My Journey with Business Barter

By Patrick Bizindavyi

Watching Dragons Den, one of my favourite TV shows, I can’t help laughing every time Kevin O’Leary (a.k.a Mr. Wonderful) says that business is only about making money. I agree that when someone starts a business, profit should be on their mind. However, I have to disagree with Mr. Wonderful because money isn’t everything. I believe that, more than ever, barter is a great way of doing business.

About a year and a half ago, I met my friend Emmanuel Lopez (a.k.a. Motivatorman) just to catch up after my summer in Africa. Emmanuel and I have been friends since 2005, and it’s been a tradition of ours to regularly touch base and talk about life. As we were talking that day, he shared with me that he was going through one of the toughest times in his life. From our previous conversations, I knew things were not easy for him, but he’s always kept a positive attitude about everything.

I don't remember the rest of our conversation that day but we did come to one agreement, which is I would help him through coaching to get back on track in exchange for his help in promoting my business through social media. Emmanuel is so talented, I knew his expertise would come handy.

I didn't know that we were about to experience a heck of a ride together.

My coaching was simple. We first talked about his goals and what he wanted to accomplish in the next three months. Each Monday, he had to e-mail me his plan for the week and on Friday we would discuss the results he had produced that week. My role was to hold him accountable and make sure that he did what he said he was going to do, and offer him some support where needed. I knew that by getting him to focus on the tasks at hand he could create a good momentum for achieving his goals.

For an entire year we never missed a week. Along the way, Emmanuel experienced a number of breakthroughs as well as some disappointments, but he stayed the course. He also kept his promise. He never stopped promoting my business, and every time he added a service to his business, I would be the first to experience it. That was the case with a service he calls the Sizzle Factor, which helps people discover their hidden talents and present them in a very professional way.

Some things started to happen. At first, it was about me helping him by motivating and inspiring him. As every week he would tell me inspiring stories about how things were unfolding for him, I was looking forward to our Friday conversation just to hear what he had to say. I found it very inspiring; now we were inspiring each other!

In our work together, I have witnessed breakthrough after breakthrough, watching a life transforming right before my eyes. I have seen almost every one of Emmanuel’s dreams coming to fruition at a remarkable speed, like the release of the book he had been trying for five years to finish. It’s now available on amazon.com. How cool is that?

I have done similar coaching work with paid clients and, as much as I like getting paid doing what I love, I must say that my experience with Emmanuel has been equally fulfilling. In exchange for my coaching services, I received countless hours of consulting in social media, business promotion, and how to write a great professional biography. How can you put a price on that? Above all, Emmanuel gave me the confidence that what I do matters; I can make a real difference in people’s lives.

I am looking forward to working with Emmanuel for many years to come. Our future looks bright and we continue to inspire each other week after week.

Is business really all about money? I think Mr. Wonderful got it wrong this time.

Patrick Bizindavyi is a motivational coach and trainer who empowers individuals to transform their ideas from a thought to a reality. Visit his website at http://journeymanstories.blogspot.ca.