April 25,
2006
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From the desk of Bob
Meyer... 04/25/06
Value Subjective, Not
Objective...That?s Why Barter Is So Exciting!
By now millions of people have heard
about the story of Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old
fellow from Montreal (Canada) who had an internet
connection and one big red paper clip. His story has
been written up in virtually every North American
major newspaper, as well as others around the world.
Business Week and other prominent
business publications have covered the news, too.
As the story goes, this young
visionary dreamed of using the community power of
the Internet to barter that paper clip for something
better, and then trade again for something else, and
so on until he had obtained a house. MacDonald is
getting closer to his goal, as his trading has
resulted in acquiring one year?s free rent on a
house in Phoenix.
The story began last July...and the
trades have gone as follows:
-
Paper clip for a fish-shaped pen.
-
Fish-shaped pen for a clay
doorknob with a funny face on it.
-
Clay doorknob for a camping
stove.
-
Camping stove for a generator.
-
Generator for an ?instant party.?
-
Instant party for a snowmobile.
-
Snowmobile for an
all-expenses-paid trip to Yahk, British
Columbia.
-
Yahk trip for a panel van.
-
Van for a recording contract.
-
Recording contract for the year
of free rent in Phoenix.
The latter trade was with Jody Gnant,
www.jodygnant.com, who says
there is an amazing energy going on
with this project. She admits the value of the
rental property far exceeds that of the recording
contract, but she says such calculations are of no
concern to her.
But her actions say that such
calculations are really only part of the equation.
And her trade reinforces the fact that the true
value of anything is what someone else will pay you
for it. Most of us have experienced this fact?that
the value placed on various goods and services
depends on what it?s worth to the person who wants
it.
That?s the real story here, and it?s
the magic of barter. It?s also why there is enormous
opportunities when one is bartering! People don?t
just live off ones and zeroes. They live with their
dreams, aspirations, and what is important to them.
The life experience Jody Gnant will derive from this
barter effort will be with her for the rest of her
life, and very well could be life-altering.
Needless to say, Kyle MacDonald?s
life has forever been changed. Hollywood has already
called about making a movie of his story. Pretty
heady stuff for a guy who was delivering pizzas and
working other part-time jobs to make ends meet.
Trading takes place on many levels,
as MacDonald?s amazing accomplishment has shown the
world. To follow Kyle MacDonald?s venture check our
http://oneredpaperclip.com.
This story reinforces what we?ve been
preaching for decades...wealth is not limited to
just what you have in your bank account.
Here?s A Service For Direct Trading
If you?re looking to trade personal
property and believe that value is subjective not
objective, you might want to check out Spud
Barrett?s
www.barrettexchange.com. Barrett has an
exchange auction board he?s been conducting in the
USA and Canada since 1978.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
colleagues. We have a ?box? at the end of the
newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .)
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IMS
Files Annual Report, Acquires More Equity Capital
International Monetary Systems (OTCBB:INLM) has filed
its Form 10-KSB Annual Report for the year ending December 31, 2005.
CEO Don Mardak says 2005 was a banner year for the company with five
acquisitions, revenue growth of 31%, and positive cash flows from
operations in excess of $678,000.
He also noted that after deducting expenses,
resulting primarily from accounting adjustments and changes to
comply with the S.E.C. standards and Sarbanes-Oxley rules, the firm
reported a net loss for the calendar year of $221,639.
IMS processed more than $52 million in barter
transactions (one side of the transaction) and generated revenues of
$6.2 million, an increase over 2004 which had $37 million in barter
transactions and revenues totaling $4.7 million.
The company increased the size of its outside sales
force to fourteen and averaged nearly 100 new-client enrollments
each month.
$1 Million Received From Praetorian
Offshore Ltd.
The firm also announced the receipt of $1 million in
funds which will be used to finance additional acquisitions, reduce
outstanding debt, and supplement working capital.
Mardak affirmed, ?We are thrilled to have earned the
confidence of a firm such as Praetorian Capital. Unlike so many
funding opportunities that have been presented to us, this is a pure
equity investment in our company?s common stock, which demonstrates
the confidence that Praetorian management has in our future.
For further
information:
www.internationalmonetary.com.
The
Growth and Use of Secondary Capital (New Money) Creates
Unprecedented Wealth In Today?s New Age Of Possibility
There are many forms of secondary capital?which can
be defined as any financial instrument that measures and
communicates value in a common language. Would you like to see and
learn more about the many forms of secondary capital?
We have 75 free,
informative and inspiring, articles for you in our ?Secondary
Capital Section.? Check it out...
www.barternews.com/secondary_capital.htm.
Schacht?s ITA Goes Remote To Boost Productivity & Sales
The Illinois
Trade Association, founded in 1983, is the largest independent
barter company in the United States. They represent 6,000
professional clients as well as 1,000 corporate clients, such as
resorts and media outlets.
