Get Your Business Funded: Creative Methods for Getting the Money You Need

Barter Bucks

Throughout this book I have referred to “in-kind contributions.” An in-kind contribution is not the same as cash, but it has cash value. When a lawyer donates his time to a nonprofit, when a doctor volunteers her services to the needy, these are in-kind contributions. While not cash contributions, they do have significant cash value and may be even more valuable.

The same is true for barter. Norman's work on my house had value, significant value, just the same as money has value. So, as you look for direct funding for your business, do not discount the in-kind cash value of barter. Instead of doling out your hard-earned money to another business, you get to save your money. And not only do you save money, but you still get the benefit of the other business's services or products without having to pay for them.

In its simplest form, barter is simply the exchange of your goods or services for another business's goods or services without trading dollars. As such, it turns out that barter is an excellent method to grow your business in a variety of ways without using cash. In this sense, it is not unlike a business incubator in that the money saved is the equivalent of money received. Not cash, but not bad.

The International Reciprocal Trade Association estimates that almost a half million businesses barter in the United States every year. The US Department of Commerce estimates that up to 25 percent of the world's trade is now done through barter, and that corporations ...