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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.
BC_Episode 5 Paul Hebbick
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the Barter Edge Podcast, your insider guide to smarter business, bigger networks, and better ways to trade. We are here to share real stories, expert tips from different industries and fresh ideas to help you grow your business using the power of Bartercard . Well, welcome to another episode of the Barter Edge and Bartercard really does give businesses an edge over their competition.
And today I am here with Paul Hebbick from Bartercard . Paul, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your journey with Bartercard ? Sure thing, Jen. My journey with Bartercard is quite incredible. I've been around Bartercard now for 30 years. So yes, I did start with Bartercard when I was four.
No, just kidding. So I started originally with Bartercard , Tasmania, and I started as a commission only sales rep back in 1994. I was actually in my mid twenties back then. And yeah, I've had an incredible journey over the years. I went from Hobart, I [00:01:00] moved, then moved to Launceston. I then went back to Hobart.
I then had the opportunity to move to. To New Zealand and I've spent now the last 24 years living in New Zealand. I did a small stint in Hebbick London during that time as well, and then the opportunity came up to move back to Hebbick Australia. So yeah, now I've relocated the family back here.
And how much better is it on the Gold Coast? Let's be honest, Paul. Well, the climate's certainly beautiful, so I get amazed when I look around our office. We've got over 150 years of Bartercard experience just in our office in South not Southport, in west Burleigh. What do you love about Bartercard ?
What has kept you with the company for over 30 years now? Well, of course the people and look, every day is different. The thing I really enjoy the most is seeing business owners grow their businesses and then achieve their goals using Hebbick trade dollars. Yeah, it's quite phenomenal. The stories that I hear.
Quite [00:02:00] often got goosebumps from hearing the amazing things that our clients have been able to do. Would you like to share one of your favorite Bartercard stories with everyone today? Yeah, look, I think one of the first things to understand about Bartercard is around Bartercard 's. Value proposition is new customers, but more specifically new customers when you want them.
So what we do is we put bums on seats and heads on pillows when businesses need customers in, you know, during their downtime. And the thing is this spear capacity aspect, it's different for different businesses and different industries. So for instance if we take a retailer or a product-based business, sure they can o open up and they can take Bartercard 24 7 or whenever they're open, or they can get a little more specific and they could run a green.sale.
And just draw Bartercard members in for a specific sales event and sell only a product that has the green dot on it. Or, you know, if they're a if it was a tradie type business, well, what does their spare capacity look like? Or sometimes that can [00:03:00] be geographical selling area based that they wanna operate in a particular area because driving is inefficient and costs them money.
Or it might be a type of job or size of job that they want to try and attract. For instance one of my old clients in New Zealand they were a painting company, quite and quite a decent sized painting company. But they said to me, well, the type of work we want is we wanna paint roofs.
We will set up for it. And they're highly profitable jobs for us, so can you get us some more jobs, painting roofs? So we did that. But then that led onto another conversation about what happens when they get rained off jobs and they've, you know, they might be painting the exterior of a house, but it's raining, so they want some inside jobs.
So we hooked them up with a motel who was renovating the motel preparing it for sale. And at any point the painter could ring the motel and say, Hey, look, we've been rained off a job. Have you got any rooms we can paint out today? And try and fill their spec, pasty. With work. That sounds like a tradie dream.
Instead of getting called off a job by being able to [00:04:00] utilize the time, they've obviously already paying the staff, but being able to then transfer that into an opportunity like that's business changing, isn't it? Exactly so trying to pinpoint what spare capacity looks like in a business.
It's to do with the rhythm of their business. I mean, you know, take a hospitality type business. Sure they can take Bartercard whenever they're open. That is absolutely an option. Or they could use it more strategically to attract Bartercard customers. It could be early sittings, it could be certain days of the week.
You know, because if they're pretty busy Friday, Saturday nights, then we can help fill up Tuesday nights. If that's what they want and what a great alternative, because sometimes, like with restaurants, they're trying to fill that spare capacity by doing really heavy discounts. So with Bartercard , they're not discounting their product, are they?
