Freelance Bartering

11 AM, July 28, 2010 

Controversial.

Comes down to having enough trust in the people you are bartering to make sure you aren’t going to get screwed in the transaction.

RESOURCE Message boards depending on the services you need.

DigitalPoint

WebMasterTalk

Brent - if I don’t know them I usually won’t barter with them

Trust isn’t just a matter for barter, it’s a matter for any business deal.

Even deals with family members can go bad.

Bartering can ruin friendships.

You can also have awesome experiences bartering, some of the best experiences possible.

Example of bartering working, not just in freelance.

Trade-up stuff on line. Guy started with a paper clip and wound up with a house a year later.

How you value services… it’s about perceived value, not actual value.

Brent felt he was getting more value from the person he was bartering with, but the other person felt the same way. That’s the best kind of barter situation. 

Before you barter with someone, know what you are willing to give away

People can get resentful because they didn’t ask for what they wanted or needed

Chris

If someone says “I’ll know what I want when I see it” - don’t do business with them… (not even when they are paying for work!)

Make sure time frames are similar. One story of a trade, but the business traded with went out of business before freelancer got to use up her credit after completing her end of the deal.

The time factor is a risk to be aware of.

Failsafes can be built in: if the furniture recipient bails out before completing the 12 months worth of work, then they’ll pay this much for the furniture. 

Successful barter transactions can strengthen the trust between the two parties and lead to further paid work. They could become a good client.

It’s like someone coming to you saying they want your work for free, but they’ll tell my friends about you. 

Car dealership comes to developer and says when you make the web site put on there that you made the website and that will bring you more business. Counter: ok Mr. Car Dealer, why don’t you give me a car and I’ll put a bumper sticker that lets everyone know where I got it. That will help you sell more cars, right?

Have a conversation about cost. Know what your cost is. Are you doing it retail-to-retail, or cost-to-cost, or?

Guidelines: Trust is one of the most important factor.

What if it’s friends? How do you have the conversation with tact? “If I did this for a client, this is how much I would charge.”

Important to have the discussion about value of services, and if they don’t match, work out how to handle the difference. Cash is an option? 

Find out what’s expected from the barter on both sides.

Are both parties being transparent?

Is there a contract involved?

If large amounts of work involved, Brent will use a contract even if no $ are involved. Protects both parties.

Approach a contract in a friendly way “this is a written reminder so we can go back and remember what we both agreed to.” “Reminds me what my obligations are to you.” That way it’s not “sign your life away” or “I don’t trust you.”

Lesson learned: we were writing the contract, and they wanted us to start the work before the contract was signed. 

Warning signs: leave a voice mail and no message returned, same for email: non-responsiveness.

If they are providing services over time in return and the quantity or quality starts to degrade over time.

What about scope creep?

For larger web development projects, in the contract is the scope.

Be willing to say “that’s not what we agreed to”

Are you looking to barter? Talk to people here at #freefc

REOURCE:

Mechanical Turk

“What would you do for five dollars?” http://fiverr.com

Can use resources like that to get logo designed, etc. Going to come across a lot of crap, but also some gems.

Are there tax implications? No lawyers present, but the general consensus is that yes, there can be, but falls in the category of things like you are supposed to voluntarily pay state sales tax for all online purchases. Talk to your accountant or lawyer.

Email discussion of how to share safely online or on Twitter:

Yahoo has temporary/disposable email addresses you can set up within your existing account

Use a service (free) like scr.im. Very easy for a human to follow the link, match two pictures and get your email address, but a robot or automated script can’t. (Of course a human could go get your email address and add it to a list.)

Our presenters Twitter handles:

Brent: @brentter

Chris: @heizusan

Followed by a guitar performance by Chris. Who has bartered with Atlas Purveyors - he plays music, they give him food and drinks.