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Joint-ventures get a face-lift Modern teaming is more informal and billing-based than past partnerships; survey shows CEOs anxious to join with other firms when possible. PA R T N E R S H I P S

“Seeing how they use joint ventures could help you de- cide on the best approach for your business,” Jacque- line Weir, director of A/E services at Feeley & Driscoll, a Boston-based accounting firm, says. Weir says that you can also benefit from studying your own enterprise. Be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses – consider performing a strengths, weak- nesses, opportunities, and threats analysis to identify whether the two businesses are compatible. You will almost certainly want to identify a joint venture part- ner that complements your own skills and failings. Remember to consider the employees’ perspective and bear in mind that people can feel threatened by a joint venture. It may be difficult to foster effective working relationships if your partner has a different way of doing business. When embarking on a joint venture, it’s imperative to have your understanding in writing. You should set out the terms and conditions agreed upon in a written contract, this will help prevent misunderstandings and provide both parties with strong legal recourse in the event the other party fails to fulfil its obligations while under contract. SURVEYS SAY… PricewaterhouseCoopers recently re- leased a study that revealed CEOs are eager to form more joint ventures and business alliances. Forty-two percent of CEOs plan to enter into one such arrange- ment this year, and only 4 percent expect to leave an existing relationship. “Partnering allows you to become larger than you are and to get work that would otherwise be out of reach,” says Aarni Heiskanen, executive producer at “AEC Business,” a blog for business owners, managers and developers in the architecture, engineering, and con- struction industries. Another survey reports that more than half of fast- growing private companies say joint ventures, strate- gic alliances, and acquisitions are critical in order to grow business and move into new markets. Construction companies have always been heavy See JOINT VENTURES, page 8

By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent

E ntering into a joint venture can mean some seri- ous business restructuring. And, however favor- able it might be to your growth potential, it needs to fit with your overall business strategy. David Wexler, a CPA at Adler Blanchard & Associates LLP in Burl- ington, Massachusetts, a public accounting firm, says it’s important to review your business strategy before committing to a joint venture. You might even decide there are better ways to achieve your goals. TEAMING UP. “Many firms no longer create formal joint ventures like they did years ago. Now, it’s more com- mon to team up with one firm being the architect of record,” Wexler says. He explains that these less formal relationships are usually done for two reasons. First is that the job is very big, and the feeling is that the project requires more than one firm can provide and the owner does not want to go to a huge A/E firm. The second reason is that the owner has a relationship with a local archi- tect, but the job requires more talent than that one firm can provide. “For example, there is an article in the June edition of High Profile (New England development news) that re- ports that the New England Conservatory is breaking ground on an $85 million student and performance center. It reports that the project is designed by Ann Beha Architects with Gensler as the architect of re- cord,” he says. “In these cases, the firms usually have a prime who bills the client and the other firm bills the prime.” Wexler add that it is also becoming more common to have firms bid as a team with their consultants. “On an overall basis, each firm would prefer to be the only architect or the architect of record,” he says. “Sometimes this sharing arrangement is the only way to get the work or to get experience in a market.” WHERE TO BEGIN? If you are considering entering into some type of joint venture, you may want to study what similar businesses are doing, specifically those that operate in similar markets to yours.

R AUGUST 24, 2015, ISSUE 1117

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