It's a really good point because. Now imagine you arrive at a restaurant at five 30 and you get a 50% discount for being early, but you turn up at six [00:05:00] 30 and you're paying the standard menu price. To me, that's cheapening the business. Absolutely. Couldn't agree more with that.
Is the meal half the size? Probably not, but yeah I don't think discounting is a great way for a business to attract customers. Totally agree with that. I had a great experience last year with Bartercard , so I had my Bartercard account there, and it was just before Christmas, which is an incredibly expensive time for families, and there was no way I could have justified buying myself something from my cash.
Like I just didn't have the cash flow for mom. Yeah. I had to spend it on the kid and the husband and travel and all that sort of thing. And one of our retailers had a few racks and they had a special Bartercard morning, and instead of putting their items on 50% discount, they did a hundred percent.
Trade dollars, which meant that because they were getting rid of their excess stock that they didn't want to discount, they were able to open that up to Bartercard members. And it was an amazing morning. There were so [00:06:00] many members in there all trying things on, and I was like, what a smart way of doing business.
And it was something that I hadn't really considered before. So whether a product based business. A, you know, Trae, like, it doesn't matter what sector you're from, there can be some real advantages from being in our network. Can't there? Yeah. Look, and definitely, and just one last point on that discounting, because I see it as used Bartercard prior to doing a discounting sale.
Like, you know, try and sell all the products you can at your recommended retail price or your normal selling price, w whatever that is, and use discounting as a last resort RA rather than a first option. Yes. I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that little tip with us all today, Paul. Can you please share some of the smart strategies to spend trade dollars within our rapidly growing network?
Step one, right, is who in the business is empowered to spend money? Identify who are those key people in the business? And obviously, you know, businesses come in different shapes and [00:07:00] sizes, but if it's a relatively, you know, if it's a medium sized businesses and there's a few different people responsible even if that be, you know, an admin in the office who is ordering, tea, coffee, toilet rolls and things like this, empower the right staff with a Bartercard so they can spend trade dollars instead of cash and then educate them.
We are always looking to spend trade dollars instead of cash, because every trade dollar spent is then cash saved in the business after that, the right people need a card, then it's down to ha having the Bartercard app installed on your phone. Install the app log in use the forgot password feature.
If you haven't been in it for a while, get the app installed and then go shopping. Go looking for the types of things that you'd like to purchase with trade. And then look, I mean, one of my favorite questions that I'll ask a business owner is tell me about some of the improvements you'd like to make to your business over the next six or 12 months.
Most business owners will have some form of a to-do list. And the, some of it will [00:08:00] also keep them up at night, but they'll have a to-do list everything on the to-do list one way or another costs money. And if they, if a business owner was to share their to-do list with us and what they want to achieve, often this will link to some of their goals.
Then we can work with them on knocking a few things off their to-do list, paying for things with Bartercard trade dollars and helping them save cash to move some of these goals forward. I love that. I hadn't actually thought about that, but it's so true. Like whether you are planning on opening ano another shop front or you know, anything you're wanting to do to improve your business, you've gotta think about the effects on your cash flow.
Why not utilize your trade dollars in times like that to be able to reduce some of that cashflow challenge that may be happening? So we do have the new platform. How does it make trading easier for our members? In lots of ways. So the new platform members are empowered to run their own account.
And with that they can edit and adjust [00:09:00] their directory listing. They can change their directory listing status. So, you know, they can be active and open and everyone can find them. Or if they need to, they can unlist themselves or snooze their listing. So, for instance, you know, if things are pretty flat out for the, and they might be a seasonal business, but if things are flat out for the next couple of months.
Then they may wish to unlist themselves. The other thing with the new platform I. It has in the, as far as the directory's concerned, it's got a, it's got a feature in there called barter days and barter months. And this is a feature that some clients will use. Not everyone need, needs to, it depends on their business.
