Starting a Local Bartering Club

Many countries today including the United States primarily use currency like paper money and coins to compensate for goods or services. This kind of system has not always been the preferred payment. For centuries, neighbors used bartering or trading to pay for services, food and goods. If you are feeling financially pinched, bartering could be an option. Start a local bartering club and build a network of reliable service providers for your community. Here's how you can get started.

Build Membership

Share your ideas for a bartering club with local business owners and your neighbors. To help prepare you for your initial membership drive, write down your bartering club rules on paper. You might limit what goods and services you will start bartering with. Have your bartering club benefits written plainly.

Charter Meeting

After you gather your initial round of interested businesses, hold your initial meeting. At this meeting explain the guidelines for the club and set up a structure so members can exchange information easily. Assign monthly meetings to the calendar so members can address problems or make suggestions. You may wish to crosscheck the list to verify that you have one service provider for each trade.

Trade Rules

The bartering club may need a contact person who can match up the traders. Smaller clubs may not need this service in the beginning but over time, this may become necessary. In addition, the group should set fair trade rules to set value to services and products.

Tips for Good Bartering

• Never volunteer a partner for a task. Allow each member to accept or deny trade at his convenience.

• Have a club representative examine incoming goods to establish their value before offering the goods to members.

• Build strong ties in the bartering group by offering club members first dibs on offers.

• Establish restricted social networking pages to keep members informed about meetings and events.

• Keep fees to a minimum. Bartering groups want to save money, not spend it.

• Build ties with regional trading groups. This will help your group grow in reputation.

Don't be in a hurry to fill up your trade roster. Filling up a list with names will not do you much good if the companies you link up with deliver shabby work. Take your time and build strong relationships with neighborhoods and businesses. A closely knit group with a good reputation will be a strong support system for your city.