Success Insight: A Chamber Member's Story

 

 

 

Any fears that small business owner Bob Bagga may have had about expanding into faraway foreign markets were short-lived. That's because the concept behind his five-year-old business-to-business barter exchange, BizXchange, is met with much less skepticism abroad than in the United States. "A lot of other countries' cultures are more attuned to the bartering concept," says Bagga.

 

Last year, Bagga formed partnerships with established bartering companies in Singapore and Turkey. With co-founders Chris Haddawy and Raj Kapoor, Bagga also opened a new office in Dubai, joining company offices already in San Francisco and Seattle. "We're looking at amazing growth in the rest of the world compared with the United States. We're expanding globally to capture those new markets of opportunity," Bagga adds. 

 

BizXchange is an association of businesses that buy and sell products and services from one another using BizX dollars, which are equivalent to U.S. dollars. Member companies obtain new customers and improve their overall cash flow. BizXchange acts as a third-party record keeper, providing monthly statements and dollar balances.

 

A large part of Bagga's job is convincing companies that BizXchange is a valuable service. "Our best clients are former skeptics," Bagga says. To combat that skepticism, BizXchange shows potential members what it has done for similar businesses and starts them off with a small transaction. BizXchange now conducts more than $3 million a month in trade transactions.

 

Getting the 100 or so companies to create the critical mass necessary to start a barter exchange was a difficult early challenge. "We know what to look for in a client and what to stay away from. We look for quality, desirability to current members, and size. The $1 million to $50 million businesses are our sweet spot," according to Bagga.

 

The company now has more than 1,200 members in its database and adds 30 to 40 new members a month. BizXchange members represent a wide variety of goods and services-from small local spas and bakeries to large companies such as Clear Channel Communications, Southwest Airlines, and the Seattle Seahawks. BizXchange runs a corporate division dedicated to serving Fortune 1000 companies.

 

For now, Bagga is focused on managing the company's growth while continuing to eye new markets. "Five years from now, we want to have at least five more cities and strong national and international divisions."

 

To share a Success InSight of your own, e-mail Greg Galdabini at ggaldabi@uschamber.com or phone 202-463-5563.