But for instance, you can select the days, and this could be for, say, a hospitality business. They can select the days when they wish to. Attract Bartercard members because after all, Bartercard 's, value proposition is new customers when you want them. So it makes sense that a business owner can be specific about when they welcome Bartercard customers.
For instance, with a car rental company, or it could be a resort. There's the feature called Barter months [00:10:00] and that's where they can articulate the months where they welcome trade dollars, the months where they may be flat out and unavailable. Or it says, there's another one that says Contact us.
That's a bit of a traffic light system with green, orange, and red. Fantastic. Fantastic. And all these features are very easy to use as well, aren't they? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah it's not particularly difficult to get your head around. You can so download the Bartercard app and that's the Bartercard Australia app.
And you can run it from your phone or you can also log into it as a web app. I find it easier to do my listings and things like that from the web, but then being able to scroll through the marketplace to have a look at what's available and what people are promoting is a great, easy way of being able to do it.
And speaking of that, in business visibility is super powerful. We are. An additional sales channel for businesses, but we're business to business. So if you are business to business, it makes sense to really promote yourself and be visible on a [00:11:00] platform like this. How valuable is the marketplace for our members?
In my BC there's a number of elements to it. So one is the directory which we've covered a little bit of, and that's a directory like, like the old stole Yellow Pages phone book. And it's full of different businesses and their geographies and everything else.
And that is constantly changing. There's new members being added. There's some members may be snoozing their listings and others who have snoozed, their listings are coming back in. So it's constantly changing and it's quite dynamic. So it's not as if you can just look at it today and go, well, I'm done.
I've looked at the directory because it changes all the time. Then there is the marketplace side. Now marketplace is a platform where people can sell specific products or services and that could be absolutely anything. It could be it could be a car, it could be a boat, it could be it could be some soft toys.
We have hundreds and hundreds of different listings on there, and there's filters you can use to search and find the sorts of things that may interest you. Then there is the tourist side. We have a tab called tourism. And that's specifically to [00:12:00] ringfence some of the tourist opportunities and both marketplace and the tourism listings are what we call buy now.
You can clHebbick on them and buy them then and there. And when you clHebbick buy now, I. Assuming you have the trade dollars in your account, the trade dollars are transacted between the merchant and the customer, and then you make arrangements with that merchant to receive the products or services that you've purchased.
So with tourism, there's all sorts of different tourism type products. Then we have another tab, which is called Bartercard opportunities. Now this is an area where members can list higher value assets on a part cash, part trade basis. And this you may find property, cars, boats, toys, jet skis. One thing that I, I have not seen sold on Bartercard to date, and I'm hoping I do one day, is a helicopter.
We have sold planes, we've sold many boats, many properties, land, commercial buildings, you name it. We've sold a lot of that, but I haven't seen a helicopter sold yet. So if someone's got a helicopter just sitting in their [00:13:00] backyard not being used, can they put it on Bartercard ? Yeah. That's what Bartercard opportunities is for.
That's amazing. So you don't actually have to be a caravan dealer or a car dealer to be able to sell these items. Is that true? That's correct, because you can just sell your, whatever you personally own. You could also sell that. You know, whether it's part of your business or something you've got lying around in the shed, then yep, you could list it on Marketplace for for a buy now opportunity.
And the opportunities area for something may require some negotiation and inspection and things like this and maybe a contract. So for businesses to be more visible, on a scale of one to 10, how important is it for them to update their listing and put like a listing in the marketplace if they're actively looking for new customers?
How important is that? 10. 10 out of 10. Super important. And look, the first point I would make around this is around a business's reputation. The business's reputation is [00:14:00] critical both in the cash market and the Bartercard economy. And my simple saying would be, don't waste the time of fellow Bartercard members with inaccurate Bartercard directory listings because it just simply pisses people off.
You know, if you are welcoming trade dollars, then be listed in the directory. If your business isn't taking trade at the moment, or needs to pause or snooze or whatever, then unlist yourself temporarily. No problem at all. Because the accuracy of the directory is very important. The other thing is when a Bartercard member updates their listing, it's got a last review date on the listing that all the members can see.
