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By Jay Abraham
Some economists believe the company will head into another recession before long. Whether or not that happens, it's important that you continue to stay on top of the cash flow in your business or practice.
Likewise, in a time of economic slowdown or recession, you should always be looking for ways to increase your sales, expand your wealth, grow your customer base and solidly and steadily expand your business.
That's why I was so very pleased to see that one of the country's largest circulation newspapers (The Washington Post) recently ran a front-page story on the fact that small businesses much like yours are increasingly recognizing the powerful virtues of bartering - one of the principles I'd like to share with you here.
Barter represents probably the most enjoyable, stimulating, lucrative and rewarding business opportunity available. Why? Because you can do things with and through barter that you couldn't do otherwise--things you couldn't normally accomplish if you're short on cash or if you don't have unlimited buying power.
When you barter, you create purchasing power almost at will. You can, quite literally, write your own credit line (or barter scrip) to unlimited amounts. You can buy goods and services at far better discounts and on far more advantageous terms than you ever could with cash.
What businesses or services make good barter candidates? Understand this. Whatever business or profession you're in, you have the capacity to generate finished goods or services that cost you less than their market value. If you're a plastic surgeon and you do face lifts, a face lift may have a market value of $4,000, but may actually cost you $400 in real, hard incremental costs. If you are a manufacturer of sofas, a sofa may sell for $5,000, but cost only $500. If you have margin, you have built-in profit.
Here's how the powerful tool of barter works.
First, determine what your barter leverage is. Suppose you own a company that manufactures or sells a product. As long as there is an established market for your product, you've got the basis for building a profitable barter opportunity.
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