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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.
Jen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another exciting episode of The Barter Edge. I am your host, Jen, and it's been an incredible first season with some incredible guests. And today we have one of our newer members joining us. We have got, Ross Mitchell from Wines by Design. He's based in Melbourne, and since 1997 Wines by.
Design has been crafting bespoke wine gifts for the corporate and promotional markets, helping businesses leave a lasting impression with beautiful customized labels and unique packaging. Over the years, they've expanded, their range beyond just wine to include custom labeled beer, gin, and whiskey, allowing businesses to showcase their brand's personality.
In every bottle. Ross, it's fantastic to have you here with us today. Would you like to [00:01:00] introduce yourself to the listeners and share a little bit more about Wine by design?
Ross Mitchell: Oh, I think you've covered it all there, Jen, with a, with a very good introduction. So thank you very much. Uh, yes, as you said, wines by design we've been around for, since 1997. However, I wasn't old enough to own a business back then.
Jen: I.
Ross Mitchell: I purchased it about four years ago now. And, still do a lot of the same products that the previous owner. Did, but I do it in completely different ways. We've changed a lot of the processes and systems through, since I've purchased it. However, yeah, we're corporate alcohol gifts specializing in custom labeling and custom branding anywhere from, custom printed wine cylinders, timber boxes, and we do a lot of hampers and we brand everything inside a hamper for you.
Jen: I love it and I love seeing all your products and things like that. Ross, you've been a relatively new member to Bartercard What was it that first made you say yes to the opportunity?
Ross Mitchell: well, it was you, yourself, Jen, that actually, introduced me to Bartercard. So thank you very much. There was quite a few things that that stood out to me in that, what you said in that [00:02:00] first conversation we had. But the, I suppose the key one was opening myself up to new customers, that I wouldn't have previously had before. That was a, a big draw card for me. That's certainly been the case so far. And then another, another key point, which I hadn't considered as much at the time, which is now very important, physically moving slow moving stock has been super important and that's where I've seen a lot of success so far is in particular one line of stock that was very slow moving.
That has, I've been able to move quite a lot of it, . So far, which has, which has been fantastic. A new network I could leverage as well too. Not necessarily just for customers, but also for my supplier base as well too. I've had conversations with people in IT I've had conversations with people in international query, international freight forwarding, and there's lots of other opportunities out there, which I've expired to, to get into and, and generally I'd just say yes to everything and see where it heads.
. I've had some really good success that way. I've had some great things happen out of that, but I'd just say yes and we'll just see where it leads [00:03:00] to.
Jen: I, I definitely have a trait of say Yes, then work out how, like, if you know, something feels right, you just gotta say yes. . That's probably why we get along so well. . You've been working closely with your amazing account manager, Nicole. How has she supported you as a new member in Bartercard?
Ross Mitchell: .Finding effective ways for me to spend my trade dollars. So, as everyone would know, Bartercard is a little bit different where. In the, in the cash market, in the real world, it's easy to spend your money. Where in Bartercard, in trade, it's, it's a little more reverse the opposite way. So it's how to effectively spend those trade dollars, has been, a key thing, which Nicole has been fantastic with so far.
I still, I've only been a part of Bartercard since, since July, so I haven't, haven't, had a lot of experience yet, haven't actually spent any dollars yet, though I've got four or five things lined up that, that I'm. Very interested in Nicole's, uh, helped me with every single one of those actually. So she's, she's been great and I've, i've emailed her about [00:04:00] quite a few things and she's had to hunt them down, as, as best as she can.
So yeah, she's been, she's been great and looking forward to working with her going forward.
Jen: I love that. Now it's not just Nicole, would you agree that the wider Bartercard account manager team have really got behind you? And particularly in helping to move some of that? Stock where. I've lost count. It's over 20 new customers that you've got in, like within your first month, to clear some stock.
So tell me like, how, how has there been more support than just Nicole?
Ross Mitchell: Oh yes, absolutely. It was, in the first. Three days of membership. I was getting emails from all these different account managers and I had no idea who they were. I still have no idea who really who they are. But there was, uh, there was Tash, there was Wendy, um, obviously Nicole that we've spoken about, but there's, I'm sure there's a few others that, uh, that I would've seen, uh, come through the emails though.
In general the, the overall Bartercard, not just account managers, but yourself as well [00:05:00] too, have been a fantastic support. So I, I couldn't have expected a better start really.
Jen: That's amazing to hear. So tell us a little bit more about the different things like the businesses and that, that you generally will work with, uh, for their branded products.
Ross Mitchell: So the, uh, business at the moment is set up. Uh, the previous owner did pretty much a hundred percent of business at Christmas time, so she made all of her money from October through to the end of the year, where we still do probably 80% of our money in that time. So we really are seasonal. We rea we really are Christmas based, however. Wherever alcohol is given as a gift in a corporate setting. So I don't do a lot of Father's Day, mother's Day birthdays, those type of things we're going after, uh, alcohol's given as a gift in a business, in a business sense. There the opportunities that, that I look for, and I think there's would be a lot of that in the bar to cut system.
