There is no question that Tradebank's CEO & Founder, John P. Davis, Jr., is the driving force behind Tradebank International, although he will modestly tell you otherwise. Davis was an early pioneer in the barter business when there were just a handful of inexperienced trade exchanges across the country and no successful barter models to follow. Davis's " vision", "commitment to excellence", and "compassion for other people" are reoccurring responses when we asked those who have worked with him the longest, "What makes Tradebank the leader in the barter industry?" One has to remember that the notion of a "trade exchange", let alone the international trading network that Tradebank has become, did not exist prior to1978. We know one-to-one trading itself dates back to antiquity; however, being able to have independent buying and selling options through an organized trade exchange was a turning point in the age-old concept. The formation of a trade exchange, a central clearing house for trade transactions, set the stage for trading to become a modern mainstream business practice. In early 1978 Davis first heard about a trade exchange from a friend based in Washington DC. He recalls, "I got a call from my friend who was at the Atlanta airport and he told me I really needed check out a franchise concept involving barter." From that point on, Davis's passion for the barter business grew, and has remained steadfast. Trading has provided him with a platform and "the ability to change peoples lives" to use Davis's own words. Davis flew to Washington to meet the franchisors and learn more about trading. Later in 1978, he purchased a franchise in Macon, Georgia from the group. He went through a week of "training" and returned to Georgia to run his infant business, the precursor of Tradebank. The franchise organization soon folded and Davis was left on his own to build the model for, and run, a successful trade exchange. During those early days, he was a one-man operation. He educated and sold the local business owners on the benefits of trading as a means to increase sales and profits, collected their retainer fees, opened their accounts, put the trades together, recorded the transactions, sent out monthly statements, collected and recorded the brokerage fees, kept the books and managed all aspects of running a trade exchange for his client's business as well as his own. Davis was committed to his new passion and growing his exchange. All his efforts, putting in 20-hour days more often than not, paid off. He worked his new business to perfect the art of trading as a viable business tool. Everything about his trade exchange was hands-on, working closely with each client in all aspects of their trading. There was no passing the buck or delegating the workload. Back in the early days, Davis was it. That first year in the trade business, as a direct result of Davis's drive, his clients traded a million dollars worth of products and services. But Davis wasn't content with his success. He knew he wanted to offer his clients the best trading opportunities possible. He envisioned a nationwide trading network, a staff of sales agents, trade brokers and an operations team to assist in bringing new businesses into the trade exchange and facilitating client's trading activity. He wanted to own his own building, have his clients use plastic (rather than paper) cards for their transactions (similar to the burgeoning credit card system). He knew by utilizing the technological advances becoming available he could be more efficient and replace the time consuming details of keeping hand written records and individually copied statements. (The computer industry was just becoming main stream in those early trading days and contributed greatly to the expansion and ease of trading as a business tool.) He wanted a multi-page full-color newsletter to communicate and educate his clients about the exciting trading opportunities emerging, professional marketing materials to reflect his commitment and validity of his trading message, and a staff of barter professionals to assist in building and seeing his visions to fruition. Presenting a professional and polished image has always been important to Davis. Over the years his one room office grew into a 5 acre, 40,000 square foot corporate campus complete with 20,000 square feet of warehouse filled with merchandise, a television studio, and a state-of-the art training facility. Embossed plastic cards have long since replaced the original paper ones. Technological advances have far superseded his expectations with the client interactive myTradebank.com.website. No longer are transactions recorded by hand, but are now entered online (a term that wasn't even used when Davis first began in the business), and complete client profiles, directories, account histories, client communication center, a client classified section and message board and all now available online. Today, not only is there one publication, The Trade Street Journal, but in February of this year, a second publication was launched in Canada. Davis's early desire to have a full-color newsletter has resulted in two glossy full-color 16-page publications being distributed to clients in over 70 franchised offices throughout North America. A common thread connects Davis's initial philosophy and management of that very first trade exchange and the international trading dynasty that Tradebank has become. In Davis's own words, "Nothing will ever be as satisfying as completing a trade transaction, knowing you have helped someone, and then having them call to tell you how much they appreciate you."
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