With such a
large client base covering the U.S. and Mexico, and a relatively
small sales force of 15, ITA faced a roadblock to future growth
because of unreliable remote access to its business-critical
applications. (The company employs another 50 people, and its IT
staff comprises two programmers.)
So to push the
company?s sales toward their $100 million annual sales goal, they
took action! Schacht says the problem was solved when ITA partnered
with Performance Network Solutions, a Silver Citrix Solution
Advisor.
Now their
salespeople, when working from home a hotel or a customer site, can
use their own computers or company laptops to securely access the 20
client applications that are maintained centrally. (ITA is also
experimenting with extending the solution to its brokers.)
Cofounder and
president Jack Schacht says the improvement is amazing. ?Our remote
users were losing valuable time, a half hour a day or more, due to
dial-up connections. Now they can connect quickly, and don?t have to
make a special trip to the office for something. This saves them
time that can be spent selling.?
He continued,
?We figured nearly $4,000 per person was lost yearly in
productivity. And when ITA wanted to hire additional out-of-state
people, there was the big question of how to provide them with
access to our applications and data.?
For information
on Illinois Trade Association see
www.itatrade.com.
Trade Exchange Owners... Would You Like To Make 2006 Your Greatest Year Ever?
Then it?s time to
grab-a-hold of the most powerful marketing tool in the barter
industry! The Competitive Edge newsletter is a monthly, ready
to use, professional 4-page publication...no work is needed! (Click
here.)
?IRTA U? Theme For 27th Annual International Conference In September
Executive
Director Krista Vardabash and President Lois Dale are both excited
about the new ?IRTA U? concept, which will be the focus for the
International Reciprocal Trade Association?s 27th annual convention
scheduled for September 14-17, at the Island Grand Resort/TradeWinds
in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.
Vardabash and
Dale exclaimed, ?Just as in a true university setting, we will
present a curriculum complete with speakers, classes and seminars.
It will focus on instructing and inspiring current, as well as
future, exchange owners on responsible and sustainable operations
and growth.?
A curriculum of
classes at ?IRTA U? is presently available at
www.irta.com.
Get
New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!
You can obtain
useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
Biking Buddies Offer Mobile Interactive Billboards
In Sacramento
there is a public relations guy who is obsessed with cycling. Max
Mack, at age 43, rides about 450 miles a week. Recently he organized
a bunch of his biking buddies into a nine member team to sell
advertising space on their jerseys.
Mack is the
owner of Epiphany, a small media relations firm. Because of that
background, he is the front man for the group. He offers potential
advertisers various-sized ads on the group?s jerseys and shorts.
(The group still has ad space available on its shoes, socks and
helmets.)
The ad prices
range from $1,200 to $5,000 per ad annually. They don?t make a lot
of money yet...but enough to buy their high-grade bike outfits,
which typically run about $400 a member per year. Their small
business advertisers think it?s great, as they don?t have the budget
to put their name on Formula One race cars.
Mack?s living
billboards zip along city streets, passing cars slowed by traffic
and giving bored drivers an eyeful of striking red jerseys scripted
with ads. The group?s efforts go even further. When they break at
coffee shops they hand-out their clients? discount cards to some of
the customers.
Mack has greater
ambitious goals...he and his middle-aged buddies want to purchase a
professional racing team. He estimates they?ll need to raise about
$1 million to get a team started by 2008.
Editor?s
note:
From billboards on bikes to targeting the eye in the sky,
advertisers are finding new ways to get their message out. The
latest aerial imaging services of Google Maps and Windows Live
Local, for example, enable companies to create ad messages visible
to satellite-based cameras. Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List
of Barter Companies.
World Travel & Tourism Council Urges U.S. To Ease Security Burdens
Going through U.S. customs can take more than an
hour. And although the Department of Homeland Security is working on
technology to speed up the time visitors spend going through customs
and immigration screening, they still have a long way to go.
That?s why the World Travel and Tourism Council, at
the sixth-annual global summit in Washington, has called on the U.S.
government to make crossing its borders easier for tourists and
workers.
During informal panel discussions, executives
representing major travel-related companies said many travelers to
the U.S. worry whether they will be greeted with a welcome or a
warning. The international group, meeting for the first time in the
U.S., said the government should do more to improve the travel
experience here.
The U.S. is now the world leader in travel sales, but
its share of the world market has been shrinking since the early
1990s amid fast-growing economies in China, India and Eastern
Europe, as well as a downturn following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Editor?s note:
Hotels, cruise lines, and tourist officials in the Caribbean,
Mexico, and Canada are stepping up publicity efforts to make sure
American patrons know that many of them will need passports when
returning from those destinations in 2007. Only 27% of U.S. citizens
have valid passports, according to the State Department. Give
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