So I'm looking forward to exploring it more.
Jen: Yeah, [00:06:00] and it really does make your brand stand out. Like if you are a business owner and you're giving client gifts. Having it personally labeled with your brand on it says a hell of a lot more than just giving a bottle of curettes, doesn't it?
Ross Mitchell: course it does. So yes. Branding on the bottle. Absolutely, yes, it does. Some people also sometimes have a negative connotation when they see a custom label bottle of wine thinking, oh, it must be, you know, must have cost them $2. No. I'm a, I wouldn't call myself a wine connoisseur, but I'm a bit of a wine nerd. And I drink everything that I sell. I enjoy. everything that I sell. So, it is good quality stuff. I know where it comes from. They're from, mainly from family producers that don't label all their stock and allow me to use their, their information on the label. So it's good quality. And then, also all the hamper stuff we use as well too is all from smaller hamper manufacturers. They're not, [00:07:00] you have things that you'll find in Kohl's and Woolworths and things like that. However, the, the branding aspect to it gets my. I do, I mean, I am in the wine industry. I sort of him in the food industry, but really I'm a branding person is what I am.
So, we've got engraving machinery, printing machinery that we can engrave and print pretty much everything that we do. So yes, having your label, having your logo on a label and having your logo on a, on a box, on a gift box, on a hamper box, something like that. Yeah, that is extremely important and is the pretty much the basis of my business.
Jen: Yeah. Yeah. And it does it just like your brand is everything. So another saying that I love is everything you do is representing your brand. So show up like you mean it, and you definitely help businesses do that. . So since joining, how has FAR Card impacted your business in creating new opportunities?
Ross Mitchell: . Well, Nicole actually put [00:08:00] me in contact with the, uh, Casey Demons, which is the, the VFL, the, the Australian Football League. I'm in Victoria, which is all about a FLI know most of Bar Card is New South Wales and Queensland base, so a FL, is obviously. It, it is Melbourne, really. The Casey Demons, which is the, the VFL side of the Melbourne demons, um, they were after a couple of hampers, which I was able to, nicole put me in contact with.
And they have been, they've been very good so far and you never know where an opportunity like that may lead to. But also just a few phone calls I've had with new suppliers, as I was saying before. There's a distillery in, on, ramp, Byron Bay area up in the north of New South Wales. A couple of international freight forwarders I've spoken to and yeah, I've seen, and a courier, courier service that we spoke about before. yeah, there new opportunities for, for, for me. I'm always, always happy to, to look at what else is out there, but, [00:09:00] the further I go on, I think there'll be quite a lot of other opportunities that I'll be able to find for sure.
Jen: I love that. Now you've, you are. Like I said, you new to the team. You've already had some great success and when you first rang me and you were like, Jen, just so you know, I was like cheering you on. We celebrated you in our meeting on the following Monday. 'cause we always loved to highlight some of our members and what they've achieved for the previous week.
So you've been one of our topics of conversation, but. If there was a business who was approached by buy the card, they learned about the concept, what advice would you give them?
Ross Mitchell: Give it a go. What have you got to lose? Do your due diligence first. Speak to other people, in your network. People that you know that may have heard of Bartercard, may have used it, before, or may be a member themselves [00:10:00] and just hear what they've got to say and make the decision for yourself. But yeah, what have you got to lose?
Other than the monthly account fee and the trading fees. But really, I've been able to clear a lot of stock, clear a lot of room in my warehouse, which is probably the most important thing. And also, just the, the income that's come in as well too has been undeniably a fantastic, reason to give it a go.
So just give it a go would be my advice.
Jen: And a lot of businesses don't realize, but we actually have a $5,000 trade sales guarantee. So that's within your first 12 months. If you haven't received $5,000 in trade sales through the platform, but you've been visible and you know you've been active on the platform, we actually credit your account the difference.
So if you only only did $4,000 worth of excess stock in your first 12 months. You are going to get topped up the extra th a thousand dollars in [00:11:00] trade. So really what is there to lose? It's such a win for business.
Ross Mitchell: yes, I would say that yeah, that's an that I won't be taking advantage of that. I've already blown right through that. However, yeah, that's a, that's an excellent reason.
Jen: I.
Ross Mitchell: I'd also just add to that too. If you sell a physical product. you're silly not to give it a go. Really? You, you're really silly.
Selling a service. I can't speak to that because that's not what I do though. Yeah, that, that's an extra bit of advice is just try it. Really just try it.
Jen: I love it. Rus, thank you for trusting me for the start of your journey with Bartercard I am so excited to see where this takes you and some of the things you're able to achieve by being an. Our network and marketplace. So once again, everyone check out Ross from Wines by Design. Check out his website.
He does a lot more than just bottles of wine, [00:12:00] gin, and whiskey with your label on it. The wooden boxes, the cheese pla, the cheese boards all engraved. And that absolutely amazing. Thanks for being here today with us.
Ross Mitchell: worries. Thank you.