How to Structure a Creative Business Partnership (Referral, Co-Creation & Platform Deals Explained)
Episode Summary
Ron and Shy break down the topic listeners have been asking for: how do you actually move from "let's collaborate" to a real, structured business partnership? Drawing on their own 50/50 partnership building MMCB, they walk through three distinct partnership models — referral partnerships, co-creation partnerships, and platform partnerships — with real examples covering photography, videography, event spaces, custom jewelry, and their own upcoming platform partnership plans. This episode is a practical framework for any creative entrepreneur who needs more hands on deck but can't afford to hire.
What You'll Learn (Timestamped)
00:00 — Why collaboration sounds good in theory but breaks down in practice, and why most partnerships need real structure, not a handshake.
03:45 — The three primary partnership types for creative entrepreneurs: referral partnerships, co-creation partnerships, and platform partnerships — introduced as a spectrum from lowest to highest commitment.
04:31 — Referral partnerships explained: two businesses (or a business and its own clients) send each other leads. Without structure, referral relationships get murky fast — one side can end up giving 50 referrals for every 2 they receive.
07:28 — The difference between an ambassador, an advocate, and an affiliate. An ambassador refers out of love for the brand; an affiliate gets paid a flat rate or commission for every referral that converts.
08:40 — The "triangle referral" model for service businesses — how a photographer, brand strategist, and web designer can refer clients to each other in a loop, with regular check-ins to keep it balanced.
10:53 — When a referral relationship naturally evolves into co-creation — the moment two businesses realize they should stop trading referrals and start building something together.
11:33 — Co-creation partnerships explained, using Ron and Shy's own MMCB partnership as the example: combining separate-but-similar skill sets into one offer instead of sending clients back and forth piecemeal.
12:35 — The equity conversation in co-creation — why some partners split equal thirds, why Ron and Shy chose 50/50, and why an uneven split (like 60/20/20) can still be fair when workload isn't equal.
14:31 — How ego shows up in partnerships — and why finding a partner who doesn't need to always be "the front person" makes collaboration dramatically easier.
17:19 — Co-creation without giving up equity at all: bringing someone on for a small percentage (like 10%) in exchange for funding or operational help, without it becoming a full ownership stake.
17:50 — Profit-sharing as an alternative to equity — the restaurant-and-promoter example, where someone helps run or grow a business and shares in the profits without ever becoming a legal owner.
19:05 — A real example: turning a contracted videographer into a profit-share partner instead of paying a flat rate per project, so the collaborator is incentivized to help promote the work, not just deliver it.
22:36 — Why lack of capital — not lack of talent — is what actually holds most creative entrepreneurs back, and how offloading tasks through partnership frees up energy to keep creating.
25:21 — Platform partnerships explained — the third and most leveraged model: partnering with an entity that already has an audience, so their service becomes embedded in what that audience already receives, instead of being an outside referral.
25:31 — The Build Institute example: how a co-working space could embed a funding partner (like Credit Savant) directly into its member onboarding instead of just referring members out.
28:54 — The 360 photo booth example: partnering with event spaces so the booth is quietly built into the venue's own pricing sheet — the client never needs to know a third party is involved.
31:38 — Why platform partnerships feel "guaranteed" — the audience already exists, so there's no extra marketing or client-acquisition work required from either partner.
32:37 — Where to actually find partners: getting into community with other creative entrepreneurs is the real unlock, since none of these three partnership types can happen in isolation.
35:07 — Platform partnerships are coming soon for MMCB itself — teased using the university tuition-and-fees model as the mental image: a service so embedded, it's just included in the price.
37:22 — Closing takeaway: a partnership doesn't have to be 50/50, and it doesn't even have to involve equity — referral, co-creation, and platform partnerships all give creative entrepreneurs a way to structure collaboration instead of leaving it "up in the air."
Key Quotes
- "Collaboration sounds good in theory, but not in practice."
- "Instead of me going to find 500 people, let me find the one person that has 500 people."
- "You don't have to do 50/50. You can do 30/30. You can do 60/40. It does not have to be even."
- "They would rather own a little piece of a watermelon than a whole [grape]."
- "The essence of partnership is everybody wins."
- "Let's come together like Voltron and be the mega robot, opposed to being these individual lions."
Resources Mentioned
- Creative to CEO Challenge (creativetoceochallenge.com)
- Credit Savant (creditsavant.io)
- Build Institute (Detroit co-working space)
- Civilized (artist platforming initiative referenced by Shy)
Connect with MMCB
Website: mmcbpodcast.com
Creative to CEO Challenge: creativetoceochallenge.com
Closing Affirmation
"All it takes is intention, consistency, and laser focus to mind my creative business."
Transcript
Collaboration sounds good in theory, but not in practice.
Sometimes you don't even have to give up any equity.
They would rather own a little piece of a watermelon than a whole grape.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Instead of me going to find 500 people, no, let me find the one person that has 500 people.
ShySpeaks:You don't have to do 50.
50.
You can do 30.
30.
You can do 60, 40.
