By Marang Marekimane, founder of Business in Theory

Have you thought about swapping business services to grow your business? Some people call it bartering, trading or exchanging – it’s all the same thing. If you’re like me, you’re good at what you know and terrible at everything else. When you’ve got a limited budget or you’re keeping your costs as low as possible, you tend to do more for yourself than you should.

A “do-it-yourself” approach on something you’re not good at is not likely to yield great results. Not being able to afford something, does not remove the need for it. However, it might compromise the quality. So, here’s an alternative approach to solving the problem. Swap the service.

Most people hate sales. However, the sceptic in us won’t let us outsource it. We’ve failed at it too many times. If you provide a business service, why not swap what you do with the sales company you would like to use?

Though it might not earn you an income, you will be able to grow your business. You outsource your sales in exchange for their sales services. Sales mean income – so the freebie earned you some money. You can pay for the next round of services. The sales company got what they needed from you. They also have you as their new customer going forward.

Best of all, you stress less knowing that people that are good at sales are handling it. You can focus on being good at what you know. Just be sure to have a swap agreement and the invoices.

“It all starts with a decision to try. Failing is part of the journey, but so is the success”.

Marang Marekimane is the Founder and Chief Executive Office of Business In Theory. This South African company assists entrepreneurs to formulate growth strategies with a particular focus on the business processes.For more than a decade in the corporate sector, Marang applied her training in various process and project management methodologies, including SixSigma, Agile and PrinceII, on strategic projects for corporations such as Liberty, First National Bank (FNB) and Standard Bank. Now Marang uses her knowledge and experience to articulate her insight of business development into turnkey solutions that improve the sustainability of small and medium enterprises.