Save Money and Make Friends with the Sharing Economy

In today’s world, sharing is popular thanks to social media. You can share pictures on Instagram, videos on YouTube, thoughts on Twitter, work on LinkedIn, and happenings on Facebook. This sharing has spilled into the business world.

A trend, the sharing economy, has businesses sharing what resources they already have instead of creating new ones. Many of these businesses started in 2008 during the financial crisis, using the sharing economy as a way to pay for and own less stuff. The idea is to utilize your assets (cars, buildings, time) while you’re not using them—earning money instead of letting them waste space.

For instance, if you’re a person with free time, consider joining the TaskRabbit marketplace. Here you can assist people with local odd jobs, like helping someone move, pick up dry cleaning, run to the post office, or put together furniture.

If you have a room to spare, join Airbnb. This company was started by a young couple who needed extra cash during the recession. For a fee, they let people sleep on an air mattress in their kitchen. Within several years, they turned their small business into a multi-million dollar company, now reaching 190 countries. Locals rent rooms, houses, tree houses, yurts, igloos, castles, and more. Deals often include breakfast. It’s a great way for travelers to experience local culture, and hosts can make some money on resources they already have.

Maybe you don’t have a spare bedroom but like the idea of entertaining. Try Cookening, where you can create tasty cuisine for people in your kitchen. Tourists looking to try regional food, or locals simply looking for a dining experience and not wanting to cook, may be interested in paying to dine at your home “restaurant.”

There are more than 200 other companies, with options for sharing or renting bikes, tools, clothes, toys, cars, parking spaces, work space, gardens, pets, camping gear, and even friends! You can find travel partners, or travel nannies. You can find art, music, and every creative thing in between. Check out this website for a full list of all the available options.

Although millions are taking advantage of the sharing economy, the trend does receive skepticism. Danielee Sacks said here, “The challenge that worries everyone in the sharing world, of course, is trust. It’s one thing to believe that a knitter on Etsy will mail you that crocheted beret. It’s another to let a stranger sleep in your home or borrow your second-most-expensive asset, your car.“

Some economists are comparing it to e-commerce in the ’90s. Tom Standage, digital editor for The Economist,said in an interview, “E-commerce in the ’90s started out as a small market, and people were hesitant about safety. But after they had a good experience with a company like Amazon, they felt safer and kept buying online. The trend didn’t totally wipe out other markets like physical book stores, but made an impact on how many people shopped there.”

Like ecommerce, this sharing concept is quickly growing, to the point it might limit traditional sales. A Forbesarticle stated, “These businesses, taking different approaches to established markets or in some cases creating new markets, are disrupting established thinking, enabled by advances in technology and a more technically-savvy populace. They are changing the expectations of what a service should provide and corporates should take note. By building on real customer need and creating experiences that are human and personal, they are able to move in spaces that traditionally bigger companies cannot.”

If you’re thinking about the future of your business, you may consider looking at how to offer something you already have in a unique way, and/or how to tap into this growing market. Perhaps you can share office space, parking lots, or even trade services with others. Not only will this help save money, it will provide opportunities to build relationships and further your brand while putting you ahead in the growing trend.

How can you better use what you already have and add to your bank account? Tell us in the comments below!