First Phase Of Upgrades Complete.

Hello All,

In the last week, we have been working hard to complete the first phase of upgrades to the Smart Bareter website. The site now has enhanced profile and and classified sections. These enhancements will allow members to network and barter better. Members now can post listings from their profile page and add additional contact information. For more informations about the enhancements, visit or join http://www.smartbareter.com today!

Save Money & Save Your Business

There is a lot of talk about how much the recession is turning. I would agree with that, however I would suggest small business owner, entrepreneurs, and start-ups evaluate their businesses during this time and put a nest egg aside. I'm sure most have done so my now. During this evaluation process or rebooting the business, it is key to find what you need to stay a float.

You can seek out barter networks or use current relationships to bridge the gaps for your business. With this, you can build a trusted network to gain services, products and items to grow your business. Bartering and networking go hand and hand. The Better Business Bureau has a great article on this topic.

Let's go back to the olde way of doing business!

Why Pay to Barter?

Bartering has exploded since the recession. This was always an excellent business practice for start-ups and retail chains in need of unloading inventory. There a numerous third party barter sites that charge an annual fee to its members. With their services, you can earn points or barter dollars to count towards a trade for a service or product needed. This is all well and good, it also takes the hassle out of looking for someone to barter with. If the service or product received was excellent you make want to contact the individual and thank or refer them to a peer. Sometimes you so have to wonder, how much more can I save as a business if I didn't have to pay someone else to do all the work.

Smart Bareter is a free bartering website for small business owners and entrepernurs. Smart Bareter does offer membership services to increase it's value to members, but does not charge members to barter. Like any site we do have to have a monetary model to maintain the site, though we hope in the future to barter all site services.

I think of bartering as another form of networking. To barter with someone you have to build a relationship with them. This allows you the trader to get to know the tradee's service or product. You can use a barter agreement to feel better about the exchange taking place with the involved parties. With this knowledge, you are willing to trade with them more, possible refer them to friends and family.

With the popularity of social networking sites and social media, we have lost touch with the "personal touch". One aspect of one-on-one bartering is as a culture we can get back in touch with our peers to develop new relationships and create new vendors for services and products. I ask again why pay to barter, when there is plenty of people willing to trade products, services and ideas for free. Yes it may take a little work, but well worth it to increase cash flow and have extra money to invest in other ventures.

Happy Bartering!

How often should you barter?

This is a question I've seen a lot of in recent weeks. No really knows how often or how much you should barter. In my opinion you should do it as often as possible.

The reason why I say you should bareter as often as possible is because you never know when a good deal is coming. You build creditability within the network in which you bareter and the possibility to expand the network. You invite others to trade items or services with you. I guess you can say it the law of attraction, law of the universe or whatever you want to call it. For the abundance of benefits of baretering, see previous post.

There are a lot of people in the world that have services, items and ideas they are willing to trade for. Remember bartering is the equivalent to money. What ever you are bartering or bartering for make sure it's of value to the trade.

Happy Bartering!

Bareter is Money, Baretering is Negotiating

Bartering is more valuable than money in the world of small business. As a business owner or entrepreneur, you can grow your business by setting up an exchange system with someone you trust that is offering a service or item of value to you. Smart Bareter a site launching summer ’08 can help fostering relationships between entrepreneurs, business owners, and self starters.

The art of negotiation is also baretering. To exchange services, items and ideas for something equivalent in value is bartering, but to get what you want for it is negotiation. For example if you want advertising for the business and offer graphic design services, you search for the best vehicle to advertise and offer a proposal to begin negotiation for the service or advertising wanted.

Baretering is very simple and worth it, especially if you build a relationship with another entrepreneur, business owner or self starter.

Making A Good Deal

Here are a few tips to ensure you are making a good deal:

1. Make a complete list of all items and services you are willing barter for.
2. Make a complete list of all items and services you are looking for.
3. Add an estimated cash value to your items of services offered.
4. During the barter process, explain the benefits of the item or service, also include the age if you are offering an item. If you are a entrepreneur you may want to put together a proposal. This will increase your chances of a successful trade transaction.

This is just to get the ball rolling to have an abundance of trading transactions. Remember baretering will save you money in the long run of services and overhead. It will also allow you to offer your services or products at a more competitive price. This is the time separate yourself from the competition with one little secret, barter!

Make list, what are your services worth, save money, build relationships by bartering!

What is Bartering?

This is one question I've always asked myself. What is bartering? Is it simple or complex or both? In my not so professional opinion, it's both depending on the parties involved. If I'm to develop a business around this concept then I have know what does it mean and where it comes from.

Bartering, baretering (Anglo-French) or barater (Old-French) was an exchange of goods between two parties; this started in the 15^th century, well as far back as history can prove, but maybe I’m wrong. This was meant to be an active exchange, to do or conduct business transactions. Bartering was a system was used to measure the economic wealth of a community or country when the monetary system failed. Eventually money became the new way to barter to build a sound economic structure, but we all know how true that is today.

One problem with bartering is that it was only beneficial to the parties involved when they each had something of value the other wanted; hence the reason why money became mighty. Everyone wanted to have money to show their value in the community, then it lead to greed, selfishness, power, etc., etc.

To downplay the true worth of bartering, over the centuries it was devalued. Eventually bartering became well know as swapping, exchanging goods or services or simply trading.
People across the world barter every day, unconsciously. A few examples of that maybe when you ask someone to do you a simple favor or task, borrow money and many other daily task. When you exchange a service or good for something in return, it’s bartering.

There is great power in bartering and should be used more often. I think it provides an equal playing field so-to-speak. I think of bartering as an honor system, i.e. you have want I need or want and vice versa, let's do business. Bartering is an art form, like bargaining, i.e. I'll trade you this if you give me a more of those. Bartering is not seeing the short term effects or results, but the bigger picture and developing a relationship with a new business partner. This is a valuable skill to have as an entrepreneur or business owner, especially if you are just starting out.

Now that I or we have a better understanding of what bartering is, let's use it wisely to create a better world to live in!

Going Back to The Old Way of Doing Business

I would first like to thank you all for visiting this blog and taking the time to read it.

I've finally succumb to the ever popular blogging. I never really understood what to say or share. Now that I am on the verge of launching a social networking site for small business owners and entrepreneurs, I have plenty to say. I have two great partners, who I’m proud to call friends. There is a bond of synergistic energy between us.

The purpose of the site is to help small business owners and entrepreneurs grow their business by the exchange or trading of services, posting jobs wanted and even enlisting the help of interns. This site was built by serial entrepreneurs for other self starters.

Most enterprisers in the beginning often have to trade business services to build a clientele list, promote services and even advertise. Being a entrepreneur myself, I've done all the above successfully. I understand the difficulty of accomplishing such small task when you are one person or even in a partnership. The rewards are great, but at what sacrifice, lack of sleep, increased stressed, uncompromising relationships, and a host of other event or elements to wear on the mind, body and energy. This was one of the sole reasons for creating Smart Bareter, set to launch in Spring of '08.

Smart Bareter is gong back to the old way of doing business, hence the Anglo French spelling of bareter. The mission or this site is to ease the daily burden of creating and establishing a business by building relationships across the world. Each entrepreneur has global aspirations and we are just making it easier for that dream of working from home and having your own business.

About 90% of the United States businesses is made up of small businesses.We have the power and reach to truly be the new voice of this nation to change, been seen and heard. No matter what it is you do or plan on doing, it will be accomplished. We are united through one common goal and purpose, with individual thoughts and ideas.

Help, learn and grow!