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Welcome to the Barter Edge Podcast—your insider guide to smarter business, bigger networks, and better ways to trade.
Whether you're a seasoned member or just getting started, we're here to share real stories, expert tips from different industries, and fresh ideas to help you grow your business using the power of the Bartercard ecosystem.
Victoria - bartercard education
Kingsley: [00:00:00] To another episode of the Barter Edge where we are talking to a barter card rockstar that we love. In our team, we've, we are here with one of New South Wales account managers, Victoria, and she's a master connector with our network. So, Victoria, let's start by introducing yourself and share a little bit of your journey with barter card.
VICTORIA: Yeah, look,
Kingsley: Yeah.
VICTORIA: around a
Kingsley: Look, I've been around a long time, um,
VICTORIA: 14 years in the trading
Kingsley: in the trading seat.
VICTORIA: So had
Kingsley: So
VICTORIA: roles in that period. I first came across Barter card maybe 25 years ago when I owned, um, gyms Fit. I was in the fitness industry, um, and dance schools and as a sort of. through the years and bought and sold businesses.
Kingsley: businesses, always had a.
VICTORIA: so I kind of understood it quite well.
Kingsley: Quite well.
VICTORIA: and then came to work with the team. When I was in between jobs, [00:01:00] I thought I was, um, coming for a very short period of time, and 14 years later, I'm still here.
Kingsley: Well, we love having you a part of our team and having you with so much experience as well within being a client first and experiencing what can happen with, um, being a business, being involved with Barter card now. Sydney is quite a diverse market. What kind of businesses are you currently seeing really thrive in?
Barter card.
VICTORIA: Look, I don't think there's any particular industry. Um, I think it really comes down to the business owner. So someone who. Kind of thinks outside the squares. Quite a creative person, someone who's got
Kingsley: Someone who's open.
VICTORIA: for suggestions and, and, and I guess crazy ideas that can come off the back of things
Kingsley: Back
VICTORIA: we
Kingsley: because sometimes we don't always see,
VICTORIA: they [00:02:00] can't
Kingsley: or they can't see a correlation between, um, certain clients and, and they may not have thought of
VICTORIA: in the
Kingsley: those before in the
VICTORIA: Um, I've worked for
Kingsley: worked
VICTORIA: most of my
Kingsley: of career.
VICTORIA: as a trading manager, so in the trading
Kingsley: A
VICTORIA: Um, but then I also,
Kingsley: I also,
VICTORIA: very
Kingsley: uh, for a very long period of time.
VICTORIA: was a hospitality and tourism development
Kingsley: Develop
VICTORIA: so traveling
Kingsley: traveling overseas.
VICTORIA: signing up Vata card accounts, and then. they weren't, it wasn't a face-to-face, um, ongoing relationship
Kingsley: relationship
VICTORIA: the distance, so it can be done,
Kingsley: done
VICTORIA: regardless of where
Kingsley: regardless of where.
VICTORIA: Um,
Kingsley: Um.
VICTORIA: certainly can, we can make any account work. It again, it comes down to that sort of style of, of client who, who is a little bit different, I guess, and creative.
Kingsley: Yeah, and always looking for opportunities as well, because if we do the same things that all of our competitors are doing, it's really [00:03:00] hard to stand out, isn't it?
VICTORIA: it
Kingsley: Yeah.
VICTORIA: I think, you know, if you've got a barter card account, um, and you've got
Kingsley: Um, and you've got access to that.
VICTORIA: difference,
Kingsley: that difference, it really differentiates you and put you in a different position. Um, and it allows you
VICTORIA: competitive.
Kingsley: be more
VICTORIA: got an
Kingsley: so you've definitely
VICTORIA: You've got
Kingsley: competitors you've got.
VICTORIA: resources, um, you know, just opportunities in general.
Kingsley: Yeah. Now coming from a background of dance classes and gyms and all of that sort of thing, it completely makes sense to open up to barter card because you know, with your gym classes and things like that, you are running them and paying the staff and your doors are open and you know the lights are on and the music's pumping.
And it doesn't matter how many people are actually in the class or in the gym at the time. It's your fixed costs are gonna stay the same, aren't they? So what would Exactly,
VICTORIA: So
Kingsley: exactly.
