Tom McDowell’s Barter Blog

You’ve grasped the barter concept and now want to start bartering. Now what? A great way to be in the loop with barter is to join a barter exchange. The exchange is a barter facilitator and will track and manage the trade dollars used in barter. As a member, the trade exchange will also promote your services and products to other exchange members. By accepting trade dollars for your services or products, you will earn trade dollars and build your trade dollar account. This balance is then available for you to spend by getting services or products from other members of the trade exchange.

Most people think that barter is strictly and one on one action. This is not true. You can accept payment by trade dollars when a company purchases goods from you. That does not obligate you to get something back from them on trade. You can take those trade dollars and spend them with whatever trade exchange member you wish. So think of a trade exchange as an open trade community. Start bartering today!

Virtually anything! Anything that can be purchased, any good or service, can be bartered. Anything you could pay cash for can be bartered. If someone wants it, you can barter it. People barter anything from baseball cards to vacation homes. You can barter your professional services such as accounting work, marketing work, IT services, anything. You can barter any item in your inventory in your industry. You can barter raw goods and finished products. It doesn’t matter; it can all be bartered.

So you are wondering what can you get on barter? The same answer applies! You can barter to get what you need or want. Doesn’t matter if it’s for your business or for yourself personally. Need your parking lot paved? Barter for it. Need a diamond necklace for your wedding anniversary? Barter for it. Need your car fixed? Barter for it. That’s right, now matter what you need, barter for it!

Recently, I heard about a set of neighbors that are bartering services to help each other out. A neighbor is plowing the driveway for one neighbor and that neighbor is mowing the grass on the weekends while the other neighbor is away. Both of these neighbors could do something in exchange for something they needed done. It’s not an immediate barter because of the seasons but it’s helpful none the less.

One neighbor works during the week and goes to their cottage in Put in Bay for the weekends. So, during the summer months he needs someone to cut his grass on the weekends. His next door neighbor was in need of someone to plow his driveway in the winter since his kids have moved out of the house. So they struck a deal to barter and help each other out. Simple really. They each needed something and had something to offer.

Yet another example of how easy barter can make your life both at home and at work. At work, utilizing barter exchange or trade exchange will help put you in touch with others who have services to barter. What’s holding you back? Start bartering today. It will simplify your life.

When the economy started to crash and businesses were trying to brainstorm ideas on how to save cash flow, many people turned to an age-old concept of barter. Many businesses have embraced barter and are seeing what types of benefits barter brings to a business. The good news if that those companies are not going to phase out barter as the economy picks up. They have witnessed firsthand that barter is not difficult in a business setting.

Adding barter to their play-book was a smart choice. Keeping it in their play-book is an even smarter choice. When business is booming again in the future, I’m sure they will attribute surviving the hard times by using barter. It’s a win-win!

Here is a story I read in the news about a segment of the population that is embracing the concept of barter…on the most extreme level. A highly orchestrated swap, or barter, was arranged for 13 people to receive a kidney transplant. Yes, we’re talking about organs. 13 people offered a kidney to whoever might need it to prepay or honor the act of someone else donating a needed kidney to their loved one.

Here’s a quote from the Associated Press regarding the swap: “Thirteen extremely sick patients. Highly skilled surgeons who performed 26 operations, a quick-thinking organ transplant expert and big-hearted donors. They were all part of a recent record-setting kidney swap in the nation’s capital that was part of a major push to get transplants to patients who might not usually qualify. And when it was over, all 13 people had received lifesaving kidneys, the Associated Press reports.”

We have heard of these types of “chain” transplants and there are always people who are strictly giving something they have to someone else who needs it…and not necessarily someone they know. Barter…extreme barter. People are practicing one of the oldest concepts in society. Kudos to those involved and certainly hope the transplants are successful.

Barter is a great way to move idle inventory. The more customers barter brings your way, the quicker your inventory turns over. This will leave room for the newest, most advanced products in your industry. A barter exchange network can help you sell off your excess inventory and convert it into something you need. Maybe turn it into trade dollars that can be used to purchase advertising and marketing campaigns that promote your business. Look to your trade exchange for a member that specializes in media.

Barter can also save the day when an innocent mistake is made in the operation of your business. Say a manager orders 200 items instead of 20. What can you do with the overstock? Barter it! Turn it into a new awning for your business, or re-surface the parking lot…anything you need!

The new customers you’ll gain by joining a barter exchange will naturally help move inventory. Both trade and paying customers will increase. By joining a trade exchange, you instantly get promoted to other barter exchange members. Those members will refer you to their vendors and customers, which will cause more people to have a positive association with your business. Word of mouth referrals will continue to grow and inventory will turn over quicker than ever before. Join the world of barter today and reap the rewards as quick as tomorrow!

