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From the desk of Bob Meyer... 05/25/2010
IMS Barter Makes Presentation At Small Cap Virtual
Conference
International Monetary Systems� (OTCBB:ITNM) CEO Don Mardak
presented the IMS corporate overview and company update, as
well as a look into the future, at the Source Capital Group
Small Cap Virtual Conference on May 18 & 19.
Entrepreneurs Very Cautious In This Economic Environment
The National Federation of Independent Business reports
capital expenditures among small businesses are nearly at a
35-year record low (which was established in December 2009).
Only 4% of business owners characterized the current period
as a good time to expand facilities.
Such statistics indicate small business owners recognize the
need to be cautious now. This economic crisis is far from
over, so prudence is a virtue that entrepreneurs should
strive for.
U.S.
Home Prices Will See Gradual Recovery
A survey of 92 economists and analysts by MacroMarkets,
expect U.S. home prices will begin a gradual recovery by
next year. The analysts on average foresee home prices
rising about 12% in the next five years, ending December 31,
2014
Federal Revenues Are Disappointing
The U.S. Government has forecast a $1.6 trillion deficit for
the current fiscal year, which began October 1, 2009. In
April, the Congressional Budget Office reported corporate
tax receipts were up 8.9% to $77 billion. Individual income
tax revenue was down 11.6% in the first seven months to $500
billion.
Small
Nonprofits Can Be Stripped Of Tax-Exempt Status
An estimated 214,000 small nonprofits have not yet filed a
form called 990-N to the IRS. Those that did not meet the
May 17 filing deadline will now lose their tax-exempt
status. Something they may not learn about until 2011, when
they discover they have to pay taxes on donations that they
previously thought were exempt.
The change in the tax code was made three years ago,
requiring nonprofits that report $25,000 or less a year in
income, excluding churches, to file the form. Nonprofits
that lost their tax-exempt status can eventually get it
back, after a long reinstatement process that also includes
an $850 filing fee.
All
back issues of "From the Desk...� can be accessed by
clicking
here.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
colleagues. We have a �box� at the end of the
newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .) |
ITEX 28th Annual
Convention A Blockbuster!
The
ITEX Corporation (OTCBB:ITEX), a leading marketplace for cashless
business transactions in North America, reported that its 28th
annual national convention, held at the Orleans Resort and Hotel in
Las Vegas (NV) during May 17-19, was a huge success.
�Each year ITEX hosts a premier international convention for its
franchisees, brokers and staff � the largest in its industry. This
year�s theme,� said CEO and Chairman Steven White, �was �Healthy
Attitude - Body - Business.� We dedicated a solid three days to
strategizing, sharing ideas and learning from each other. The
Orleans Resort and Hotel staff went above and beyond to ensure that
we enjoyed a memorable event.�
Convention Highlights:
�
Monday �
Owners Day
Opening comments by ITEX CEO Steve White with Q&A session, followed
by sessions for franchise owners that focused on how to grow and
manage their businesses.
�
Tuesday �
New Member Registrations & Customer Service
Focused on how to hire effective sales people, prospecting tools,
sales presentation tips and strategies, plus closing techniques
along with a concurrent full-slate of sessions on customer service
best practices and techniques.
�
Wednesday
� Corporate Overviews
Presented by the ITEX�s CEO and Vice Presidents, with an evening
Awards Ceremony and dinner celebrating the achievements of
franchisees this past year.
�ITEX is committed to raising the bar in every area to support
growth,� commented White. �We have more than doubled the number of
corporate employees attending this year�s event � a statement
indicating that we will not relax our efforts to continue to build a
strong network and dominate the cashless marketplace industry,� he
concluded.
Special Attendees:
Bob
Meyer, Publisher of Barter News, received a Lifetime Achievement
Award for his contributions to the cashless industry. Bob, a former
pitcher for the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, re-invented
himself after his 11 years as a professional athlete to found
BarterNews in 1979.
Jerry Howell, President of Midwest Barter and author of �The
Complete Idiot�s Guide to Barter and Trade Exchanges,� presented his
strategy for working with nonprofit organizations, helping them
realize the value of barter in fund-raising and offsetting cash
expenses.
