Small businesses tend to be cash-poor but talent-rich. So it is little wonder that, in times of need, some might think of trading with something they do have (specialised services) rather than something they don’t (disposable income). But what makes for a good skill-swap with another business, and does it add real value? Here’s how entrepreneurs around the country are doing it:
Time for time
Some small businesses, and particularly sole traders, are swapping skills through timebanking, says Sarah Bird. Bird is the chief executive of Timebanking UK, an organisation that’s been around for 15 years.
Timebanking is meritocratic; centres around the country enable individuals, and increasingly businesses, to exchange services and resources using time as a currency. “An hour is worth an hour no matter what you’re banking, whether it’s a two hour haircut or two hours using a spare desk,” explains Bird. “We’re seeing lots of businesses using it to connect and trade.”
Our Time, a timebank in Liverpool, was set up as a charitable initiative to support those with mental health issues. It has seen a marked rise in the number of businesses and sole traders using the network to swap services, or to bring in skills such as design, admin and web development. “They use the timebank as a human resource to plug skill gaps,” explains Vicki Bennett, who manages the team at Our Time. “This trading gives rise to businesses that otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to grow.”
Mutual respect
While timebanks can offer a formal opportunity to swap, many arrangements arise informally or by chance. When Sara Teiger, a freelance publicist based in Manchester, approached Alice Penny, the founder of a children’s entertainment company called Mother Hen, to perform at her son’s fifth birthday party, Penny proposed a trade: Mother Hen would perform in exchange for Teiger providing some much needed publicity and copywriting for her business.
Teiger says the trick to making it work was that they both respected what the other did, which made exchanging very different services feel like a fair trade. “I wouldn’t have entered into a swap if I hadn’t liked her business so much,” she says. “She gave us a party that everyone will remember. So when I give my time back, I won’t be watching the clock.”
She says that while the swap was ultimately worth it, other small businesses should be prepared for this informality to create some complexity. For instance, Teiger feels guiltily that she hasn’t repaid her end of the bargain as quickly as she’d hoped. “Money does simplify transactions,” she says. “If I’d paid the party entertainer it would all be done and dusted, but now months later and I am feeling guilty because I haven’t had the time to do my bit yet.”
In it together
Good skill-swaps are often about being in the right place at the right time, so it’s worth looking to see who’s across the corridor. That’s the mindset behind Ugli, an office space for small creative companies that occupies an empty BBC block in west London. Named the best business in Shepherd’s Bush last year, the project was conceived by a branding consultancy called JPC.
Entrepreneurs in the building regularly skill-swap or team up, says Jeanette Whiting, head of content at JPC. In fact, she recently did a swap herself with a video agency called PW12. “We didn’t have a marketing budget to promote Ugli, so we asked them to make a video we could use to apply for awards. In return, we gave them extended brand profile and put them forward for other paid opportunities.”
Despite swapping something tangible (a video) for something less tangible (credibility and new business leads), PW12 says that the exchange added real value. “It’s been very fruitful,” explains Benjamin Enebi, executive producer at PW12. “Our partnership was a stepping stone to acquiring new business because it added weight to our portfolio. As a young company it can be difficult to earn trust, and they gave us gravitas.”
For Raphael Polt, Enebi’s business partner, teaming up with other entrepreneurs is a basic survival instinct. “In volatile economic times, every piece of work means so much,” he explains. “Small businesses are in the trenches together, so collaboration is natural because you want to be flexible and say yes to everything. You never know where it will lead.”
The right opportunity
Ciaran Jones found himself in a similar situation when a fellow office-mate proposed an unusual swap. Jones is co-founder of The Pillbox Kitchen, a café located on the ground floor of an office building in east London. “One of our loyal customers came down for lunch one day and said, ‘have you got five minutes? I make websites, and I’ve noticed that you haven’t got one’”, recalls Jones. “He was right - all we had was a holding page and no budget to improve it.”
The web designer proposed building their site in return for an open tab at the café, which had benefits for his business too. “He gets to use us as a space for meetings, or for entertaining, and he’s not out of pocket”, explains Jones. “We even did a Christmas dinner for him and his company. We are both very happy with the arrangement because it is mutually beneficial in different ways.”
Jones says the exchange enabled him to make a critical company investment in a sustainable way – if he’d had to pay for a whole website up front, he wouldn’t have been able to do it. Beyond cost-savings, there are other upsides too. “When something has an invoice attached, you’re always going to ask, ‘have I gotten value for my money?’”, he explains. “An exchange feels more collaborative, so the value of the service you are getting increases.”
Jones advises other businesses “not to be shy” about proposing a great swap when they see one. “Don’t be scared that something will go wrong,” he says. “Have a bit of confidence in what you do and what you can offer, and you’ll find there are plenty of relationships to be made.”
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