VICTORIA: has a [00:04:00] higher company, um, or, you know, or, or in that situation, like, like a gym or a fitness center, um. Regardless of whether you've got one person in that gym or whether you've got a hundred, um, on the gym
Kingsley: Um.
VICTORIA: it's the same. It's gonna be the same cost to run it.
So then bringing in that extra business with Vata card, it can create the opportunity, um, for a business in that situation then to potentially utilize those trade dollars as um, you know, their marketing budget. So. Yeah, it's, it's a great, it's a great alternate, um, and, you know, a different style of client.
Yeah, for sure.
Kingsley: And it definitely does make you. More attractive to other barter card members being, uh, offering barter card rather than just cash for more those ledge. And it's like for lifestyle as well as for business expenses. So if you were talking to a [00:05:00] lifestyle business, what would you recommend to them?
VICTORIA: look, I think for anyone in general as a business owner, um, life being able to spend lifestyle wise,
Kingsley: Lifestyle
VICTORIA: kids had like some of the most incredible birthday parties. I mean, they had conies at their parties. They had popup pizza trucks that rocked up. My daughter had a. 16th had a limousine, a you know, big giant stretch limousine that threw them all in there and they went to, you
Kingsley: and they went to
VICTORIA: restaurant and everyone was
Kingsley: restaurant and.
VICTORIA: how the hell does she afford to do these really lavish, crazy birthday parties?
But that was really where I loved to kind of. I guess spend some of my trade, um,
Kingsley: My
VICTORIA: doing that for clients, you know, being able to take clients that I had, um, and have like great parties and create more relationships and,
Kingsley: relationships
VICTORIA: my trade
Kingsley: utilize my dollars that way.
VICTORIA: Yeah, it definitely can enhance your personal life.
The travel travel's like amazing, you know, to be able to go and stay in a resort, it just means that you've [00:06:00] got more cash than to spend when you are at the resort. So therefore, able to buy more cocktails, you know, at the bar and, and treat yourself.
Kingsley: Victoria, I love the way you are thinking. Um, and if you think about it, like you would've paid for some of those birthday parties and things like that just for having some extra people in your classes. Is that right?
VICTORIA: that's it. Yeah, absolutely. In a nutshell, a hundred
Kingsley: Amazing. So in your role as an account manager, how do you support new and existing members?
VICTORIA: Look pretty much the same. It doesn't matter whether I get a new client on board or whether I'm picking up an account that might be sort of, you know, need refreshing. It's the same kind of principles. So it's not always possible to walk into someone's business, um, a lot can still be established over
Kingsley: be
VICTORIA: um, building
Kingsley: overbuilding relationships,
VICTORIA: zooms.
Kingsley: um,
VICTORIA: after COVID, we know how well Zooms work. To [00:07:00] a
Kingsley: understand persons probably most important,
VICTORIA: of the whole process. So whether it's
Kingsley: whether it's
VICTORIA: social
Kingsley: them on social media, you know,
VICTORIA: um, you know, like their websites
Kingsley: website.
VICTORIA: understanding what their products are and then. Obviously going into a deep dive with that client. So they might have
Kingsley: So they might
VICTORIA: range of services.
Kingsley: of services.
VICTORIA: offer on Vata card, some that they may not be able to because they might have to pull in, you know, a third party to, to have those, um, those things available. their business. So we kind of work out what they can and can't do, um, on, you know, on Barta card. Um, once they
Kingsley: Um, once they understand and establish what it's that they do do,
VICTORIA: then
Kingsley: um, it's then
VICTORIA: to
Kingsley: wanting to know what have
VICTORIA: to
Kingsley: they
VICTORIA: their
Kingsley: do
VICTORIA: haven't been
Kingsley: business that they haven't
VICTORIA: And
Kingsley: been able to, and that sort of really exciting stuff.
VICTORIA: Um, sometimes
Kingsley: sometimes people
VICTORIA: business.
Kingsley: go business
VICTORIA: the [00:08:00] bump and
Kingsley: and they're in
VICTORIA: day
Kingsley: grind every day.
VICTORIA: what it was
Kingsley: That
VICTORIA: originally
Kingsley: originally set out to do.
