This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Will professionals trade hours instead of cash? That's our question today. We're going to talk about the barter system. And of course bartering isn't new. Way back in the day, colonial farmers traded eggs for blacksmith work and for all sorts of other things. So barter has been around for a
while. But what is new are digital ledgers that let dozens or potentially hundreds of people swap skills without exchanging a single dollar. So time banks, that's kind of the concept here, time banks pop up in different small little hippie circles from time to time. But most of them don't grow very much or they collapse under fuzzy rules. It's like one person is trading gourmet catering for two hours of dog walking and they end up feeling short changed. So our listener today
has a creative idea, a way basically to avoid the chaos and create a professional network where an hour of legal counsel equals an hour of coding or any other service. And this is simple, transparent, and mutually beneficial. So let's consider, you know, how might this work? What are the must-have rules, software tools, outreach steps, et cetera, to give her co-op a fighting chance? I'll do my best to be helpful, but I think it's a great idea to start with. So quick shout out to our sponsor,
and then we'll hear the detailed idea. Hi, Chris. This is Paula in Milwaukee. I'm a web developer who barters projects with a photographer friend. She shoots my family photos. I fix her website.
It works so well that I'm thinking bigger. A skills swap cooperative where local professionals trade hours through a time bank instead of cash. A lawyer could earn credits drafting contracts, then spend those credits on bookkeeping or marketing help. But I'm stuck on logistics and trust. How do we track hours fairly, handle disputes, and keep the cooperative from turning into a free-for-all chaos? Plus, would people even join if money never changes hands?
I would love it if the barter economy just truly took off. I think that would be so cool if there was some national or international system we could all use to exchange services. And there are some small things like this, I realize, but something that really took off and just got a lot of attention and usage. And so anything that works toward that end sounds pretty cool to me. Here's what I think about the logistics and trust. My number one suggestion is one hour equals one
credit. Don't try to figure out, you know, lawyer hours are worth more than these other kinds of hours. Simplicity prevents haggling and resentment. And you want professionals to be part of this system. So if those professionals are not interested, or they don't feel that that's a good value, then I would suggest they're not your core audience. So my number one suggestion is one
hour equals one credit. And then for that tracking system, that ledger, use a purpose-built ledger with ratings platforms like time Republic or our world, they let members log hours, leave one to five star feedback and show live balances. So this way you avoid building any tech and you get a built in trust layer. Next, you make sure that everybody's contributing members have to earn before they spend, or maybe they get up to three hours, you know, and they can have a credit or something. But basically, they don't get to take more than they give. In fact, you want to reward giving as much
as possible. And to start, you're going to need I think 40 to 50 members like 40 to 50 vetted members who are interested and committed to the project, run maybe a three month beta, and then encourage all those 40 to 50 people to refer maybe to other people. And then you grow from there. Starting locally is probably best. But as I said, I would love for it to roll out much more broadly. So let us know how this goes. Let us know if it takes off. I'd love to share it for our
whole community as well. Listeners, let me know what you think. What do you think about the barter system? Is it cool or just a crazy idea? Or maybe both sidehustleschool.com slash questions complete archive of the podcast is available there for free download and streaming no need to barter anything at all. It is completely free. And of course, new episodes drop every day also free. My
name is Chris Guillebeau you are listening to side hustle school from the onward project
