Print Your Own Money
How Your Business Can Turn Gift Certificates Into Purchasing Power
What if your business could print its own money?
In a sense, it can.
If your business sells meals, hotel rooms, professional services, repairs, advertising, appointments, memberships, merchandise, or almost anything else of value, you can issue gift certificates representing those goods and services—and trade those certificates for things you want.
You aren't literally printing currency.
You're doing something potentially much more useful to your business:
You're turning what your business produces into a tradable asset.
Instead of always buying what you need with dollars, you can sometimes buy it with your own products, services, and available capacity.
When you offer your certificates through MinnaarTradingPost.com and consider accepting registered Minnaar Money artworks in exchange, you open new opportunities to acquire what your business needs through peaceful, voluntary trade.
Your Business Already Has the Ability to Create Purchasing Power
Suppose you own a restaurant.
You could create:
$100 Dining Certificate
Redeemable at Your Restaurant
The face value is $100.
But providing $100 worth of food may cost your restaurant considerably less than $100 in incremental food, labor, and other costs—especially when you have tables that would otherwise go unused.
Now imagine another business is willing to give you $100 worth of something you need in exchange for that certificate.
You might trade it for:
Advertising.
Printing.
Window cleaning.
Accounting.
Auto repair.
Professional services.
Office supplies.
Hotel accommodations.
Entertainment.
Employee gifts.
Or another business's gift certificate.
You have effectively used something your business can produce at its cost to acquire something another business normally sells for $100.
That's the basic power of business barter.
Trade at your cost. Receive at their cost.
Create Your Own Trade Certificates
Almost any business can package what it provides into a simple certificate.
A restaurant might issue:
$100 Dining Certificate
A hotel:
One Weeknight Stay
A window cleaner:
One Exterior Window Cleaning
An auto repair shop:
$250 Automotive Labor Certificate
Labor only. Parts and supplies additional.
A consultant:
Two Hours of Consulting
A golf course:
Round of Golf for Two
A fitness studio:
One-Month Membership
A media company:
$500 Advertising Certificate
A retailer:
$100 Merchandise Certificate
Once you create the certificate, you've transformed your goods, services, inventory, or future capacity into something that is easier to trade.
In effect, you have created your own business scrip.
Why Gift Certificates Are So Powerful for Barter
Without a certificate, every barter transaction can require a new negotiation.
Someone asks what you offer.
You explain the service.
You determine the amount.
You negotiate the terms.
You schedule delivery.
A gift certificate simplifies the transaction.
Instead of saying:
"I'll provide you with some restaurant meals sometime in exchange for your advertising..."
you can say:
"I'll trade you five $100 dining certificates for $500 of advertising."
The certificate packages the value into a clear, understandable trade asset.
And because you determine how many certificates exist, you remain in control.
Set Your Own "Money Supply"
This is where the analogy to printing your own money becomes especially useful.
You decide how many certificates you're willing to issue.
A restaurant might decide:
Up to $500 in dining certificates per month.
A hotel:
Four weekday room certificates per month.
A consultant:
Five consulting-hour certificates per month.
A detailer:
Three auto-detail certificates per month.
A radio station:
$2,000 in available advertising certificates per month.
You don't have to offer unlimited barter.
You simply establish a monthly trade budget based on the amount of business you're comfortable providing through barter.
When you reach your limit, stop issuing certificates until the next month.
This protects your cash business while allowing you to convert a controlled amount of your products, services, inventory, and unused capacity into purchasing power.
The Secret Is Your Cost Structure
Imagine your business needs $1,000 worth of advertising.
Normally, you write a check for $1,000.
But suppose your business can provide $1,000 worth of its own goods or services at an incremental cost of $250.
If an advertising company is willing to accept your gift certificates, you may be able to acquire $1,000 worth of advertising by providing something that costs you $250 rather than spending $1,000 in cash.
You haven't acquired the advertising for free.
You still have costs.
But you've used your own cost structure instead of paying entirely in cash.
That can preserve cash for expenses you can't barter.
Put Your Empty Capacity to Work
This becomes even more powerful when the certificate represents capacity that might otherwise expire unused.