It does not have to be even.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Let's come together like Voltron and be the mega robot opposed to being these individual lions.
ShySpeaks:You can't find somebody because you you're not in community with other creative entrepreneurs.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:The essence of partnership is everybody win.
Speaker C:Based on you listening to this podcast, you're probably a creative entrepreneur who's ready to stop hustling for clients and start building a business that runs on purpose.
Profit and peace.
Speaker D:If that's you, we want to invite you to join the Creative to CEO challenge.
A five day live coaching experience designed to help you shift your mindset and develop the habits to turn your creativity into consistent cash flow.
Speaker C:And it's all happening live on Zoom inside a private community of ambitious creative entrepreneurs just like you.
People who are done guessing, done grinding and ready to build with clarity and confidence.
Speaker D:By the end of the challenge, you will have a crystal clear direction on your next 90 days.
A profit plan that fits your lifestyle and the framework to start earning 10k plus months doing what you love without burning out or selling out.
Speaker C:So if that sounds like what you need, then tap the link in the description or scan a QR code if you're watching this on screen.
And do not forget to upgrade to VIP for bonus coaching and behind the scenes Q and A every day of the challenge with me and Shy.
Speaker D:We can't wait to help you unlock CEO mode and the freedom you've been looking for.
Now let's get back to the episode.
What's up?
ShySpeaks:And welcome to the Mind in My Creative Business podcast.
The number one podcast for creative entrepreneurs to gain strategy, structure and self development right here in one place.
I am your co host, Shot Speak.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:And I'm your co host Ron ironically junior.
ShySpeaks:And today is about to be fire.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Fire.
ShySpeaks:Yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:We telling our age.
ShySpeaks:Watch out.
It was.
No, it was because my parents listened to.
That's what it is.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Okay.
Yeah, I mean chocolate my parents, but.
ShySpeaks:So really, you know.
But the reason why I think it's going to be fire is because we've already said that we're going to do this particular topic.
We.
As you can see, we're getting not getting ready to introduce Some hosts into the screen or we're going to announce some.
I mean, I host some guests.
Right.
What makes it exciting, though, is the type topic we're talking about.
We said in another previous episode that one day we're going to talk about partnerships.
Everybody talks a lot about collaboration.
Oh, collaboration sounds good in theory, but not in practice.
And how do you make it move from collaboration to true partnership?
And how do you actually structure a creative business partnership?
Right.
What does that look like?
Like, because sometimes, like, I can't get it done.
And then people say, well, you don't have to do it all yourself.
And you're like, okay, well, I can't afford to make this person my employee or something like that, so I can't contract them.
Like how?
I can't afford them as a contractor.
So how can I structure this?
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:And so that's where this episode becomes handy.
So if you've been wondering, how can I structure a deal, get more people on the team, get more people involved, up level my services, which up levels my value, which up levels my price, which up levels my revenue, then you are in for a treat today.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yes, yes.
Because we are going to be talking about strategic collaboration and strategic partnership.
So let's.
Let's kind of.
Let's start.
Right.
Because there's multiple ways to do it.
Right.
But just kind of, you know, the conversation that we were having, we identified kind of like three primary.
So if you are a creative entrepreneur and you are in that.
Speaker C:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:We talk about survival mode.
Right.
So like being able to survive in this kind of weather, the storm.
We've identified three ways that you can partner.
Okay.
So let's kind of start there.
The first one that we talked about is having a referral partner.
Right.
To where you provide a service.
Right.
And you partner with other people that maybe provide similar services or separate services that add value and you just become a referral network.
ShySpeaks:Right, Right.
And so sometimes people think like, okay, you send me clients, I sent you clients.
Right.
And that is a form of partnership.
Not to take away from it, but sometimes it can get murky because it'll look like, man, I've seen you more referrals than you sent me.
And end of the year, I have sent you 50 people and you only sent me two.
Right, right.
That's how it can be.
Unless, for example, two clients is worth the same as 50 for them.
Then it's even swap notes, we'll do.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah.
ShySpeaks:However, so the best thing when it comes to these referral partnerships is to create some structure around it.
So you know what you can expect.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
ShySpeaks:What's the percentage that I'm going to get for this?
Let's be clear, right?
Let's not have it up in the air like, oh, I got you.
I'm, I'm.
Trust me, I'm gonna take care of you.
Speaker C:Right?
ShySpeaks:No, you know, people do that.
Speaker C:No, they do.
ShySpeaks:Like I'm gonna do.
Okay, they said do a referral partnership, and so I got you.
You're gonna look out.
I'm gonna look out.
Come on now.
Yeah, no, we're not gonna just look out.
We're gonna put a referral partnership agreement in place that outlines the relationship we have, how often we're expected to refer each other.
Are we expected to refer each other every single time?
And then also, what does each other get out of the relationship?
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
I was told of that referral.
It can be money, right.
Sometimes it's not financial.
Right.
So, yeah, having.
Making sure that that's in black and white.
ShySpeaks:It's black and white.
