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September 1, 2009 Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From
the desk of Bob Meyer...09/01/2009
Defining The Entrepreneurial Drive
The Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City think-tank that
studies entrepreneurship, says the whiz-kid business founder
as a norm is a myth. Instead of the dorm room genius as a
founder, the typical founder of a new business is middle
age, 40 on average, when launching a new business.
?
70% of
first-time founders are married,
?
60%
have at least one child,
?
59%
come from lower-middle-class or blue collar families, and
?
almost
50% hold advanced degrees.
What spurs the entrepreneurial spirit? People come to the
stage when they?re tired of working for others. They?re
thinking, ?I?m 40 and haven?t made it big yet. This is my
last chance.?
What Do You Think?
According to a Zogby Poll, 75-percent of Americans don?t
believe CEOs and CFOs give a true picture of their firms?
financial outlook.
Barter Story On German Television
Reiner Husemann contacted BarterNews about a German
television station publishing a story on bartering. It?s now
online at Youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd4Y4CGilac
U.S. Hotel Occupancy Lowest Since 1987
Smith Travel Research, which began tracking hotel occupancy
levels back in 1987, reports that occupancy figures for U.S.
hotels were at 64% in July ? the lowest figure on record.
Reinforcing the dire problem is the real-estate research
company Real Capital Analytics report showing $18 billion in
hotel loans are distressed (delinquent, in foreclosure, in
bankruptcy or restructured by lenders), compared to just
$1.3 billion in distressed loans a year ago.
Barter Industry Conventions Scheduled
The International Reciprocal Trade Association?s (IRTA) 30th
Annual Convention will be held October 1-3 at the four-star
Magnolia Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
For more convention information
click here.
The National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) 25th
Annual Convention will be held October 25-27 at the Golden
Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more convention information
click
here.
All
back issues of "From the Desk...? can be accessed by
clicking
here.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
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newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .) |
(The following article was submitted to
BarterNews from the International Reciprocal Trade Association.)
IRTA Attains Membership Goal Doubling In Past 23 months
During the 2007 IRTA Convention, the Global Board of Directors set
the ambitious goal of doubling the IRTA membership within the
subsequent 24 months.
Recently released figures show that goal was achieved. In fact, over
the past 23 months the International Reciprocal Trade Association
has doubled its worldwide membership rolls.
According to IRTA Global Board President David Wallach, ?this
considerable membership increase is due to several factors,
primarily it was the focused efforts of IRTA?s Executive Director
Ron Whitney. The resurgence and visibility of the Modern Trade and
Barter industry, due to current economic conditions, and a spike in
the number of barter exchange start-ups also played a part.?
?I just did what I was brought in to do ? membership growth was a
major goal of the board,? commented Whitney. ?I was very fortunate
to be able to do a membership drive during an economic climate where
interest in our industry is on an upswing.?
New IRTA members include start-ups, mature exchanges and industry
support groups from around the world. New members are applying for a
variety of reasons including providing their companies with vital
up-to-date government legislative news on the industry, an
association with standards and ethics, opportunities to forge
relationships with peers, and supporting the industry?s growth and
viability within the marketplace.
Many of the new members will attend the historic 30th Annual IRTA
?Legends of Barter? Convention to be held at the Magnolia Hotel
October 1-3 in Dallas (TX). To date, registrations for the
convention are at a historical high.
?This will be one amazing convention,? said IRTA member and
president of Florida Barter, Scott Whitmer, ?it?s our 30th
anniversary and we have many of the most distinguished legends in
the industry attending, along with a host of enthusiastic new
comers. It is a good mix of the old and the new and everything in
between ? that?s what the modern IRTA is, a home and important
resource for everyone in the industry.?
For
more information
click here, or contact Ron Whitney at 757-393-2292 or
ron@irta.com.
Attention Trade Exchange Owners. . .It?s GROW OR GO!
The magic bullet for growth is sales, always has been and always
will be...yet the industry?s overall growth is anemic. Why? Maybe
it?s because we?re not providing on-going education about our unique
way of doing business. Knowledge is always a pre-requisite to taking
sustained action.
And for those newcomers, the lifeblood of an exchange, awareness of
and understanding about the value of trading is even more important.
If you expect prospects to come aboard and your members to be more
active traders, but you are perplexed when the results are less than
you desire...there?s a good reason. You must continually educate
and motivate every month--month after month after month!
Such action is necessary because, let?s face it, more cash business,
not trade, is of paramount importance to your members. You must
break through this ?cash only? focus and redirect their thinking
toward barter. Although most exchanges don?t see the importance of
doing so, many industry leaders are taking action and so can you.
As the owner of your own operation, there is an easy and
inexpensive solution for moving forward...look
into using The Competitive Edge newsletter. It?s a
camera-ready, 4-page, professionally written, informational
marketing tool...available in PDF format as well as print. So
regardless of how you reach your prospects and clients, you will
have the necessary vehicle.