Restaurants have empty tables.
Hotels have vacant rooms.
Salons have unfilled appointments.
Mechanics have unbooked shop hours.
Golf courses have unused tee times.
Fitness studios have unused class capacity.
Consultants have available hours.
Printers have unused production capacity.
Media companies have unsold advertising.
Tonight's empty restaurant table can never be sold tomorrow.
Neither can yesterday's vacant hotel room or last week's unsold advertising spot.
Once that capacity disappears, its potential revenue disappears with it.
But before it expires, you can turn some of it into certificates and trade the value instead of losing it.
Protect Your Hard Costs
Not every certificate has to represent 100% barter.
Suppose an auto repair shop performs a $1,000 repair consisting of:
$400 labor
$600 parts
The labor may represent available shop capacity.
The parts require actual cash expenditure.
So the shop could structure the transaction as:
$400 Trade + $600 Cash
Or issue a certificate stating:
$400 Automotive Labor Certificate
Parts and supplies additional.
The same concept can work for contractors, printers, manufacturers, caterers, installers, and other businesses with substantial material costs.
Think of your costs as:
Soft Costs — labor, appointments, available capacity, inventory, or resources you can economically make available for trade.
Hard Costs — parts, materials, outside suppliers, taxes, shipping, and expenses requiring cash.
Structure your certificates accordingly.
Now Post Your "Money" on the Trading Post
Creating the certificate gives you something to trade.
The next problem is finding someone who wants it.
That's where MinnaarTradingPost.com comes in.
You can post your:
Gift certificates.
Goods.
Services.
Advertising.
Excess inventory.
Available capacity.
Other trade offers.
And list them FREE.
For example:
HAVE:
Five $100 Restaurant Gift Certificates
WANT:
Advertising, printing, window cleaning, professional services, Minnaar Money, or other offers.
Now your certificates aren't limited to people you already know.
They're visible to people and businesses looking for trades.
The More Things You're Willing to Accept, the More Trades Become Possible
Traditional barter has a famous problem.
You have something I want.
But I may not have something you want.
Suppose:
A restaurant wants advertising.
A radio station wants printing.
A printer wants restaurant meals.
If each business insists on a direct two-party swap, making the trades can be difficult.
Gift certificates begin to solve that problem because the value doesn't necessarily have to be consumed immediately.
But the Minnaar Trading Post introduces another way to expand the network:
Accept Minnaar Money
The Art of Freedom in Exchange.
Minnaar Money is a growing collection of original and personally selected fine art, created and registered by artist Steven Minnaar.
Each registered artwork has its own permanent Catalogue identity, digital Certificate of Authenticity, and assigned Sovereign Value (SV).
1 SV = 1 Troy Ounce of Silver
Sovereign Value represents my personal artistic valuation and exchange commitment, providing a consistent reference for acquiring and exchanging registered Minnaars within the Minnaar Money system.
Owners may also offer their registered Minnaars in voluntary exchanges with individuals and businesses willing to accept them.
This creates another opportunity for businesses participating in the Minnaar Trading Post.
An Example: A Restaurant and a Printer
Imagine a restaurant offering a $100 dining certificate through the Minnaar Trading Post.
A collector proposes exchanging a registered Minnaar for the dining certificate.
The restaurant owner appreciates the artwork, considers the offer, and agrees to the exchange.
The restaurant now owns a registered Minnaar Money artwork.
Later, the restaurant owner discovers a printer who appreciates Minnaar Money and is willing to accept that artwork in exchange for printing services.
The restaurant and printer agree upon the terms, and the artwork changes hands again.
The Minnaar has helped facilitate two separate, voluntary exchanges.
Its permanent identity and Catalogue history continue as ownership changes.
An Expanding World of Exchange
Every person and business is free to decide what they value and which offers to accept.
An original artwork might be exchanged for a restaurant meal, professional services, merchandise, another collectible, or something entirely different.
Sovereign Value provides a consistent reference within Minnaar Money, while the terms of independent barter transactions are freely established by the participants.
By accepting a wider variety of desirable goods, services, certificates, and collectible artworks, businesses create additional opportunities to acquire what they need.
