Barter Mag by Bartercard Australia

For businesses who connect

Issue 1, 2014

Barter Mag Swampdog Sustainable fish and chips on Bartercard!

The Latin Store story From Ashfield to the QVB

Queensland Reds A 13 year partnership

Cash customers, Big Screens and big picture Winning cash contracts

The Big Springs Riverina story Springing into new markets with Bartercard

Whether you go for business or pleasure...

Bartercard is with you. Bartercard offers national and international accommodation packages. One of the many ways to conserve cash and improve your lifestyle...with Bartercard.

Welcome to Bartercard’s first edition of Barter Mag – for businesses who connect. I am often asked when speaking with business people just how Bartercard works and whilst I can give you a simplistic answer I find that by sharing member’s stories, you will gain a greater understanding of how it works in a practical sense. I invite you to read through the various member stories, get to know these business people and I encourage you to recognise challenges that you may be facing in your business today. Each one of these stories will give you an understanding of how Bartercard has been able to assist each business owner. They are all from different walks of life and different industries but Bartercard has been used strategically to address many of the challenges they face every day. If you have cash flow issues, stock you want to move, downtime, or you simply want to grow, expand or improve your business then we would love to work with you. Over the past twelve months we have worked with over 20,000 Australian businesses that have conducted business through our network in excess of $440 Million. This figure demonstrates extra business generated and cash savings that businesses across the country have achieved through barter. Each month we welcome over 150 new businesses to Bartercard and we thrive on helping them to grow, achieve their business goals and improve their lifestyle. As Founder of Bartercard my mission has and always will be to improve the lives of our members by helping them tap into the unrealised potential in their business. As we enter 2014, we look forward to welcoming more new and exciting businesses to our network. We believe in connecting businesses and connecting people – this is what business is about. Enjoy our member stories. Best regards,

Contents From Painting to Publishing - by accident

The Latin Store Story

What is Bartercard?

Swampdog - Sustainable fish and chips on Bartercard!

Cash customers, Big Screens and big picture

Cutting deals & ‘trading up’

Top 10 Networking Tips

The Big Springs Riverina story

Could you Barter your way to success?

Wet, wild and wonderful in Cairns

Bartercard events

Queensland Rugby Union

16-17

The Bartercard Charity Foundation… a new way to give

18-19

Testimonials Brian Hall CEO and Founder Bartercard International Group Published by Bartercard Australia Level 2, 121 Scarborough Street Southport Qld 4215 1300 BARTER (1300 227 837) bartercard.com.au

Building a brand

From Painting to Publishing - by accident Nigel and Caroline Gorman are well known to many Bartercard members in Brisbane, as the enthusiastic couple who run the Aussie Painters Network website and magazine, and (more recently) develop apps for businesses. What many don’t know is that had Nigel not suffered a serious injury 3 years ago, we may never have heard of them at all.

A “It took me about six months to get a good understanding of how to use the Bartercard effectively” he said, “but once I understood it, things took off.”

fter operating a professional painting business for 15 years, Nigel met with an accident and snapped the ligaments and tendons in his ankle. No longer able to climb ladders or work at heights, Nigel was forced to look at income alternatives. Caroline had been staying home to care for the children, and had to return to work. It was a stressful time for them both. Recalling it Nigel said “I’d been in the painting business for 15 years and had 12 people working for me. I didn’t know how to do anything else.” Turning lemons into lemonade Clearly that wasn’t true, but it did take several months for the couple to stumble onto an idea that worked. After attending a Dale Beaumont seminar where the topic of online magazines came up, the idea of Aussie Painting Contractor - the online magazine for the Australian painting industry - was born. It was an idea that allowed Nigel to use his industry expertise and Caroline to use her experience in education and communication design. Together, they set up Aussie Painters’ Network and began to educate and disseminate information to the painting industry. The publication now goes out to a database of over 10,000. It’s a free publication and the income is derived from advertising and from inexpensive website memberships. It was a significant challenge in the beginning as neither had much publishing experience and the enterprise was starting from scratch. Some months after start-up, they joined Bartercard at the suggestion of a friend. “It took us about six months to get a good understanding of how to use Bartercard effectively” Nigel said, “but once we understood it, things took off.” Aussie Painters Network offer advertising space via Bartercard, offering members a way to use their trade dollars to promote

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their businesses, while building up the publication. Nigel said “I had to start somewhere. Big brands aren’t going to advertise in a magazine until it’s established and others are advertising. Now we have some big names advertising.” Building the brand on Bartercard Nigel and Caroline understood that the best way to make their trade dollars work was to use it in ways that built their brand and brought cash clients to the business. Through Bartercard, Aussie Painters Network sponsors a football club and professional Australian golfer, Jason Norris. They also sponsored the 2013 Victorian PGA Championship. This was able to build up their brand and promote their product to their target audience into the cash market. Aussie Painters Network has already graduated from a home office to commercial premises and according to Nigel, “It wouldn’t have happened as quickly if we hadn’t used Bartercard the way we did”. In addition to the sponsorships, printing, signage, promotional items and other marketing costs are put on Bartercard, along with a portion of other regular business expenses including phones, a cleaning service, office furniture, data cabling and a bookkeeper. Nigel estimates that they’ve conserved over $100,000 in two years by making good use of Bartercard. They’re happy to accept Bartercard clients for advertising in the publication, and for their new App building business. “We do about 25-30% in Bartercard trade, and about 40% for the App business, but we just can’t get enough. We don’t have trouble spending it at all.”