And so that, and I say that because I'm happy you said that because sometimes it's not money.
I said a percentage at first, right?
So if I refer a customer to you and you charge $1,000 and I'm going to get 10%, I know I'm gonna make a hundred dollars, right?
That's simple.
But sometimes if I refer a customer to you, you're gonna make a thousand.
But in exchange, I'll get like a repair service from you, for example, if you offer that.
So let's say I'm a seamstress, right?
And there's a tailor, right?
They working, they're working here.
I'm sorry, a seamstress and a custom dress design.
So now I'm gonna always refer people to you.
Refer people to you.
Refer people to you.
But then at some point, if something happens, I get to get a free.
I get to get so many free alterations or redos or re.
Scenes, because I send people to you on a regular basis, if that makes sense.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:No, definitely.
And, and talking about this referral partner process or this referral partner strategy, sometimes it's not necessarily B2B.
Whereas business to business, like, we're, we're talking about it like business to business.
But sometimes you can make your customers or your clients referral partners.
Right?
And that's a, that's collaboration, where it's like, okay, I'm, I'm partnering with you, and you're willing to be that referral partner because I provide a service for you.
You enjoyed the Service.
So now you become an ambassador, but you're, you're taking a step above ambassador because you're getting something back.
Normally an ambassador, you're just doing it just because it's for the love of the game.
ShySpeaks:Yeah, you're an advocate.
You love advocating for the brand.
But then the level above an ambassador advocate becomes an affiliate.
So, hey, you're a client, you enjoyed the service.
You always come back over and over.
Oftentimes we'll say, hey, if you keep.
You refer me a client, I'll kick you back 500.
It's not even a percentage, it's a flat rate.
Or, you know, so customers will do that.
They'll be like, oh, I'll get a hundred dollars off my next service.
I'll do it.
I'll do it for you.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:I'll tell how many.
Every time I refer somebody, I get.
Before you know it, I got a free custom dress, right?
Before you know it, I.
It's, you know, because I've about paid for myself.
And so I'm happy you said that because it definitely can.
You can have affiliates, right?
Those who are also ambassadors in spirit, but they get an affiliate and it's.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:An attractive model because you're able to like, get marketing, right?
It's like, okay, I don't have to have to pay up front, right?
I'm only paying if I close the deal, right?
So it makes sense for that, that business owner, because it's like, oh, wow, I got somebody out there that's marketing and promoting and things like that.
And I don't got to give them nothing up front.
Only time I pay them is if I get paid.
So it just.
To me, that's a, that's a dope business model.
ShySpeaks:It does.
And then we.
And when you move from the individual affiliates who are partners, that you're not.
That you're not having to pay for advertising yet you're making revenue.
That's the, that's the, like the most flight one.
But from a business to business perspective, what does that look like from creative entrepreneur?
So I want to kind of dig into that.
So let's say, for example, I'm a photographer, right?
And after I do the photography, somebody came because people have different entry points of where they start in their journey.
They know they need all the things, but they'll say, okay, let me start with the photo shoot.
And then after I do the photo shoot, I'm going to get.
I'm gonna work with some kind of brand specialist person or something like that.
So now I Got some updated headshots.
I come to them with like, hey, you're my photos and here's my brand colors.
And now let's talk.
And now that person is going to do a brand strategy.
Or then there's a person who says the brand strategy just says, okay, you got the photos, I gave you the strategy.
We need somebody to design the website.
Right.
So now we can create a triangle referral partnership amongst the businesses.
Exactly right.
So my photography company can refer your web design company and every time your web people, let's say somebody starts with the web design.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:They, when I say the entry point is different, what I mean is a client knows they need all the things, but they may start at the entry point with a web design.
They may say, man, I just need a website.
And once they get to the website, the website person is going to realize, I'm trying to spruce up your stuff, but all these photos are old.
Let me refer you to my photography.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:That's a person.
ShySpeaks:Right.
And so it's all we all know.
It's a give and go and we're going to kind of constantly keep referring each other the entire time and it should all even out in the end.
And I say put that in agreement and even probably put checkpoints with each other where you may be checking in once a month or once a quarter or however often you guys see fit to actually say, hey, this is how it's going.
Hey, when you referred me that photography client, they didn't know this, that and the third or they needed way more than this.
Exactly.
And honestly, what may happen is it may move on from referral into this next partnership tier.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right, Right.
ShySpeaks:Because y'.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:All.
ShySpeaks:Oh, we already knew that one.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right, Right.
ShySpeaks:But you may realize that we need to do the co creation partnership.
Speaker D:Right?
Yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:And that's kind of what, what me and you did, right?
Where it's like, okay, we were doing separate things, but similar things.
And we was like, yo, let's co create, let's create something together.
Right.
Like you've been giving that example with the, the photographer, the web designer and the brand strategist.
Like you said, it's like, okay, let's, let's create an agency.
Let's come together like Voltron and be the mega robot opposed to being these individual lions.
So I'm really telling my age if y' all know what Voltron is.
ShySpeaks:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:But that's, but that's the concept.