CEO White Envisions Widespread Usage
Of ITEX Digital Currency
By Bob Meyer
Steven White�s tenure as ITEX�s CEO enters its seventh year in June
2010. It�s been quite a ride, full of accomplishments in every
measurable way. One area that�s not often alluded to is the ITEX
stock picture. An investor who purchased ITEX back in June, 2003,
would be holding a 1000% gain in their investment. And now the
company has recently announced it will be paying an annual 10-cent
cash dividend � which computes out to a 20% annual return for those
astute investors who bought early on and sat tight. Entirely
incredible!
White�s goals for ITEX, after listening to his address in Las Vegas,
are most ambitious. His long term objective envisions the use of
ITEX�s digital currency by millions of small-business owners across
America. �Collectively, we have the corporate focus and passion to
be a world-class company.�
The
ITEX game plan includes:
1.
Focus on
expansion of new franchises, via the maturing mentorship program.
(The company has already duplicated last year�s aggregate number of
franchises in this year�s first five months.)
2.
New member
signups. Signups for 2009 were up 26% over 2008 totals. The
company�s recent 28-day cycle saw 521 new member enrollments.
3.
Enhanced
trade revenues through new search technology. This new technology �
soon to be unveiled � is a trading platform for the 24,000 networked
ITEX membership.
4.
Greater
interacting frequency among ITEX brokerages. This will solidify
relationships of the (nearly 100) nationwide brokerages, and
increase the ITEX brand in the marketplace.
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.
A BarterNews Exclusive�
Paul Suplizio, Secretary
To European Assembly & Global Board Director, Reports From Paris
Twenty-seven delegates from 14 countries participated in the Paris
Conference of the Assembly of Barter Companies of Europe and Asia
and IRTA Europe on May 1-2, 2010. The Conference, titled �Seizing
Growth Opportunities For Business Trade Networks in Eurasia,� was
held at the 4-star Hotel Napoleon in the heart of Paris. It was
hosted by Maximilien Urso, President of Efficio France, who
diligently assured every need was met. The next conference is
tentatively scheduled for April, 2011. There�s an offer to host the
meeting in Budapest; other proposals will be accepted at this time.
Those attending the Paris Conference were:
�
David
Wallach, President of International Reciprocal Trade Association,
San Francisco, CA, USA
�
Dr. M.
Sirri Simsek, President of Turk Barter, Istanbul, Turkey and
Chairman of the Assembly
�
Dr. Lee Oi
Kum, President of BarterXchange, Singapore, and member of IRTA
Global Board of Directors
�
Taha Mehli
Arvas, Turk Barter, Istanbul, Turkey
�
Maximilien
Urso, President of Efficio France and member of IRTA Global Board of
Directors
�
David
Selikowitz, President of Active International (Europe), Paris,
France
�
Alejandro
(Alex) Canino, Vice President-Communications of Argent Trading,
Madrid, Spain
�
Muriel
Blais-Ballayer, Director of Development of Argent Trading, Paris,
France
�
Walther
Smets, President of RES, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France
�
Bob Bagga,
President of BizXchange, Dubai, UAE and Seattle, WA, USA
�
Alina
Piddubna, Managing Director of Bartex, Kiev, Ukraine
�
Dorottya
Szabo, President of GlobalXchange, Budapest, Hungary
�
Nuno
Ladeiras, CEO of RedeBarter, Lisbon, Portugal
�
Guiseppe
Littera, President of SARDEX, Sardinia, Italy
�
Maximos
(Max) Giannopoulos, President of Euro Barter Club, Athens, Greece
�
Mariano
Bazterrica, President of Reciproco, Madrid, Spain
�
Sanjay
Thakrar, Partner of Prestige Brands Holdings, London, UK
�
Atul
Sharma, Partner of Prestige Brands Holdings, London, UK
�
Andrew
Lee, CEO of BizTrade-Korea, Seoul, Korea
�
Claude
Lemeberger, Paris, France
�
Angel
Navarro, Paris, France
�
Arthur
Bard, Paris, France
�
Gary
Field, President of Nubarter, Savannah, GA, USA and member of IRTA
Global Board of Directors
�
Ron
Whitney, Executive Director of International Reciprocal Trade
Association, Portsmouth, VA, USA
�
Linda
Tillinger, Chief Financial Officer of Nubarter, Savannah, GA, USA
�
Sally
Selbman, Partner of Trade Consultants, San Francisco, CA, USA
�
Paul E.
