Are you worthless?
Of course you aren’t! However, in the eyes of potential business partners, you might be unless you take the proper steps to be worth something to them. I’ve seen so many people thinking that the key to their success is partnering with the right people. This is partially true — having the right partners can skyrocket your business. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a JV partner or some joint project you want to work on. Put the right people together, and you can have some killer combinations that will have everyone profiting more.
The one mistake I see people doing is approaching potential partners but not offering anything in return. They’ll ask them to promote this or that, or they’ll say “hey, I have this killer idea that I think you should make and market — want to team up?” Keep in mind that most of the partners you’re trying to seek probably get tons of offers — you have to stand out to even have a chance.
And even more so, if you have nothing to offer, you’re essentially worthless to them. The key to success is being worth something to them. Everyone can be — you just have to realize that and take the necessary steps to do so.
Perhaps instead of saying “I have a killer idea — want to make it and market it for me?” create the product, website, etc. and THEN approach them and say “I have this killer product ready to go, and I thought you’d be a perfect match up to market it for a 50/50 cut — interested?”
Or if you’re approaching some other professional to team up on a job (like a programmer or copywriter), you could say “listen, I have this killer product idea with the website ready to go — I just need the thing programmed, interested in a 50/50 cut?”
All of a sudden, you have something worthwhile to them — a killer idea, a site ready to go, potential marketing partners lined up, etc.
So before you approach someone with a potential partnership, make sure that you’re worth something first. 
