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Kathleen-The Cost of Bartering

Home» General Info » Kathleen-The Cost of Bartering

Written by: Kathleen , KBK Connections and Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.  This is a reprint of a blog post from “Chicks make Cents”  Non-profit organizations should consider what they are asking when requesting professionals to help their organizations.


In the last month, I have been asked to barter my services four times. Each person would be lovely to work with but my policy at KBK Connections, Inc. (http://kbkconnections.com) is to not barter. Why? Because I practice what I preach.

I strongly believe women need to practice paying each other. We need to ask for what we are worth, pay each other for our expertise and value, and focus on supporting each others’ businesses through hiring each other the traditional way – with money.

What is the cost of bartering to your business? Here are a few thoughts from my experience as a business woman and entrepreneur. I have been on both sides of the barter experience and each time I regretted the decision to enter this type of relationship. Live and learn….

Those who barter are under earners: Ninety-nine percent of the requests to barter come from women who are struggling to make a living at their business. They do not see the value in investing in professional services and operate with the money script “I can’t afford help.” In my experience, these are the business owners that can not afford NOT to get help.

Bartering leads to miscommunication and disappointment: What is the value of your service vs. the other person’s service? It is rare that your fees are identical to theirs and my guess is the value added of each product or service may be vastly different. If you do barter, a discussion about expectations, value and what is truly an equitable barter needs to be explored. Without it, miscommunication and disappointment are the outcome.

Bartering negatively impacts the work: Be honest, when you are getting paid a decent wage for your work, you work harder. We all do! Whether you admit it or not, not getting paid for your services or product negatively impacts the quality.

Bartering is a great way to avoid talking about money: Most people who barter are doing so to avoid talking about money. While bartering is an ancient concept, it is one that does allow you to avoid setting fees, asking for money and collecting income.

My recommendation: Adopt a no barter policy and start talking about money. Otherwise, the cost is just too high.


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bartering, earning, fees, Kathleen Kingbury, money scripts, non-profit organizations, women

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