ShySpeaks:He didn't, his parents weren't watching that, watching that.
That was him with him.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah.
But that, but that's the concept.
Right?
So now we're able to, you know, come together and create something based off of the skill set and the sweat equity that we bring to the table.
ShySpeaks:Right, exactly.
And so now we, we realize that we can strike a mightier blow instead of coming to these clients and then it's piecemeal and it's taking us a long time.
Because they come to you for web design, you got to send them to me for photography.
After photography, they come back to you for web design.
But then the web design person is stalled because that person really don't have a strategy.
And so we're trying to figure out how to write it, how to do the funnel, seeing somebody else that had a form, they want all of that.
here, and that's $: t, and it's actually gonna be:Or maybe it's going to be more to work with all of us.
Maybe instead of:But it's streamlined, it's going to happen quickly, it's going to happen faster, and it's going to be more cohesive and a better result than if you had to work with us individually.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly, exactly.
And then, you know, as we're, as we're discussing that co creation piece, right.
Then we start talking about the whole equity piece, right.
Or where it's like, okay, if it's three of us coming together, then, okay, are we going to divide the pie 30.
30 Or 33?
33.
Speaker C:33.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
Like, how does that look?
Just equal, Equal, equal, equal equity.
ShySpeaks:But like with you and I, we are 50.
We're 50.
50.
Right.
So.
And some people are.
I'd be willing to give up the equity in order to have somebody just to help me in this business.
And that was me.
I'm some people.
Hey, it's me.
I was willing to say I want to create a media company.
I want that to be, I want to have this aspect of helping creative entrepreneurs up, level their business acumen and their business output.
Because I think the creators make the best business people.
Also, I want to create opportunities for creative entrepreneurs.
You see me doing so with, with civilized.
Right.
So we platform artists.
Okay, well, after we finish platforming you, we want you to know how to honestly continue to thrive and survive and I mean, not just survive, but thrive.
Right.
So the best way to do that is to learn how to continue to mine my creative business.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:Well, I want.
I'm passionate about that.
I don't have time by myself to do all the things that it takes to build up this media arm to the creatives, this education arm to the creative.
So I'd rather partner somebody.
And partnering with somebody allows me to share any expenses.
We also share in the revenue.
And I'm okay with 50.
50.
But there are some people who will say, I don't want to do 50, 50, 50.
I don't want to do 33.
33, 33.
Because really, when it comes to the brand strategy, I'm gonna do the most work.
Speaker C:Right.
ShySpeaks:Okay.
And they're gonna wind up doing photos for one day, and then I'm gonna have to tell the web designer everything to do.
So I don't think that that's the equal distribution.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
ShySpeaks:I want to do 60, 20, 20.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:And honestly, the other people may be okay with that.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly, exactly.
And.
And.
And.
And that's the beauty of it, too.
When it's like you.
You find people that have those values that.
That have similar values that don't mind because you do.
I mean, dealing with partnerships.
Speaker C:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Dealing with collaborations, everybody has ego, right?
And some people's ego is bigger than others, but to be able to find somebody.
And that's why I love our.
Our partnership.
I think we both come to the table where it's like, ego hasn't been a problem.
Where it's like, I gotta be the front person or you gotta be the front person.
It's like, no, at the end of the day, we're here to service the audience and the audience that we're here to service.
Right.
And we want what's best for them.
So there's gonna be times when you're gonna be in the forefront.
Speaker C:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:And I'm in the back.
I don't mind it.
ShySpeaks:Exactly.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:There's gonna be times when I'm in the forefront and you're in the back.
ShySpeaks:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:You don't mind it.
Right.
So it just makes it.
It makes it easier.
So as we're encouraging these partnerships and collaborations, you have to make sure that you are crossing your T's and dotting your I's to make sure that the character and the values and all those things match.
Because, yeah, you don't want to make it harder than what it is because you are.
It's already harder because we're two different individuals.
Right.
You think A certain way, I think a certain way, right.
So whoever you partner with, they're going to think a certain way.
But that's the beauty.
When it, when they can, what's the word I'm looking for?
ShySpeaks:When they can converge, have, have complement.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:That's what it is.
Where they can complement one another.
Right.
Because like I said, you a systems operations person.
I can do some systems operations, but my brain don't think like that.
ShySpeaks:Right, right, right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:I'm all about the vision.
I'm all about that.
You know what I'm saying?
And you, you are visionary as well.
But it's like, okay, I don't got to focus on vision and operations.
I can let Ron do the vision stuff and I bring operations in and it just makes it work that much smoother.
ShySpeaks:And because I have other companies that I own that I have to be the visionary in that.
And this one over here, I can be this, this works again, I'm high, I'm people, just so you know.
So yeah, I.
Absolutely.
And it's, it is true that people say, man, I'm not partnering.
I don't do business with nobody.
I own everything myself.
Because that stuff gets complicated.
And I understand why they're saying, but the best thing to do.
Again, agreement.