Written especially for you, the busy trade exchange owner, I am
certain it will be the best investment you ever make.
For more information about The Competitive Edge, and how it
can benefit you
click
here.
A Look Back TO 1998:
(1) Barter Made All Time Record $50 Million Home Sale Possible!
The highest price ever paid for a private home in the United States
? the $50 million sale of Thunderbird Lodge (the largest private
estate in Lake Tahoe) occurred because of barter.
The Tahoe property was sold by Jack Dreyfus, founder of the Dreyfus
Fund and a Wall Street brokerage, to the Del Webb Corp. (developer
of the Sun City communities), in a complicated land exchange. The
Sun City?s developer will trade the land to the Bureau of Land
Management for 5,000 acres in the southwest corner of the Las Vegas
Valley ? as a site for a third Sun City community in the area.
(The 140-acre property includes a 16,000-square-foot compound with
more than a mile of shoreline, including swimming lagoons and sandy
beaches, on the Nevada side of the lake, just south of Incline
Village.)
(2) U.S. Government A Voracious Barterer!
The Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the Interior Department,
is the biggest federal landowner, controlling about 270 million
acres. It isn?t widely known, but on average, just about every week
some agency of the federal government trades public land for
property owned by private interests that the government deems
environmentally sensitive.
With little fanfare, the Bureau of Land Management barters
tens-of-millions of dollars worth of land with real estate
developers each year. Our story on The Del Webb Corp., trading the
Dreyfus property is but one example. The deal pleased the League to
Save Lake Tahoe conservation group, as they report a tremendous
shortage of shoreline land open to the public.
(3) This Trade Illustrates The Hidden Value In Various Assets
When trading, always be aware of the hidden value of the asset, and
by strategically negotiating, you may be able to retain a very
valuable asset just for the asking.
That?s essentially what the Prudential Insurance company did when it
sold its Boston Prudential Center office complex for $700 million.
As part of the deal the giant insurance company smartly negotiated
that the property forever retain the Prudential name ? signage that
undoubtedly is worth many millions.
(Such value is not overstated, inasmuch as major corporations are
willingly and eagerly paying millions to have their names affixed to
major sports stadiums.)
?
International visitors look for BARTER CONTACTS in our Global Barter
Section. If YOUR exchange isn?t listed see the forms on the lower
left of the page. (Click
here.)
?
Attention trade exchange owners...thousands of visitors every month
visit our BARTER CONTACTS section on our web site where we have
names & addresses of barter companies in the USA. If YOUR exchange
isn?t listed, or the information is incorrect, you can correct the
situation by using the forms to the lower left of the USA map. (Click
here.)
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Click here
www.barternewsblog.com.
Thinking Of Starting Your Own Business?
Here
are ten questions to see if you are up to the challenge of
entrepreneurship.
1) Are
you willing and able to bear great financial risk?
Roughly half
of all start-ups close within five years, so you must be
realistic about the financial risks that come with a business.
2) Are
you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years?
If you?re used to steady paychecks, regular working
hours, four weeks? paid vacation and health benefits, you may
be surprised at the changes you must adapt to.
3) Is
your significant other on board?
Don?t ignore the toll that running a business will take
on your family. Honest and open communication will lessen that
stress.
4) Do
you like all aspects of running a business?
Founders are often expected to handle everything from
billing customers to hiring employees to writing marketing
materials. It can be frustrating to spend so much time on ?busy
work.?
5) Are
you comfortable making decisions on the fly with no playbook?
There are a lot of decisions to be made without any
guidance, and you are calling all the shots.
6)
What?s your track record of executing your ideas?
The ability to implement ideas is one of the biggest
differences between successful entrepreneurs and everyone
else. It takes drive, persuasiveness, leadership skills and
keen intuition, to turn an idea into a lucrative business.
7) Are
you persuasive and well-spoken?
It takes strong communication and interpersonal skills
to get people (lenders, customers, etc.) to believe in your
vision as much as you do.
8) Do
you have a concept you?re passionate about?
If you?re not exuberant about how you?ll be spending
your time (or the business concept itself ) running a business
is going to be a rough ride.
9) Are
you a self-starter?
Entrepreneurs face lots of discouragement. It takes
willpower and an almost unwavering optimism to overcome
these constant obstacles.
10) Do
you have a business partner?
Finding a business partner who compensates for your
shortcomings, and has equal enthusiasm for the business
concept, can help lessen the risks and boost the odds of success.
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The Growth and Use of
Secondary Capital (New Money) Creates Unprecedented Wealth In
Today?s New Age Of Possibility
There
are many forms of secondary capital?which can be defined as any
financial instrument that measures and communicates value in a
common language. Would you like to see and learn more about the many
forms of secondary capital?
We
have 70 free, informative and inspiring, articles for you in our
?Secondary Capital Section.?
Check
it out...
www.barternews.com/secondary_capital.htm.
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