Bartering in the 21st Century

While it feels like the world is far down the path of feudalism and we, the serfs, are working more hours in a day and more days in a year than ACTUAL medieval peasants, I feel it’s a great time to bring up my thoughts on bartering in the 21st century and tip your mind’s needle in the direction of getting involved in your local exchange culture.

For the record: this is obviously not a new concept and is just about as human as eating bread. I am also absolutely not the first person to write about this, advocate for it, or practice it, but I do greatly benefit from it as a beauty industry service provider, and I think more of us both in and out of the industry can really thrive because of it.

To begin, bartering is defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as: to trade by exchanging one commodity for another : to trade goods or services in exchange for other goods or services. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barter) In the beauty service world, I’ve heard it referred to as “service exchange” more frequently, but either term works for the concept. The history of a “bartering economy” is shaky and anthropologists, economists, and propaganda outlets will all have something different to say from different perspectives, but nonetheless, bartering remains a proven community-building behavior that works to strengthen relationships and local economies. Since I believe in putting information out into the world that is based on my own personal experience and not speaking for others without their input, I can speak from an amateur bartering perspective as a licensed professional nail technician living in the Midwest (where everyone knows everyone somehow).

I currently exchange services with two massage therapists and an esthetician. Not only are those relationships professionally beneficial, they are also treasured friendships, and how I keep my body functioning through chronic pain and keep my face looking alive. We are able to refer clients and other services to each other without paying a single cent on advertising to corporate social media overlords. We are able to commiserate on issues specific to our industry, keep each other informed on things we learn, and overall, just have a really great time in community with each other. A whole lot more can be said about salon/beauty industry culture, but that’s another essay for another day.

Aside from the obvious benefit of supporting each others’ businesses by referring clients, we can also support each others’ wellbeing and professional image, that in a service exchange situation, saves a ton of money.

One of my service exchanges is the lovely Maddy from Muse Massage (aka: the Service Exchange Queen)! I asked her if I could share some of her thoughts on how she practices bartering. She graciously agreed and here’s her answers to some questions I asked:

What are the biggest benefits you’ve felt from bartering?

The benefits I’ve seen is the relationships I’ve built with people and obvi—getting services that I don’t offer and giving someone else something helpful to their life!

What is a challenge you’ve experienced in bartering relationships?

Service trades don’t always feel equal, that’s been my biggest issue. I want it to be fair.

What are some services you would love to exchange for in the future?

I honestly can say I’ve been trading for everything I want.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start exchanging services in their community?

Not everyone is meant to trade and not everything is even between two service providers. And don’t tip each other—the whole point is to NOT exchange money.

If you have been looking for ways to be more involved in your local community, I strongly recommend getting creative with bartering your skills or possessions. As much as I dislike Facebook and the corporation behind it, I do really love the local groups I have a chance to be apart of. I have been able to meet other local professionals that, service exchange or paying for the service, have become good friends that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. In the age of burnout and exhaustion isolating us from each other and driving us towards needing convenience, bartering is a refreshingly simple act of resistance that takes steps towards a healthier community with stronger in-person relationships.

Thank you for spending your time over here with me! If you were inspired to start actively searching for bartering opportunities or just enjoyed a quick read, you can tip if you have the resources or subscribe to my Vocal page if you don’t. I know I haven’t written on here in just about 5 years, but hey, no better time than the present, right?