Some people will always turn life’s lemons into lemonade. We suspect Nigel is one of them.

Business growth

From Ashfield to the QVB

The Latin Store Story

When Veronica and Patricia Avila joined Bartercard some 4 years ago, they had already established The Latin Store, selling South American products from colourful bags to lush alpaca wool blankets. It was a great idea and Veronica and Patricia had sourced some beautiful products – but the store was in a not-so-great location in suburban Sydney. Now, The Latin Store is adding some colour to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) in Sydney’s CBD.

sing all their smarts – and the skills of a very special Bartercard Trade Co-ordinator (Account Manager) named Katinka Zagon, the sisters transformed their fledgling business into a thriving success story. For Veronica, being a Bartercard member has been a journey filled with pleasant surprises. While they joined for the purpose of gaining new clients and moving more stock, she soon discovered that they could do so much more with their trade dollars. “Every time I encountered a challenge, it seemed Bartercard was part of the answer. Now when I find a challenge I immediately think ‘I wonder if I can use Bartercard…’ and I call Katinka!” From Veronica’s point of view, a major benefit in joining Bartercard was that it allowed their business to grow much faster than they could have if they’d had to rely on cash sales. She found they were able to sell stock quickly and easily on Bartercard, and had no trouble finding ways to invest their trade dollars. Purchasing accommodation in trade dollars helped them to afford the opportunity to exhibit their products at major shows interstate including the Brisbane Exhibition and the annual trade shows in Melbourne and Adelaide. While the sisters have been able to purchase a number of useful items with their trade dollars – printing, photography, a cash register, signage and more – their favourite purchase so far has been the services of a high level business coach who would normally not have been available to them, even

if they could have afforded to pay cash for his sought after services. Veronica and Patricia weren’t seeking a business coach at the time, but Katinka knew where they wanted to take their business, and she knew just the person to help. Since then, The Latin Store has gone from strength to strength. Veronica and Patricia moved the store from Ashfield to King Street in Newtown, gaining better exposure. When their lease on the Newtown store wasn’t renewed they turned that ‘challenge’ into an opportunity – and upgraded to a prime CBD location in Sydney’s QVB. For Veronica, one of the best things about being a Bartercard member is being able to network and learn from other members. It’s helped her learn how to use their trade dollars wisely, and opened up doors she didn’t know existed, and the learning hasn’t stopped. “On a recent Bartercard cruise I spoke to people who’d bought multiple properties using trade dollars. It was so interesting! I heard all sorts of ideas that hadn’t occurred to me.” Around 8-10% of The Latin Store turnover is in trade dollars. With the help of Katinka, Veronica and Patricia plan to enter the UK market in the near future which will enable them to continue selling winter products like alpaca wool blankets during the Australian summer months. Patricia is happy to recommend Bartercard to others and says you shouldn’t worry if you get off to a slow start because “the more you use it, the better you get at it.”

Katinka - or should we call her Ka-ching-ka When Bartercard Trade Coordinator, Katinka Zagon met Veronica and Patricia four years ago it was a perfect match. The sisters were full of enthusiasm, ideas and both had a positive attitude. They both wanted to grow their business and were open to ideas and advice. With a marketing and public relations background, Katinka immediately saw the tremendous potential for The Latin Store and knew she could help Veronica and Patricia achieve their goals. A Trade Co-ordinator of over 10 years’ experience, Katinka has a reputation in Bartercard circles for getting things done. She believes that members need to think big when using Bartercard and use it in ways that take them closer to their business goals. She’s disappointed when they don’t. “When I ask someone what they want to ‘do’ with Bartercard, I always hope the answer will be ‘I want to expand my business’ not just ‘I want a removalist’. Sure, I can find a removalist – but it’s more exciting helping people who have a vision to achieve it. It’s in my nature.”

“Tell me what you want to do and together we will find a way.” Issue 1, 2014

What is Bartercard? And how does it work… Bartercard is a business network made up of over 20,000 members in Australia and 55,000 around the world. It is designed to assist businesses to improve cash flow and reduce cash expenses through the use of modern bartering.

Gone are the days of swapping a cow for a pig or a chicken for a goat. The power of modern bartering is that you can conserve cash and reduce expenses by using our virtual currency, known as a trade dollar, to swap your goods or services indirectly with any business within the Bartercard network.

6 benefits for business... 1. More customers

4. Sell excess stock

Most businesses employ sales people, advertise, reduce prices or offer incentives to gain more customers. By using Bartercard you gain more customers by promoting your business directly to the membership base through the many sales channels and by building relationships at the networking events. It’s like having an extra marketing arm in your business which directly results in increasing your sales opportunities and creating cash referral business.

For many businesses selling excess stock means discounting, running dealer promotions or sadly writing off the stock. The benefit with Bartercard is you sell excess or discontinued stock at the normal selling price avoiding the need to reduce your profit margins. You can promote your excess stock to the 20,000 members on Bartercard’s auction site, online store, promote your goods in the eNewsletter or book a stand at the many trade shows.

2. The power of Bartercard trade dollars

5. Capture lost revenue

When you barter-trade using Bartercard you are ultimately buying with your cost of goods or services. Therefore, you are buying at the purchasing discount that is inbuilt into your margin.

