Moving beyond the obvious is considered being creative. The
following are two examples of such thinking.
#1)
Collection from a firm facing bankruptcy.
The president of a distribution company turned to a trade exchange
to collect a bad debt from a client, who not only owed him $35,000
but also was facing bankruptcy.
Instead of writing off the receivable, the president accepted as
payment $35,000 worth of baseball cards. He then offered the cards
to a trade exchange member owning a baseball card shop, in exchange
for trade dollars.
With $20,000 trade dollars received, he turned around and bought
concert tickets from another member, which he consequently sold for
cash to his employees and some close friends.
#2)
Second retail outlet opened.
The owner of a leather sportswear store turned to his trade
exchange, instead of his banker, when deciding to open a second
retail outlet.
To finance the $30,000 expansion costs in his credit-tight market,
he bartered $25,000 in leather goods through the exchange and its
members.
The store owner then used those trade dollars to pay for the
electricians, carpenters, and installers of a security system needed
in his new store. Plus, he obtained 30 radio spots for the promotion
of the new outlet�s grand opening!