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The Important Stuff You Must Consider When Collaborating

- July 11, 2012 | by April -

I’m all for collaborating, but you shouldn’t jump into collaborations blindly. If you do, you might be sorry.

This week’s video isn’t aimed at collaborations to create free value, content, or products. Instead, it’s aimed at collaborations you form to start new businesses or to create paid products or services.

When you add money to the mix, you’ve got to be smart. Watch the video below, so you know what you must consider before forming these collaborations.

If you haven’t heard, I’m turning 30 on July 19th, and I celebrating with three 24-hour sales to celebrate each decade. The first sale ends today at 5pm EST. Check it out before it’s too late.

16 Comments · Filed Under: Creative Business Development

Comments

  1. Mayi Carles says

    July 11, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    I think this is my FAVORITE WW ever! I was so clueless about the “logistics” involved with collaborating but this stuff, like you said, it’s so important. I also used to “assume” the legal stuff is boring + icky, but it really doesn’t have to be that way. If you really trust your partner, like we trust each other, it’s a smooth ride. It also helps you sleep at night to know both parties are protected + left everything in case anything happens.

    AWESOME food for though girlfriend!

    Reply
    • April says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      Thank YOU! I’m so glad you loved this one. It’s not always fun to think about this stuff, but like we found out, it’s a must!

      Reply
  2. Kristi *aka* BohoBear says

    July 11, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    I’m glad you finally said what those were–I kept thinking they were wrinkled up paper plates the whole time, lol! Super cute!

    Reply
    • April says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      Hahahahahaha! I wondered if people would be able to guess before the end. 😉

      Reply
  3. Deanna says

    July 11, 2012 at 4:55 pm

    Such fabulous information! Tania and I have talked about a contract for Spark Retreat but haven’t put anything officially in writing.

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • April says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      You’re sooooooo welcome! It’s always good to get this stuff in writing.

      Reply
  4. lakshmi says

    July 11, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Great information, April ! If you don’t mind, I have another question for Kris – regarding the part where one person decides to split. Is there a law of some kind that states that there has to be a minimum percentage of share for each person or is that totally upto the the parties that are in the contract ?
    Thank you for telling us what the background is – I thought the same as Kristi – my son was REAAALLLY curious throughout the entire video ..hehehe ! Nice choices – both of you 🙂

    Reply
    • April says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:51 pm

      I’m not a lawyer, but I can tell you that you can decide on any share as long as both parties agree. So, if we partnered up and you got 80% and I got 20% and we both agreed and signed off on it on paper, then it’s fine.

      Reply
  5. Wendy Christensen says

    July 12, 2012 at 10:50 am

    Contracts – yes, they are a MUST. If anyone needs a good, fair, and fairly complete art licensing contract, I have one I’d be happy to send you. Email me at wendy@wendycats.com and ask. This contract has a lot of excellent, tested language that can be adapted to a variety of art-related legal scenarios and needs. –Purrrrrs… wac

    Reply
    • April says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:51 pm

      Agreed! Thanks for including that offer Wendy. You rock!

      Reply
  6. Cathy says

    July 13, 2012 at 6:48 am

    No matter if you’ve eaten the cupcakes or not, cool background! 😉

    And a very interesting and informative WW! Thank you for the advice!

    (By the way, Kris, it is also good to check out your country’s law on this subject, isn’t it? For instance, here in Portugal, nowadays one can do a business contract within the hour just by going to the registry, but it has a couple of possibilities with different specifications that can be tricky if one isn’t properly informed… The different kinds of societies, for one.)

    XOXO

    Cathy 😉

    Reply
    • April says

      July 13, 2012 at 6:55 am

      Yes, you should definitely check out the laws in your area. For Mayi and I, it’s a little bit trickier though because she lives in Panama and I live in the U.S. When Kris put together our contract, he was extremely careful with the language and making sure that it worked for both of us. He also wanted to make sure that we’d both be protected in case anyone tried to sue us which is more likely to happen in the U.S. than it is in Panama, but you always want that protection, so people can’t go after your personal assets.

      Reply
  7. Tabassum says

    July 14, 2012 at 5:25 am

    Great video! There were points that you and your husband both brought up that didn’t even don on me. And putting stuff like that in writing is super important even if it’s a collaboration between friends.

    I’m soooo excited to see what you creative powerhouses are going to be rolling out for us! 😉

    Reply
    • April says

      July 16, 2012 at 7:22 am

      Thanks Tabassum! Glad you got some helpful tips out of it.

      I’m soooooo excited to show you what we’ve been working on. It feels like we’ve been working on it for a long time–a lot of long hours have gone into our new project!

      Reply
  8. Grace says

    July 22, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    These points are brilliant, even in the case of not a huge money making venture, as talking about the points you mentioned here are setting up an open communication between collaborators and helps set up the expected behaviours between parties. Not everyones idea of manners or behaviour are the same, talking about these points help you both gain an understanding and a definition on how each other works/thinks. I wish I had done this very recently, as I may be losing a friend due to our difference in expected behaviour and idea of manners.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Link Hype 7-20-2012 says:
    July 20, 2012 at 9:00 am

    […] If you’ve been pondering collaborating with another creative entrepreneur or artist, you’ll definitely want to check out this video from April of Blacksburg Belle as she delves into The Important Stuff You Must Consider When Collaborating. […]

    Reply

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