Most businesses have a certain amount of downtime, be it on certain days or at certain times of the year with the flux of seasonal trends. Bartercard’s goal is to assist you to gain additional customers to utilise business downtime. For example, hairdressers may fill empty spots in their diaries, restaurateurs may fill empty tables, hotels may fill empty rooms, and professionals may fill empty appointments with additional Bartercard customers. By filling downtime you are effectively gaining revenue that you would otherwise have lost or missed out on.

To put simply, if it costs you 35c in the dollar to provide your product or service, then for every $100 trade you spend it really only costs you $35. So you are in fact buying at a 65% discount! By understanding this benefit you may be starting to grasp the power that Bartercard offers businesses.

3. Reduce cash expenses The way to maximise your purchasing discount is to look at all the current expenses that you have in your business such as advertising, bookkeeping, legal, printing, graphic designers, business lunches and so on and so on. By using business members within the Bartercard network you can pay for these expenses with trade dollars instead of cash.

6. Interest free line of credit Bartercard members receive an interest free line of credit ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 trade dollars which allows them to make purchases immediately upon joining the Bartercard network. This interest free line of credit allows you to continue to grow your business even during times when your cash flow has slowed, without incurring crippling interest rates.

To give you a snapshot - Bartercard currently has 500 advertising/media companies like radio and magazines, 188 bookkeepers, 294 printers, 1,570 restaurants and cafes and 216 graphic designers! The spending options for your business are enormous; therefore your cash savings are also enormous.

Could any of these benefits help your business? We would love the opportunity to help you to achieve your business and lifestyle goals. Contact our friendly team on 1300 BARTER (1300 227 837) or visit www.bartercard.com.au/contact-us 6

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Interest free line of credit

Swampdog Sustainable fish and chips on Bartercard! Every now and again we come across Bartercard members who are so inspirational that we’re particularly proud to be associated with them.

hef, Richard Webb certainly qualifies. He owns and operates Swampdog Fish and Chips in South Brisbane and it’s a fish and chip store like no other. A strong believer in sustainability, Richard serves up a feast of lovingly prepared local seafood that’s as fresh as it gets and specifically chosen to support sustainable fishing activities. Starting up just two years ago, Swampdog took off within weeks – based entirely on word of mouth. So what exactly is sustainable fish? While we’ve been busy dining out on Ocean Trout, Salmon, Barramundi and the like, tasty local fish that are often more abundantly available have been largely ignored. Richard is one of a number of Australian chefs who are striving to broaden our ideas and our palates when it comes to seafood. He actively supports The Good Fish Project run by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and is one of the chefs featured on their website. Wanting to educate consumers, Richard stepped out of the restaurant business over two years ago and into the Swampdog fish and chip shop – a move that could have been a serious challenge for a less tenacious individual.

Clever use of Bartercard helped Richard make the move Richard made excellent use of his interest free line of credit with Bartercard to set up Swampdog. He was able to purchase $15,000 worth

of deep fryers with trade dollars along with freezers and refrigeration units and about $12,000 of signage for his new store. There were smaller purchases too – printed t-shirts and the like, that helped along the way. Not only did this save him cash, but it also reduced his stress levels knowing that he would easily repay this debt with Bartercard sales. Currently, approximately 4-5% of Swampdog’s turnover is in Bartercard sales but Richard would like to see that increase by a few percent. While he can’t buy his fish supplies on trade (yet) he is able to purchase fruit and vegetables on trade, and all of the shop’s coffee supplies. Richard enjoys being a Bartercard member and has just two tips for members who want to make the most of their trade dollars. The first is focus on using trade dollars to benefit your business. The second is to network and build relationships with other Bartercard members – ask every Bartercard client what they do with their trade dollars and what their best buys have been. “You can gather some excellent sales and spending ideas from fellow Bartercard members. They’ll tell you what works and what doesn’t” says Richard. Richard plans to continue using Bartercard. He dreams of one day using it to take a fly fishing holiday to the Cook Islands but says “I’ve become so good at spending my trade dollars on the business that I doubt there’ll ever be enough left for my fly fishing holiday!”

Richard made excellent use of his interest free line of credit using over T$27,000 to set up the Swampdog Fish and Chip store.

Winning contracts

Cash customers, Big Screens and big picture with Bartercard Big Screens Australia uses Bartercard to sweeten the deal and win cash work in a competitive environment.

nitially seeing the possibility of gaining additional sales through screen hire to Bartercard members, Martin Pettifer, from Big Screens Australia has discovered an excellent way to use Bartercard to gain new cash clients who might otherwise have chosen a competitor. Q. What does your business do? Big Screens Australia manages the ‘big screen’ requirements for events including rock concerts, festivals, sporting events, rodeos, truck shows and more. We travel far and wide to events, transporting a substantial amount of equipment and a camera crew to each new location. We also produce TV commercials and video productions for a range of purposes. Q. How do you use Bartercard in your business? Bartercard allows us to offer a failsafe deal to potential cash clients in a competitive environment. We offer them the possibility of paying for a good portion of our services with tickets to their events instead of cash. It’s a great offer that works for both parties – a client’s biggest challenges are almost always sticking to budget and selling tickets, so our solution helps with both of these challenges. For us, we’re able to sell the event tickets easily on Bartercard and it puts us a head of our competition to gain the business for the event. Q. Why do you find Bartercard effective? I’m a firm believer in the concept of bartering and saving cash for better uses and I believe that using Bartercard has helped us to keep ahead of the competition and improve our business. Every business is a little different, so it stands to reason that they will use Bartercard in different ways.