VICTORIA: and they've
Kingsley: Um,
VICTORIA: many
Kingsley: and they've got so many expenses and they just don't get it.
VICTORIA: we
Kingsley: So sometimes you might talk to a client and they might wanna radio,
VICTORIA: you know, amazing, um, campaigns, print media,
Kingsley: media,
VICTORIA: something that are
Kingsley: something
VICTORIA: available,
Kingsley: available
VICTORIA: card and quite easy to.
Kingsley: quite.
VICTORIA: excess and, uh, and so to be able to go back through that and, and sort of work out what they wanna
Kingsley: Out what they, what they haven't done
VICTORIA: within their business, and how
Kingsley: video
VICTORIA: we potentially
Kingsley: we potentially do?
VICTORIA: there's a couple
Kingsley: So there's a couple ways. Obviously.
VICTORIA: be
Kingsley: One would be
VICTORIA: recreate, uh,
Kingsley: recreate,
VICTORIA: create a marketing
Kingsley: a marketing budget and see what we can find within that.
VICTORIA: If we don't have
Kingsley: If we don't have those items, going through
VICTORIA: analysis, so going through
Kingsley: so going through
VICTORIA: maybe looking
Kingsley: sitting
VICTORIA: and ls, not from a too much, from a
Kingsley: too much from a dollar [00:09:00] value, but what are they looking, what
VICTORIA: currently in
Kingsley: they spending currently in the cash market
VICTORIA: might be
Kingsley: that we might be able to replace by
VICTORIA: dollars
Kingsley: of their trade
VICTORIA: those
Kingsley: and moving those over
VICTORIA: a trade purchase point? What that does is
Kingsley: What that does?
VICTORIA: um, a lot more cashflow within the business. So if we don't have something available
Kingsley: So.
VICTORIA: card, we can basically take expenses, them into cash expenses, give us more cash to play with, so they can then spend that on other things that we may not have. So yeah, it's really just understanding the whole lot of the business.
Kingsley: Yeah, I had a fairly new business, uh, and it was two people who went out on their own and one, the admin person, um, was pretty much doing the, all of the marketing didn't have a marketing background. They had it in their two year goals to be able to put a considerable budget towards SEO, and it's a [00:10:00] service-based business as well.
And they loved the idea. Of being able to utilize some of their spare hours in the day servicing Barta card customers as a way to reduce the amount of hats for their admin and, um, be able to get to their goals faster, like using their spare capacity for things like. SEO, which was not on the plan for two years.
So I think that coming from a background in being a business owner as well, Victoria is a real value add for all of your clients that you help. But also the whole Barta card team, because you know. Like you've had that juggle. You've probably had those sleepless nights that most business owners have. And when you are looking at a business, you are looking at it from a business owner perspective as well.
So it is amazing to be able to have [00:11:00] that and to look at not only where are they spending, where can they be spending, but opening up more opportunities for them to. Think differently about the way that they do difference the way they do doing business.
VICTORIA: Yeah. Look, there may, sometimes it's not necessarily that correlation when you might come across, um, like say for example, you might come across an um, that's for sale, and you might call a client and sort of say to them, look, I know you are not looking at
Kingsley: You're not looking at increasing your
VICTORIA: um, or your product
Kingsley: or your product range, but have you thought about potentially buying these?
VICTORIA: what you could
Kingsley: what you could possibly do with them
VICTORIA: put
Kingsley: is, you know,
VICTORIA: campaign
Kingsley: marketing campaign together.
VICTORIA: you know,
Kingsley: Your
VICTORIA: cash
Kingsley: preexisting cash customer,
VICTORIA: they actually spend
Kingsley: they actually spend more this month. So increasing the profit
VICTORIA: know, what, what their average spend is with their, with their customer. You
Kingsley: customer.
VICTORIA: them a box [00:12:00] of this complimentary.
Kingsley: Complimentary. So creating
VICTORIA: concepts and
Kingsley: those concepts and
VICTORIA: is
Kingsley: ideas
VICTORIA: to,
Kingsley: able
VICTORIA: for them to be able to increase their
Kingsley: them to
VICTORIA: within their business. So there's
Kingsley: business. So.
