about getting the rights to another book a year or so previous, so I knew better than go the large publishers. They always want some rediculuos of money to license their books, even if they are not doing well or out of print. Around $4,000.00 or so in upfront royalties.
I knew that I have to go another route, so I searched on Amazon for another publisher and noticed a familiar name. A name that I had actually sent checks to in my younger years. A name that was synonymous with big-time mail order publishing. Someone who had sold millions of books, but decided to stay independent because he love the business. His name is Melvin Powers of the famed Wilshire Book Company.
I sent an email on 7-25-02 to Melvin Powers who is the owner of Wilshire Book Company. By 8-2-02, Melvin responded by asking me to "come" to his office 1:00pm. His misunderstood me and I called him around 1:00pm. By 2:00pm, we had a verbal agreement on what the simple terms of the deal were for exclusive rights to his library of titles. By 8-3-02 the 1st and 2nd drafts of the (1) page agreement between us was complete.
Poof! I was instantly in the highly respected publishing business with one of the top names in the industry. Wow, how cool is that?
What did we talk about for the hour we were on the phone you ask? I had a short list of questions that he answered masterfully. We discussed many things, but the bottom line of all of this is..."Dont be afraid to ask for what you want" You may just be surprised at what you can accomplish.
I simply asked Melvin if he was interested in working with me and he said "YES". Anyone could have approached Melvin (many have), but I did it in a relaxed and enthusiastic way that Melvin could read over the phone I suppose. We launched the book on 9-20-02 and have been doing quite well with it and are in the process of converting his other books.
That's pretting much it. Remember, all you have to do is ASK. The worst that someone can say is no. Shrug it off and go to the next person. It's really not personal.
Here are the 2 email correspondences Melvin and I had, before we talked on the phone.
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Message #1
Subject: Your publishing business?
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 18:12:52 -0700
From: Rod Beckwith
Organization: MrJV.com
To: Melvin Powers
Dear Melvin,
We have corresonded in the past & your advice was very sound. I really like your Mail Order Millionaire program...I just wish I had picked up "Think & Grow Rich" when I first listened to your program over a year ago. I just read it about 2 weeks ago & have been hopping ever since. --OMG you have the "Laws of Success" by Napoleon Hill. I was wondering what happened to this, nobody ever talks about it.
I am interested in discussing converting some of your books into ebooks as I think they could get a second birth on the net. I just hate waiting for something in the mail anymore that could just as easily be delivered on the net. Is there any way we could talk about setup some kind of pilot program to test this theory.
Let me know if you are interested.
Sincerely,
Rod
--
Rod Beckwith
Message #2
Subject: Re: Your publishing business?
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2002 10:45:14 -0700
From: Melvin Powers
To: Rod Beckwith >
Dear Rod,
I'll in my office today after one o'clock. Call me first before coming in.
I'll be pleased to see you.
Melvin
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Copyright 2004 Rod Beckwith
Rod Beckwith
JV Expert, Publisher and Inventor
About The Author
Rod is a well known and respected Joint Venture Expert, Inventor & Publisher. Rod can be contacted via email. I like to help put people together to do whatever ethical type of business that they would like to transact. See http://www.mrjv.com/