Discover what others value. Offer what you have. Exchange freely.
EXPLORE THE MINNAAR CATALOGUE →
DISCOVER MINNAAR MONEY — THE ART OF FREEDOM →
Think of It as a Trading Network
The more participants—and the more things each participant is willing to accept—the more combinations become possible.
Imagine businesses posting:
Restaurant certificates.
Hotel certificates.
Auto-service certificates.
Advertising certificates.
Consulting certificates.
Fitness memberships.
Retail gift certificates.
Entertainment.
Professional services.
Art.
And Minnaar Money.
Now you're no longer looking only for one exact swap.
You're participating in a network of tradable goods, services, certificates, and art.
You might trade:
Your certificate → another business's certificate
Or:
Your certificate → Minnaar Money
Then:
Minnaar Money → something else you want
Or:
Your certificate + cash → a larger purchase
Or:
Your certificate → something you trade again later
Each additional acceptable trade asset creates another possible route from what you have to what you want.
A Simple Example
Imagine you own a restaurant and want $500 worth of local advertising.
You issue:
Five $100 Dining Certificates
You post them on MinnaarTradingPost.com.
You could seek:
$500 advertising
But you don't have to stop there.
You might list:
Seeking:
Advertising, printing, professional services, Minnaar Money, or other offers.
Now several things could happen.
A media company could trade advertising directly for the certificates.
A printer could trade printing for them.
A collector could trade Minnaar Money for them.
Another business could trade its own gift certificates.
And if you acquire something you're not going to personally use, you may be able to trade that asset again.
You've taken $500 of your own future business capacity and turned it into an instrument for acquiring value.
Use Certificates to Buy Things You're Already Paying Cash For
The easiest place to start is with expenses your business already has.
Make a list.
What do you regularly write checks or use credit cards to purchase?
Advertising?
Printing?
Cleaning?
Repairs?
Web services?
Photography?
Professional services?
Meals?
Travel?
Maintenance?
Employee rewards?
Customer gifts?
Event tickets?
Office supplies?
Then ask:
"Could I acquire any of these by trading my own gift certificates instead?"
Every dollar of an expense you can economically acquire through trade is a dollar of cash you may be able to preserve for something else.
Trade for Employee and Customer Benefits
You don't necessarily have to acquire something your business consumes directly.
You could trade your gift certificates for:
Restaurant meals.
Hotel stays.
Entertainment.
Experiences.
Fitness memberships.
Artwork.
Other gift certificates.
Minnaar Money.
Those assets might then become:
Employee rewards.
Sales incentives.
Customer gifts.
Promotional prizes.
Referral rewards.
Contest prizes.
Instead of buying those perks with cash, your business may be able to acquire them using what it already produces.
And you're not limited to business trades. You can also post personal items on MinnaarTradingPost.com—collectibles, artwork, equipment, household items, and other things you own—and trade them for things you or your business want.
Donate Certificates to Local Charities
Your gift certificates can also be useful for charitable giving.
Consider donating certificates to qualified nonprofit organizations for fundraisers, auctions, raffles, or other charitable purposes. In addition to supporting organizations in your community, this can introduce new people to your business and may provide tax benefits depending on your circumstances.
Enjoy Fine Art in Your Business Through the Minnaar Art Library
Live With Art You Love.
Businesses have another opportunity to participate in Minnaar Money.
Through the Minnaar Art Library, you can bring original and personally selected fine art into your office, restaurant, hotel, professional practice, or other business environment.
Discover paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and other distinctive works.
Select an eligible artwork and check it out with a refundable silver deposit equal to its assigned Sovereign Value.
1 SV = 1 Troy Ounce of Silver
For example, a 20 SV original drawing may be checked out with a refundable deposit of 20 troy ounces of silver.
Enjoy the artwork in your business for the mutually agreed checkout period.
When you're ready for something different, return it according to your checkout agreement, arrange another eligible Library selection, or inquire about acquiring it permanently.
The artwork remains part of the Minnaar Treasury during its Library checkout. Permanent acquisition establishes ownership and the associated Minnaar Money exchange privileges.
