From Loaves to Riches

Running your own business can be rewarding for a number of reasons. First, you’re creating a product or service that someone presumably has a need for. Second, being your own boss means that you’re the one in control, and you alone make and are responsible for all the decisions, whether they be good ones or bad ones. Third—and this pertains to our business in particular—when you’re in the market for someone else’s product or service, you can sometimes barter your own product as payment.

During the years we’ve had our bakery, we’ve bartered our baked goods for numerous things, such as repairing a stone wall, building construction (the labor for installing the sheet rock in the bakery was partially paid for in loaves of Rustic Country), a few pounds of lamb chops, chickens, eggs, and popcorn kernels.

This brings to mind an organization I recently learned about, called Womanshare, which is a skills-exchange system. Formed in New York City back in the ‘80s, Womanshare was created by a group of women who wanted to reach out and help one another by sharing their professional skills so others could learn them. Services such as dog-walking, painting, food-shopping, and cooking can also be exchanged. No money changes hands, but points are earned for each hour worked. Now may be the perfect time to get our great community involved in a similar skills-exchange system, using barter as currency. If you live in Wayne or Pike County, PA, or in Sullivan County, NY, and are interested in starting a skills/services-exchange group in our area, please contact me.