We keep saying agreement at the end like so a referral partnership agreement, a co creation partnership agreement and that I'll have to come into agreement also jot this down, right?
Yes, let's put this down, put it in place.
Right.
So I'm saying jot it down, actually make a real agreement, a real contract.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Contracts, black and white.
It's like, you know, like the right division, make it plain.
ShySpeaks:Right, right.
So and so lay out who's getting what percentage.
There's no surprises later on, how often payout happens and all those things.
I'm sure you can find templates and, and guidance for that.
This is not a legal episode.
And plus we want to get to the other way of structuring a partnership.
But before I do that, when we talk about, when we talk about co creation, sometimes you don't even have to give up any equity.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:True.
ShySpeaks:Right now, before I give up any equity, I'm saying you don't have to give up that much.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
ShySpeaks:That person that comes along and helps you.
So for example, we're going to co create this thing.
You're going to 90, you're going to run it 10%, I'm going to help you fund it.
And at that point it's like kind of feels like an investor, but they're not.
If they're doing more than just giving the funds.
If they're just giving the funds and that person just became an investor.
But some people are okay with 10.
Like you can own majority of it.
Right.
You can have a majority state without feeling like I'm drowning.
Because some people just don't that, that they're not that into it.
They would rather own a little piece.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah.
ShySpeaks:Of a watermelon than a whole grape.
Right.
And so if you're more concerned about that and you know you're gonna do that, it's okay.
Just have that conversation.
You're looking at a creative entrepreneur right now.
And you are, let's say a, you are a restaurateer or you are a, you are a dance studio owner.
Right.
So these, you're.
Somebody has a brick and mortar and you already have all this overhead from the store and you're thinking, wow, how can I partner with somebody?
I got this restaurant to run, but I need to promote it.
Perhaps I can create a, a relationship with, with a promoter to come in and help.
And at that point they don't have to get equity.
Speaker C:Yeah.
ShySpeaks:Maybe they want, maybe they might want a little, a little 5%, little 2%, little 3%.
But what you can also do is do profit sharing.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah.
ShySpeaks:And that's another way that you can structure a creative business partnership.
You're going to do a co creation agreement.
We're still co creating this thing.
You're the, you're the promoter.
I'm the restaurateer.
But I'm going to get a share in the profits as long as I'm here.
Right.
So.
Or you got some.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:You know what I'm saying?
That reminds me of Eric Grayson's episode.
ShySpeaks:Yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:And that's what he was saying.
He was like, okay, there's a, there's a restaurant.
Right.
And I'm, I'm great at marketing and promotion, but I know I need other elements like, okay, there's a DJ and there's the other things.
And we're coming together to partner and co create.
ShySpeaks:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Though all of them may not have equity share, but they share in that revenue.
Profit share.
Right.
ShySpeaks:And that's, and that's because at this point, you've already, you already have the restaurant.
You've already been in existence for five years.
I can't now become a founder or I got to restructure paperwork and make you an equity owner.
But right now, maybe we haven't even established that much of a relationship.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right.
ShySpeaks:We need to actually just be.
Let's just start at the, at the profit sharing.
Right, right.
And so sometimes people will be okay with that.
Like, yeah, I heard another artist friend of mine shout out to him as well.
He, he has a, a videographer, right?
He's an artist, a music artist.
That's his creative, a business and music artist production company.
He's a writer and all that.
But right now he's on his artist journey.
He just released an album.
And for this entire album, in this whole era, he has a videographer.
And instead of paying that videographer $2,000, $3,000 every time they shoot a music video, he made him a partner, right?
He brought him on the team.
And so I think that that's something people sleep on.
It's like, won't you come to that videographer?
Why don't you come to that photographer and say, hey, everything that we get, like, if you're, I'm gonna get you to come in and take pictures of all my product, this little creative endeavor.
You, all your jewelry, maybe your jewelry, make a custom jewelry design, and I'm gonna have somebody to come in, But I want this premium, high quality photography jewelry maker.
Don't feel like you're having a struggle.
Go find a photographer who's going to help you have all the right pictures for your website, all the right pictures in your store.
Get them to do the pictures.
And for a year's time, right, because all the profit is going to come in because you're going to see an up level in your output because your creativity increase.
And now you can promote things with higher images, higher quality.
And that person, you may pay that person a little flat rate just to kind of take care of their time.
But then after that, Right, right.
Then after that it's a profit share, right?
So instead of me paying you $5,000 to come in and give me this premium photography service for my restaurant, for my, for my jewelry company, I'd rather.
Let me pay you 500.
Let me pay you $1,000 for your time.
When you come in, you're gonna bring in the team.
Y' all are going to do all of that.
I'm going have beautiful pictures of every single one, right?
And, and everything is going to be so cool.
You guys are going to do some video for me to put on the website and all that kind of stuff.
And because I know that you all provided the visuals for everything that's about to come out of this era.
A thousand dollars plus a 20 profit.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah, yeah.
ShySpeaks:Plus a 15 profit share, plus a 10 profit share.
You Might find that that person who was a photographer, came in, took pictures and left.
