It has been six months since we started equal exchange compensation. Here is an honest look at how the work itself changed when we began accepting value instead of money.
Barter in practice is smoother than it sounds
"Barter" can sound primitive. In practice it runs surprisingly smoothly. Without the transfer of money, the way both sides approach the project changes. You stop being the party who pays and the party who is paid, and become partners producing value together.
The interesting part: sharing resources
The most common trade turned out to be skill for skill. With one photographer we exchanged web design for a shoot. With a chef we exchanged restaurant branding for a monthly staff meal. Because money is not in the middle, the connection between people is direct. Russell Belk's research on access-based consumption makes a related point: what you can access increasingly defines you more than what you own.
The problems we ran into
There are real difficulties. Agreeing on what counts as "equal" is sometimes hard. And exchanges that span time — we produce first, receive later — rest entirely on trust. Even so, the projects that got through those difficulties are the ones that lasted.
What money cannot buy
The greatest value from equal exchange is the part money cannot buy: trust, relationship, experience, community. These accumulate through money and time as well, but the equal exchange process concentrates them. We intend to keep running this model.