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May
13, 2003
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
More
Evidence That Entrepreneurs Around The Globe Need
Barter—The World's Most Versatile Business Tool
One
given you can depend upon anywhere in the world is that newcomers to
business are vastly under-capitalized. The Kauffman Foundation of Kansas
City (MO) sponsored a study to analyze entrepreneurial ventures—those
that create jobs, wealth, innovation and economic growth. The conclusions
were as expected, most got off the ground because of the founder's ability
to tap into his or her personal network for capital.
According to the
2002 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which looked at the investment
activity in 37 countries, 286 million entrepreneurs were involved in
launching new start-ups in the 1990s. Some $271 billion was provided
by friends and family. Which amounts to less than $1,000 a startup.
Given such startling
statistics, is it any wonder why some exclaim the commercial barter
industry has enormous upside potential. Bartering one's products or
services is a form of "private capital" and is certainly needed
by entrepreneurs, everywhere!
Organized barter—the
trade exchange concept and corporate barter trade units—is still
one of the best kept business secrets in existence! It's interesting
to note that while the credit card industry mails 6 billion pieces each
year to publicize their services and to get new clients (according to
Chicago-based Comperemedia), the barter industry rarely, if ever, does
any mailings.
The industry continues
to operate in the same manner as it has for the last 40 years, i.e.
"educating" and selling the business community on a one-to-one
basis. The sluggish growth of the industry—lack of a critical mass
of clients—suggests it's time to move forward and try some other
marketing techniques, otherwise the potential may never be realized.
The
Barter Market Place—New Online Classified Ad Service
In September, the
Tuesday Report will celebrate its 4th birthday. Over the years
we've had requests to offer classified advertising on our weekly newsletter
service, as it would provide a most timely way to reach the vast barter
marketplace.
We are offering
this weekly service to the business community beginning with the May
20 issue. To sign up, or for more information (click
here).
"Creating
Our Future" ITEX Convention Theme
Zufelt,
White, And Meyer To Address Attendees
The ITEX organization
will be celebrating its 21st Anniversary with a convention May 18 -
22 at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete's Beach (FL). Some
155 are expected to be in attendance.
The new ITEX Board
of Directors Chairman, Steven White, will address the group at the opening
session sharing his observations and visions to move the company to
a higher level.
In addition to meeting
the members of the new board of directors, attendees will hear Jack
Zufelt's keynote speech, "The DNA of Success." (Issue #60
of BarterNews featured an article by Zufelt and his message about
finding one's core desires.)
Also speaking will
be BarterNews' Bob Meyer, sharing insights on three areas: the
expansiveness and use of barter—which is much greater than just
the commercial barter industry, why barter is destined to become the
fourth pillar of the financial community, and how barter plays a role
in the only three areas where a company can increase its profits.
Extraordinary
Revealing Report—First Time Ever Published
All
Comedy Radio Announced, All-Barter Available In Rated Markets
A longtime radio
veteran and station owner, Michael O'Shea, has announced the creation
of Hollywood-based All Comedy Radio. It will offer a mix of exclusive
comedy programming in short form, specific day parts, or 24/7 presentation
to radio stations in all size markets. Launch is set for July, 2003.
The venture has
been under development for over four years, during which time the company
researched the concept, licensed content, and built formats. Designed
to attract adult listeners in the 25 to 54 age group, it is being offered
on a market exclusive basis, with barter available in rated markets.
More information available at: www.allcomedyradio.com.
If
you haven't read the current issue of BarterNews,
get yourself a copy now! Orders are shipped the same day we receive
them. (Click on Order Form.)
Get
New Money-Making Ideas, and Valuable Contacts!
You
can obtain these ideas and contacts in every every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
Here
And There. . .
- The International
Monetary Systems annual meeting is scheduled for June 4...the event
is set for the internationally acclaimed Milwaukee Art Museum. According
to the proxy statement filed on April 30, the agenda of the 2 p.m.
meeting will cover the election of three directors and the ratification
of the company's auditors: Smith & Gesteland, LLC. For more information:
www.internationalmonetary.com.