I was speaking with the owner of it was Berger Houseboats. They've got the houseboat business down on the tweet. And she was telling me at Christmas time that this is one of the best features that we've brought in because when she sees those listings that have been reviewed and you know, reviewed in the last three or six months type thing, it gives her confidence that the listing is up to date and accurate as opposed to the listings that say unreviewed.
So it's, yeah, it's definitely worth reviewing listings. And then the other side of that [00:15:00] is the directory is a tool for members to look in order to spend their trade dollars. But the other side of it. Imagine a, say a car detailing business. The owner of the car detailing business is looking at the cars they've got booked in for the next week or two, and they're thinking we've got a few light days coming up.
So what they can do is jump in the directory, look up their location, and then hover over the businesses that are in their geographic geographical area and pHebbick up the phone, ring those businesses up, introduce themselves as the Bartercard car detailer. And then say, would you like to book your car in to come and get your car detailed with us?
Here are some available dates. And be proactive about using the directory as a sales tool as well to approach members who may wanna spend trade dollars with you. Excellent. So just to recap, some of the key points are be visible. Yeah. Get into the app, update your directory listing [00:16:00] if applicable, have a an offer in the marketplace as well.
And like we often talk about the things that make businesses more attractive and the things that every business needs, like there's listings in there to be able to do things like your business cards and help with your SEO and that sort of thing. And. There's such important things that we're all spending money on, why not use your trade dollars that you've earned and then you're able to purchase at the discount equivalent to your gross profit margin.
Like it makes sense to be utilizing the platform. And what I find with a lot of our members is. We go out of our way to support each other, whether it be pizzas or a restaurant that is involved in Bartercard . I personally go outta my way. Do you? Absolutely. Members will go outta their way to spend their trade dollars for the simple reason that they're saving cash.
And then this whole, you know, where do I spend my trade [00:17:00] dollars conversation? It's for a business to spend their trade dollars first, they need to be proactive and then. They also need to change a few suppliers. Now, the classic one for me, I'll say to a business owner, oh, well how much do you spend a year on accounting?
And they'll say, oh, 15 grand. I'll say, okay, well how about we have a look at saving that cash and spending with a Bartercard member or like a Bartercard accountant and you can pay them trade dollars instead. And the response I often get is, oh no, I wouldn't change my accountant. And sometimes I find people are more willing to change their dentist than they are their vet.
Which is a bit weird to me but I think challenge yourself and look at how much you're spending in different areas of the business, and why not explore Bartercard opportunities on spending those trade dollars. For instance, we have a telecommunication supplier on Bartercard who will take all your telecommunication bills, they'll match what you're paying [00:18:00] now, and they'll take 50% on Bartercard .
Now we have hundreds and hundreds of members who are using them. It's whether you are changing your telco supply in the cash economy or in the Bartercard economy, there will be a little bit of paperwork involved and it seems that the only barrier to doing this is there's a little bit of paperwork involved but if you're saving your cash flow, money coming outta your cash flow.
It's worth it, isn't it? We have businesses who have 30 plus mobile phones in their business. They've got landlines. They've got I was about to say fax machines, but that's not true anymore. They've got landlines, they've got fiber, and they can save these expenses, you know, in their business by switching to a Bartercard supplier.
That to me is pretty powerful. It's also, it also tHebbicks a beautiful box, which is called an RBE. Now, that is a regular business expense. You do the work today, change to a Bartercard supplier, and then every month going forward you are [00:19:00] saving that cash. To me, it's a bit of a no-brainer. Yeah, what a fantastic opportunity to help reduce some of those cash expenses.
And there's so many different ways of being able to do it. I love the thought of going through like a bookkeeper and accountant in our network because they understand how it all works as well when it comes to tax time and that sort of thing. And they can help with your tax planning and include Bartercard into that planning, can't they?
