Businesses Barter, As Many Try To Conserve Cash

By Chris Killian
 
KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN — It was 1979 and, much like today, the economy was in recession. Jerry Howell was working in radio, selling air time. Unable to get much cash business, he began trading air time and services with other radio stations.

The strategy worked well, and, Howell said he thought, "Why limit this to radio stations?" Now, with the economy sliding once again, Howell is helping to bring bartering back.

Howell, 56, founded Midwest Business Exchange (MBE) in 1980. Now, the exchange has almost 900 members and includes everything from churches and restaurants to a hypnotherapy clinic and hair salons. A third of the members are non-profits.

"Many people never considered bartering," Howell said. "It's been under the radar, but now they're coming out of the woodwork. During these rugged economic times, businesses are increasingly turning to barter."

MBE is an association of businesses and professional organizations who join together to barter their goods and services among themselves through an organized system regulated by the recordkeeping and administrative services of the exchange, which also functions as a clearinghouse for the barter transactions of its members.

Howell, of Portage, who currently serves as president of the National Association of Trade Exchanges Board of Directors, now has been commissioned to pen "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bartering," a how-to on the type of trade where goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without the use of money. The book is due out in the fall.

"It's a labor of love," he said about writing the book. "I love to write." Howell outlined the following scenario to illustrate how bartering works:
A bar and grill owner with extra seating capacity has a leaky roof that will cost $10,000 to repair. The owner approaches a roofing company with the offer of $10,000 worth of beer and hamburgers in exchange for the roof being fixed.

But that's just one of a nearly endless array of bartering possibilities. Howell has seen people looking to barter for everything from cosmetic surgery, to Lasik eye surgery and ice cream. He even had a man who was getting a divorce who was looking to barter $10,000 worth of trade in lieu of paying the settlement in cash.		 "Bartering options really are limitless," Howell said.


Jerry Howell, President of Midwest Business Exchange, has been tapped
to write a book called "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Bartering".

Dean Hauck, owner of the Michigan News Agency in downtown Kalamazoo, barters with several nearby businesses along Michigan Avenue. Every day from Monday to Saturday, she takes two newspapers – a USA Today and one of the two Detroit dailies – to McNally's Kitchen. In return, she gets a large meal every week.

Hauck also lends several magazines to Blue, a salon on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Church Street. In return, Blue displays a sign indicating where the magazines came from. "As a business owner, I think we're going to see bartering more and more between businesses," Hauck said. "And that's not just because of the economic benefits like the free advertising I get - it builds community, it connects businesses and people together."

Howell thinks the same way. "It makes you feel good when people are getting what they want," he said. "I like getting up and going to work."