Now this person took pictures, but they're also helping promote it and tell people about it.
Why?
Because they get to eat as you eat.
So that's where it becomes a partnership.
So co creation can look different.
And so a lot of times people are like, what am I going to do?
I need a videographer, I need a photographer, I need strategist.
I'm a brand strategist, but I don't do graphics.
I need a graphic designer.
And you can, you can kind of.
If I contract them, I'm gonna have to put them on retainer.
You don't have to put them on.
They may be willing to come in and partner with you.
So.
Yeah, yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:You want to know the one thing that's holding most creative entrepreneurs back?
It's not the talent, it's not even the vision, it's the lack of capital.
Every day I watch brilliant creatives miss life changing opportunities simply because they can't access business funding.
Traditional banks, they really don't understand creative business like that.
And most lenders, well, they don't care.
But guess what?
That ends today with the minding my creative business partnership with Credit Savant.
You can Access up to $150,000 in business credit.
You heard correct.
Up to $150,000 in business Credit.
They have 0% interest options with 30 plus funding programs designed for creatives just like you.
So what I need you to do is visit Credit Savant IO now, tell them MCB sends you and one thing that you, you, you, you, you said indirectly, but it triggers something to me.
ShySpeaks:Yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Why, why this is important is because it allows for you to be more productive.
Right.
It allows for you to take some things off your plate.
Right.
And you can, it can be allocated elsewhere, but it's still going to get done, just not by you.
So that you can just continue to have the energy and just the things that you need so that you can continue to create or just whatever it is.
ShySpeaks:Right, that's true.
So.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:No, that's true.
ShySpeaks:When I was talking about you and I said we get to share in the expenses, we also get to share in the profits together.
And so I think what ultimately what you're talking about, even within that example, if you're a custom jewelry maker and you have this creation, this creative business and you're going to, yes, like oh, I can go to the store, buy a five thousand dollar camera, try to schedule a content day, do all the photos, try to figure out a Video, trying to figure out how to edit the video.
Do I need to download Capcut, Premiere, whoever?
Yeah, you could do all of that or you can put that on somebody else to do who does it.
Well, so you can keep coming up with fire custom creation pieces.
Because these pieces, man, I've seen some creative entrepreneur that makes hats.
They take the hats and they make them custom.
Oh, they selling them hats for like $300.
Yeah, yeah, it's like some people are selling them for $500.
So it's like you got, you got something you can sell for $500.
You don't need to spend time trying to figure out how to edit and do all that if you don't know how to do that.
So the whole purpose of these partnerships, of course, take something off of your plate, task wise, take some of the expenses, you can reduce your expenses, but still get it done at a high level.
Speaking of a high level, I think this last partnership configuration, a partnership agreement, if you will, is, Is high level.
Yeah, let's talk about that one.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:All right, so the third one that we want to talk about, we talk about these strategic collaborations is partnerships or collaboration.
Platform.
ShySpeaks:Platform partnership, yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Platform partnerships, yeah.
Right, right.
So we were having this conversation prior to.
Because I'm like, that almost kind of sound like a referral.
A referral, right.
But no, we know when we were able to kind of.
I lean into it, it's like.
No, it's, it's a platform.
So if I'm an entity that has a platform that has an audience that can benefit a partner that wants to come on, it makes sense.
So let's say we were talking about one of my, one of my partners, right.
Build Institute back in Detroit.
So Build Institute is a co working space for creatives, right.
So with Build Institute, it will behoove them to.
Or yeah, they say behoove them to find other businesses and entities that can add value to their customers or their clients that are utilizing the space.
Right.
Because now it's like, it's more attractive.
So if you want to have this co working space, right.
If you're an entrepreneur, right.
You're going to need funding.
So let me find a funding partner.
So when you come into Build Institute, part of your onboarding and part of you being a part of what we have going on here, we're going to refer you to, or not even necessarily refer you.
Speaker C:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:That's the way they had me hung up.
So not necessarily refer you to.
ShySpeaks:We're going to give you access to a, to a Funding resource.
Because the funding resource is not somebody we're going to refer you to.
They, they're a platform partner, their partnership and it's embedded in our infrastructure.
So soon as you come in with us, like one of the companies that we say sponsors the MMCB podcast is Credit Savant.
So running our partners with Credit Savant, Credit Savant is a, it's, it's, it's funding for creative entrepreneurs.
Right?
So if you're watching this right now, you're like, I was really listening to the partnership deal, but I do need the funding.
Credit Savant.
IO very, very unshameless.
Okay.
But so let's say for example, with that, with this particular entity, co working space.
Now you have about 500 people who are coming in here on a regular.
They have a platform in the sense that they already have an audience.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:This audience needs Credit savant.
Right.
This audience is going to be integrated into their model.
It's going to be embedded.
You're not gonna, we're not gonna refer you out.
You're gonna, it's gonna be included in our pr, in our package and we will come together as a, as an entity, two entities, and figure out how to give this to them.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:In that, in that way.
