Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 --- 6:00 p.m.

Networking and getting your name out there is crucial to keeping your business strong during these tight economic times.

If you own a business or are trying to get yours off the ground, finding new customers might be a challenge. What if you could do that and get other good and services you need?

Badger Barter is Madison's only locally owned barter and trade exchange.

Their goal is to establish a business-to-business network for trading goods and services.

"It works exactly the same way as money its just a different form of currency," says Mary Jo Mangan, owner of the company.

Badger Barter is a clearinghouse for trading your services for something *you want or need. For example, The Pancake Cafe, which is part of the Badger Barter network, needs carpet cleaning.

They will choose a carpet cleaner out of Badger Barter's network to get the job done.

Let's say it costs 200 dollars, No money is exchanged-- Badger Barter just takes $200 from the Pancake Cafe account and puts it into the carpet cleaners' account.

That carpet cleaner can then use it anywhere in the network for anything

Another benefit to using Badger Barter is word-of-mouth and referrals, of course.

It is under $150 to join.

For more information on Badger Barter, click on Newlinks.