Barter is transacting business without the use of cash. How do you get started? The first thing to do is contact Tom McDowell, a barter industry veteran, to enroll in the Barter Trainer Program. This intensive 3-day training is one on one with Tom and covers all aspects of the barter exchange business. Everything from the barter concept applied to today’s business economy, the barter currency, operations and marketing practices is covered. McDowell offers Marketing Concepts that are industry targeted marketing pieces that explain barter and promote your barter exchange.

By tapping into Tom’s wealth of barter knowledge, you can avoid costly beginner mistakes and position your barter exchange to succeed by having an effective barter business plan. Maybe you’re experiencing competition and are looking for solid advise that pertains to the barter industry. McDowell is eager to mentor you when you start your barter exchange because Tom has seen the huge success the barter industry can bring to a business owner. He wants barter to grow because he has seen businesses embrace barter and become more successful in their respective industry.

Contact The Barter Trainer, Tom McDowell, today to start your barter exchange. Barter Trainer Program sessions are scheduled monthly. Grab your piece of a billion dollar industry! Contact Tom today.

Barter is a concept everyone learns in elementary school. It’s a fundamental lesson in childhood as well. Remember the times your Mom would say you have to finish your dinner in order to have desert? Did you ever trade chores with the siblings? “I’ll do the dishes for a week if you’ll clean the bathroom!” We’ve been bartering since we were children. So why then, as adults, do we not seek out barter when running our businesses?

Maybe some business owners think that vendors wouldn’t embrace barter. Maybe they aren’t aware of all the benefits barter brings to a business such as the preservation of cash flow and many others. Is it because business schools don’t promote barter as part of a business plan? These are just a few reasons people may leave barter out of their business. Once awareness is raised about the benefits of barter and the actual “how-to’s” are shared with business owners, they will be missing out.

Ask at your local chamber of commerce about barter organizations in your area. Start a conversation with your vendors about the possibility of barter. You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain. For more information on making barter a part of your business, contact Tom McDowell, a barter industry veteran. McDowell’s Barter Training Program is an in-depth training program for starting your own trade exchange. And the Barter Trainer Manuals are essential for start up trade exchange. Take advantage of his expertise, call today!

Barter started out in small communities. Local people trading with other local people. Over time, barter has grown into a world-side reach. Trades between companies from Vermont to California are feasible. Due to modern conveniences such as over night shipping, the internet and other digital means, people can barter for goods and services Nationwide and even worldwide. Wherever you do business, you can barter!

Some people might wonder what a company could barter for internationally. Here are a few examples of international trade: marketing and advertising in foreign markets, barter for raw materials, travel accommodations and even land and real estate. Designers will often seek fine fabrics from other countries. Why not barter for it?

For more information on international barter, contact an industry veteran, Tom McDowell, The Barter Trainer. McDowell’s Barter Training Program is an in-depth training program for starting your own trade exchange. Learn what is successful in the barter industry and learn what pitfalls to avoid. The Barter Trainer Manuals are essential for start up trade exchanges. Why re-invent the wheel? Contact Tom McDowell today and start trading tomorrow.

The Disney Parks have a pin-trading program for guests. A guest (Disney’s term for visitor) purchases a lanyard and a starter set of trading pins. The pins are of the various Disney characters and rides. The basic concept is to trade with Disney Cast members (Disney employees) and other guests wearing the lanyards. The starter set is typically the same character but several different styles of pins such as Mickey Mouse. If a guest sees a pin they would like to have on someone else’s lanyard, all they have to do is offer a pin in trade. If both parties agree, a trade is made. Barter at it’s simplest.

I’m sure that Disney started the pin trading program for several reasons such as: to make profit off the initial sale of lanyard and starter pins, to encourage guests to interact with cast members, and to create a friendly, fun interaction between guests. The beauty of the program is that it reinforces the simplicity and rewards of barter. Trade something you have for something you want.

Barter exchanges help facilitate barter between businesses by utilizing trade dollars. Trade dollars are a unique currency used for trades amongst all exchange members. Barter currency gives options to members in the barter exchange because the currency allows companies to purchase something using trade dollars and does not require a direct trade of merchandise or services.

For more information on barter and starting your own trade exchange, contact Tom McDowell, The Barter Trainer. McDowell’s Barter Training Program will show you in-depth the barter exchange business plan and proven techniques for success. McDowell is a barter industry veteran and is happy to help you succeed in the world of barter.