Art That Enriches Your Business
A distinctive painting can transform an office.
A sculpture can become a memorable feature of a reception area.
An original drawing or photograph can bring character and individuality to the space where you welcome customers, clients, and employees.
The Minnaar Art Library offers businesses the freedom to experience original art and discover the works they enjoy living with.
Beautiful Art. Inspired Surroundings. Freedom to Choose.
EXPLORE THE MINNAAR ART LIBRARY →
Trade Certificates for Certificates
One of the simplest strategies is:
Trade your gift certificates for other businesses' gift certificates.
A restaurant could trade dining certificates for hotel certificates.
A hotel could trade room certificates for advertising certificates.
An advertising company could trade ad certificates for auto-service certificates.
A mechanic could trade labor certificates for restaurant certificates.
Every business is effectively using what it produces efficiently to acquire what another business produces efficiently.
This is one of barter's greatest advantages.
Your Gift Certificates Can Introduce New Customers
There is another potential benefit.
The person receiving your gift certificate may never have visited your business before.
Now they have a reason to do so.
Once there, they may:
Spend beyond the certificate amount.
Purchase additional products or services.
Bring another customer.
Refer friends.
Return later.
Become a cash-paying customer.
So your trade certificate can function not only as purchasing power—but also as customer acquisition and marketing.
A Business Doesn't Need to Choose Between Cash and Barter
Cash business should remain cash business when that makes sense.
Barter is an additional channel.
You decide:
How much you're willing to trade.
When certificates can be redeemed.
Whether certain products or services are excluded.
Whether reservations are required.
Whether hard costs must be paid in cash.
How long certificates remain valid, subject to applicable law.
Whether certificates are transferable.
What you're willing to accept in return.
And whether any particular trade makes sense.
You remain in control.
Start Printing Your Own Money
You can begin very simply.
1. Decide what your business can economically provide.
Look for excess inventory, unused appointments, available labor, unsold advertising, open tables, vacant rooms, memberships, services, merchandise, or other capacity.
2. Determine your true cost.
Know the difference between the retail value and what it actually costs you to fulfill the certificate.
3. Create a simple certificate.
Make the offer easy to understand.
4. Set a monthly issuance limit.
Perhaps $250, $500, $1,000—or whatever makes sense for your business.
5. Decide what you want.
Look at expenses you're currently paying cash for.
6. Be willing to accept multiple forms of value.
Goods.
Services.
Other gift certificates.
Partial cash.
Minnaar Money.
Other trade offers.
7. Post your certificates FREE on MinnaarTradingPost.com.
Then see what people are willing to trade.
The Real Opportunity
Most businesses think their purchasing power is limited to the dollars in their bank account.
It isn't.
Your business also possesses something else:
The ability to produce value.
You have products.
Services.
Expertise.
Labor.
Inventory.
Capacity.
Appointments.
Advertising.
Experiences.
Access.
Those things can become trade assets.
Package them into gift certificates.
Control how many you issue.
Post them on the Minnaar Trading Post.
Accept other businesses' certificates.
Accept Minnaar Money.
Consider partial barter when appropriate.
And create more pathways between what you have and what you want.
Print Your Own Money.
Not dollars.
Purchasing power backed by what your business does best.
Put Your Business's Purchasing Power to Work
Trade What You Have for What You Want.
Your business creates value every day.
Through gift certificates, voluntary barter, and the Minnaar Trading Post, you can turn some of that value into opportunities to acquire goods, services, collectibles, and other things you desire.
You can also explore Minnaar Money as a collectible artwork that may be owned and exchanged, or discover the pleasure of living with original art through the Minnaar Art Library.
Your Business. Your Values. Your Freedom to Exchange.
DISCOVER THE MINNAAR ART LIBRARY →
EXPLORE THE MINNAAR CATALOGUE →
Private Barter Consultations
Interested in exploring how gift certificates and voluntary barter could benefit your business?
I welcome inquiries about establishing practical business barter arrangements, developing trade certificates, and participating in the Minnaar Trading Post.
Steven Minnaar
Artist & Collector
Minnaar Money — The Art of Freedom