Let’s imagine that you find someone in your town who wants to part with a four-wheeler that requires some work. Since you’re somewhat handy, you inquire about what they might need or be willing to trade for the four-wheeler. They mention they could use a lawnmower, and coincidentally, you have an old lawnmower that you no longer use because you bought a new one. A deal is struck, and you’ve exchanged your unused $300 lawnmower for a four-wheeler they were asking $700 for. This results in the same $400 increase in value as your week’s worth of work did, and it only took an hour or so, including the negotiation and meeting.
Once you bring the four-wheeler home, you start cleaning it and fixing it up. It was running poorly, so you disassembled parts of it, cleaned the carburetor, adjusted the brakes, and made a few other low-cost repairs. Now, it’s running quite well. With a few hours of your time and effort, your $700 four-wheeler is now worth $1200 to $1500 on Craigslist. This is where the magic of trading comes into play.
This example is straightforward, but it’s one I’ve repeated numerous times with great success. Even if you encounter occasional setbacks, creative thinking can often turn them around. l emphasize that creativity is the key to successful bartering, a point I’ll reiterate throughout this book. If you can find solutions to challenges or objections, turn “no” into “maybe,” and transform bad deals into good ones, you’ll excel in the world of trading. These skills can carry over into your personal and professional life, making you a go-to problem solver and increasing your pay at work.