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We now primarily use Bartercard to win cash contracts as it’s an effective method to close a deal. Some methods are always more successful than others but I believe there are two crucial components to succeeding – (1) get to know how Bartercard works so you understand it, and (2) work on learning to use it well for your business. Q. What do you spend your trade on? With regular accommodation requirements for multiple team members, I’ve had very little trouble spending the trade dollars generated from our winning cash contracts strategy. We also uses trade dollars for other regular expenses like bookkeeping and car detailing, for occasional expenses like spray painting, and the occasional case of wine. I also keep a keen eye on the Bartercard online auctions and marketplace – in the past I’ve been able to purchase a brand new 27 inch Mac computer and other items of equipment needed in our business. Q. What are you future plans? A new production studio thanks to Bartercard. In the near future, I plan to build a new production studio on my property. It’s not a cheap exercise as the studio will include a green room and soundproofing. But I’ve estimated that I can cover 80% of the costs using trade dollars. Expanding the capacity of his business will also allow Martin to attract and retain good freelance workers by helping to ensure he can offer them increased work opportunities – and that in turn will help his business to improve and grow.

Business & pleasure

Cutting deals & ‘trading up’ is all in a day’s work for Judy Bartlett Judy Bartlett from Rapid Response First Aid Training joined Bartercard some five years ago and saw an opportunity to negotiate deals with larger clients that might otherwise overlook her Sunshine Coast based business in favour of bigger competitors.

apid Response First Aid Training conducts first aid training for individuals, and for businesses that are now required by law to have a number of staff members accredited in first aid. It’s become a highly competitive industry in the past few years. It’s not easy to stand out from the crowd. So what’s Judy’s secret? Flexible thinking and a little determination! Trading in work for a holiday Travelling is not easy, logistically or financially, when you have four children. However, when you have initiative and audacity to cut a deal with large clients, the world is your oyster. Judy’s first big success was winning the business of the Hyatt Regency on the Sunshine Coast. She offered to exchange her services for a one week holiday package of equivalent value. The deal would save the Hyatt several thousand dollars in cash so they were happy to ‘trade’ a luxury deal that included the executive suite, meals and golfing for two. With the Hyatt in the same area as Judy, there was little point in her utilising the package. Instead she sold it through Bartercard which allowed Judy to purchase a holiday for her whole family in the Cook Islands.

Following that successful trade, Judy negotiated a similar deal with a rainforest resort in Northern Queensland and again sold the holiday package on Bartercard. “These funds will go towards a family holiday to Vanuatu” says Judy. “There are some really great packages available on the tourism page of the members trading portal, the hardest decision will be deciding which one to go for!” The benefits of that deal didn’t end there – the resort continued to engage Judy’s services in the years that followed, but began to pay in cash. The deals didn’t stop there. Through her networking Judy was approached by a local school on the Sunshine Coast after a parent had paid their child’s school fees in Bartercard gift certificates. Knowing that Judy was a member of Bartercard, the school’s principal offered to pay Judy their initial training services requirements in Bartercard gift certificates. Judy says “…all of these deals have contributed to increasing cash business. It’s good to have major businesses and schools on my client list. It gets my name out there.”

More flexible thinking - tax deductible trade spending Judy enjoys using her trade dollars to satisfy her travel bug, but she does recognise the value of using them in a way that benefits her financially. As the owner of an investment property, she spends trade dollars on services for the rental property that are tax deductible and also allow her to offer a well maintained property to maximise cash rental returns – including pool cleaning, gardening and painting services. She also purchases advertising and marketing related items for her business. Where to next? Vanuatu. Judy hopes to make the trip with her kids in 2014. She plans to purchase the accommodation through Bartercard and is just waiting to spot the right deal. Judy’s message – “Don’t limit yourself to selling just your products or services on Bartercard. Engage in a little flexible thinking and offer to accept payment in your clients’ products or services and then on sell these through Bartercard. You too could then indulge in a family holiday!”

“It’s good to have major businesses and schools on my client list. It gets my name out there.”

Issue 1, 2014

Top Ten Networking Tips 1. Be approachable

2. Wear a name badge

If you are nervous about approaching strangers at networking events, make it easier for others to approach you. It’s so much easier to approach someone you don’t know if they are smiling and look happy to be there. Happy smiling people actually attract others to them.

Not only does it make you look more professional, but it helps others to remember your name. If you have a name tag made with your branding, it also assists your marketing and advertising and makes your brand more memorable.

3. Always offer a business card I’ve had people tell me that they don’t hand out a business card unless someone asks them for it. I’ve had others tell me they don’t ask for a business card, because if the person wants them to have one, they’ll offer it. See the problem? I always offer a business card and it often acts as a conversation starter. Don’t be shy, you’ve got more to lose by not offering your card.

5. Ask people about themselves and their business Show a genuine interest in others. Not only are you learning about their business, it will help you to understand what people could be good contacts for them. Plus, the more you know about someone’s business, the more it helps you understand how your business could be of assistance to them.

4. Stand where people are likely to congregate. (Bar/trade display) It’s so much easier to make conversation with someone who is already standing beside you waiting for a drink or browsing a display table. You have an array of conversation topics in front of you; all you need to do is take the first step.

6. Ask open ended questions Don’t ask questions that can be answered with a YES or NO. For example”, Did you have a good holiday” should become “How did you spend your holiday” or “Tell me about your holiday”. It’s far more inviting and personal.

7. Listen!

8. Befriend first timers

Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply. We are often so busy forming our responses in our heads; we are not really listening to what is actually being said. It’s also good to listen more than you speak. You’ll never learn anything while you are talking.

