What is the potential of an object? Well, that depends on your attitude.

You may have heard this story before, but it's about a man who traded one red paperclip for a house and how he did it.

Was the paperclip special? Like made of diamonds or with a rare healing power? Nope. It was just a plain old paperclip.

What was special is that the man, Kyle MacDonald, mastered a skill that is highly valuable in business – how to offer a valuable Joint Venture or win-win scenario.  It took him a year, and several trades, including a snow globe and a snowmobile, but he did it – and everyone involved was happy. He only made trades that made both parties feel they got a great deal.

Watch this short 20/20 special about his idea and how he implemented it here:

So, what can we take from this?

You are ONLY limited by your own beliefs. If you have something to offer – anything – and you can figure out how to help others, you can do amazing things.

How can you use this information in your Online Business?

– Barter for things you need in your business.
Whether you have ad space, a skill like writing, technical abilities, software, neglected blogs or websites that you can trade, or even courses at your disposal, you have something of value that you can offer.

– Get your affiliates excited about promoting you by offering them a deal they can't refuse.
Think outside of the box and you'll be amazed at how excited people get about promoting your affiliate program.

– Figure out how to get JV partners lined up to work with you.
Why do you think my Blog World Tour was so successful? I came up with a way to get people to feel silly to turn me down.  Now, I have over 50 people waiting for me to guest blog on their blogs. I honestly am swamped by number of requests – and it's FABULOUS exposure for me.

It's all about figuring out what you want AND what others want. Then, offering value. What do YOU bring to the table? What “red paperclips” do you have that you can offer to others?

I would love to hear your thoughts below.

Warmly,
Nicole

Here's the book, if you'd like to learn the whole story.

Click here to check  out the book.