Suplizio, Member of IRTA Global Board of Directors and General
Secretary of the Assembly
The
Assembly constitutes 32 companies � 27 from Europe and 5 from
Asia. Of those, all but 7 are IRTA members. Thus IRTA-Europe has
de facto (exercising power) existence as a self-governing body
within the world barter federation, and will soon have de jure
(by right) existence. Based on our information, there are still
about 40 commercial barter companies in Europe who are neither in
the Assembly nor IRTA.
Thus, much work remains to be done to unite the barter industry in
Europe so the industry can speak with a single, powerful voice to
the European Commission, national governments, and the public. Their
promises remain firm: every trade owner will have a seat on the
governing board, and a voice and vote in every decision. The
Assembly may be joined without cost or precondition.
Paul Suplizio introduced Assembly Chairman Dr. Sirri Simsek by
pointing to the success of Turk Barter as an example of what can be
accomplished by a single, determined person. In reply, Simsek
greeted the delegates warmly, urging the importance of establishing
common standards that every company should meet in order to forge a
common trading network, offer broader trade opportunities within
Europe, and raise everyone�s trade volume as well as the confidence
of business in the modern trade and barter system.
In
his address �A Parallel Capital System,� IRTA President David
Wallach presented a philosophy and roadmap to help the conferees
realize the objective of the meeting, stressing that the raison
d�etre for commercial barter is the contribution business
exchanges make to jobs, production, and family well-being. With a
financial crisis raging in Europe, he encouraged the conference to
act now to expand their exchanges and launch new branches to help
struggling European businesses cope with tight credit, limited
sales, and excess capacity.
There was good spirit among the participants because the meeting
site encouraged informality and intermingling during breaks and
meals. All caught the excitement of the event and its significance;
all departed with renewed commitment and a confident outlook on the
future. Educational sessions were conducted as seminar/discussions
so attendees could contribute and ask questions at any time. This
format proved excellent for a group of 30, and the free flow of
commentary added much to the educational value.
According to Suplizio, there has never been a conference with more
outstanding presentations by speakers than this one. Gary Field,
president of Nubarter, in Savannah (GA), and a member of IRTA�s
Global Board of Directors held the rapt attention of delegates for
five solid hours of give-and-take on recruiting, training,
compensating, deploying, and managing a sales force for top
performance. Linda Tillinger, also of Nubarter, presented an
innovative scheme for trade exchange financial management, aimed not
only at accounting for every euro of revenue but on allocating every
euro of revenue to priority spending needs.
David Selikowitz, president of Active International (Europe), took
command for four hours of commentary and discussion on the special
techniques of corporate barter and how trade exchanges and corporate
barter companies can work together. Bob Bagga, president of
BizXchange-Dubai and -Seattle (WA), joined by Wallach and Simsek led
discussions concerning trade floor operations, overcoming
imbalances, monetary management to put average trade volume per
client on a growth trajectory, and reciprocal trading to keep the
trade credit balances of high-value clients moving.
Selikowitz and Wallach shared some of their techniques learned from
experience in trading for media and other tradable products in
common business demand, such as printing and transportation.
Selikowitz gave every delegate a glimpse of how an experienced
trader thinks by querying each conferee about their trade
availabilities and identifying those he would consider buying. Some
valuable business seems to have developed from this give and take.
IRTA Executive Director Ron Whitney, also CEO of IRTA�s Universal
Currency Clearinghouse (that books trades in euros as easily as in
dollars and is owned by IRTA members), enlightened delegates on the
intricacies of credit extension to exchange clients, and presented a
matrix of criteria for evaluating the size of credit-line for a
business. Each delegate received a fine collection of background
papers Ron had prepared on techniques of credit extension and credit
management.
Also issued to each delegate, as promised in an earlier message
announcing the conference, was a large collection of news clips and
other documents that reinforced the discussion topics of the
conference agenda.
Suplizio noted that the Business Meeting was a good example of
democratic self-governance, with the delegates taking charge,
speaking up, presenting motions, discussing and voting. Everyone
contributed in a lively session that produced important results. The
meeting bore out the soundness of guaranteeing every exchange owner
in Eurasia a seat on the Governing Board, with a voice and vote in
every decision and action of the body.
Suplizio asserted, �A trade owner�s engagement in the industry
association�s work is inspired not only by one�s own sense of
responsibility, but by the opportunity to participate in important
decisions as an equal with other trade owners, and the ability to
make a difference. This system guarantees that no faction can take
charge and make decisions for owners, or their industry, without
consulting them and their peers.