We all know the uncomfortable feeling of walking into an event for the first time. Imagine how relieved you’d feel if someone took you under their wing and introduced you around to others. Doing this for others will not only help you to be remembered, but will make you feel good as well.

9. Use people’s names often

10. Follow up!

People love the sound of their own name. If you use someone’s name often, it helps to build a connection with the person and also helps you to remember their name. Just don’t go overboard or it will sound forced and not genuine.

Approximately only 1 in 10 people ever follow up with people they’ve met at a networking event. Be one of the few and not one of the many.

It’s all about building connections and relationships and each little thing you can do towards this makes a huge difference in the quality of your connections. It’s another link in the chain of being remembered. So, be sure to attend the various networking functions that Bartercard and its members host. Business networking events are one of the many benefits offered to Bartercard members. These events provide you with the opportunity to meet fellow traders and promote your business to gain Bartercard sales and cash sales. There are Bartercard events happening every month!

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Happy Networking! Terri Cooper Bartercard Member Terri Cooper Events www.terricooper.com.au

Expand & export

Springing into New Markets with Bartercard Being based in rural Wagga Wagga hasn’t stopped Greg Hanson and Big Springs Riverina from growing their business and making use of Bartercard to expand and export. Q. What does your business do? Establish in 1994, Big Springs Riverina supplies bottled water. The core of the business has always been the sale of water coolers and large bottles of water to fill them. Q. How has Bartercard helped your business? Expanding into the market of small bottles for individual consumption was always going to be tough – with multinational competitors able to offer prices that are difficult to match. I however was not deterred from entering the market and I thought Bartercard may help me to do it. I contacted our local Bartercard office, to help us to promote our bottled water interstate to gauge interest. The local franchisee, Dean Freeman, went one step further and contacted the Tourism and Hospitality Manager at Bartercard National office. Big Springs Riverina now supply bottled water to hotels and restaurants interstate as well as to two large resorts in the Cook Islands, allowing the resorts to spend their trade dollars, and us to spread the Big Springs Riverina name and product further afield. Q. What’s your most memorable purchase on Bartercard? Most of the services our business uses are local, so we knew that if we were going to generate more trade dollars from these new contracts, we’d have to look at more creative ways to spend them. We

The Big Springs Riverina story looked for – and found – an excellent way to convert our trade dollars to cash. We were able to purchase two aged care units as an investment, using some T$30,000 per unit towards the purchase price. The units net a rental income in cash, but as the units increase in value, the investment of the trade dollars pays off in asset value that could be turned into cash – so rather than a simple dollar to dollar conversion, I effectively used our trade dollars in a way that should eventually return much more than $30,000 per unit.

Put yourself and your product out there. Bartercard is the perfect vehicle to help you do that.

I see a lot of potential in this strategy. In fact, I’m keen to accumulate more trade dollars that I can invest in artwork and property in the future. Q. How do you use Bartercard to reduce your cash outlay? Big Springs Riverina now utilises Bartercard member businesses for vehicle maintenance, security services, pest control, gift vouchers for staff incentives, and to host staff Christmas parties – this year, the team will be enjoying a dinner and a weekend away on Bartercard. These cash savings are certainly a great benefit of our membership with Bartercard but what we also realised that due to the increased turnover that Bartercard provides us, we are now in a position to negotiate better deals on raw commodities and to justify improvements to the plant and equipment. Q. Would you recommend Bartercard? Despite the challenge of being in a rural location, I’m happy to recommend Bartercard to others who are looking to get increased access into a new market. You’ve got to put yourself and your product out there, together with honesty in trading and an active Franchise manager, Bartercard is the perfect vehicle to help you do that.

Issue 1, 2014

Cash savings

Could you Barter your way to success? Sharon Jurd did! A member for just 3 years, Sharon Jurd from HydroKleen, has used Bartercard to help make the shift from operating a single business on the Gold Coast to becoming a Franchisor with 23 franchises, an author, and a business coach. Q. What does your business do? Hydrokleen began as a single Gold Coast based business with a niche service – cleaning and servicing air conditioning units. Initially, there was a major challenge to overcome – many people were unaware that air conditioning units should be cleaned and serviced annually, and others didn’t realise such a specific service was available. We joined Bartercard hoping that it would help the business to gain exposure and increase brand awareness. It did, and along the way we found many more ways to make Bartercard work for the business. Q. How did you gain new clients on Bartercard? New clients spread the word. I threw myself whole-heartedly into being a Bartercard member. You can’t join Bartercard and then not be active – it defeats the purpose. Advertising to the Bartercard database and attending networking events quickly resulted in new Bartercard clients, and in cash paying clients that Bartercard members referred. My strategy to educate consumers and increase brand awareness began to work.

Sharon took Hydrokleen from a single business to a franchise with 23 outlets in 3 years. 12

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Q. How do you use Bartercard? As Hydrokleen grew and I decided to franchise the business, our expenses grew and this is where Bartercard became instrumental in assisting to reduce our cash outlays and aid the expansion. We found numerous ways to use our trade dollars including: » Printing and flyer delivery » Hiring training rooms » Purchasing promotional products including pens and stubby holders » Purchasing and hiring ice sculptures, entertainment, guest speakers and other items for annual conferences » Purchasing memorabilia and other items that could be auctioned at conferences to raise funds for charity to raise the profile of Hydrokleen » Rewarding staff for their efforts with dinners, massages, hampers and other incentives In fact, many of our purchases were ones the business would not have been able to afford if cash was required. I can see even more uses for our trade dollars in the future. With our plans to expand overseas, trade dollars will be used for overseas accommodation.

