Builders & Makers Path
Build Your Business. Without Permission.
You create value. You solve problems. You have skills people need. But the system wants its cut—through taxes, licenses, fees, regulations, and platform commissions. They want to control who can work, where, when, and how much they can charge.
What if you could just... trade? Directly with people who value your work. No middleman. No government approval. No corporate overlords taking 20-30% off the top. Just free people exchanging value voluntarily.
That's what we're building. And it's working.
Why Trade in the Agorist Marketplace
What You Get:
- 💰 Zero platform fees - Keep 100% of your earnings
- 🤝 Direct relationships with customers
- 🛡️ No government oversight of your trades
- ⭐ Values-aligned customers who respect freedom
- 🔄 Barter & crypto options - not just cash
- 🎯 Referral network that actually cares
What You Escape:
- ❌ Platform fees: Upwork (20%), Uber (25%), Etsy (15%)
- ❌ Business licenses: Expensive permission slips
- ❌ Taxes: 30-40% of your income stolen
- ❌ Regulations: Arbitrary rules killing innovation
- ❌ Banking restrictions: Account freezes, holds
- ❌ Corporate control: Algorithm changes, deplatforming
Is This Legal?
Short answer: Trading goods and services for cash, crypto, or barter is legal.
The legal gray area is around taxes and licensing. We encourage you to:
- Understand your local laws and make informed choices
- Recognize that many regulations exist to extract money, not protect people
- Decide for yourself what level of risk you're comfortable with
- Know that millions operate in cash/informal economies worldwide
We're not lawyers and this isn't legal advice. We're people choosing to trade freely and accepting the responsibility that comes with that choice.
How the Agorist Marketplace Works
List what you offer or what you need
- No approval process - just post
- Set your own terms and prices
- Accept any payment method you choose
- Update or remove listings anytime
- Customers contact you directly
Meet customers face-to-face at our festival circuit
- Set up a booth and showcase your work
- Make sales without sales tax or permits
- Build relationships with repeat customers
- Network with other entrepreneurs
- Get feedback and improve your offerings
Upcoming Opportunities:
- 🔥 Porcfest - Lancaster, NH - June 17-23, 2025
- 🌲 Freedom Fest - Various locations throughout year
- 🎪 Regional meetups - Check events calendar
Connect with others in your trade
- Learn advanced techniques from masters
- Teach what you know to apprentices
- Collaborate on bigger projects
- Share resources and equipment
- Build industry-specific networks
Expand through community connections
- Get referrals from satisfied customers
- Establish presence in multiple regions
- Access mutual aid when you need it
- Find collaborators for expansion
- Build long-term business relationships
Businesses That Thrive in Our Network
Goods & Products:
- 🎨 Handcrafted items & art
- 🥘 Food production & preserves
- 🧵 Textiles & clothing
- 🪵 Woodworking & furniture
- 🌿 Herbal products & remedies
- 📚 Books & educational materials
- ⚙️ Tools & equipment
- 🎁 Gift items & specialty goods
Services:
- 🔧 Repair & maintenance
- 💆 Wellness & bodywork
- 📸 Photography & videography
- 💻 Digital services (dev, design, writing)
- 🎓 Teaching & tutoring
- 🗝️ Construction & building
- 💼 Consulting & coaching
- 🎵 Entertainment & performance
If you create value, there's a place for you in the network.
Real Results from Real Entrepreneurs
"Etsy was taking 15% in fees, plus payment processing, plus advertising if I wanted anyone to see my work. I was working 60-hour weeks and barely breaking even."
"At my first festival, I sold more in three days than I used to make in a month on Etsy. And I kept all the money. Now I have repeat customers who find me through the bounty board, and I'm booked six months out. I work half the hours and make three times what I used to."
— Rebecca, 33, Leather Craftsperson
"Upwork was a race to the bottom. Constant bidding wars, clients who wanted champagne work for beer money, and the platform took 20% off the top."
"Through the network, I found clients who actually value my work. They pay in crypto, respect my time, and refer me to their friends. No bidding, no platform fees, no corporate middleman. I'm making 40% more per hour and working with people I actually like."
— Alex, 28, Freelance Developer
"I wanted to start a food business but the licensing fees, health permits, and regulations were impossible. $10,000+ just to get permission to cook."
"I started cooking at festivals instead. No permits needed. People loved my food and started asking me to cater their events. Now I have a full catering business with regular clients, all through word-of-mouth in the network. Never filed for a single permit."
— Marcus, 41, Agorist Chef
Your Business Setup Guide
Week 1: Foundation
- Identify your core offering - what value do you create?
- Determine your pricing (no race to the bottom here)
- Post your first bounty on the board
- Join relevant guilds in your industry
- Start telling people in the network what you do
Week 2-4: Build Momentum
- Complete your first transactions
- Ask for referrals and testimonials
- Register for an upcoming festival
- Connect with 5-10 other entrepreneurs
- Start building your reputation
Month 2-3: Scale Up
- Attend your first festival and make sales
- Develop steady client relationships
- Explore barter and crypto payment options
- Collaborate with others on bigger projects
- Begin transitioning from old income sources
Payment Methods in the Agorist Economy
Common Options:
- 💵 Cash - Still king for privacy
- ₿ Cryptocurrency - Bitcoin, Monero, etc.
- 🔄 Barter - Direct exchange of goods/services
- 🥇 Precious metals - Gold, silver coins
- 🎟️ Trade credits - Within the network
Why Diversity Matters:
- ✅ No single point of failure
- ✅ Privacy from surveillance
- ✅ Protection from inflation
- ✅ Flexibility for customers
- ✅ Resilience against censorship
Pro tip: Accept multiple payment methods to maximize your customer base. Many in the network prefer crypto or barter to avoid leaving paper trails.
