How bartering saved a small Welsh business from collapse

Dr Butterworth's business approach was inspired by village life

The boss of a small business that nearly "ran out of money" has described how a bartering system helped to turn things around.

Sondra Butterworth founded RareQol, a non-profit social enterprise which supports people with rare diseases, during the pandemic.

Rising prices and limited resources left the business, in Wrexham, struggling to survive.

But Dr Butterworth realised a system of swapping could turn things around.

She was inspired by the way people in her village of Llandrillo, Denbighshire, supported each other.

• The area where pay is £3,500 less than UK average

• Parents-to-be spend weeks without electricity

The community psychologist realised she could use her expertise to swap skills with other people and organisations, such as helping her to self-promote on social media, to help her business survive.

"RareQol could have closed," Dr Butterworth said.

"[But] earlier this year we actually managed to put a big conference on with no money because so many people would help us.

"Someone would do something for someone and then they'd swap, like bartering, and I thought 'this is a sustainable model. This could work in other areas'."

Libby Humphris, 36, from Cardiff, is one of those people to offer their skills to RareQol and get something in return.

She lives with multiple rare conditions, including psoriatic arthritis and secondary Addison's disease.

Libby Humphris and Anna Amalia Coviello both offer their services to RareQol in exchange for getting something back

"It's a lot of hospital appointments, a lot of tablets and medications," Ms Humphris said.

In return for the support she gets from RareQol, she uses her expertise in social media and health to raise the business's profile - which gives her "a sense of purpose".

Dr Butterworth is planning another conference for 2024 and Ms Humphris is getting involved.

"I'm going to be helping Sondra with social media, raising awareness of the symposium happening and also the planning behind the scenes, putting my patient voice to helping direct what direction it goes in," she said.

Another contributor is therapeutic art practitioner Anna Amalia Coviello.

The 27-year-old founded her business, a mobile community art space called Well Wagon, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The main ethos that we share is that we are interested in having people's stories heard," she said.

"Sondra's amazing at networking and I'm good at the craft so together we merge into this really great system."

'It's got to work, because there's no money'

Social enterprises are businesses with social, charitable or community based objectives.

There are nearly 3,000 of them in Wales, according to the development agency Cwmpas.

But a 2022 survey found many had been affected by a reduction in public funding, the cost of energy and high prices.

Glenn Bowen, director of enterprise at Cwmpas, said many social enterprises were finding creative ways to cope.

"One of the factors that make social businesses slightly more resilient is the number of stakeholders that are engaged in that business," he said.

"When things get tough for a commercial business, you've got your bank and shareholders and the investors. But within the social business, you have your membership from a broader community that you can fall back on."

Despite continuing financial pressures, Dr Butterworth is optimistic for the future.

"I think it's going to work. I think it's going to be sustainable," she said.

"It's got to work because there's no money. So we've got to build on something that will help our communities. It's got to be a feedback loop."