Monday, April 4, 2011

Breathe Life Into Your Barter Network

"How many people does it take to start a barter group? Just two. One person trading goods or skills with another. And then, perhaps two families, then their friends, then their families, etc. This is how it all begins."




April 4, 2011

Alt-Market.com
By Brandon Smith
3/3/2011

In case you were wondering, things are looking good. Alt-Market has been doing very well so far, with over 400 new members in the span of a month and barter groups initiated in states across the country. Traffic for the first month was moderate, standing at around 30,000 visitors. I can do much better I think, but hey, for a brand new website, and a brand new idea, we are off to a good start.

My feeling is that many people are circling around Alt-Market, waiting to see how the whole thing unfolds before they commit to joining the effort. This is understandable. It is simply in the subconscious nature of many folks to jump on a bandwagon AFTER it has taken off, rather than jump on while it’s just beginning to move forward. We have all seen projects with great potential suddenly flounder and die because they were being run improperly, without energy and vigor, without dedication, and without passion. All I can say is, that’s not going to happen here. If anything, we at Neithercorp Press and Alt-Market have proven ourselves relentlessly stubborn over the past four years. Surely, someone, somewhere in the recesses of the private Federal Reserve, considers us a monster pain in the ass.

Now that the first stages of the Alt-Market Project are behind us, the hard part begins; growing barter networks to efficient size and trade capacity, while putting out the word in as many venues as possible about sound money and private exchange. The concept of breaking from the mainstream economy, and the dollar, while building our OWN localized commerce, must go viral soon if we are to succeed in insulating towns, cities, and states from a collapse of the Greenback. In this next stage, we will need your help.

Here are some ideas you can apply in the daily construction of your barter economy that could put Alternative Markets on the fast track…  Read More