000: Barry & Catherine Cohen

A little about our guests (that’s us!). So first of all, be kind. This is our first attempt at Show Notes and our first attempt at a podcast. “We” are Barry & Catherine. We met on a BBS (pre-cursor to internet dating) in 1995. When we first met, Barry mentioned that he was going to move to Arizona by the end of the year and Catherine was fine with that because she wasn’t looking for a long term relationship anyway. Barry moved to Arizona from New York in October and Catherine followed in December. In the few months we had dated the thought was “We get along fine. Let’s move out together.” We’ve been married since 1996. Our first venture into entrepreneurship, or as we liked to call it “screw this looking for a job stuff. Let’s start our own gigs.” Catherine had been going to school studying massage therapy and Barry, as always, was fixing computers for people and helping them to build websites. In 2003 after each having a successful business and being members of a barter exchange, we decided to launch our own barter exchange. We were very successful for 10 years until we sold the exchange in favor of concentrating on software development for the barter and trade industry. In 2009 with a business partner, we created software for the barter industry and sold their exchange a few years later. Barry and Catherine continue to run Barter21 Software (www.BCLSoft.com) and train those who want to start and grow a successful barter exchange. After many suggestions from friends to create “The Barry and Catherine Show,” a suggestion from a friend about creating a podcast led quickly to the creation of Together 24/7. A little about our business. Barter21 is a barter exchange management software created by BCL Soft. The company was launched in 2009 when we became frustrated with the lack of good barter exchange management software. Our passion is working with established exchanges to help them reach the next level as well as helping new exchanges launch and build. One piece of advice (the nutshell version) If a thought or a feeling keeps coming up…if multiple people say the same thing, no matter how crazy it sounds, listen. There is a clear direction when you ask a clear question. Reading Material The Science of Getting Rich: The Original Classic Get in Touch with us www.Together247.net [email protected] [email protected]