Editor�s Note:
In mid-August of 2011,
the most ambitious attempt was made to ascertain the size of the
trade exchange industry in the U.S. Steven White, CEO of ITEX,
likened the effort to better understand the size of the industry to
be very important � similar to that of a Corporate Balance Sheet.
Working in conjunction
with BarterNews, a member of the ITEX corporate staff contacted each
and every trade exchange on the BarterNews website list http://barternews.com/mappage/default.htm.
The goal was to see what exchanges were still in business. If no
longer in business, the listing was deleted from the BarterNews
trade exchange listings.
An exchange was
considered no longer in business if: no one answered the phone or
the phone was disconnected; their website was non-existent or not
working; and no information was found about the exchange on
whitepages.com
or on Google. After a month of effort over 100 trade exchange
deletions were made.
Below, in a letter from
Steven White, are the conclusions of the trade exchange industry�s
size in the United States. Given the continual media questions about
the size of the trade exchange industry, this endeavor to ascertain
a more realistic figure as well as perspective was important. We
welcome your thoughts and feedback.
April 20, 2011
Mr.
Bob Meyer
BarterNews
Laguna Niguel, CA
Re:
Barter Industry size
Dear Bob,
The
size of the barter industry has been debated for many years and,
consequently, has created many opinions. ITEX, in partnership with
BarterNews, took on the task of trying to quantify the results for
the industry in the United States. Here was the process:
1.
Verified
the map of USA barter companies at BarterNews.com was accurate;
2.
Updated
the map listings. Since 2005 both ITEX and IMS have acquired dozens
of exchanges, which consolidated more than 75 office locations;
3.
Synchronized the map listing with NATE and IRTA membership
directories;
4.
Verified
every website or business listed at BarterNews.com�s USA map.
Next we utilized ITEX�s internal database for cash revenues, number
of members, the average size of an office and the amount of revenue
generated per member. We reviewed the public filings for IMS and
news releases of TradeBank, and then we averaged all the numbers
together to create a benchmark.
Below are our conclusions for the industry size in the United
States:
Number of barter business locations: 295
Membership: 88,577
Cash revenues: $56,511,862
Transaction volume: $680,000,000
I
understand our methodology is not an exact science, however, I hope
its gets us closer to the mark. Accuracy is the goal. We certainly
appreciate any positive feedback to further authenticate the facts
as we show them.
You
may e-mail Bob Meyer at
bmeyer@barternews.com,
letting him know if ITEX can utilize any statistics you may have or
request he keep the information confidential. ITEX will only use any
industry information for the statistics and never disclose the
source without your expressed permission. We will share the
consolidated data, with BarterNews for periodic updates.
Sincerely,
Steven White
ITEX
Chief Executive Office
Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On
Valuable New Business?
If
your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you
are definitely missing out on new business. The web site
BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views
every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the
thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday
Report,� and the �Contacts
Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter
companies with which to do business.
Is
your barter company�s listing up-to-date?
To
keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A)
update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location,
phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company
has not been listed.
Here�s how to get on board:
To
make changes to your listing
click here.
For
new listings
click here.
Growth Is Not A Mistake
... It Takes Focus & Understanding
The
founder and CEO of Gazelles, Verne Harnish, says companies hit a
wall when they reach a certain size and unless they take the right
steps they�re doomed to remain small. The biggest challenge for
companies with revenues of $1 million to $10 million is often the
role of the founder ... for three reasons.
1)
As the
business becomes more complex the entrepreneur simply doesn�t have
the time to devote to the task he or she has always done best.
Subsequently, that task is likely to become a weak link in the
organization. A critical decision must then be made to bring in a
person to replace you in what has always been your fort�. (Often
it�s sales and marketing.)
2)
As
products and customers are added, the original accounting system
likely won�t be robust enough to track all the costs. In short,
growth geometrically increases the complexity; without enough detail
you may not know where you�re really making the money.
3)
Once
you�re above $10 million the gross margins fall apart, because now
your company is on the radar screen ... competitors have taken
notice. Meanwhile the size of your orders increases, and customers
start demanding a discount.
In
order to combat this, you have to become laser-focused on your value
proposition and know why you�re different than your competitors...so
you can hold onto your price. One way to differentiate from your
competition is to use barter as a part of your selling effort.
Barter is a value proposition your buyers will understand and
embrace.
