The Future of Sharing Economy in 2016

2015 has been a year full of change and watershed transformation, but as we move into the new year many new trends lurk on the horizon. In 2016 more sharing economy startups will emerge, and more opportunities to go freelance will materialize. Here are 2 key trends that we will see next year.

1 — Continued push towards sharing business ecosystems

The sharing economy will continue to explode but will move away from the notion of “altruism” to profiting for the many and not the few. We will see a continued push towards sharing business ecosystems that embrace the we instead of the me and provide value and benefit to the communities they operate in as a whole.

This idea of businesses benefiting themselves, the consumers they serve, and local people seeking freelance employment, will become more evident and an obvious sign of the permanence of our new Uber X economy.

The sharing economy will also continue to identify new untapped pockets of opportunity that can benefit from sharing and also potentially serve a greater or “social” purpose. Nimber which seeks to facilitate the ability to transport and deliver cargo of all shapes and sizes based on currently available “unused” space is a great example of this trend. It is also offers great insight into the type of offerings we will see a maturing sharing economy crank out in the weeks and months ahead.

2 — New crop of entrepreneurs

Questions will continue to circulate about the long term viability, efficacy and safety of the sharing economy as traditional businesses continue to be threatened by new collaborative commerce insurgents, and puzzled politicians on the campaign trail.

However, as the innovation of our new economy continues to help transform society for the good, it is inevitable that regulation will begin to keep pace with innovation, providing the political infrastructure required for America to recapture its leadership foothold on the global stage.

As a result more and more sharing economy businesses will arrive, and more and more opportunities to go freelance will materialize. As a result, a new crop of entrepreneurs and business leaders will appear to help guide us toward a brighter future.

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Billee Howard is Founder + Chief Engagement Officer of Brandthropologie, a cutting edge communications consulting firm specializing in helping organizations and individuals to produce innovative, creative and passionate dialogues with target communities, consumers and employees, while blazing a trail toward new models of artful, responsible, and sustainable business success. Billee is a veteran communications executive in brand development, trend forecasting, strategic media relations, and C-suite executive positioning. She has a book dedicated to the study of the sharing economy called WeCommerce due out in Fall 2015 as well as a blog entitled the #HouseofWe dedicated to curating the trends driving our economy forward. You can read more about “WE-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy” right here!

PS — You can download a FREE chapter of We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy here!

Originally published at brandthropologie.com on November 2, 2015.