- Cable growth
continues. In 2002, the cable channels took in $11 billion, up from
a decade ago when the figure was $2.4 billion. Broadcast networks
took in $14 billion, up from $10.1 billion a decade ago. (Figures
provided by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.)
- Asian-Americans
are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States—a
fact that often gets lost amid the buzz about Hispanic market growth.
Their collective purchasing power was estimated to be $296.4 billion
in 2002, and is expected to double by 2007...according to The University
of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth.
Although the
market is dauntingly diverse, researchers note that Asians share
a number of behaviors and values such as strong family ties and
work ethic, respect for elders and parents, and an emphasis on education,
investing, and saving money. They also love games of chance and
shopping for status-driven products, but are value conscious.
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The Financial
Accounting Standards Board, the private-sector body that sets accounting
standards, has ruled that when two parties enter into a derivative
contract with an upfront payment—where one party effectively
gets a loan—that activity should be reflected as financing
cash flow.
(The new guidelines
address last year's role of big banks and their financing of energy
companies, wherein the energy company(s) were able to bury such
financing in their trading accounts, rather than disclosing it as
debt.)
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African-American
entrepreneurship is booming! A Marion Kauffman Foundation study
found that African-American males between the ages of 25 and 35
are more likely to start businesses than any other men in that age
range. Blacks are 50% more likely than whites or Hispanics to experiment
with entrepreneurship. And in a 1998 study published in Fortune,
50% of African-American professionals said that black leaders should
spend more of their time concentrating on business; only 31% said
they should focus on politics.
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The University
of California Press is the publisher of a book by Jack Hollander,
The Real Environmental Crisis. Hollander says it is poverty
that harms the environment, not affluence. The author contends that
affluence fosters environmentalism, arguing that wealthy countries
can afford the luxury of an environmental ethic, adjusting their
habits and technologies for the sake of nature or conservation or
exploiting resources more efficiently.
Poorer countries,
on the other hand, must make do with what they have, and what they
have is often crude. His example was, think of the pollution-belching
cars in Mexico City.
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Have you
signed up to receive a summary via e-mail of the Tuesday
Report every week? If not, go to the top of this issue (right
hand corner) to sign up!
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U.S. citizens
working abroad have been able to exclude up to $80,000—($160,000
for a qualifying couple) from their earned income for tax purposes,
i.e. pay no tax to the IRS. Now that big tax break may be repealed,
which would cause companies to slash their use of American workers
overseas, and likely reduce orders for U.S. goods needed for overseas
jobs. It's estimated from four million to ten million U.S. nationals
are working and living abroad
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Clear Channel
Communications, the world's largest radio-station operator, met
first-quarter earnings expectations. Its biggest revenue boost came
from outdoor revenue, which includes billboards up 22% to $450 million,
thanks to acquisitions and a favorable currency exchange rate. Radio
revenue increased 1.6% to $795 million. Entertainment revenue fell
8% to $437.9 million as the company promoted fewer large tours than
in last year's first quarter.
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Middle Eastern
investors are pouring more money into U.S. commercial real estate,
even as anti-American sentiment runs high in the region and the
U.S. commercial real-estate industry has hit a low point.
During the first
four months of this year Middle Eastern investors spent $579.1 million
on U.S. real estate, up 34% from the year-earlier period, according
to Real Capital Analytics. For all of last year, Middle Eastern
investors bought more than $1.2 billion in U.S. commercial real
estate compared with just $263 million in 2001.
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Another reason
for the growing entrepreneurship...real economic security is in
one's own hands, not Corporate America, which years ago was always
seen as the "security blanket" and coveted by college
graduates. The first "reality check" occurred in the '60s
when foreign competition hit America, and the big corporate layoffs
occurred.
Now the other shoe
drops—for those who did work for three or four decades with a
particular company—as they see the (downward) restructuring of
their pensions and the elimination of health insurance. It's already
a reality in the steel industry, and the airlines and auto industries
aren't far behind. As
these top-heavy companies with retirement liabilities, which make
it difficult to compete financially, are forced to liquidate or sell
assets to another, neither is obligated to pick up the tab for former
workers.
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