So that, that's exactly, you know, you said it's an example, but that, that may actually be coming soon.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:It.
ShySpeaks:Right, right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Stay tuned.
ShySpeaks:But the reason why, reason why that is coming soon is because why would I go out and look for 500 people who are creative entrepreneurs when I, I know somebody who already has access to that audience and I can partner with them?
What do you need?
What do your creative entrepreneurs need?
How can we structure that so we can help them get funding?
We can become a funding resource that's integrated and embedded within the services that you already provide them.
Yeah, you provide them with a space, but you probably also provide them with this and you provide them with that and provide them with this.
Why not make this be something they provided?
That's only going to make the membership to your space all the more value.
And so you all have to think about it.
That, think about that as well.
When you think about your audience, right.
You know, this is, this group of people already has access to the audience.
They already have the platform.
How can I come in and be embedded as a partner?
Not them referring people to me.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
But this is what we offer.
And it hit me, as you were saying, it made me think of one of my partners who has a 3.
360.
What is it?
360 Photo booth.
Right.
And I was encouraging him.
You want to partner with event spaces.
Right.
Not a referral, but partner with them.
Right.
So whenever they're doing events and you need photography or the360 booth, this is in our pricing sheet.
Speaker C:They don't.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:The customer doesn't need to know that you're the partner that you're coming in and doing.
ShySpeaks:It's a third party.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:It's a third party.
Exactly.
They don't need to know that.
But you know that.
And then the, the event space know that.
And so now you're that platform partner.
ShySpeaks:Right, Platform part.
That's a perfect, perfect example.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah.
ShySpeaks:Because some, the event spaces, they don't have.
Speaker D:They.
ShySpeaks:You've already invested the 5, $10,000 in the, in the machine.
They don't have.
Instead of them having to go invest it, they can say, hey, if you get this event space without the booth is this much, but with the booth is this much.
Now if you have that kind of agreement with multiple event spaces, instead of them referring you, because the customer may be like, now I gotta reach out to somebody else, contact them as a third party, so forth and so on, they may opt not to.
Then you get on the phone with them, you find out what they really need is a little bit more.
And so you kind of upselling them.
And then they wind up not going with it, as opposed to it's going to automatically be embedded in the price.
Right.
And so that person may.
Some people may not even say, this is the space with the booth and this is without.
Some people may just say, this is the space and it comes with the boot.
Our space just automatically comes with it.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:And they just automatically then tacked in your rate to it.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:There you go.
Right.
And.
And I love that model as well, once again, is because you're looking for strategic partners that they already had an audience.
Speaker C:Right.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:So that's.
That's less leg work that I got to do.
Right.
So instead of me going.
You said instead of me going to find 500 people.
No, let me find the one person that has 500 people.
ShySpeaks:There it is.
Instead of me going to 5, 500 people, let me find the one person that already has 500 people and become a platform partner with them.
Whatever service I have becomes integrated into what they do.
It's almost like I'm providing the service to this client.
This client just services their clients.
Right.
And I know that sounds really wordy, but just know, platform partner, I don't want to go looking for all these people when there's Somebody who already has.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Those people, they already, they already got them, right?
ShySpeaks:They already got them.
So, yeah, that, I mean, that's really what that is.
I like the platform partnerships because, man, it's guaranteed.
It's guaranteed.
It's a guaranteed situation in the sense that with this being said, there's.
I'm going to make a sale, like it's going to happen.
I'm going to be making money because this event space is going to get.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Booked and it's a win, win.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, that's the essence of partnership is everybody wins, right?
So in doing that, the platform is able to add more value to the 500 or whoever that they're already serving, but they're adding more value that they don't gotta do.
ShySpeaks:They don't have to.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:I don't gotta fulfill this, right?
So I'm able to add more value.
I can charge more, right?
Add more value.
I don't have to do more and.
ShySpeaks:They don't have to do more work.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:They don't have to do more and.
ShySpeaks:They don't have to take on no new expenses.
That's a win for them.
And you don't have to do more work as in, you don't have to go out marketing looking for people.
It's no extra work, y'.
Speaker D:All.
ShySpeaks:Everybody's just doing what they already was gonna be doing in the first place.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:We, yeah, we got some, we got some partnerships.
Yeah, coming up.
ShySpeaks:Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So speaking of partnerships, one of the things we want you to do, we want you to take time to get acclimated with other creative entrepreneurs like yourself.
A lot of times people are sitting here wondering, man, how can I do this?
How can I do that?
You, you can't find somebody because you're not in community with other creative entrepreneurs.
Right?
So here's what we want you to do.
We want you to join the challenge.
Right?
There is a challenge that we have called the Creative to CEO challenge.
Sometimes you're trying to get from the creative person and lock into that CEO creative CEO mindset.
And I'm gonna have business going.
I'm gonna make it 10k plus months, 20k plus months, 30k.
But I need to have these partners.
You can't find partners because you need to get in fellowship.
So with this Creative to CEO challenge, it's just a five day challenge.
You're locked in in a group for five days with other creative entrepreneurs.