VICTORIA: that can happen. Um, we are different, you know, bar Card Trader is a different,
Kingsley: Different.
VICTORIA: person.
Kingsley: Absolutely. Now, through your experience, I'm sure you've got thousands of stories of amazing trades and things that have happened. What would be a standout success story that you've had with a client?
VICTORIA: Oh, look, there's so many over the years, 14 years of crazy. Um, look, one of the, one of the feel good ones
Kingsley: The good ones possibly
VICTORIA: Sydney, they were looking at
Kingsley: they were looking at
VICTORIA: you know, creating some nice gift
Kingsley: creating some,
VICTORIA: for Mother's Day. Um, obviously freight's always, you know, a really big thing with weight and things like that. Um, and so we. Sourced, you [00:13:00] know, all the nice
Kingsley: you.
VICTORIA: like the tea towels and the laveda scent bags and all those sorts of things. But I was still missing a few things and went to them and I said,
Kingsley: I went,
VICTORIA: thought about potentially
Kingsley: thought about potentially doing charity, Don and
VICTORIA: like I was
Kingsley: looked.
VICTORIA: insane. Um, and I said, look, you could potentially do, let's say you do a 10 K charity donation. first of all, you are gonna have the benefits of having done that charity donation talk to your account and see where that works in, you know, with your p and ls, um, and what the benefits would be. But then you could, we could potentially carve that charity donation up, um, which is exactly what we did.
So we
Kingsley: What we did. So we went out
VICTORIA: who could print some. Um, you know, postcard size, um, gift certificates,
Kingsley: gift certificate and basically
VICTORIA: um, they were in $50 denominations
Kingsley: denominations
VICTORIA: said
Kingsley: basic
VICTORIA: donation of $50 has made, you know, been made to this cancer
Kingsley: make is cancer
VICTORIA: of you Happy Mother's Day. and so that was
Kingsley: and.
VICTORIA: into the boxes. [00:14:00] So just meant all the moms that were out there. You know, sometimes we've. got so much stuff. How much stuff do we really, really need? Um, it's really beautiful to
Kingsley: Really beautiful to be
VICTORIA: that. So.
Kingsley: like
VICTORIA: I
Kingsley: so.
VICTORIA: florist was, you know, stoked. They sold 250 hampers.
Um, and they were able to do a complete, what's called cash conversion. So buying something on barta card, potentially reselling it, you know, at back out into the cash, um, economy. So things like that are very cool. I have a, you know, big background with the company in the hospitality and tourism sector. passionate about
Kingsley: passion, hospitality,
VICTORIA: And so it is very
Kingsley: and so
VICTORIA: You know, mother's Day
Kingsley: Mothers Day
VICTORIA: some
Kingsley: wanted some
VICTORIA: put on the
Kingsley: gifts table
VICTORIA: that, um, flow through to their social
Kingsley: to their social media
VICTORIA: edge on their competitors.
Kingsley: competitors.
VICTORIA: went out, got some pallets
Kingsley: Got some pallets of wine.
VICTORIA: Um,
Kingsley: I
VICTORIA: got some gift vouchers
Kingsley: [00:15:00] voucher
VICTORIA: business.
Now it sounded really strange getting some vouchers, um, to a, a nursery, um, because, you know, like they're kind of going, what is this got to do with Mother's Day plants? and ultimately, you know, they, they bought $10,000. Of credit from the the local nursery. What they were able
Kingsley: they.
VICTORIA: was, again, carve it up, get those gift vouchers printed, put a nice hole punch in there, tied it to a bottle of wine, and every mom that you know, had that devastation meal.
And you can imagine what a devastation meal is worth on a waterfront property, or restaurant. was really beautiful. I mean, that looked elegant. It looked absolutely gorgeous. It was a quality gift. Um, and it just meant that they were able to, you know, get more seat like seats filled, um, because everybody kind of wanted this really cool gift that was, you know, thrown through, you know, shown through social media and, and it was amazing.
So [00:16:00] there's just so many stories
Kingsley: Many stories,
VICTORIA: Um. You know, running competitions for, for staff. I mean, one of our biggest restaurants,
Kingsley: restaurants.
VICTORIA: they have a big whiteboard.
