Living Outside The Box with Joe Wallace
When the going gets tough and the banks slam the vaults shut, the innovative business owners among us look for ways to sell their goods and services to other business owners that do not necessarily involve the exchange of money. In the absence of available cash and credit more and more entrepreneurial business owners are resorting to the age old custom of bartering to get what they need for what they provide.
Barter is not a new idea. It has been around forever and actually predates currency. There is a good reason for that. The act of bartering or exchanging goods and services for goods and/or services is generally beneficial to both parties. Why go out of business when bartering can provide access to inventory, travel, services, and many other things that are required to operate a business. About the only thing that can’t be bartered for in some way are utilities, government services, big company offerings, and of course...taxes.
Will Work for Stock:
In my own business of providing practical business advice to all stages of SME’s (small and medium enterprises), the recession has provided me with a fantastic opportunity to trade my business planning and advice for equity stakes in promising businesses. These are businesses that need my services that do not have the cash resources to pay, yet are willing to grant stock, stock options, or future profits in their business in exchange for my services right now. I like to think of this segment of my practice as Equity Based Venture Capital.
During the course of the past year my portfolio includes equity positions in Smart Grid, Battery Electric Vehicles, Recycled Plastics, Internet Publishing, and College Textbook Rental businesses. What is the value of this portfolio? If one were to have a fire sale today on any of these holdings the value is probably near zero. Several of these entities have however gotten through the prototype stage, gained national attention and are poised to attract real outside capital investment. The long term gains from such efforts are sure to be worth way more that my hourly rate if they culminate in an IPO (initial public offering) or are acquired. Of course they may not succeed, in which case I get zero for my work, but I have made some good friends, kept my skills razor sharp, and created a potential for Silicon Valley type returns during the worst recession of my life.
Will Work for Stuff:
In addition to providing services for stock, I am aware and have at times been involved in barter transactions where trips, lodging, books, home improvements, automobiles, stained glass, furnishings, collectables, gold, landscaping, art, and even partial interests in income properties have been exchanged. Many years ago I repaired a porch in exchange for a non running BMW then turned around and sold the BMW for cash. If I would have been unwilling to do this, the porch would have not been repaired. I made a good friend in the process.
Will Work for Promissory Notes: Be the Bank When the Bank Won’t
Just because a bank will not make a loan to a business that desires to purchase goods and services from your business, it is not necessary to forego that opportunity. See the bank, be the bank. You may create a trade note with whatever payment terms that you and your customer are agreeable to. I have on three occasions financed automobiles that I wanted to sell for new college graduates that a bank would not make a loan too. These kids got transportation at a fair price and terms and I got an income stream and a much better price than a used car dealer or a trade would have offered me. These kids all paid their notes too. Promissory notes can be win-win scenarios and are easy to write and manage with a simple program that is available commercially.
In times when the economy is not supportive of available cash, SME’s are well advised to consider barter to keep the business churning along through these rough waters. After all is it just as effective to barter for what you need as it is to write a check for it. Open minded business people skilled in the arts of negotiation and barter will be surprised just how little cash is needed when you can get what you want without it. After all, what would you rather have for dinner tonight, a steak and a fine wine or a pile of dollar bills. Money is simply a medium of convenience. The things we really need are tangible.
For more information, please visit Joe's TNNWC Bio.
Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”
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