A hundred percent. They have a better understanding of how Bartercard works. And how it's recognized by the a TO and incorporated in And look, I mean, one of the things someone said to me once is, if you haven't changed your accountant in the last 10 years you may want to have another look to get a second opinion.
Oh, I like that. Yeah. That's smart business advice coming from Paul today. For those who may not have traded in a while, what's the first step that they should take to get back up and running with their Bartercard account? Number one, go to the app store and download the [00:20:00] Bartercard Australia app.
Use the forgot password function in order to reset your password and log in and then start with, so that'll take you into the app, which is my bc review your directory listing. And that's under the listing management tab. Make contact with your Bartercard account manager. They will help you.
We are here to help. We're not hard to find. So yeah make contact. And reengage. And let's start earning some trade dollars, spending some trade dollars, saving some cash, and helping business owners achieve their goals. I love that. Now, if someone was considering becoming a member, and maybe they are concerned that, you know they're going to be earning trade dollars, but they're a bit hesitant on where am I going to spend it, what would you say to them?
Pop your toe in the water. Earn a few trade dollars. Spend a few. It all points. The Bartercard member is in control of their listing. How their business is listed. They can snooze their listing, they can rev it up and turn it on. Or if they need to, they can dial it back a bit and then [00:21:00] yeah fill some of that spare capacity or sell some excess stock.
Earn a few trade dollars and then work with us and we'll help you spend when it comes to spending of the trade dollars plan ahead. Alright, look. Look at what is coming up over in your business over the next three months, six months, 12 months, and start planning ahead. Talk with your account manager and tell them some of your goals I give.
For instance, if you wanna open a new store. Or renovate a shop, or renovate a property or buy an investment property or these sorts of things. I, they generally don't just happen immediately. They take a little bit of planning, involve us in right at the beginning in that planning so we, we can support you and help you to utilize trade dollars whatever these bigger projects are.
I love that. Now, Paul, I think one of my favorite things one of my favorite little stories that I've encountered, and I'm fairly new to the Bartercard Network, but one thing was I rang up someone in hospitality and she was a waitress. And I said, have you heard of Bartercard [00:22:00] before? And she said to me, yes.
My previous employers had it and it was great because I had a staff account and that went towards paying for a third of my wedding. So there's so many outside of the box things that you can do once you are involved in Bartercard , and I love hearing those stories. We've got a couple of minutes left.
Have you got another quHebbick story for us of something that you've been a part of in Bartercard ? Yeah, sure. So probably one of my favorite stories in Bartercard . And look, these all come from members who have done it. But the story is about a spa pool company in New Zealand who joined Bartercard to sell some of their excess stock.
And what they sold was end of lines trade-ins and some, yeah, so some excess stock that they had in their warehouse. They were a nationwide retailer of spa pools. Well, actually they were a manufacturer and retailer of spa pools. They sold a bunch of the, of these spas that they wanted to get rid of.
And then they used those trade [00:23:00] dollars in their business on advertising, marketing, and promotional opportunities to bring in more cash paying customers. Now, to me that was a really good use of trade dollars. I. But further to that, once they got their teeth into it, the other thing they did was they built a community of members around their business to support their trading and by and what I'm saying there is they referred, I.
Loads and loads of businesses to us because they're a decent sized company and they would have reps coming into their business trying to sell them things whether it was advertising, printing or signage or whatever it might be. I. There were reps coming into their business trying to sell them stuff.
So they said to these reps, sure, we'll do business with you, but you need to join Bartercard . Over a few years we would've, in conjunction with them, we would've signed up 100 new members into Bartercard to support their trading. That's absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for sharing that.
What a great finish to story to finish on. Paul, thank you for being here with us [00:24:00] today. I'm sure we'll have you on another episode of the Barter Edge. Thank you, Jen. This has been awesome. Cheers. Thank you for being with us today and sharing your stories and expertise. If you wanna find out how Bartercard can help your business, or if you wanna be a guest on our future podcast, contact our team at Hello.
At Barta card.com make sure you tune in for our next episode of the Barter Edge.