Q. How do you help other Bartercard members to grow? I’m very conscious of the true spirit involved in the time honoured concept of bartering – giving and receiving for mutual benefit. I’ve established a new business – Sharon Jurd Events – to help others improve and expand their businesses by offering business coaching and mentoring services. My book entitled – “How to grow your business faster than your competitor” provides first hand insights into how to create more time, more money and more life. Sharon’s tips for members The more Hydrokleen grows the more uses Sharon seems to find for her trade dollars. Here are some of Sharon’s tips on how to make the most of your Bartercard membership: » Treat your Bartercard clients the same as your cash clients » Get involved – network and use Bartercard to get your name out there » Use the mobile APP – wherever you happen to be, the APP will show you which Bartercard businesses are nearby » Consider Bartercard as an additional income stream – it’s one of the easiest ways to get new clients sharonjurdevents.com.au hydrokleen.com.au

Business expansion

Wet, wild and wonderful in Cairns Cairns based members Steven and Leanne Davison talked to us about the challenges of running a business, and the little things that make it all worthwhile.

unning a business in a remote area is almost always a challenge. Running two can be double trouble. For Steven and Leanne Davison, owners of Coral Coast Cartridges and Cairns Label Centre, the challenges are largely offset by the opportunity for a relaxed coastal lifestyle in a beautiful location, far away from the hustle, bustle and peak hour traffic of major cities. Steve says they try to remember that when challenges arise – like the time flooding in the wet season resulted in road closures that prevented them receiving stock for eight weeks! More often though, the challenge is that while their businesses aren’t directly related to tourism, the entire Cairns area relies heavily on trade from tourists – and when tourist numbers are down, business for many is slow and the effect is passed on to those who supply those businesses. A Bartercard member for about six years, Steve and Leanne attract some $6,000-$7,000 a month of additional business by selling to other Bartercard members. They are also able to use trade dollars for some regular business expenses including accounting services for the two businesses, signwriting, and even a small amount of supplies. Most of all, they enjoy meeting other members in the Cairns area. “It’s given us an excellent opportunity to network and get to know more local business owners” he said. “I think that’s one of the biggest benefits.” A surprise weekend in the wild Last year Steve decided to create a surprise weekend of Leanne’s birthday. He managed to create an entire weekend of enjoyment and relaxation using their trade dollars. The weekend kicked off on the Friday evening with dinner at their favourite seafood restaurant, Tha Fish. Next morning, it was breakfast at Mama Coco before heading to the Daintree

Wild Zoo where they were booked in for the weekend. “Staying at the B & B at the zoo is a great experience – you can walk through the zoo at any time” says Steve. In the evening they dined at the Zinc Restaurant. Sunday included a full tour of the Zoo followed by a little crocodile spotting on Bruce Belcher’s Daintree River Cruise. They made purchases in the gift store and were treated to a complementary lunch before heading towards home. But the weekend wasn’t quite over – Steve and Leanne managed another stop at the Shannonvale Tropical Fruit Winery, tasting wine and liqueurs and leaving with a few purchases for themselves and friends.

Steve was about to spend $12,000 in cash on an equipment purchase when a surprise email from Bartercard saved the day – and $5,000!

Steve was chuffed. “The only cash I spent the whole weekend was for fuel. As small business owners it is hard to find time to get away, never mind the expense. We now also have a few new Bartercard customers from the places we visited.” A $12,000 cash saving surprise The weekend away wasn’t the only surprise that’s involved Bartercard. Having searched high and low for a particular piece of equipment – a second hand cartridge dust extraction unit – Steve concluded that he’d have to spend $12,000 in cash to purchase a new unit. He was about to place the $12,000 order when he received an email from Bartercard listing a cartridge dust extraction unit for sale in trade dollars. He could scarcely believe his luck. “Within 5 minutes I’d made contact with the seller and purchased the unit for around T$5,000. It was in excellent condition.” While they’ve been able to make good use of their trade dollars to date – they’ve rarely had a surplus – Steve and Leanne now plan to ‘save’ more trade dollars and look at putting it towards an investment property. But it’s a fairly safe bet they won’t be able to resist the occasional weekend away to enjoy the scenery, wildlife and culinary delights to be found in tropical North Queensland. Issue 1, 2014

Bartercard Events

Trading Extravaganzas 2013! the facts... T

rade shows are Bartercardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest events for the year. They give businesses the opportunity to showcase their products or services to the Bartercard community and is a fun day out for the whole family.

17 trade shows

Members use the relaxed environment to network and go on a shopping spree using their trade dollars.

Over 1,000 businesses exhibiting

Every year the events get bigger and better with 17 Trade Shows being held in 2013 across six states. The business owners in Bartercard traded in excess of $7 Million Dollars which is really all in a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work for our members. Trading and creating new business contacts is what it is all about.

Over 8,000 shoppers!

This is only the beginning for Bartercard Events. 2014 will see our Trade Shows and member events grow and expand. We will be introducing new networking opportunities to help members get the best out of their business. This fits with our mission to improve the lives of every member around the world by helping them to create value and opportunity from the unrealised potential in their business.