It's Not All Success Stories: What Can Go Wrong
Honesty matters. Here are real challenges network members have faced, what went wrong, and what they learned.
Challenge #1: "I Quit Too Soon Without Testing"
"I was so excited about freedom that I quit my job after one good festival. Had $5k saved, figured I'd make it work. Reality hit hard."
What happened: Festival season ended. Winter came. Income dropped to nearly zero for 3 months. Burned through savings in 6 weeks. Had to take a worse job than the one I quit, set me back a year.
The lesson: One good month doesn't prove sustainability. Test your income for at least 6 months before quitting. Have a full year of expenses saved if you're seasonal.
— Jake, 29, Former Craft Vendor (now back on track with better planning)
Challenge #2: "My Product Wasn't Actually That Good"
"I thought my jewelry was amazing. Family loved it. Friends said it was great. But it didn't sell at festivals."
What happened: Made 200 pieces. Invested $2,000 in materials and booth fees. Sold maybe 15 pieces total across 3 festivals. Lost money, felt like a failure.
The lesson: Friends/family aren't honest critics. Test with small batches first. Get brutal feedback from people who'll actually buy. Pivot based on what sells, not what you think should sell.
— Maria, 34 (switched to different style, now profitable)
Challenge #3: "I Couldn't Handle the Uncertainty"
"The money was actually decent, but the inconsistency killed me. One month $3k, next month $800. I couldn't sleep."
What happened: Mental health suffered. Constant anxiety about money. Couldn't plan anything. Ended up going back to W-2 job for stability.
The lesson: Agorist income is variable. If you need predictability for your mental health, either build multiple stable streams first, or this path might not be for you. That's okay—know yourself.
— David, 41 (found hybrid approach: part-time W-2 + agorist side income works better)
Challenge #4: "I Underestimated How Hard Solo Business Is"
"I'm great at my craft, terrible at marketing, bookkeeping, customer service. Turns out running a business is 20% craft, 80% everything else."
What happened: Skills were solid, but couldn't get customers. Forgot to track expenses. Double-booked myself. Showed up late. Slowly lost credibility.
The lesson: Being good at your skill ≠ being good at business. Either learn the business side or partner with someone who has those skills. Or join a caravan/collective where others handle what you're weak at.
— Tom, 38 (joined caravan, now focuses on craft while others handle logistics)
Challenge #5: "Festival Culture Wasn't For Me"
"I'm an introvert. Three days of constant customer interaction at festivals left me completely drained. Made money but hated every minute."
What happened: Realized I'd built income around something I dreaded. Stopped doing festivals. Income dropped. Had to rebuild with different approach.
The lesson: Build income around what you can actually sustain long-term. If you hate festivals, focus on online sales, wholesale, or bounty board instead. Money isn't worth misery.
— Lisa, 32 (now does wholesale + custom orders, much happier)
What Actually Determines Success vs Failure
After watching hundreds of people try agorist business, here are the patterns that separate those who make it from those who don't:
What Successful People Do:
- ✅ Test before committing: Validate income for 6+ months first
- ✅ Diversify income: Multiple streams, never rely on one thing
- ✅ Build runway: 6-12 months saved before transition
- ✅ Get honest feedback: From real customers, not friends
- ✅ Stay connected: Active in network, ask for help
- ✅ Adapt quickly: Pivot when something isn't working
- ✅ Manage expectations: Know it takes 12-18 months to stabilize
What Causes Failures:
- ❌ Impulsive quitting: No testing, no runway, "I'll figure it out"
- ❌ Single income source: All eggs in one basket
- ❌ Ignoring feedback: Making what they want, not what sells
- ❌ Going solo: No network support, trying to do everything alone
- ❌ Unrealistic timeline: Expect instant success, quit when it's hard
- ❌ Wrong fit: Building income around things they hate
- ❌ No financial buffer: First setback destroys them
The Uncomfortable Truth
About 60% of people who try agorist business full-time succeed long-term. That means 40% go back to traditional employment or find hybrid approaches.
This isn't failure—it's finding what works for you. Some people discover they need more structure, more stability, or different types of work than pure agorist business provides. That's valuable self-knowledge.
The ones who succeed aren't necessarily more talented or harder working. They're the ones who:
- Test thoroughly before committing
- Build proper financial runway
- Stay connected to the network
- Adapt when plans don't work
- Know themselves well enough to build sustainable income
You're Not Building Alone
The "entrepreneur vs. the world" narrative is exhausting and often leads to burnout. In the network, collaboration beats competition.
Benefits of Network Membership:
- 🤝 Referrals: Other members send customers your way
- 🛡️ Backup: Support when things go wrong
- 📚 Knowledge sharing: Learn from those ahead of you
- 🗝️ Collaboration: Team up on bigger projects
- 💪 Collective bargaining: Better deals through volume
- 🔒 Security: The network has your back
This isn't just a marketplace. It's a community of people building the same vision.
Ready to Build Without Permission?
Three Ways to Start Today:
1. Post Your First Bounty
Takes 5 minutes. List what you offer or what you need. Start connecting with potential customers immediately.
Post to Bounty Board2. Register for a Festival
See it in action. Meet customers, make sales, build relationships. This is where online becomes real.
Find Next Festival3. Learn the Tactics
Read our comprehensive guide to building an agorist business. Everything from pricing to crypto payments to scaling up.
Read Agorist Tactics
Questions? Reach out:
[email protected]