Kingsley: Big white,
VICTORIA: they would
Kingsley: um, they would, they would find
VICTORIA: you know, gifts and prizes
Kingsley: advisor,
VICTORIA: not only the staff but
Kingsley: only staff,
VICTORIA: So clients
Kingsley: so
VICTORIA: in, I
Kingsley: coming
VICTORIA: coolest
Kingsley: one of the coolest one
VICTORIA: um, before COVID Vivid.
We all know what Vivid is. Um, got a push bike that they bought a 3000 push bike. They bought on, on barter card with a nice basket full of
Kingsley: The basket full, extra things.
VICTORIA: the
Kingsley: And basically the messaging was
VICTORIA: in
Kingsley: it can come in
VICTORIA: and you have an
Kingsley: and you have an entree or
VICTORIA: for
Kingsley: you know,
VICTORIA: that you
Kingsley: entree that you buy or every dessert
VICTORIA: the
Kingsley: buy.
VICTORIA: to win.
You know, this amazing
Kingsley: Amazing
VICTORIA: and it was front and
Kingsley: and.
VICTORIA: right at the bar the back end of house. They [00:17:00] had another board running, which was for staff members, wait staff those wait staff every time they upsold. Uh, you know, a meal and they had an entree or a dessert. would go on the board with a point score and at the end of the month they would a prize.
Now, their prizes were everything from domestic travel through to another pushbike and some other smaller ones in between. They saw a big shift because it was winter. Um, their revenue was down, by doing that
Kingsley: doing
VICTORIA: their
Kingsley: that, they increase their
VICTORIA: by 20%.
Kingsley: 20%.
VICTORIA: I
Kingsley: So
VICTORIA: that
Kingsley: I mean.
VICTORIA: barter cards, sort of sort of trading in the back end, doing that with them.
So
Kingsley: So,
VICTORIA: so
Kingsley: yeah, so stories,
VICTORIA: I'm sure there'll be
Kingsley: stories, I'm sure there's been so many more stories to come. I love all those stories. First of all, that would make any kid look like the best kid ever getting the, you know, going to a beautiful restaurant and then the mom getting a bottle of wine and a [00:18:00] voucher and like, there's so many cool things that people can do, but it's a different mindset, isn't it?
And having someone, when you are really, really close in your business, you often have your blinkers on to what you think is going to work, and you need that person in your corner to open up your eyes to new opportunities, new ways of doing things, new ma ways of making your business look unique and desirable to cash paying customers.
And you've just given us three. Phenomenal examples of how you've been able to do that, and this is why we wanted to have you on as well to really share some of your experience, to open up people's mind to the way they could be utilizing barta card. Now, I, we are looking for more restaurants and hospitality to come on board [00:19:00] with Barta card.
Why does it work so well for the hospitality and tourism industry?
VICTORIA: Look, I think with, uh, with hospitality, no one wants to walk past an empty restaurant. And that's the bottom line, you know? Um, if you're licensed, that's great. There's always wineries and,
Kingsley: Wine
VICTORIA: like that that we can try and get access to. But there's also other opportunities outside that from, in terms of marketing, um, which is readily available.
So there's just so many
Kingsley: so there's.
VICTORIA: a lot more. You know, as you can imagine with that restaurant, they had a bigger edge over their competitor. Um, they had access to, you know, a stronger team and more resources. And so why wouldn't you terms of tourism? in my experience, you know, at the end of the day, and
Kingsley: at of the day, and there's a saying that we, you know, we use
VICTORIA: when they turn the switch off at
Kingsley: switch off at night.
VICTORIA: there is someone
Kingsley: there is someone sleeping,
VICTORIA: [00:20:00] or there is. There is or there isn't. It's
Kingsley: isn't
VICTORIA: cost that
Kingsley: the cops,
VICTORIA: sorry, that hotel, the
Kingsley: they the same amount of money.
VICTORIA: would
Kingsley: why would you
VICTORIA: to
Kingsley: not
VICTORIA: someone
Kingsley: someone
VICTORIA: in that bed?
Kingsley: sleeping in that.
VICTORIA: it doesn't cost you very much to turn
Kingsley: Much.
