Bartering is a system that goes back 6.000 years BC. It means trading services or goods with someone without any money involved in the process. Introduced in society by Mesopotamian tribes, it was updated and improved by several other civilizations, such as the Phoenicians and Babylonians.
Its existence did not end with the creation of money. As some say, bartering just became more organized. But before we jump into any capitalism matter, let’s stick to its original idea of giving value to anything that does not involve funds.
I live and work in Bali, Indonesia. This place has become the Silicon Valley of digital nomads who have embraced a lifestyle different to the one you or the majority of people you know live. Here, the idea of producing in a coworking space with your feet freed from shoes is a reality nobody makes a fuss about anymore.
But a simpler life doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay your monthly fee at the location you are working at. Or the food you eat, the hostel you are staying in. Here the notion of bartering is way easier to put into practice.
You might ask, how can a business or a professional worker get great benefits by bartering services or goods? You would obviously find it nonsense to get into a restaurant and barter a plate of food in exchange of a marketing consultation. But in today’s world, bartering has its space and you can achieve a lot by thinking outside the money box.
Last month I found out Bali was hosting a very interesting event for people running remote teams like me. The Running Remote Conference 2018 would not only gather the huge remote workers scene existing here, making it a unique experience for networking, but also be the chance to hear CEO’s and representatives from companies like Dribbble, Github, Buffer, Transferwise, and several other giants.
The tickets were about 1 thousand dollars. At that moment, I couldn’t afford to pay such price as the whole reason why I moved to Bali was to recover myself from some business mistakes I made in the past. Things that happen to any entrepreneur. 🤷
I had to find a way to attend this conference, so I decided to reach the organizers and ask for a discount 😁. I let them know I was ready to do anything I could to make it possible.
For everything in life you already have the “no” answer, right? This is a good way to never give up before even trying.
And… it wasn’t long until I got their feedback:
“Hi Rodrigo! Thank you for your interest in Running Remote 2018! We will be glad to help you out with joining our event… One area we need help with is writing articles. We have some domains waiting to receive our guest posts. Are you able to help us out?”
After a couple of weeks and a few articles written down, I got this:
“Thank you for all your hard work. Here is the 100% discount coupon for claiming your free pass”.
Here is how bartering made it possible for me to achieve such a great opportunity. And not only that. The first day of the Running Remote Conference I was there, with eyes and ears wide open to learn from million dollar businesses running remote teams. I was extremely happy just to be there, with that proud smile of someone who had achieved something big after some hard work. But then I looked at the screen, and there was freaking me! My name, picture, website and portfolio was being featured to hundreds of influential minds from all over the world. 😱😱😱
Highlights — Get a feeling of what happened there.
Hubud
Steve Munroe, CEO of Hubud, one of Forbes’ top 10 co-working spaces on Earth, sharing his vision about digital nomads and how they are changing the way we live, work and learn.
Github
Lara Owen, Head of Workplace at Github, speaking about how they effectively scale their distributed workforce and ensure remote teams scattered across the globe remain cohesive and productive from wherever they work.
Transferwise
Sean Hodges, Software Engineer at Transferwise, explaining the challenges of paying people overseas and what remote companies are doing to overcome them.
Dribbble
Sarah Kuehnle, Head of Product at Dribbble, diving into tactics, processes and tools they use when working with design teams in a distributed workplace while keeping designers motivated, engaged and connected.
Atlassian
Dominic Price, Head of R/D and Work Futurist at Atlassian explaining about the dynamics of building teams when it comes to solve complex problems whether they are in an office or co-located. Atlassian is the name behind famous collaboration apps such as Jira, Trello and Hipchat (Stride).
Buffer
In his speech, Indrek Pallo, Chief Representative of the E-Residency Programme in Estonia explained about E-Residency, a new digital nation for global citizens, powered by the Republic of Estonia. Named ‘the most advanced digital society in the world’ by Wired, ingenious Estonians are pathfinders, who have built an efficient, secure and transparent ecosystem that saves time and money.
Webinar Ninja
Omar Zenhom, CEO at Webinar Ninja spoke about their plan of action to create a culture of positivity and a team that is able to motivate itself, even when they’re offline. Omar has delivered straightforward strategies on how to create sustainable motivation for your remote team.
And that was just a fraction of what happened at the Running Remote Conference 2018. Great things can happen when you don’t take the first “no” as an answer. Wanna know how you can try the same experience? Read more below of how you can barter your ticket too.
Check some pics of the event down here:
Your time to barter!
The Running Remote Conference 2019 has opened their free ticket giveaway contest! They are giving one free ticket every two months for people ready to show off their remote work station! If I were you, I would get running!
