One of the biggest expenses to small business owners are their marketing budgets, which puts them first in line when cost cutting measures are needed . Unfortunately, with no marketing budget sales often plummet, perpetuating the sequence. One way to keep your dreams alive even when times are tough is to consider the possibilities of joint venture marketing.

To be specific, a joint venture is when two or more business owners plan to contribute collectively toward a project that will benefit them all. In English, this means that small business owners have the opportunity to contribute toward a goal that everyone will benefit from. Many joint ventures are as simple as cross promoting each other’s products, but the concept works equally well on a complicated collaboration such as a consolidated weekend event.

Anyone involved in a joint venture will benefit regardless of the complexity. First, is your chance to create more power from your marketing budget. When you are not footing the entire bill, you might be able to afford advertising on radio or TV where in the past you were limited to print. Not to mention that everyone’s sales force is expanded by the other participant’s customers and contacts.

A newer business owner can quickly establish credibility by working with strategic joint venture partners. You really are perceived to be like those you hang around, so choosing successful partners will give you credibility as well. And, those folks are successful for a reason – so if you take advantage of their knowledge your learning curve will be greatly reduced.

The best part about joint ventures is that by joining forces you are able to dream big. Nothing you want to do is out of your reach if you can find the right partners. Even now, when times are tough, small businesses are growing and expanding every day through the use of joint venture marketing. With the right commitment, your business can grow too.

Marty Dickinson has been an entrepreneur and founder of HereNextYear.com for 15 years, and has a passion for sharing small business success tactics with other business owners. Get your free report: “7 Ways Your Stone-Age Accounting System is Stealing Money From You Every Day … And, How to Get it Back This Year” and learn about an online accounting program that makes it simple to track the success of your joint venture marketing.