VICTORIA: over. It's another example of why, you know, tourism, um, and barter card relationships are so strong, because there's just so much more that access that they've got to getting those customers there. Really ultimate
Kingsley: Yeah.
VICTORIA: it.
Kingsley: Absolutely. Now you work closely with business owners every day. What is something that stands out from a mindset perspective or what makes a really successful Barta card member?
VICTORIA: Um.
Kingsley: Um.
VICTORIA: startups are always super attractive. I mean, they don't have access. They, um, I guess to finances, um, [00:21:00] you know, we've got everything from
Kingsley: Everything. Lines of credit,
VICTORIA: lines of credit.
Kingsley: lines of
VICTORIA: you know, are starting on a project, even if you are a, a, you know, a pre-existing
Kingsley: pre.
VICTORIA: and you wanna buy a property through Vata card and you are not quite there, um, rather than sit and watch that opportunity disappear. We can look at increasing lines of credit if you have the ability to be able to trade it back so that that's not a drama. someone who is thinking outside the square, someone who is creative, even someone who maybe has lost their spark, um, for their business. It might be a good time to, you know, try something new.
Um, like I said, it's, it's. For the creative, it's for a creative person. And if you're not creative, then it's time to meet some creative traders, ultimately to do some, I guess, inspiring handholding. Um, and yeah, come along the journey with the crazy Barta card [00:22:00] family.
Kingsley: Changes if nothing changes, does it?
VICTORIA: Yeah, absolutely. If you don't change it, then there will be no change. So you are a hundred
Kingsley: I was speaking, I was speaking with a business owner a little while ago, and I asked them, when was the last time you tried something new in your business? And they'd been doing the same thing day in, day out, and business was rapidly declining.
VICTORIA: Yeah.
Kingsley: isn't it time to look at new opportunities? Isn't it time to have that outsider perspective like yourself and our other amazing account managers to take fresh eyes and look at your business and look for those opportunities?
And you know, I had someone say about, uh, the success fees on the transactions, and when you think about it. You have someone working for you to help you
VICTORIA: Yeah.
Kingsley: outside the box. [00:23:00] Like if I, if I was paying a consultant to do what you've been doing for businesses, it's gonna be a hell of a lot more than 6.5%
VICTORIA: Yeah, it's true,
Kingsley: sent.
VICTORIA: Look, when you look at what sort of Amex is charging a MasterCard, you know, not that we're, you know, we are not even remotely like them, but they got a transaction fee just for transacting. Um, ultimately, you know, with your transaction. you know, a team of staff, um, you know, we are, we are now led by the amazing Andrew Feki, who's finally, you know, come back home.
We've got Nicole Wheelan, who's been another amazing trader in Melbourne, who, you know, she was with us for more than 20 years. She's returned home after five years. Um, and so you've got access to these amazing people who have just so much. Business experience, um, and experience within the network. So, yeah, your transaction fee is not just a transaction fee. Um, some people get business [00:24:00] coaches, you know, some people will do other things within their businesses. It's just a whole bunch of, you know, resources that you've got for barta cards with barta cards. So if you wanna, I guess, a competitive edge on your competitors, they definitely, certainly need to call and have that conversation.
Kingsley: Love that. Now, Victoria, you have shared so much of value with our listeners today. If someone's on the fence about joining, what would you say to them?
VICTORIA: Look, at the end of the day, it's not a contract. So it's, it's certainly, um, worth if you are doing something and you are not getting the result that you want within your business, it's possibly time to look at the way that you're doing business and look at alternatives. Um, you know, it's, it's, it's worth that conversation. Um, so, you know. Give. Give us a call and have a chat and see if it's a good [00:25:00] fit for you. If it is, that's, that's awesome.
Kingsley: Yeah. I love that. Thank you so much for being with us today. Um, I'm sure you, a lot of people have got a lot of value. Maybe we've hope helped inspire some creative ways of thinking outside the box. Uh, such a valuable part of our team and we love, um, hearing your stories. Uh, so make sure you keep tuning into future episodes where we're going to be hearing from more of the people behind the scenes in Barta card to give their valuable tips and tricks.
So make sure you keep tuning in for future episodes. Take care, everyone.
VICTORIA: See
Kingsley: You, uh.
VICTORIA: Oh, good.