In the next thirty days Smart Bareter will official launch to offer services to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Getting to this place was learning process, but a worthwhile endeavor.
The success of Smart Bareter begun two years go as the CEO, Hillis Pugh was freelance graphic designer and marketer. The two key successes that brought Hillis to the current place of success were networking and developing relationships.
As a freelancer, he spent long hours working on various project and visited the neighborhood chiropractor frequently. At the time he had no insurance and was experiencing back pain and extreme muscles tightness due to constant exercise and working. During the visits to the chiropractor, he would mention how he could assist him in developing marketing materials and develop advertising campaigns for his practice. In exchange for this service, he provided numerous sessions of chiropractic care.
During the visits to the office, he developed a relationship with the receptionist and one of the massage therapists. The receptionist was in the midst of developing a local magazine. She was aware of his services as a graphic designer and the bartering system that was set up between Hillis and the chiropractor. She asked to see his portfolio of work, after viewing his work she set up a meeting to meet with her and business partner. Once the meeting took place and time passed, it was agreed that Hillis would assist in all direct and indirect advertising and marketing efforts for the publication. In exchange he would receive quarter page monthly ad placement in their publication. With this exchange he gained new clientele to further the business.
The final success story of the birth of Smart Bareter was a moment of clear vision. Hillis developed a relationship with the massage therapist at the chiropractic center. She offered her private massage services to him at a discounted rate and at times for free. This service was extend to me because she knew his financial situation and wanted to continue to provide me with physical therapy, after the baretering contract was over between him and the chiropractor. During one of the sessions, we were talking and through us talking the idea of having a web site exclusively trading services came to me. Though Hillis was trading services all along, but was unaware of the potential of it. The potential was then realized. He wanted to share this idea with all small business owners and entrepreneurs. This idea further developed into in the business known today as Smart Bareter.
The reason for targeting small businesses and entrepreneurs is because of the level of difficulty to start and maintain a business. Hillis learned through his own experiences and knew he was not the only one have trouble maintaining the business on a monetary level. Hillis found trusting partners to aide in realizing a dream to better the community of small business owners and entrepreneurs to bring them closer together and work as one cohesive unit.
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