Ron and I, it's an education thing.
We're going to be showing you how to Build out an offer that can bring you those types of months that I just mentioned.
10K, 20k, 30k.
We will give you the blueprint on how to do that.
He just talked about how he gave somebody else a partnership platform.
A platform partnership idea and probably just gave it for free.
So we're going to help you build it out in five, in five days.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Don't be coming for me.
Yeah.
Because I did.
I did, I did.
ShySpeaks:And so we're, we're gonna, and we're gonna do it.
And listen, what we're offering is practically free.
It's less than a hundred dollars.
Yeah, it's less than a hundred dollars for five days with two creative entrepreneurs who are very seasoned and very successful in our own regards, helping people make all this money for free.
And I'm just messing with them.
But no, seriously, join The Creative to CEO challenge.
Right.
Creative to CEO challenge.com right.com.
So that way when you come in there, you get the knowledge, you up level your offer so you can have something to offer that's worth that much.
And then you're going to be meeting these other creative entrepreneurs.
You might, might find somebody that you can a number one refer, become a referral partner for an ambassador and affiliate.
Right.
You may find somebody that you can co create with like run and I did.
our co creation partner, our:Somebody who I didn't mind sharing equity with and find that person in this challenge.
And then lastly, you may find somebody to be a platform partner with again.
We want to make sure you have an agreement on all of those.
But nonetheless we do want you to join the challenge and find people to partner with.
So.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yeah, yeah, so listen, this is, this has been a dope conversation because even though like I said we're here, you know, teaching y' all or having a conversation, it has the wheel spinning.
Yeah, I'm like, oh yeah, that's some platform partnerships we'll be looking into in the near, near future, Very near future.
By the time this airs, we're probably gonna have some platform partners.
ShySpeaks:Platform partnerships coming soon.
Just integrate us into your business model.
Put us in the price.
I mean, when you think about it, man, when it comes to like, like for example, like a university, when you go to university, all of that just comes into price.
Like you get the gym, you get the computer lab, you get all the, the nurse that, all that just comes included.
And so a person is not, they're not going to refer you out to a gym.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Right, right.
ShySpeaks:You just Gonna have it included in your tuition and fees.
Right.
We're not going to refer you out to a nurse.
It's going to be just included in your tuition and fees.
And then other people, as people come in.
I had a business idea to provide a service to university and I was like, oh, this would be cool because I don't have to sell it to the students one by one by one.
I would just have them to include this in their tuition and fees.
It's like a platform partner, so it's so, so cool.
Yeah, Platform partnership coming soon for minding my creative business.
We want to come in soon for you.
So again, creative to CEO challenge.com and without further ado.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Yes, let's thank you all for making it this far within the conversation.
Right.
So go ahead and do the things.
If you have not subscribed, first of all, shame on you because you made it this far and I know you rocking with us.
So go ahead and subscribe.
Okay.
After you subscribe, go ahead and hit that like button.
ShySpeaks:Yeah.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Make sure that you comment.
Let us know, let keep us updated like yo, I got a platform partnership or whatever the case.
Leave a comment, talk to us.
Right?
And then do not hog us.
Share us.
Share the wealth.
ShySpeaks:Yes.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Let your other creative newer friends know.
Yeah, I need to be listening to mmtb like it's, it's the number one podcast for creative entrepreneurs to learn strategy, structure and sustainability and self development.
ShySpeaks:So right here in one place, in one place.
I see it, I see how you, how you starting it.
Yeah, how we ended it, how we started.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Exactly.
ShySpeaks:Listen, we wanted to talk to you guys about how to structure a partnership deal, a partnership agreement.
And we hope that this was a resource for you.
We really do help hope that it was helpful.
You don't have to do 50, 50, you can do 30, 30, you can do 60, 40.
It does not have to be even.
You don't even have to share equity.
You can just share a profit, like just the profits during this time.
For a year you get the profits like for six months you get the profits for, you know, you can come up with it.
10, 15 Of the profits that we come from.
Right.
Of the revenue share.
Or I don't have to be a profit share, I can just be a revenue share.
However you want to do it, you can do that.
And that's something that we wanted creative entrepreneurs to be thinking about.
Hopefully it's been a resource and like he said, thank you so much.
Thank you so much for listening to us talk.
But now it's time for you to talk, right?
We want to hear from you.
We want to end this episode in the way that we always do, right?
We want to end it with the self development which is technically self development but it's really self talk.
I say self talk because we believe that the best way to develop yourself as well, one of the best ways is to speak well about yourself to yourself, right?
And so sometimes you don't know what to say.
So we're going to give you some words.
So what we want you to do is repeat after me.
Everybody in the studio and everybody online.
I want you to say this out loud.
All it takes, all it takes is intention, is intention.
Consistency, consistency and laser focus.
And laser focus to mind my creativity,.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:To mind my creative business.
And on that note you can get.
ShySpeaks:This merch and I'm serious.
On that note we out.
Ron "iRonic" Lee Jr.:Peace.
