Bareter Included In A Business Plan

Has anyone included bartering in a business plan?

I think it's important to have if you are start-up with limited or no capital.

When I was freelancing, I found myself bartering to gain clients and trade for services, such as advertising and chiropractic and massage therapy. I understand a business plan is meant to keep track of high level goals, objectives and to show venture capital investors. When bartering is included in in a business plan, it shows that an business owner is willing to make concessions to grow the business without sacrificing its integrity. Including bartering in a business plan can also cut cost on important services, such as advertising, marketing and some overhead cost. This can be most effective with the proper networks and relationships.

There can be two business plans one detailed one for personal business records and a high level one for venture capital investors. This is help keep focus on short and long term business goals. The plan can be updated to reflect the growth and progress of the business. What most important is to achieve business goals in the most economical way to raise capital to further the business, see a ROI to invest back in the business and profit to build a trusting staff to run the business.

If it makes sense to barter to grow, then by all means do so.

Multiple Trades

The concept of baretering is not just limited to two parties. Bartering can happen with multiple parties. For example if one person has or is able to acquire an item or service of value that another desires, acting like a middle man to acquire this item or service for trade of equal value. This is when building relationships comes into play.

Networking is the most important element of bartering, this is something can't be stressed enough. Everyone has something of value. This can range from common items such as CDs, DVDs, video games, cell phones, clothes, and household items to professional and medical services. Anything can be bartered.

This concept of multiple trades is made up of a network of bareters. The trust is built on the level of service offered as well as integrity of the item and service traded. Remember just because an item or service is out of reach, doesn’t mean someone else can't acquire the item or service for you.

Build a strong network and barter!

Reduce Overhead Costs

When building a business from the ground up with little or no capital it's very difficult to accomplish goals and work. When work gets a little overwhelming from working on your business and working a full time job, burnout sets in. Business owners tend to outsource or find interns to complete projects or fulfill basic job functions. However, both ideas are great, personally I would choose interns to reduce any costs. My preferred option would be to barter.

Why bareter to reduce overhead costs? You can barter to create and develop meaningful relationships, gain clients, free advertising, build trusted resources and most importantly get something out of the deal to build the business.

This can be set as an ongoing trade to reduce any future overhead costs. There are so many advantages to bartering, such as increasing cash flow, profit and revenue. Start earning equity in your business today and bareter.

Essential Items and Services to Bareter For

Today I came across an interesting blog about items you should bareter for before buying them. It was a list of 10 items and is as follows:

1. Information Products
2. Advertising Space
3. Web Hosting
4. Software
5. Writing/Editing
6. Accounting/Bookeeping
7. Consulting
8. Copy writing
9. Merchant Accounts
10. Internet Access

You can get more information from the blog.

The items listed above are essential items or services to run a business. If you are a start up and don't have the capital to pay for these services, baretering is is the best way to go. There are several business or bartering social networking sites to gain the services mentioned above for other services. The best way to ensure an equal trade is to do a little research on the service or item up for trade and add price value to it. As long as both parties agree on the value and terms of trade, you can barter for anything.

Happy Trading!

Corporations Are Bartering

As we all know the economy is suffering and with it comes slow spending on all fronts. This results in slow moving merchandise or inventory. In order to unload excess inventory the corporations use bartering companies and sites. They exchange these items for advertising or other valuable services.

Exchanging for advertising is very popular especially if you are a start-ups or small businesses. Baretering is popular with hotels, retailers, printers, restaurants, and service oriented jobs such as doctors, lawyers and contractors. This creates a trusted network of professional barters.

This bartering among corporations helps to save money and cut loses on inventory. Here is a link to an article I saw on U.S. News and World Report : 7 Keys to Smart Bartering. (http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/your-money/2008/06/10/7-keys-to-smart-bartering.html)
I found it very useful and inspiring for the entrepreneur and small business owner.

In short I would like to thank the economy for bolstering baretering efforts across America.

The World is Ready to Barter!

This is so amazing, I recently joined a small business online community and raised the question about bartering. I got a nice response from people saying that they are interested in bartering, but not enough reliable resources are available to bareter. My assumption is if you barter for a service or product, you are not taken seriously, but the economy is changing people's reaction to a great service.

There are small pockets of entrepreneurs who bareter to build relationships, a solid reputation and receive the goods or services for a mutual exchange. For example, here is an excerpt from an article I saw today on Entrepreneur.com. "As the cash economy cools, the cashless economy is heating up. These days, more entrepreneurs are experimenting with barter."

We all know the basic principal of trading of goods or services. So I say let's get out there and bareter!

A Noble Deed....

I read about more and more people trading on a daily basis. People are recognizing the value of baretering everyday. I read blogs and articles abut people trading all kind of services, everything from gas to massages. Yes people found a way to barter for gas. The details of the trade wasn't disclosed.

There was one article I found interesting. The article was about a dentist and his staff bartered there dental services for items such as watches, baseball cards, cupcakes and cookies, artwork, a journal entry, a bike, and even a dog. The dentist and staff saw 60 patients in this day, double of how many normally seen. The service was extended to those without insurance.

Since the recession, there has been a rise in unemployment and the cost of living in the US. Also the local free clinics has seen a rise in patients and fortunately in volunteers as well. But to people like this dentist and sites like craigslist, people have been able to receive medical treatment and downsize their lives. Since 2006 the postings for bartering on craigslist have tripled.

This is a true sign that times and people are changing and acknowledging their own self worth. We can add so much to this world by giving freely of self. Helping others is helping your self.