Cash-Strapped? Try Bartering

In the face of the ongoing credit crunch and sluggish cash flows, some small businesses are turning to bartering--the age-old exchange of goods and services--but with a modern twist.

Here's how it works for a laboratory: you join a barter exchange website and provide restorative services to dentists who are members of the same exchange. In return, you earn credits--or "barter dollars"--you can use to purchase products or services from any other exchange member. In effect, it's like trading a restoration for a paint job in the lab or maintenance on your delivery car.

If your workload is slowing down, this is an ideal way to use excess capacity and maximize your output while freeing up cash. "In any economy--but especially one like this one--bartering is a great solution. We're involved in at least two to four barter transactions per day," says Marc Daichman, co-owner, Asteto Dent Labs, Maplewood, New Jersey, who has bartered one million dollars'...