The following is a story written by Shannon Psotta, a member based in Brownsburg, IN. Shannon is a small business owner who is passionate about wellness, real food, simplicity, living a full life, giving to others, and exploring creative outlets. Her quest in life is to be sustainable and build her own fully sustainable home.
I’ve always thrived off the concept of bartering/trading of services. To me, it means we can actually bring all our skill sets to the table and circumvent the dollar’s system which will just have you conform to a standard way of living. Simbi is truly a vibrant community of wonderful people who seem to share this concept of caring for one another. I found Simbi through a random sponsored Facebook ad, the most unlikely source, as I’m not one to click on just anything in my feed. I’ve been a part of Facebook groups which had bartering attempts — but with no exact system in place, it was always fairly difficult to find someone who matched what would be considered an even trade.
I have been surprised at the ease of this site. In a very short time frame, I’ve already successfully completed 28 deals since I joined on October 4th. I’ve been very enthusiastic about all my interactions.
Everyone brings their uniqueness to the table, and this feels like a place of celebrating the talents of others.
As a small business owner of Lil’ Miss Mason Jar, I’ve been able to sell my Beard Oil, offer my services of Positive Affirmation, sell a Scoby for brewing Kombucha Tea, and also sell my 2 vintage purses to others. In exchange for the simbi points, so far I have:
- received a 90 minute massage for my brother in another state for his birthday
- got a card mailed to my mom
- received a canned nectarine sauce
- recruited 3 beard oil testers
- received handcrafted dry shampoo
- received homesteading/gardening advice
One of the better exchanges I had was I met up with a person in my local area for a tour of her greenhouse where she shared with me her process of growing microgreens! We hit it off and realized we had a lot in common, all shared over a craft beer.
Can life get any sweeter?
I imagine if Simbi takes lift even more, we will have an even more fun place! Everyone I have interacted with has been super thoughtful, considerate, and giving. Often, people have given more than expected, and in return, you always wish to do the same towards those you are offering services to on the site. It really is all about symbiotic relationships.
At this point, you can imagine that I have been ridiculously eager to get so many people on board. I’ve recruited 4 people so far — 3 in the last few days! I can’t wait for this to explode. My tips for new Simbi members are as follows:
1. Offer many services that you know you would be excellent at, even simple ones that you may not find important. You never know what someone needs until it’s offered. In doing so, you set yourself up to have someone strike conversation with you!
2. This is a friendly space. Not all deals work out, but that’s the fun in bartering. Don’t take it personal.
3. Give more than you get. It’s part of the culture at Simbi, as I have found in the past couple months.
4. Have fun! Enjoy everything you buy/receive! So many talented beautiful people.
So start the conversation with a hi and see where it goes!
Simbiotic Stories are real anecdotes told by you and other Simbi community members. Tell us about your Simbi deals and experiences with other members. If your story is published, we’ll credit your account with 150 simbi. Submit your entries by starting a conversation with us via this link.
