The Ultimate Bartering Scheme - One Red Paper Clip for a HOUSE!!!

As Media Guru Marshall McLuhan predicted, getting attention in the age of media isn't easy. You have to come up ever more extreme and outrageous schemes.  One of the latest schemes I read recently is another of those that makes me wish I'd thought of it!  But my outrageous gene is just not extreme enough!  Anyway, you gotta love the ingenuity behind starting with a single red paperclip and after 14 very clever trades and one year - ending up with a house! 

 

Bartering and trading is one of the oldest and most effective strategies for success and this is a great example of how to make it work!  His story is hilarious and informative.

Bartering is a great way to live more simply and frugally and even as a strategy for growing yoru business. There is absolutely nothing illegal or unethical about bartering.

So how can you make bartering work for you?

If you are interested in how to use bartering legally and effectively in your business, or to enhance your simple and frugal living strategy, check out these resources.

IRS RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=113437,00.html

WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartering

BARTERING EXCHANGES - Most of the USA Fortune 500 companies use barter to increase their market share and improve productivity. There are about 500 barter exchanges in North America and Latin America, and several hundred more throughout the rest of the world. Here are listed links to hundreds of the Web sites of the many barter exchanges which have developed internationally.
http://www.gigafree.com/barter.html

ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE - Bartering in Business
Barter is back in style and spanning the globe. Here's what you need to know to become the master of your exchange.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,321937,00.html

ABOUT.COM on the Rewards of Small Business Bartering and how to do it WISELY.

"Whether you are starting or growing a small business bartering can aid in preserving cash to help get your venture launched or expand. Bartering is a must have success tactic for operating your small business. Bartering can be defined as the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services. It is a transaction where no money changes hands. Bartering is estimated to exchange 8.25 billion a year in trade for 2004, according to the International Reciprocal Trade Association."

5 Things You Need To Know About Business Barter

1. Money Pit: Beware of troubled companies on a quick downward spiral to bankruptcy. If your barter partner is in financial trouble and seeks bankruptcy, you may never receive your share of the barter agreement.

2. Time and Money Equivalent: Attach a time or money value to the barter. For a win-win situation to exist in a barter agreement both parties involved need to sit down and compare the exchange of goods and services in a quantitative fashion.

3. Tax Issues: Bartering does not offer a tax loophole to avoid taxation. According to the IRS tax website, "Income from bartering is taxable in the year in which you receive the goods or services. Generally, you report this income on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business Form 1040."

4. Business Barter Relationship: Any barter relation should be examined against the value added to your small business. A barter of 200 lbs of animal feed is going to be useless to a management consulting firm; but 3 months of free magazine advertising can greatly improve cash flow and aid your profits. If your services are not in high demand by your barter target, consider a barter exchange group.

5. Barter Exchanges: Hundreds of barter exchange groups operate in America, offering an efficient channel to barter for small business. Barter exchanges allow companies to have access to more goods and services in a quicker fashion. For instance, a graphic design firm may exchange its services with a pet food company for trade credits. The pet food company in turn can exchange its trade credits for another member`s service, such as tax preparation.

READ MORE AT:
http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/smallbizlearning/a/barter.htm

All the best,

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