We hope to see you at our next event! Visit www.bartercard.com.au for more details on our events for 2014

BarterMag

$7 million traded

Go mobile with our award winning app View your available balance Search favourite members Pay another member

Find members close to you

Now on Windows Phone

Locate Bartercard offices Process sales

The Bartercard mobile app makes it easy. Trade anywhere, anytime.

Download for Apple, Android and Windows. Search for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bartercardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 1300 BARTER members.bartercard.com

Strategic partnership

Queensland Rugby Union shows us how Bartercard works for large corporations

Bringing the ruckus to Bartercard Becoming strategic

ith over 200 community rugby clubs and 500 plus schools to support, a little strategic planning goes along way for Queensland Rugby Union (QRU). Over the last 3 years QRU has been busy establishing an impressive aggregation strategy model to build strong sustainable secure partnerships that deliver a return for the game and a return for their partners. The goal of building their model was essentially about creating a common ambition for rugby in Queensland and bringing all of QRU stakeholders together to say this is what we can deliver as a sport. “One of the things we did very early on was identifying what our volume was” says David Hanham, QRU’s Chief Operating Officer. “We undertook a comprehensive audit across our head office and community clubs of what we spend in various industries to identify what the volume represented. We used volume to build partnerships with organisations that wanted to increase their market share within our state, and also associate with a highly

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visible brand; the Queensland Reds.” In 2013, Super Rugby had a worldwide viewing audience of close to 100 million people including an Australian subscription audience of over 8.5 million. The Queensland Reds attracted over 300,000 spectators to their home games including around 20,000 corporate supporters. QRU has 18 development officers that are state wide. Their role has evolved and developed from being Sport Educators to Business Development Managers. They are the conduit between head office, the partnerships and the local community clubs. “We’ve applied this model across all areas of our business such as food and beverage; electricity, insurance banking and finance, playing apparel, medical services and other sectors,” explains David. “We’ve built those partnerships and we want to continue to build on those partnerships. Through this strategy we’ve been able to generate nearly 3 million dollars of benefits for our community clubs over the last 3 years.”

Queensland Rugby and Bartercard So, where does Bartercard fit in to all of this? QRU’s role initially is to increase the public awareness of Bartercard through its association with Queensland Rugby and then to drive opportunity with their market through research and education. “Our responsibility at QRU is to ensure that our clubs are economically secure and sustainable. Bartercard is a key partner for us to be able to achieve that outcome” says David. “At QRU we are very encouraged by the number of avenues Bartercard creates for us and the new relationships we can form with suppliers and new sponsorship partners. We’ve been able to use Bartercard trade dollars to ensure our clubs gets infrastructure growth and benefits.” QRU provide ‘Bartercard grants’ QRU have a state-wide strategy where their community clubs can apply for a ‘Bartercard grant’. “We look to align trade dollars to some of our clubs key operating expenses. We work with Bartercard businesses and say, you will be our preferred suppliers for capital improvements and we will connect you to the clubs through a centralised process of procurement. Through this we’ve been able to ensure the clubs can get the best result,’ explains David. “We meet with our clubs to understand what their operational expenses are for the year. We then identify which Bartercard members we can use for those required services and then we connect the dots.” In 2012, QRU worked with a Brisbane based Rugby Club involved in the Aggregation Program to reduce expenditure in field maintenance. Working with the local Bartercard member, Green Machine Mowing, a trade arrangement was negotiated for various works on a weekly basis to support the club. The creation of this partnership has resulted in club volunteers having piece of mind that their fields are consistently maintained at a high standard and importantly this partnership has reduced operational expenditure by over $10,000 per annum for that club. With this partnership now in place, QRU has referred this trade member on numerous

occasions which generates further weekly cash business for Green Machine Mowing. Bringing in new business In addition to approaching existing Bartercard members, QRU regularly approach businesses that are not members of Bartercard and suggest to them that if they want to be a part of rugby and get access to their aggregation model and clubs they will need to integrate with the Bartercard system. “We encourage companies vying for our business to join Bartercard and accept Bartercard trade dollars as payment. Bartercard has therefore become an important negotiation tool with our partners to win our clubs business,” says David. “We consistently tendered out for our merchandise, signage and cleaning and asked all applicants to demonstrate how they could use Bartercard within their businesses. All have, as part of this process, met with our procurement officer and Bartercard to uncover the potential of Bartercard within their business,” explains David. “Trade Dollars significantly help the bottom line,” says David. “Our procurement officer works closely with Bartercard to generate opportunities for all parties and generally we find business owners are encouraged by the potential of Bartercard and want to know more.” Implementing a rewards program to motivate community clubs The usage of Bartercard doesn’t stop there. “We’ve also used Bartercard to reward our clubs use of QRU aggregation model,” says David. If a club is compliant to all aggregation partnerships, QRU will unlock a certain amount of Bartercard trade dollars for that club. “The clubs are then motivated to recognise our partnerships and our overall visions, and at the same time they are getting rewarded with Bartercard trade dollars,” says David. “Using Bartercard as a loyalty strategy for our aggregation program helps them improve their local community club and improve their infrastructure,” says David.

Bartercard Australia has been a partner of the QRU and a sponsor the Queensland Reds since 2000. It is a partnership that grows stronger every year. “Bartercard is more than just a business tool for QRU – it’s a stand-alone business strategy that effectively benefits all levels of the code, from the elite and flagship Queensland Reds team all the way through to the community clubs at the game’s grass roots” says Daniel Herbert, Chief Commercial Officer.

