- Editorial Business Commentary -

July 8, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Todd Essary) (Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=cmmtry for all recent commentaries) — Editor’s note: FinancialWire(tm) invites company executives to contact us about submitting their own commentary for publication, as an extension of FinancialWire(tm)’s “C-Level” news beat. To that end, here is commentary from Investrend CEO, Todd Essary, regarding his experience with International Monetary Systems, Ltd. (OTCBB: ITNM):

It’s not news that the last year and a half or so has been challenging. Aside from a minority of fortunately positioned companies and individuals, we’ve all had it pretty darn rough. And while we’re not out of the woods yet, “the current market environment” (which for quite a while served as a euphemism for “business hell”) has improved to the point of at least being manageable.

Through it all, some companies haven’t survived. My company’s particular operational landscape is no longer occupied by two of our closest competitors. And, as I’m sure is the case across the board, the difference between one company making it and another going under probably has had little to do with making the right decisions or working hard. It probably has had more to do with being in advantageous positions at advantageous points in time, especially in terms of getting outside support at critical junctures.

A few years ago my company was commissioned to facilitate a project for International Monetary Systems (IMS), a “barter exchange” company, and we were paid in barter credit (called “trade dollars by IMS) for doing that work. We enjoyed the fact that those trade dollars could be used for any products or services available through all IMS-participating providers. Since IMS is actually a network of many barter exchange networks, there is a substantial selection to choose from. Initially we used our trade dollars for travel accommodations, office furnishings, and other such items of a non-urgent nature.

And that’s the way I considered IMS over a few years’ time — as a resource for “fringe” spending — until my company began having to fight for every inch of ground it held. Then IMS became more a savior, and less a luxury.

It turned-out that IMS was able to get IT services, PR consulting and even health insurance and physician treatments for us, all of which served to help keep us afloat while others sank. And to be honest, I’m not so sure we’d still be around if we hadn’t had the “luxury” of IMS available to us.

Through that period I came to realize that IMS is the hub of alternative economy that, while operating within the economy at-large, essentially has a buffer between it and the conventional economy. While walls were crumbling all around, the IMS system suffered little, if any, ill effects. In fact, if anything, the barter economy actually was boosted by the “market environment” that struck-down others.

Todd Essary is President & CEO of Investrend Communications, Inc.

For a preferred introduction to IMS, write to mx@investrend.com with “IMS Introduction” in the subject line.

International Monetary Systems, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, acquires, owns, manages, and operates trade exchanges and other related businesses in the United States and Canada. Trade exchanges or barter networks are financial service firms that permit companies and individuals to exchange goods and services utilizing an electronic currency “trade dollars”. The company is headquartered in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

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