Comments on: The Value of the Hustle: How We Saved $25,000 by Thinking Outside the Box

By: Suzanne LN

Suzanne LN — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 17:14:21 +0000

Sounds like having confidence is just as important as being able to think outside the box! You have to believe that what you have to offer truly is worth it to the other person(s) involved, because if you don’t, they can smell it a mile away. Thanks for the inspiration!

By: David Tsalani

David Tsalani — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 10:53:29 +0000

Love it! Thanks for sharing. I feel more and more that running a startup is easy if you try to think out of the box.

By: Manish Pahuja

Manish Pahuja — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 06:29:37 +0000

True blue bootstrapping thinking! And it does work 😉

By: Dan Russell

Dan Russell — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:35:50 +0000

Awesome post Alex! Very outside the box thinking. Have you encountered other companies wanting to barter with your services?

By: Cesc Vilanova

Cesc Vilanova — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:04:26 +0000

Interesting approach. Do you know if there’s any marketplace where companies explain both what are they looking for and what can they offer in exchange? I’m wondering if something like this could be useful to increase the number of win-win deals like the ones you’re describing in the post.

By: harishchouhan

harishchouhan — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:58:02 +0000

Another great post Alex. Had read similar post when I was a kid on some book’s cover. Recently for my own blog http://flattrendz.com, I needed hosting, CDN & a premium WordPress plugin, and was able to get almost at no cost by offering them exposure on my website.
Looking forward to your next post.

By: Stefan Manku

Stefan Manku — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:34:27 +0000

Interesting post Alex – have you come across Jay Abraham’s material? This sounds very much like the concepts he talks about

By: Joe Putnam

Joe Putnam — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:28:00 +0000

I love this, Alex. Recently, I’ve been viewing these kinds of negotiations as ways to find a win-win for everyone involved. Looking to work with a designer and can’t quite afford the rate? What if you offer to help with marketing and provide a link back to their site in the footer of yours. Want to design a new t-shirt but can’t afford it? What about splitting a portion of the profits with the designer in exchange for getting design work done up front. Etc. If you can find a way to make the negotiation a win for everyone involved, you might be surprised with how much more you can get one without spending a ton of money.

By: Dave Stagner

Dave Stagner — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:14:25 +0000

Interesting that you made this work with applications that aren’t price-comparable. I wonder how it looks from the other end of the lens? I’m building what would be a fairly expensive B2B SaaS, relative to something like Groove. I’m sure it would be useful for a lot of growing companies, but working out trades could be more challenging in that direction.

By: Udi Ledergor

Udi Ledergor — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:12:32 +0000

Great ideas! Always worth trying and, speaking from experience, often work!

By: Alfred

Alfred — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:08:19 +0000

I’m not only bookmarking this post, but I am also printing it and sticking on my wall…to be seen everyday and to be acted upon every day…….BRILLIANT post!