Issue 1, 2014

Charity

The Bartercard Charity Foundation …a new way to give. Australian businesses now have a new way to give even if they don’t have the money to provide cash donations to charities. The Bartercard Charity Foundation is a newly established enterprise providing alternative ways for Australian businesses to support Australian registered charities. Recently endorsed by the Australian Tax Office with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status the Foundation is able to accept donations of cash, trade dollars or goods or services exceeding $5,000 from any business irrespective of its size. So, giving to charity just got a whole lot easier. The Bartercard Charity Foundation raised T$100,000 for the Buy a Bale Campaign In June 2013, Richard Norris, General Manager of the Foundation received a grant application from Aussie Helpers for the Buy a Bale Campaign targeted at helping farmers in need. He immediately jumped at the opportunity to help by pledging to raise T$100,000 in support. The Buy a Bale Campaign is a joint venture between Aussie Helpers and the Give Back Campaign to help the Australian farming community that have been hard hit with both flood and drought over recent years. According to Aussie Helpers founder Brian Egan, “Many farmers won’t just fail financially, but may become victims of depression through no fault of their own”. All the money raised helps to buy the essentials our farmers need such as feed for their stock, diesel to cover the enormous freight costs, donations for family essentials, or just volunteering to help. Richard is happy to advise, “We’ve achieved our goal of raising T$100,000. We had a really positive response from the Bartercard businesses community to our appeal for assistance and donations.”

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The Bartercard Charity Foundation’s T$100,000 grant will be used, amongst other things, to help lift the spirits of our farmers and their families by giving them a welldeserved break by providing holiday accommodation packages, via the Bartercard membership base, to visit coastal locations in Australia. Some of these children may not have even seen a beach before. Brian Egan said “This is a great contribution to the campaign. We have plans to use this money to make some real differences to our farming families and appreciate the Bartercard Charity Foundation contribution. Not only will we be sending some families away for holidays but we will also be purchasing some materials to help us fix damaged fences, dams etc.” If you would like to help Australian charities with their worthwhile causes, you can donate trade dollars, cash or products and services to the Bartercard Charity Foundation. For more information and/or to donate please visit www.bartercardfoundation.com

Pictured is Brian Egan from Aussie Helpers being presented with a cheque for T$100,000 in Richmond by Richard Norris from the Bartercard Charity Foundation, watched on by Sunrise presenter Eddy Bartholomew.

About The Buy a Bale Campaign

Aussie Helpers is a charity founded by Brian and Nerida Egan in 2002. It operates with volunteers in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Aussie Helpers is strongly supported by local communities including citizens and small businesses many of which have donated and supplied goods and services to enable Aussie Helpers to achieve its goal of â&#x20AC;&#x153;helping to fight poverty in the bushâ&#x20AC;?. www.aussiehelpers.org.au

About The Give Back Campaign

The Give Back Campaign assists charities and non-profit organisations to raise funds through point of sales (POS) purchases and online rebates from over 600 partners. www.thegivebackcampaign.com.au

To make a donation, please visit www.bartercardfoundation.com

Issue 1, 2014

What our members are saying... B

artercard has allowed us to grow & expand without using up all our cash resources. We’ve been surprised by how many different types of businesses there are and what you can do on trade... We always look for a trade option before spending any cash and it has literally saved us thousands! Katrina

EcoWise LED www.ecowiseled.com

Jumping J-Jays - Aspley www.jumpingcastlesaspley.com.au

artercard is a constant flow of life and business improving activities and events. The staff and members are fun to be involved with, all of us enjoying the wonderful community that we are a part of. I would strongly recommend Bartercard without hesitation to anyone. Alex Moss Visual Magic Productions www.facebook.com/visualmagicalex

e just love Bartercard! Bartercard has given us access to new customers and suppliers, and helped us to grow our business. The mobile app and website are very easy to use, and we especially appreciate the time our Trade Coordinator has invested into helping us to market our business. Jeff McNamara

would like to compliment the beautiful staff at Bartercard for their continued assistance, nothing is too hard for them, they go out of their way to help and advise the best way to use Bartercard. My Trade Co-ordinator helps me with ideas and options for promoting my store. So thank you Bartercard, and keep up the brilliant work! Julie Munno

Angels Realm www.angelsrealm.com.au

artercard is fantastic. Signing up with Bartercard is one of the best business decisions we ever made. We have done so much that we could never have done without the extra business that Bartercard has brought to us. The team is always helpful. Love it! Katherine Quirke

highly recommend Bartercard to anyone that wants to grow their business, save cash and wants all the extra spoils in life that they thought they couldn’t afford. Angela Stanford

One Stop Loans Store www.onestoploans.com.au

Skinny Noodles www.skinnynoodles.com.au

hrough Bartercard we have offset some of our expenses which has saved our cash flow and added new clients to our existing portfolio. With strategic use of the service it can prove very useful and also very practical. I highly recommend it. Thank you Bartercard, we hope to be a Platinum member soon. Chris Lappos

have been in Bartercard for years. I love the professional service and the lead generation that I get out of being in Bartercard in cash and in trade. If you’re not in it you’re not getting ahead.

Jodie Balfour Isis Beauty & Day Spa www.isisbeautysalonwarwick.com.au

Managing Director Neotech Information Technology www.neotechit.com.au

connecting business connecting people “Our Mission is to enhance the lives of people by creating value and opportunity from the unrealised potential in the business of each member around the world.”

BRIAN HALL Bartercard Founder and CEO

1300 BARTER bartercard.com.au